Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 26: Underground marketplace

’’You have been constantly sick in the recent days so it is unsuitable for you to go out. Stay here and take rest.’’

After he said that, Azrael did not wait for her response as he shot Lareina a ’and you are quietly coming with me’ look before he left the place, dragging a visibly unwilling Lareina with him.

Outside the palace, a carriage was already waiting for them.

Azrael held Lareina’s hand while she stepped inside it and then he followed her.

The carriage was rather luxurious from inside but it seemed small compared to the extravagant carriages that she had seen here.

’’I surmised that you would not want a lot of attention on you,’’ Azrael seemed to have seen through her thoughts.

’’Yes, simple is better...’’ Lareina trailed off when she turned to him, only to find his gaze trailing down every inch of her elaborate dress before settling on her face.

He nodded, ’’Perhaps,’’ After a small pause, he added, ’’But for someone who woke up early and wanted some rest, you seem more than excited for this trip, princess.’’

Her lips parted, ’’Rosie dressed me up.’’ The words ’don’t misunderstand it’ were left unsaid but they hung heavy in the air.

’’It seems like I made a good choice by having her be your maid. She is doing a good job.’’

His casual words caught her attention.

’’Is there something on my face?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes when she looked at him unblinkingly.

They were sitting opposite each other but there was not a lot of gap between them. On an uneven and bumpy road, his legs would occasionally brush against her knee.

’’Your Highness, back then, was it you who had sent Rosie?"

Azrael did not seem to have thought of it as much of a big thing, ’’The older maidservants can be naggy and annoying. So, I selected her from the bunch of girls around your age so she can serve you properly.’’

His words caused a ripple in her heart that had turned still in the recent days.

On their wedding night, she had gotten her period and she was in pain when he was summoned by the lord. After that, she never saw him again. The weather had worsened along with her pain.

After an hour, Rosie appeared in the room. And since then, she had been taking care of all her needs without being negligent. She thought Rosie was just arranged to serve her under orders, never knowing that it was Azrael who had made those arrangements.

"But when...’’

He seemed to understand her question, ’’Before going to the court, I took a detour and made the arrangements first.’’

Amidst the chaos of the war, he went to look for a maid to take care of her?

For the rest of the ride, neither of them spoke again and the carriage sank in a stifling silence.

After sitting stiffly in the carriage for about an hour, Lareina’s waist hurt. Unable to resist it anymore, Lareina asked, ’’Where are we going?"

Azrael glanced at her but before he could say a word, the carriage came to halt.

Azrael stepped out and reached a hand towards her, ’’Come out and see for yourself.’’

Curious, she placed her hand in his and once he tightened his hold on her fingers, she stepped out of the carriage with one hand clutching her gown that seemed to weigh her body down.

The sight that greeted her vision slowed her steps. The place in front of her eyes did not seem much different from the marketplaces back in their kingdom. But Lareina was not permitted to go out of the palace so she had never truly been familiar with human marketplaces as well. She had only seen them a couple of times from a distance.

"You seem surprised.’’

Azrael’s remark made her recover her senses a little bit, ’’This is the first time I am seeing this place.’’

"This is an underground marketplace, situated underneath a village and they refer to it as the ghost market,’’ As they walked, the man explained to her calmly but then he paused as if he had just realized something, ’’Have you never been here before in all these years?"

Lareina shook her head, ’’I have never stepped out of the palace.’’

’’Do you not like to?"

"It is not that,’’ Perhaps the fact that all those years ago, he had arranged for Rosie to take care of her made her feel grateful towards him that Lareina was patient with her words and explanations, ’’For humans, standards are different. A married woman is not supposed to step out of her husband’s house without a major cause, and for a noblewoman, these rules were only stricter.’’

She looked around the small stalls and adjacent big shops as they walked on the side of the path, ’’I assumed things were no different here so I did not want to bring disgrace to your name.’’

Unbeknownst to them, Azrael’s gaze softened, a hint of helplessness overtaking his aloof face.

But over the years, Lareina had realized that here, things were centered around power and not gender. However, she had grown accustomed to staying in the palace. Even though she longed to go out, she had not even done that when she was unmarried so it intimidated her a little. She did not have any friends and all she had was Rosie who was young and a little inexperienced so it troubled her that they would end up offending people.

So, Lareina stayed inside her bedchamber most of the time, counting days till her husband came back from the war.

When she thought about it now, it was a little laughable.

Looking at her cold expressions, Azrael did not push her further. He had turned his head for a moment but when he looked back, Lareina was not there.

His laidback expressions dissipated in the air and a murderous intent took over as his gaze traced through the crowd.