The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 280: A Normal Day

Chapter 280: A Normal Day

By the time Annalise and her husbands returned to the Cursed Castle, it was already close to dawn.

Since it was so early, the servants had yet to walk out of their quarters which left the entire castle filled with emptiness and deep silence.

"Nothing has changed this time." Kenric pointed out as they all entered the castle and finally got to take a look around the familiar place that was their home.

He was right. Unlike before, the castle hadn’t returned to its previous rundown state despite Annalise’s absence for the past couple of days, and it wasn’t because it no longer cared about her.

"It has finally healed." Annalise found herself saying as a feeling of happiness overtook her. The Castle was finally able to break free from its curse. "It seems like quite a lot got to win their freedom this night."

"Master, I’m going to show them the castle and the surrounding area. You should rest now." Little Snow Lion announced as it appeared next to Annalise.

She slowly nodded her head in approval while reminding her familiar to be safe - "Take care, and don’t wander off."

The Little Snow Lion nodded its head before it disappeared from the scene along with the other Divine Guardian Beasts.

"You want to take a bath before going to sleep?" Valerius asked once the four of them were the only ones left behind.

"Not right now. I want to get some sleep first." Annalise was way too tired after walking for so long throughout the night that she just wanted to lay in bed and let her body and mind rest.

"Alright. Go and get some sleep." Valerius approved her plan as he softly brushed the back of her head before giving a small peck on her cheek.

Damien and Kenric also wished her goodnight before all three Dark Lords headed toward the basement while Annalise toward her bedroom upstairs.

Though there were still so many problems waiting out there to be solved, they all had accomplished some sort of achievement that made all of them feel not only happy but also hopeful for the future.

* * * * *

When Annalise finally woke up after a long and satisfactory sleep, it was already noon and time for lunch.

Sera helped her in getting ready, and the two chit-chatted for a while before they finally headed downstairs.

"Where are the Lords?" Annalise asked when she didn’t find any of the three Princes in the dining hall.

"The Lords are taking a look around Garron’s vegetable garden, My Lady." The one who answered the question was Aunt Claire, who just entered the dining room while holding baskets in both her hands.

"Thank you, Aunt Claire." Annalise thanked the old woman before she headed toward the side garden where her husbands were supposed to be. As soon as she stepped outside, she was greeted with the cold wind accompanied by warm sunlight; it was such a beautiful contrast of weather that was signaling the soon-approaching winter.

"A simple spell will be enough to protect the vegetables and flowers from winter. You have worked really hard."

Annalise heard Valerius talking to Garron, who was beaming with happiness after seeing his hard work being recognized by his masters.

"Thank you, My Lords."

Garron thanked the Dark Lords as he bowed deeply, one after the other, to all three of them, showing his appreciation for their help and praises.

"Am I intruding?" Annalise asked as she finally approached the group of four men standing at the entrance of the vegetable garden that was now in full bloom after several months of hard work that Garron and others had put into it.

"My Lady." Garron was the first one to respond as he turned around to face Annalise and greeted her.

As for the Princes, they had sensed her presence the moment she stepped out into the garden.

"Were you waiting for us for too long?" Valerius asked as he turned to look at her along with his brothers. In the bright noon sunlight, all three of them looked extremely handsome.

"Not really. I woke up not too long ago and just came downstairs." Annalise explained as she moved to take a closer look at the vegetables. "Garron..." she suddenly called out the young man, who looked a little bit baffled but still hurriedly came forward to stand at her command.

A smile bloomed on Annalise’s lips as she watched Garron’s soft features turn to one of nervousness as he wondered why he was being called by her all of a sudden.

"Relax, I’m not going to reprimand your or something. I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work. You have been really helpful in bringing the castle back to its long-lost glory. Thank you."

She meant every word she just said. Only she knew just how thankful she was toward her current staff, who had worked so hard during the past several months along with her to change the castle without really knowing whether it would work or not.

"It’s my duty, My Lady. As long as you all enjoy these harvests, I will put all my efforts into them." Garron responded as his eyes smiled along with his lips.

Annalise nodded her head as she allowed herself to take a glance in the direction of her husband, who had been silently listening to the exchange between her and Garron.

"You must be hungry. Let’s go and have lunch." Damien said as he took hold of one of her hands and started walking toward the dining hall’s side door.

They all went inside the dining hall, where Aunt Claire and the others were waiting for them.

"It smells so good in here," Kenric commented as he made his way toward his favorite seat around the dining table. Annalise, Damien, and Valerius also settled down as the servants started serving the food.

"You all have been gone for a while. I missed cooking for you children. Since you all are back now, I didn’t hold myself back while preparing the lunch." Aunt Claire responded to the Third Dark Lord’s comment about the delicious aroma of food that was filling the air inside the dining hall.

Annalise couldn’t hold back the smile that spilled over her lips when she heard Aunt Claire referring to the Dark Lords as children despite the huge age gap between them. As for the men, they looked slightly surprised, but none of them dared to contradict Aunt Claire and just decided to enjoy the food that the old woman had prepared for them with a lot of love and care.

"By what time Crown Prince Elijah will be here?" Annalise asked when they were almost done with their lunch which mostly passed in comfortable silence.

"He will be quite late and won’t join us for dinner. So, we will see him in the morning." Kenric informed her, and Annalise nodded her head in understanding.

"The others will be returning soon. Ask the servants to make sure that their rooms are prepared. I will leave this important matter in your hands." Valerius informed her, and once again, Annalise nodded her head in understanding. She knew that by ’others,’ he meant - Ezra, Marley, and Leela.

What really surprised Annalise was the realization that she was actually looking forward to a particular person’s return. Exactly when did she grow so fond of her?

After finishing lunch, Damien took his leave as he wanted to help out Mr. Warren with some of the labor work in the backyard.

Valerius retired to the library, and in the end, Annalise was left alone with Kenric, who seemed to have no plans other than accompanying her.

"There’s something I’m really curious about," Annalise spoke as she and Kenric headed into the front garden where Sera and others were working on setting up a circular flower bed around the fountain.

"What is it?" Kenric asked as he suddenly took hold of her hand and started walking side by side with their arms brushing frequently.

"What did you three use to do all day before our marriage?" Annalise asked the question that had suddenly popped into her mind and surprised Kenric, who took his time in answering.

"To be honest... we didn’t use to do anything worth keeping in mind. We were just passing days back then. Every time any of us wanted to get some fresh air, we just went on a little tour here and there. That was how we were spending our days back then."

Annalise couldn’t respond immediately and when she finally did, the sadness was pretty obvious in her voice - "That sounds kind of... boring."

She felt Kenric’s hold tightening on her hand before she was pulled to a stop. She turned her attention toward her husband as he spoke - "It was... but not anymore."

The way he was looking at her explained way more than his words.

"That’s good." Annalise said while nodding her head and feigning ignorance. "We should now get some work done."

And then she hurried off to help Sera and others.