The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 719: most squatters are shameless creatures

Chapter 719: most squatters are shameless creatures ƒreewebɳovel.com

While we were walking toward the royal family quarters, the shapeshifters were rounding up the Prince’s family, including the Prince’s children, in the reception room.

"Over here, Your Majesty," someone led us to the room, and I had to take a double look because I recognized the shapeshifter mana, but the person looked like a druid.

When I arched my brow, the shapeshifter met my eyes briefly and grinned sheepishly. Oh-ho; it seemed like not all of them acting like Heraz. I swept my gaze around the hallway and found that the shapeshifters were all taking the shape of druids.

They seemed to react shyly when I walked past, bowing their heads half in embarrassment. I glanced at their boss beside me, and Natha gave a little shrug. "I thought it would give more impact," he said. "You don’t mind, do you?"

"No," I chuckled. It was more fascinating seeing the shapeshifters getting flustered when I looked at them closely.

But I patted my cheeks before we entered the reception room, where I was greeted by the scene of four people in their nightrobes and coats huddled on one couch. They were not tied up, but none of them seemed to have any interest in standing up and running.

Well, perhaps the interest was there, but the interest to stay alive was greater.

They were all pale, the parents and their two children--I said children, but the younger sister was already nineteen. Their eyes darted around, glancing at the ’druids’ guarding all exit points and standing behind the couch.

Ah...they looked like people who knew they were doing something wrong.

Normally, when a group of people barged into your room, you would get angry. Scared, yes, but also angry. Wronged. Especially people who had been sitting near the top of the pyramid.

But with all these ’druids’ around them, they looked like a thief getting caught red-handed.

I see...so that was your objective, my Lord? Natha smiled deeply as if to answer my thought and walked toward the couch in front of the one occupied by the royal family. He did not sit there, however, just taking out a handkerchief and laying it in the middle of the empty couch, before bowing at me.

Very...performative, my Lord.

As I took a seat on the couch, the four humans followed me with their eyes. They should know by then that I was in a position of authority. Was it because of that, or was it because I looked more like a human than a druid--They started to stir.

"W-what is this?" the middle-aged prince asked aggressively. "Who are you?!"

I wasn’t even fully seated yet, dude...

The shapeshifters in druid form all took a step forward, and the Prince flinched. The wife grabbed his arm, between annoyed and terrified.

"Hey, I’m just trying to ask, but..." I tilted my head. "You’re not stupid, are you?"

The royal couple looked utterly insulted, but before they could say anything, the daughter, sitting on the left side of the prince, spoke first. "F-Father, I think they are...the one who sent us that notice--"

"Shut up!" the Prince glared at the daughter, who was immediately flinching and compressed herself, as if she wanted to curl.

"Oh, at least your daughter is smarter than you," I glanced at the prince’s slightly raised hand. "But you know..."

I pulled the daughter to an armchair using the vine of a potted plant on the side table, and had Jade slap the prince’s cheek with a colorful wing.

"Kyaaah!" the wife shrieked in surprise while the prince was stunned by the slap.

[Bad man! Bad father!] Jade kicked the slapped cheek as a bonus before flying back to my shoulder.

"I hate parents who abuse their children," I said calmly. Or I tried to, but my voice came out sharp and cold.

It seemed like the investigation was true; the coward prince liked to project his stress and insecurity to the people he deemed weaker and beneath him, including his daughter.

My parents did not hit me, but when I learned more stuff while living in the hospital, I found out that neglect and verbal attacks were also part of abuse. Perhaps that was why I got triggered that much more, even though I was already pissed the moment I step into the palace.

The prince looked like he wanted to glare, but ultimately realized we were stronger. He grasped his cheek and acted like we had been wronged. "Kkh..." he whined and hugged his wife and son, as if he were a good father who wanted to protect his family.

What a joke.

"I heard you’re just a coward, but I see you’re worse," I clicked my tongue. "Thank you, though."

The prince blinked. "What..."

I leaned back and exhaled slowly, letting my tensed lips relax. "Thank you for shedding me of any guilt."

Like Natha said, the prince was not the one who attacked the palace in the past. I had thought that maybe they couldn’t do anything because they were afraid of the Empire. If the prince immediately explained this to me and expressed how sorry he was, or how much he wanted to comply with the demand stated in the notice but had to think about his citizens’ fate, I would have understood.

Even if it was a lie just to get out of the situation, I would have felt a bit guilty about kicking them out of the place they had considered home.

But thanks to this brief but clear interaction, my heart felt lighter.

The prince swallowed and squeaked. "What...what are you trying to do?"

I frowned and replied coldly. "Why are you asking again when I generously sent you a week of notice, huh?" looking at the middle-aged man, my tone dropped lower. "Something that your grandpa or whatever can’t even give mine."

Again, the prince flinched and they were all turned even paler. No matter how stupid they were, they must have understood who I was by then.

"Are...are you...going to kill us?" the son, who was supposed to be the next lord, asked with a shaking voice. I felt like he inherited his father’s personality too, coupled with how the wife seemed to be very protective of him.

Just seeing how differently they treated their son and their daughter already told me everything I needed to know.

"Don’t lump us with your filthy family," I hissed. "If we wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead by now."

"Urk--"

"Haa..." I had to close my eyes as my mind was filled with the thought of razing this place to the ground. But if I were to do that, it would be no different from what the humans did. "I wanted to talk because I thought you might have a semblance of remorse, but..."

The prince immediately argued to defend himself. "B-but it wasn’t me! It wasn’t us! It’s--"

"It’s your family!" I slammed the coffee table between us. "And you still stay here, knowing full well what happened in the past! This room--" I spread my arms before slamming the table again. "This is supposed to be my great-grandparent’s room. Your daughter’s room was where my grandmother used to live!"

I wasn’t planning to go off when I started this raid. Maybe a little bit, but even then, it was planned to be performative. Unknowingly, as I entered this space that used to be where my kin lived, the buried emotions wriggled to the surface. The whispers of the past seeping within the palace foundation when all I could see were human realm-styled decorations were breaking my heart gradually.

Perhaps that was why. I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath while my little companions tried to soothe me. [Papa...] Jade nuzzled my neck while Ignis gently circled my waist with its flaming tail. Shiny rubbed my palms while letting out a sad noise, even though the reddened marks already healed on their own.

"I’m...I’m sorry..." the daughter, who had been quietly sitting on the armchair alone, lowered her head and apologized with a trembling voice.

From my experience, I could sense the sincerity in her voice, and since Natha did not scoff in disdain, it would mean that she actually felt remorse. At least, she also felt sorry in her thoughts, and not just in her lips.

Her family could follow her example, but they just glanced at each other while pressing their lips. Even without Natha telling me what they were thinking, I could see it already.

How exhausting. But again, it did lighten my heart and freed me of any guilt.

"Haa..." I shook my head and sighed. "At least the princess seems decent, so I won’t kill you even though I want to."

Well--I said that, but we never planned to execute them in the first place.

The wife and the son immediately looked relieved while hugging each other. "T-thank you! Thank you, Mist--"

"Your Majesty," Natha cut them.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Haa...no hesitation for the glazing, huh? I guessed they just wanted to live. It was certain that the prince wouldn’t be able to save them anyway.

I had no idea how much I had sighed ever since entering this room, but I did again. "Since you’re so stupid, I’ll just spell out what you should do, okay?" I narrowed my eyes at the prince, who looked like he wanted to cry and throw a tantrum. "Listen well..."