Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride

The smile on Moira's face faded gradually, ''It was Lady Lareina,'' she lowered her head.

Azrael brows furrowed, ''Take rest. I will see you later,'' he had just taken a step when the woman called him from behind.

''Your Highness, you shouldn't.''

Azrael halted in his tracks and turned towards her.

Moira bit her bottom lips but after a while, she softly sighed, ''I was not intending to say this initially. But seeing you head over to meet Lady Lareina, I cannot help but be afraid that you will worsen her condition.''

''What did you say?" Azrael took a step towards her, his face dark.

''Lady Lareina looked terribly weak.''

Azrael's brows furrowed and he immediately turned to leave.

''But she was also crying. She seemed terribly upset as she fought with the guards, and then with me,'' Moira blurted.

''What did you say to her?" Azrael looked at her from above his shoulder.

''She seemed deeply saddened after seeing her clansmen in such a state and she… seemed to blame you for it.''

Azrael stood there, seemingly unmoved.

''Your Highness, she was upset that you touched her when she was not conscious. And all I said was that you are her husband. That worsened her mood. She cried even more. I panicked, in fact, I wanted to call you as I did not know what to do but then she ran away saying that she doesn't want to see your face,'' Moira's voice turned softer as she spoke, ''She kept mumbling how it is sickening as she ran away.''

Azrael's fingers turned into a fist and his stance to walk out of the room gradually loosened up.

Moira looked at his back, a faint glint in her eyes, ''But…''

''What is it?" Azrael's voice was cold.

''Your Highness, I don't know if I should say this…'' Moira clutched the medicine bowl closer to her chest.

''Speak.''

''Lady Lareina…'' Moira started softly, ''…did not leave in the direction of her bedchamber.''

…

Lareina reached her bedchamber on unsteady steps. She had just stepped inside when the sound of urgent footsteps made her turn to the door.

An unfamiliar maid stood at the doorsteps, panting, ''My Lady, Rosie…''

Lareina's expressions underwent a significant change, ''What happened to Rosie?"

''I saw her being beaten up… Near the eastern chambers… I…'' the maid was visibly panicked, rendering her unable to speak coherently.

Before she could finish speaking, Lareina rushed out of her room.

The maid glanced in the direction Lareina had left in and her face underwent a subtle change as her eyes gleamed.

The eastern chambers were in a completely opposite direction from her room and Lareina could not tell how long it took her to reach there.

She leaned back onto a wall for support but her body trembled as it came in contact with the cold obsidian.

''Rosie…'' Lareina called out as she walked forward, ''Rosie…?"

She had just started to venture forward deeper into the eastern chambers when her footsteps halted, an ominous feeling rising in her chest and a hint of suspicion flickered in her eyes.

That's not right. How could Rosie be bullied?

Azrael had given Rosie his token this morning.

And Lareina had caught sight of the wide variety of dishes on the table when she regained consciousness today. That only meant that Azrael's token was not ineffective.

With the presence of that token, not a lot of people would dare to offend Rosie easily.

The maid who brought the news to her seemed to have excluded any details when she talked and although Lareina was not familiar with all the demonesses in the place, the face and dialect of that maid seemed to differ vastly from others.

Lareina turned around to leave without a moment's delay but suddenly a black cloth covered her vision.

The moment before her vision went dark, she caught sight of a sturdy arm, and on one of the fingers of the hand rested a ring that wrapped around the finger like a vine.

''Who…'' Lareina had just opened her mouth, someone struck her neck and her consciousness gradually faded.

Lareina did not know how much time had passed by the time she opened her eyes again.

She could feel a dull ache on the back of her neck and a coldness that seeped through her back.

She was lying on the ground and the place was enshrouded in darkness.

Lareina propped her arm on the floor, struggling to get up.

She stood up and took support of the wall to step forward.

With every step, she could not help but look around.

Only the pale glow of moonlight reflecting on the obsidian surface at little distances lightened her path and Lareina followed it.

But after she walked for a while, she still did not find a way to leave.

Rather as she stepped forward, she could hear some noises.

Lareina halted in her tracks, hesitating for a moment before she pressed her ear to the walls.

And the sound of mournful cries pierced through her ear.

She retreated a few steps, visibly startled.

A wild idea formed in her mind and her feet moved on their own.

Lareina followed the trail of voices and that led her to a cage in the middle of a dark room.

The only source of light in the place was the moonlight that entered the room through the small window high up.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, the people in the enormous cage turned silent. They could see her only shadow from where she stood.

Lareina stepped inside, her eyes fixated on the people who were thrown inside the cage like animals, and her trembling fingers curled into a fist.

''Princess…?" A hoarse voice called out to Lareina once she stepped closer to them.

''Princess… Princess..'' Some others echoed.

They probably knew her, she assumed. And perhaps she knew some of them too.

But she had no way to tell. Their faces were filled with bloody gashes that made them look terrifying yet pitiful at the same time.

''Your Highness, it is… you indeed,'' a soft hoarse voice sounded from the corner of the cage.

It was the same person who had called out to her once.

Lareina looked at the man who seemed to be in the worst condition. There wasn't a single part of his body that was untainted by blood.

She looked at him closely, suppressing the dizziness that swam in her head until recognition struck her, ''General.''