Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 73: I decide for myself! (3)

Their Prince was completely unwilling to put his wife in any sort of danger. Ghosts, or demons or humans or whatever, if he could, he would keep her away like a pearl. But circumstances forced him, piling up one after another and he knew that Lareina’s concerns were justified so here they were.

In such circumstances, Astra did not want to cause more displeasure so the entire way, she shut Moira up when she could and she tended to Lareina at the slightest premonition of the woman’s sneeze, juggling back and forth between both women and hoping to not incur Azrael’s wrath.

’’How can you say something like that? My life is worthless and I am willing to throw it for His Highness at any juncture,’’ Moira acted as if the conversation between Azrael and her had never happened, ’’It’s unfortunate that Rune could not be here and Lady Lareina has tagged along. With my sickness, I don’t want to be another burden...’’

Those words could simply be translated to: Lareina is a burden yet she shamelessly tagged along. I am merely doing you a favor by being considerate.

With the third prince’s special identity, he needed protection hence Rune had stayed in the inn on Azrael’s orders. As for the eminent monk that the demon lord was seeking had gone travelling again so the royal guards who had accompanied the second prince here were looking for him all over the town.

Astra suddenly missed her comrade. She was not afraid of ghosts or gods but she was very afraid of what was transpiring right now.

Moira slowly looked around before she added, "And the ghosts...’’

As if those ghosts would not be chased back by her poisonous mouth. Lareina could not resist an eye roll.

Moira’s attention suddenly shifted to her, ’’Lady Lareina, I have heard a lot about you before I met you. If the words are not wrong, you are the sole legitimate princess of the humans. If you beg for peace and ask your people to let go, we will not be suffering like this today. For the sake of His Highness, shouldn’t you make a trip to the human realm?" She spoke slowly, almost hesitatingly, like a woman who understood all ins and outs but was afraid of speaking out.

’’Yes, I can do that,’’ Lareina smiled.

Moira frowned, ’’Then... then... why did you wait till today before considering it?"

’’Oh, when I go back, they would consider my words but a blood sacrifice would be needed. I am meek by nature and I could not find a sacrifice before but now that you have offered yourself up, we have no troubles...’’

Moira’s face paled, ’’You... My Lady, how could you say such brutal things?"

’’Just the same way you could think of such moronic solutions,’’ Lareina turned her face to the side, refusing to look at any of them again.

Legitimate princess, how ironic! She was pushed into this marriage alliance despite the legitimacy of her title. How truly fortunate.

Moira leaned forward. If she realized that she had struck a nerve, she did not show it on her face, ’’My Lady...’’

’’Enough.’’

Moira flinched.

Azrael’s cold voice seemed to leave a lingering echo in the silence of the long village road.

Moira’s eyes teared up as she looked at Azrael.

In the carriage, Astra and Moira were sitting on side while Azrael and Lareina were seated right opposite to them.

Her voice trembled as she leaned in towards the man in the cramped carriage, ’’Your Highness, I was just...’’

She had just extended her hand towards him when the man retracted his hand, his gaze sharper than knives as he looked at her, ’’If you want to go back, you can. The third prince will be returning to the capital soon and you can accompany him.’’

"Your Highness, if you don’t want me to talk, I won’t...’’ Moira wiped her tears with the back of her hand as she sat up straight like a docile wife who listened to every utterance of her husband.

Lareina’s mind that had drifted off to unpleasant places before was pulled back to these theatrics.

’’But please don’t punish me by sending me away from you. Moira will be good...’’ the woman bit her bottom lips.

Lareina rubbed her gooseflesh, inched a little away from Azrael and pressed herself against the wooden wall before pretending to be a wallflower.

Azrael looked at her movements and scoffed a little in his heart. This heartless woman.

"When you go back to the capital, the list of noblemen would be handed over to you. You can pick a man of your choice and marry him with all customs. That would fulfil my promise to your late father as well.’’

These words that were casually spoken by Azrael startled every woman inside the carriage.

Noblemen? Marriage? Lareina was in disbelief. What did he mean by that?

