The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 690: It’s not everyday I felt guilty about getting the better hand at a bargain

Chapter 690: It’s not everyday I felt guilty about getting the better hand at a bargain

After dinner, everyone but Izzi gathered around Shwa. Indeed, the first baby of the bunch would become the center of the world.

"Where is my cutie?" Zia held him and nuzzled the plump cheek. "Whereizmycutieeee!"

"Waaah!"

I had no idea if it was the sound of excitement or annoyance. But Zia didn’t care. She continued smothering her nephew, just like any Auntie. When she mentioned the presents she had brought, Shwa became calmer, as if he already understood the words.

Really. What a cheeky and greedy baby.

"Oh, you grow up so well! You grow up so big!"

Even when Zia squeezed his cheeks, Shwa did not squirm rebelliously--just a bit of frown surfacing between his brow, which was cute. Really cute.

"I’m glad he seems to follow Natha’s physique, not mine," I stroked the baby’s dark hair; a smile came to my lips when I felt the tiny horns hidden beneath the curls.

"What’s wrong with yours? You are also the cutest!" Zia argued while squeezing my cheeks this time, making Shwa coo and giggle in response.

Look at this kid.

I shook my head and patted the green hair beside me. "No, Jade is cuter."

"Really?" the round green eyes sparkled, and with Shwa looking at me in glee, it was as if looking at two pairs of emeralds.

What a rich life I had--both literally and figuratively.

"That’s true, but Jade is your child’s version," Zia shrugged, before squeezing Jade’s cheeks too to complete the set.

"Oh, right..."

We laughed and made Shwa laugh, which was nice. I told her to try and feed Shwa as ’practice’, and despite getting flustered and red all over, she still did it. Ah, this succubus was also very adorable.

We stayed in the nursery until Shwa fell asleep. We brought Jade and Shiny--who had fallen asleep ahead of the baby--to Jade’s room upstairs, before having a pajama party with just the two of us and warm cocoa.

"So, you’re going to confine Izzi again?" Zia narrowed her eyes.

"Confine is a bit harsh, isn’t it?" I scoffed. Was that how he whined to his girlfriend...fiancee? Damn elf. "I’m not giving him any deadline, and he’s not like Neel who will lock herself in a room until she finishes," I shrugged, before looking at Zia and curled my lips. "...or you during a deadline."

"Hey!"

Zia smacked my arm playfully, and we laughed lightheartedly. Ah, it really was nice to have a friend next to me. "Oh, are you still writing?" freёweɓnovel.com

"Not currently...I just don’t have the time," Zia sobbed into her hands, lamenting with a heartfelt groan.

"There, there," I patted her back with a wry smile.

She must have been so busy learning all kinds of things about running a clan. Of course, she wouldn’t be the one taking care of stuff directly, but she still had to know the basics so she could judge whether the others did their job properly or not. And taking the position when she was barely of age would invite cynicism and critique, even if her lineage was legit.

It must be hard for her, mentally more than anything. She couldn’t even do what she loved because of that. I guessed...it was good that she at least had Izzi and Aleena by her side.

"Haa...I also had no chance to visit Lust," I let out a sigh, sipping my warm cocoa to soothe my mind. "Things just kept happening, huh?"

Zia giggled and nudged me. "That’s a protagonist’s trait, you know?"

Pfft--I scoffed and drank my cocoa again, exhaling slowly to relax myself. Just like in the past, we huddled on the couch, rubbing shoulders with each other and sharing some warmth. I leaned my head closer and whispered, even though we were the only ones there. "But I’m not interrupting any event, am I? Like...are you in the middle of wedding preparation or something?"

"God, no!" Zia gasped and leaned back, looking all flustered again. "I mean...not yet..."

She bit her lips adorably, and I couldn’t help but giggle to tease her. She smacked me repeatedly, and it just felt like the old days.

How weird; it wasn’t even that long ago.

"Well, it’s better to do things like this when everything has calmed down," Zia puffed her cheeks, shooting daggers at me. "I mean...you have to be there, you know!"

"I know," I pushed her puffing cheek with a smile. "I promise I’ll do this well."

Zia looked at my eyes keenly before raising her pinky finger. "Promise."

Oh, she remembered that. I smiled and hooked our fingers. "Promise."

Yes. I wasn’t completely sure before, but with everything going smoothly for me, wouldn’t it be too embarrassing to fail? After everyone helped me, there was no reason for me to fail.

