Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 56: Murder In The Inn (1)

But she continued calmly, ’’However, that would not land me in a better position in my current circumstances. I want to run away and start a new life...’’

His eyes darkened even further.

’’But I don’t know where to go and what to do since I have only ever lived surrounded by palace walls,’’ she looked at him calmly as if the pathetic life she was talking about was someone else’s, ’’Your Highness, I have always known that I might be a thorn in your heart and rightfully so. I deserve to be.’’

They were two people who were both pathetic in their own positions. She had been forsaken by her side and he had been constantly trampled on by his people. And she was nothing less than a dagger that they used to dredge his old wounds time and time again. She was the weapon they used to humiliate him and she was the leash they put to tame the wolf pup.

After he came back from the war, her delusions of a peaceful marriage with him were shattered and she became aware of the things that she had overlooked before.

’’Like all creatures, I love my life and I might want to cling to it however desperate I am. But today, I will put it all down and give you a chance.’’

’’A chance for what?"

’’I will give you a chance to kill me.’’

His eyes narrowed.

"I know you can kill me any moment you wish to and I would probably never be able to win against you. But that would be an endless torment for both of us. You would want to kill me but would be unable to do so because of circumstances or other reasons and I would probably want to protect my life while not knowing which day would be my last. If I die here tonight, nobody would know whether I was killed by a beast or a ghost.

He grabbed the knife and tilted her neck where his blood clung to her skin.

’’For all the hatred that you have, I will lay down my life in front of you. Kill me tonight and all the grudges will be forever settled,’’ she closed her eyes.

An eternity seemed to have passed between the words she spoke and the silence that lingered after.

The knife under her chin moved and she sucked in a cold breath, awaiting the pain. But the pain never came.

’Clang’

The sound of the knife landing on the ground made her open her eyes and suddenly, she was met with a pair of violet eyes. The man had inclined himself to her height, their faces were inches apart.

’’You underestimate yourself, my dear rebel. You are not a mere thorn,’’ his words caressed her skin in the gentlest touch, ’’You are a nightmare. A damnation to my soul.’’

She met his eyes coldly, ’’If that is so, then I would rather you kill me tonight and end it forever...’’

His eyes contained disdain for the words she uttered as if all that she said was laughable to him.

He inched closer, his breath a ghostly caress against her skin, until the side of his face brushed hers. His lips hovered near her ear, his voice a dark whisper laced with something raw, something unshackled. "Who said I want it to end? If you are a thorn in my heart, then pierce me—make me bleed. Or be the nightmare that haunts me for eternity. But don’t you dare dream of death. That, I will never grant you."

His words carried a promise, a threat, and something far more dangerous—something desperate. In the quiet abyss of the night, his voice was edged with helplessness and fury, laced with a possession that sent a shiver down her spine.

Lareina barely had a moment to breathe before she felt his head incline, his lips ghosting just above her earlobe. His fingers slid into her hair, tangling at the roots, sending sparks of something she couldn’t name spiraling through her.

Just then—

A scream tore through the night, shrill and piercing, shattering the fragile stillness between them.

"Stay here,’’ Azrael stood up to leave.

’’Wait, I will go with you,’’ Before the man could refuse, she continued, ’’If there is some real danger, then it would not be safe here in this room either.’’

After she said that, he did not say much and she took his silence as consent.

When they reached downstairs, the place was completely empty. There was not a single demon in sight and half of the lanterns had cracked or broken. There were bloodstains everywhere. On the upper floor, a few demons who resided in the rooms were running amok. The scene was chaotic.

’’The room we are staying in is facing north, and the entrance we took is situated in the same direction. The south leads to the garden that faces the window but the voice seemed to have come from a little distance.’’

’’East,’’ Azrael declared after going through her words, his ears keen on the movements outside.

When they reached the east, they were met with a large crowd that had surrounded a well. The inn keeper and other workers of the inn who were missing were also there.

Rune and Astra, who had gone out to check on the mysterious singing lady, walked up to them.

’’Someone has fallen in the well. They are retrieving the body now, Your Highness,’’ Astra spoke in a soft voice, ’’When we came here, there was no sign of the woman who was singing earlier.’’

’’Did you particularly look for a woman only?" Azrael questioned while his gaze trailed across the crowd that had spanned around the well.

’’Your Highness, you mean...’’ Rune trailed off.

’’If it is a highly skilled individual, it would not be difficult for them to disguise themselves or even change their voices.’’

Hearing Azrael’s words, Astra was confused, ’’But the song that woman was singing was undoubtedly the verse of humans.’’

Lareina, who had been silent till this point, spoke up.