Before Lareina could dwell on it any further, Moira’s shrill voice interrupted her thoughts.

"No. No, you can’t do that...’’ Moira’s fingers curled into a fist under her sleeves and a sharp glint flashed in those usually seductive eyes, ’’Your Highness, how can you wrong me like this in a moment of anger? It breaks my heart.’’

’’This...’’ is my final decision. Azrael opened his mouth to speak when his eyes met Moira’s teary eyes that looked at him with unspoken anguish, a deep pain shot in his heart, making him restless immediately. His breathing spiked up and his eyes turned a dark shade of red. Without a moment’s delay, he closed his eyes and regulated his inner force.

When he fell silent mid-sentence, Lareina turned her head to look at him. But finding him sitting there with closed eyes and calm posture, her disarrayed thoughts slowly pieced together again. It seems like this was his way of scaring Moira and getting her to behave.

Seeing that Moira remained silent for the rest of the way, Azrael’s way probably worked. Lareina surmised.

The only person who had remained throughout was Astra. Her countenance remained calm and her face unreadable as she sat quietly.

’’We cannot go any further from here, sir. You would need to take a boat to cross the lake,’’ The coachman announced with a loud voice from the outside, a slight tremble remained in his tone.

After the group alighted from the carriage, they approached the coachman. Azrael cupped his fist in a thankful gesture as he looked at the man, ’’You have my gratitude, brother.’’

This coachman was personally arranged for them by the innkeeper solely based on Lareina’s ’expert face value’. In the current circumstances of the ghost town, no person stepped out of their place in the dark.

This coachman worked for the inn and under the innkeeper’s constant threats of ’you have to help my benefactor’, ’I will kick you out’ and ’I will deduct your pay’ did this trembling man finally take up the hot potato job that landed on his lap.

’’N-No worries. No worries at all,’’ The man waved both his hands continuously, wiping his sweat as he did so.

’’But brother, how can there be only one way to the village? This lake....’’ Azrael looked over with an amicable face, ’’There seems to be no boatman around nor there are boats. How can we take this path?"

Even though he did not smile or flatter the person, his scarred face looked gentle and even paler under the moonlight. Maybe it was his tone of speaking, Lareina thought, wondering why the man seemed so exhausted all of a sudden when he had been in such high spirits earlier.

At Azrael’s words, the coachman licked his horribly chapped lips that had been caused by his constant biting, ’’There is a way... A way... But the villagers close it when it’s nighttime. It is believed that an expert had casted a spell for the villagers. If you want to take that way, you will have to walk some distance before trying to get the villagers’ attention. Without their consent, you would not be able to step inside at all...’’

’’But brother...’’

’’Don’t ask me anything... I don’t know anything....’’ The coachman turned to flee, refusing to even look at Azrael any longer.

"Brother, wait!’’ Lareina called out to the man suddenly, ’’Would you mind relaying my words to the innkeeper?"

As she spoke, she extended her hand towards Astra, her eyes shifting to the pouch on her waist.

Astra immediately grasped the clue and handed her the pouch of soul crystals.

Lareina walked towards the coachman, ’’Brother, here... Keep this for your hardwork and tell the innkeeper I thanked him for his timely help...’’

’’Thank you. Thank you,’’ the coachman smiled, weighing the heavy pouch in his hand.

’’Ah, I forgot to ask you earlier. This river seems to be the main path to the village given how narrow the further alley is. Then why does it seem like nobody passes through this river? There is no sign of boats till a long distance ahead...?"

Unlike Azrael’s inquisitive tone, it seemed like Lareina was merely asking out of curiosity.

The coachman looked around, gulping softly before he turned to Lareina, his eyes full of pity for this kind lady who was addressing him as brother, ’’You must not go close...’’ he started, ’’They say different things...’’

The night owl screeched in some distant tree and the coachman flinched, forgetting his words.

’’Who are they? What do they say?" Lareina continued asking, her unhurried and soft words seemed to have a tranquilizing effect on people.

The coachman whispered, ’’The people. They say..."