The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 95: Pacifying two screaming babies is...not that hard?

Chapter 95: Pacifying two screaming babies is...not that hard?

"Vaaal!"

*CHIIIIRPPP!!*

What greeted me the moment I set foot inside the tower was two flying objects...err, creatures. The flap of their little wings was enough to create a wind current that blasted the air around me. I would have toppled back if it wasn’t for the sturdy cushion of a Demon Lord behind me.

Jade was one thing, but I didn’t expect Zia to act like this too. With one hand on the fluffy fur, and one hand on the succubus’s shoulder, I patted them gently as their face was buried in my chest.

"So cruel!" Zia lifted her face and barked angrily. "Angwi said you’d only be there for a night! How could you do this to us?!"

*CHIIRP!*

"There’s no message! You didn’t even say goodbye!"

*CHIIRP CHIRP!*

"How could you just leave me like that? Do you know how lonely it is having no one to talk to?!"

*CHIRP!*

Wow...they seemed to become a bit of a buddy-buddy while I was gone. I just let them gush out a series of protests while comfortably leaning on Natha and looking at Angwi, who just shook her head exasperatedly.

But...it felt good though, having someone greet me enthusiastically like this, making me feel like I was coming back home. It felt as good as when Angwi scolded me for coming back late from the forest that one time.

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry," I patted them both as they continued to make noise. "I bring some snacks as a souvenir, though..."

Somehow, that effectively shut them up, as both the purple and green eyes perked up. I took out the big big basket full of snacks that Dhuarta assembled for me, and put it into their outstretched hands.

"Here, help me carry this inside," I told them, and the succubus-elemental bird pair saluted me with sparkling eyes before marching inside with the snacks.

"You’re getting proficient in taming others," Natha commented with a chuckle.

After making sure the two kids already entered the other room, I turned around to stare at the silver eyes, who still looked at me with the same bright affection he gave me all morning.

Oh...I knew I was the one who asked to go back, but now that I had to part with him, it was quite hard too. Harder even, than the time when we only met for the weekend. Perhaps because I had been so used to his presence for days.

"I’ll come in three days, unless the portal finished first," he told me while stroking my hair. "Give me a kiss?" he smiled with a tilted head, acting so charming and innocent.

I narrowed my eyes, feeling like all we did since the morning was just kiss.

But who was I to deny the Demon Lord? So I lifted my heels and gave him a soft peck on the lips, which he returned with a tight embrace. He spent a while burying his face in my hair, taking a deep breath as if inhaling my scent.

Did I...even have a scent?

But then again, Natha also had a scent; the one I always searched on the bed. Thinking that I wouldn’t be able to smell it again in the tower, I also took a chance to sniff at him, inhaling the scent of parchment and sandalwood oil.

He chuckled at my not-so-subtle attempt at sniffing him, and I hit him lightly in response. He replied with a tender kiss on my forehead, before dispersing in a flurry of black feathers again.

Twirling a dark plume between my fingers, I walked toward the two babies in need of appeasing inside.

* * *

"Oh, so you ended up meeting the vassal too, then?" Zia nodded while munching on a beast-shaped biscuit from the pile of snacks.

"Mm," I nodded while caressing Jade’s little head, which had been nuzzling me nonstop with pitiful noises. I took the time to slowly send my mana too, since the little bird had been deprived of food for days. "I didn’t expect it, but I met with five of them."

Zia whistled then. "Conquering half in just a few days, huh?"

"What do you mean conquering?" I threw a package toward her, although the snack just ended up hovering around the succubus like some kind of solar system...a snack system. "I just converse with them for a bit."

"That’s exactly what I meant," Zia wiggled her hand, suddenly acting like a senior in life as if she already forgot how she tackled me with a crying face earlier. "You exchanged friendly conversations; meaning they accepted you. If they don’t, they would just greet you politely as a courtesy."

Hmm...was that how it was?

"But Natha said they are part of the ’friendly’ camp..."

"Meaning they won’t act hostile toward you," Zia explained further. It was fascinating how she could shift from being a teenager to a life consultant—was it because she was, inevitably, an author?

She paused to concentrate on opening a box of sour cotton candy—one of my favorites—before continuing. "Being polite is already enough. But didn’t they ask to meet you again?"

"Well...we also arrange some lessons..."