Even if I had to pull Lord An’Hyang’s hair, I’d do this well!

* * *

Once again, I slept without dreaming. Perhaps that was why, I became very sensitive to the appearance of foreign mana waves. When I felt the mana of someone I had never met before, I woke up with a start and gasped.

"It’s here!"

The blanket was thrown to the ground as I jumped out of bed and rushed toward the balcony door. I opened the door as the one behind it was about to knock.

"Young Ma--"

"You’re here!" I opened my arms wide.

The shapeshifter blinked with a hand frozen in the air. "Ah...good morning?"

"Yes, yes--good morning! Good job! Come in, come in! Have a warm drink! Do you want to eat something? It must have been hard, right?" I grabbed the hardworking hand and pulled the shapeshifter inside the room.

"Oh...no, Young Master--"

"It’s alright, it’s alright," I smiled widely and clasped my hands. "What do you want to eat? What do you want to drink? Mara!"

At my call, Mara opened the door with only one-second intervals. She must have heard my voice and came up immediately. "Yes, Young Master?"

"Please help our friend here with some refreshments and breakfast!"

"Certainly."

"Umm..." the shapeshifter, who had never met me before, opened their mouth awkwardly while taking out a bundle from their cloak. "Young Master, the package--"

"Right! Thank you! Have some rest for now, okay?" I grabbed--or rather, snatched--the bundle and patted the shapeshifter’s shoulder.

"B-by your command..."

Immediately, which reminded me of yesterday, I ran down the stairs while calling out for Aunt Nezja. For some reason, I knew she would be in the living room--just like yesterday.

"Auntie! Auntie!" I waved the bundle at her--who sat on the armchair in the living room, like a deja vu. "It’s here!"

This time, her stormy eyes seemed to be filled with lighting--they were especially gleaming. Her already straightened back tensed up as I placed the bundle on the table. Impatiently, I untied the cord tying the bundle, almost cursing at how tight it was, despite knowing it was done for security.

In the end, I just used mana to cut the cord and opened the protective cloth of the bundle. Inside, there was a thick envelope--which I reckoned was the information on Sagan that Sore mentioned--and a leather-bound book that was slightly bigger than Natha’s journal.

Carefully, I picked up the book and handed it over to Aunt Nezja’s slightly trembling hands.

"Auntie," I unconsciously whispered as I placed the book in her hands as if my voice might crumble this old book. I almost felt guilty touching it with my bare hands.

Aunt Nezja lightly brushed her fingers over the plain front cover of the book, stopping slightly at the initial at the bottom right. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, before opening the book.

"Let’s look at the information first."

"Oh, okay..." I nodded.

I was about to tell her that she could take her time with the book, but after thinking about it, it was better to get through the information first. Afterward, she could just take the book and savor the content privately, for as long as she liked.

Yeah; that would be better.

"First, let’s find out the location of that safe house you’ve been looking for," she said.

"Okay. Please help me with that, Auntie, since I’m not yet proficient in archaic letters," I told her, taking the thick envelope instead.

She nodded and immediately focused on the book while I perused the document that Sore sent to me.

Hmm...turned out, Sagan was truly a talented mage. He was talented enough that it wouldn’t be weird if he were to be offered a high position in the tower. Unfortunately, one of the conditions for a successful magician was...well, money.

No, no--it wasn’t because money brought authority. It was more practical than that: magic research was expensive. Talented students might be able to gain sponsors to finish their education, but research is another thing. Especially if it was theoretical research.

If it was for magic tools that would generate money, sponsors might be interested. Not so much with theory. And you might guess it--Sagan was a theoretical mage coming from a fallen family with no money. While talented, he couldn’t get enough scores to raise his structural rank within the magic tower.

The fortunate thing was that he had enough reputation to hold onto the family’s mansion--the only property they had left.

Phew...imagine the house fell to someone else and we couldn’t get this diary...

What a food for a nightmare. Oh.

Anyway, based on the report, there was no indication that he was involved with the church or something like that. Well, it was still a result of a short investigation, so something else might turn up later. But for now...he looked clean.

Ugh...I was feeling guilty about giving nothing other than the trans-realm communication orb.

Of course, the orb was as expensive as a whole estate, but--

"Valen..."

"Yes!"

I raised my head and looked at Aunt Nezja with widened eyes. She tapped a section on the book and told me with a little smile. "There’s a mention of a safe house connected to the church," she said. "And the location."

I took a sharp breath and activated the orb connected to Sore. Time for the next gamble.