Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 36: A Mission (1)

Being a woman from the enemy camp in a place like the demon realm, it was not bizarre for Lareina to pray for some peace in times of chaos. When the banquet was cut short, she was relieved. When it was declared that the crown prince was injured, she was relieved again, thinking that the palace would be busy tending to their heir and their attention would shift from her.

But she had overestimated her luck when she thought she would not be dragged into the chaos.

Lareina quietly followed the demon guard who was escorting her to the Infernal Court.

She had questioned the guard a few times but the demon had not spared a breath in explaining anything to her. Except for urging her to increase her pace, he did not bother with her.

It could not be helped since it was the demon lord’s orders and she was already delayed by an hour since it took her a long while to change into proper clothings. After that, she had to console Rosie who broke out in tears thinking that she was being summoned to be beheaded.

The possibility was not a far off thought in her mind but if she were to believe it, her survival instincts would let her to think of a way to escape, which was close to impossible. Since her skills were lacking, she could only rely on her still not-so-good luck and hope that since they summoned her with courtesy instead of dragging her here, they might not be intending to kill her. Just yet.

When Lareina entered the court, she was greeted by the sight of the demon lord who was seated in the middle. Just like previous seating arrangements, the crown prince and fourth prince were seated closest to him while Azrael and the third prince were at a little distance.

Many high ranking demon officials were seated on either side of the court, their faces solemn.

Lareina looked at the Crown Prince Lucian who was supposed to be gravely injured. Apart from a few scratches, there was not much of an injury to speak of.

While she was observing the crown prince, she felt a piercing gaze directed towards her. It was so intense that even without looking in that direction, she could feel it boring inside her.

She looked to the side and was instantly met with Azrael’s cold face.

Lareina’s lips twitched and she scowled before looking away from him. Even after looking away, she could feel his gaze fixated on her.

’’I see you are here, human princess. Perhaps my summon in the middle of the night has you lacking some manners,’’ the demon lord’s apathetic voice rang in the court, silencing the whispers.

Saying yes would get her in some torture cell so Lareina curtsied to the man wordlessly.

The man harrumphed, not bothering to free her from her bowing position for a while.

’’Come over,’’ a calm voice rang in the court.

Without looking up, Lareina knew it was Azrael who spoke up. He... would not be so kind to free her from this awkwardness, would he?

The demon lord and most of the higher ranking officials had also shifted their attention to Azrael, to gauge his thoughts just like Lareina.

Just as the thought had crossed her mind, the tsundere second prince spoke, ’’The Lord has important affairs to discuss. Instead of standing their and displeasing his eyes, come over and take your seat.’’

With a wave of his hand, the demon lord acquiesced.

"It has been four years since our realm descended in chaos, My Lord. The raging war has recently ended but the ugly scars it has left on us have yet to fade,’’ An older demon official stood up to speak. Once his words dropped, some countless gazes shot towards Lareina who had just taken a seat beside Azrael. Her seat was positioned the lowest amongst the royals and it was symbolic of her position. An empty position that held no real weightage.

’’At this moment, the commoners are still suffering the impacts of the war. And now, this new trouble has cropped up. One huge town has turned into a haunted ghost town. Initially, a few people were harmed but over the past few weeks, the ghosts there have been spreading endless terror amongst those ordinary demons. And now, they even dared to lay their filthy clutches on our crown prince.’’

Another official stood up, ’’My Lord, the residents of that town do not just consist of ordinary demons but some of the most prosperous demons of our realm. They contribute for necessities during war and when it is not wartime, they make huge contributions to the royal treasury. They were initially pacified when you sent the crown prince to oversee the situation. But in the current circumstance, things have changed.’’

The demon lord frowned, ’’What are you intending to say?"

’’Those people are intending to move away to other places. The location of that town is central and it keeps the people under our surveillance closely but if those powers move away, the royal palace would lose control over them. What profits they make and what they contribute to us would solely be up to them to how and what they decide to tell us.’’

One by one, they started listing all the possible consequences of the current circumstances before eventually reaching one conclusion and directing their communal hatred towards one centre.

’’It is all due to those imbecile humans.’’

Lareina who had been playing the part of the wallflower perked up when she caught this bit.

’’Those pests died and became grievous ghosts and now they are wandering about haunting places that are not even their territory,’’ a young official expressed his opinion, ’’The living ones could not do much harm so now, they have decided to wreak havoc through the dead. My Lord, this must not go on!"

’’My Lord, bring us justice!"

"My Lord, we must defend our stronghold.’’

’’My Lord...’’