"See," Zia shrugged. "They didn’t have to, since Lord Cousin didn’t ask for it. That bald...wolf one that you mentioned also comes around on his own, right?"

"Mm..."

"Trust me, Val," Zia waved her fingers and sent a cloud of cotton candy flying toward me. "You have the power to charm others."

I frowned at the hovering cloud in front of my face, before opening my mouth to let it in. While savoring the sweet and sour sensation exploding inside my mouth, I looked at the ceiling while rubbing Jade’s green head absentmindedly. "Is that so?" I muttered quietly.

The power to charm others? What power? Power as the Lord’s bride? Power as the royal druid? They did say demons respect and fear the powerful. I just didn’t think I had that power, however. All I had was status as the Lord’s contracted bride.

But what if the contract was broken? What if I lost the power of priest and druid, again, like how Valmeier lost it a few months ago?

Would they still get charmed? Would they still look at me favorably? Would they still praise me as the Lord’s proud bride?

I...I wasn’t sure.

I knew how it was with people and power. I used to have that power, and enjoyed the way the nurses and doctors took care of me affectionately. Until they deemed I was being abandoned by my family, and they all turned cold and looked at me as a mere job...

*Chiirp!!*

My thought was suddenly interrupted by the little bird, who wasn’t just chirping loudly, but headbutting my cheek. It must have sensed my depressed state and I laughed while scooping the little guy off my cheek before it get bruised.

"I know, I know," I patted the bird again, swallowing my bitter memories. Didn’t I make a promise to myself to let go of such insecurity? "It’s just a short moment of weakness. It won’t happen again," I tried to pacify the anxious bird.

Well, at least I’d try to not think about such a thing anymore.

Jade wasn’t the only one who got anxious though, since I had to face Zia and Angwi’s inquisitive stare next. "What? I’m alright. Things turned out to be better than I expected there, too."

"Hmm..." Zia narrowed her eyes dubiously, but she didn’t pursue it more, thankfully. "Well, you’re right, it’s a good thing anyway."

I nodded in agreement. As far as a trial went, it could be considered a success. I didn’t feel uncomfortable, and I had at least five—no, six if I counted the twins’s older sister, Malta—vassals on my side. It wasn’t like Natha wanted me to attend anything around the Castle too, or faced the citizens.

"But..." Zia folded her legs above the couch and looked at me from behind her knees. "It means...you’ll move there?"

*chirp??*

Jade twitched against my fingers, and suddenly flew toward my face again. I grab it before my cheek got headbutted again, and kept the little guy between my palms. "Don’t worry, I’ll wait until you can follow me."

*chirp!*

Only then that Jade looked cheerful, nuzzling my palm instead of headbutting it. It was easy to see that the little bird was happy, after sulking so much earlier. Even as I gave my mana, Jade was still a bit resentful of being left behind. It was only now that the little bird looked happy.

"What about me?!" Zia slammed her hand on the table, jostling some of the snacks.

I tilted my head with a raised brow. "You want to follow me too?"

"I need someone to talk to!" she pursed her lips and spoke in a desperate voice. I guessed, after months of talking to me, it got hard just spending time with the silent maid.

"You can just live in the Castle too, right?" I tilted my head to the other side.

"Nope, since I’ll be considered a diplomatic guest there, and I don’t like it!"

Right—I often forgot, but she was still the princess of other realms. "Well, you can just use the portal to visit," I shrugged. "Since the mana supply came from the elemental birds, we can use it often."

"Oh? This is the first time I hear about it..." Zia raised her brows, before nodding and mumbling to herself. "Mm, mm, I see...as expected of Lord Cousin, he’s truly meticulous..."

Well, seeing the things he prepared in the Castle for me—from the private quarters to the greenhouse—I could vouch for that meticulousness. Freaking Demon Lord even made a whole media coverage about the kingdom’s filth just so Valmeier’s name could get cleaned. Even building disgustingly expensive portal gates to allow me to traverse my two new homes easily.

Damn, I loved him so much.

"So...what are you going to do now?" Zia cut my worshipping thought.

"Hmm..." to be honest, there were lots of things I needed to do, from evolving Jade to researching pseudo-modern inventions, to checking up on the hero’s movement...

But for now, my priority would be to hasten the moving procedure, which meant...

I looked at Jade, who tilted its head at my gaze. "What do you think about swimming?"

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