Garden Of Poison-Chapter 202: Outside the carriage’s window

Music Recommendation: Define Dancing - Thomas Newman

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Emily’s nose was lightly brushed against the windowpane on her side of the carriage as she continued to stare into the darkness outside, as though she possessed the ability to see things there perfectly clearly. She attempted to capture the silhouettes of the trees, but each time she tried to focus on one, it swiftly passed by.

"You are gazing in the wrong direction," came Raylen’s voice from beside her, and she turned away from the window to meet his blue eyes.

Emily’s eyebrows furrowed as if in deep thought before she inquired, "Do you want me to focus my gaze on you then?"

Raylen observed her closely and remarked, "So hopeful, Princess."

Emily’s lips parted in a soft, amused laughter, and she said, "I am the proud daughter of Heaven! It is not easy to capture my attention." And although the princess confidently declared those words, she couldn’t help but be mesmerised by his eyes and leaned in for a closer look. "You know, when I was young, I wished for blue eyes too. Niyasa and Maxwell have them. Had them."

As she raised her hand, Raylen briefly wondered if she was planning to pluck his eyes out. However, her finger ended up pointing to the ceiling, and she said with a playful tone, "Can I borrow yours for an hour? I promise to return them to you."

"They aren’t as special as you seem to think," Raylen replied nonchalantly, downplaying the uniqueness of his eyes. "I am sure the sober you would agree."

Emily shook her head, and a sense of innocence radiated from her eyes. Her words, spoken softly against the quiet night surrounding them, expressed, "I think they are wonderful, like the ocean, with waves within them that seem to flow towards the centre. Breathtaking, yet carrying a hint of peril."

"Who knew you had such interest in my eyes all this time, even while you continued despising me?" Raylen quipped with an amused expression.

"That is because I am quite an insightful person!" Emily asserted, and she smiled, carefree and unguarded. "I don’t despise you. It is just that I get very annoyed every time I see you."

"I believe it is almost the same thing, but it is good this way." Raylen’s last words turned into a murmur. He continued, "I told you you were looking in the wrong direction because there are fireflies on my si—"

"WHERE?" Emily exclaimed with excitement. Eager to catch a glimpse of them, she quickly scrambled from her side of the seat to where Raylen was sitting, leaning over him to peer through the window. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the tiny insects glowing in the forest they were passing through. She whispered,

"Can we take a closer look at them?" With those words, her gaze snapped to the man whose lap her knees were settled on.

"For someone who is drunk, you are a little too energetic," Raylen responded, as he had expected that she would fall asleep on their way back to the castle. "You know, I am starting to feel hungry. It wouldn’t be good to stop now."

"You might eat the fireflies?" Emily asked, unaware that Raylen ate insects, and her face scrunched up in distaste at the thought.

Raylen’s eyes narrowed with a calm demeanour before he replied, "I might take a bite from you, Princess. Are you willing to take the risk?" He leaned closer to her with a sly smile playing on his lips.

Emily caught sight of his sharp canines, but the thought of leaving the fireflies behind made her nod enthusiastically. "Okay! Stop the carriage, quick!" she exclaimed.

A devious smile lit up Raylen’s face, and he knocked on the window in front of them and instructed, "Pull the carriage to the side."

Once the carriage came to a halt, Emily and Raylen got out. Having spent several minutes inside the carriage, illuminated by the glow of the lantern, the princess couldn’t help but be taken aback by the encroaching darkness that surrounded them. Not to mention, the previously gentle murmurs of clouds had now escalated into clashes of thunder.

"It’s not too late to return to the carriage," Raylen remarked, noticing Emily’s hesitant steps.

Even in her intoxicated state, Emily briefly hesitated when she heard the ominous rumbling of the clouds. However, upon spotting a firefly, the worry vanished, and she exclaimed, "There it is!" As she sprinted towards a tree, Raylen followed her, running his tongue across a sharp canine while his eyes glowed.

Emily stretched out her hand, but when she attempted to capture the glowing insect, her head spun, causing her to stagger backwards. Though her head felt fuzzy, her enthusiasm remained undiminished, and she made several more attempts to catch the firefly by chasing it among the trees.

To Raylen, who had leaned against a tree, this was an amusing sight, as these were new sides to the princess, which he knew would likely be buried by her usual stoic and responsible demeanour by tomorrow morning. He pulled out a cigar and began to smoke.

"Where did it go?" Emily asked, engaging in a game of hide and seek with the lone firefly that had eluded her as the rest had flown away. She turned to him. "Ray Ray..."

Raylen exhaled a plume of smoke into the air, which was quick to disperse. He then pointed with his hand holding the cigar and said, "It is on the tree to your right."

Emily turned and spotted the firefly at her eye level. Stealthily, she inched towards it, but as she was about to catch it, the firefly took flight and landed on a higher section of the tree bark.

When Emily began to lift her skirt up, Raylen, who was about to take another drag, paused, his hand held in midair, and murmured, "Please don’t tell me you are planning to climb the tree." Realising she hadn’t heard him due to being entranced by the firefly, he called out to her, "Princess Emily."

"Don’t worry!" Emily reassured him as she placed one foot on the tree. "I have everything under control!" she declared, her hands firmly grabbing the hanging branches, and she pulled herself upwards. But just when she got close to the firefly, a bolt of lightning struck somewhere nearby, and the deafening thunderclap from the clouds made her lose her balance and fall to the ground. She winced in pain, exclaiming, "Ow!"

Raylen clicked his tongue as he approached her. He questioned, "Why are you so reluctant to ask for help?" It was a common expectation for princesses to seek assistance when needed, yet this particular princess seemed determined to do everything by herself.

Emily didn’t appear to be in pain. Instead, she looked up at Raylen from where she sat, as if settling in comfortably on the ground. She replied, "Because asking for help makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because I had to learn to do things on my own. Why?"

Raylen extended his hand, offering it to her to take as if testing her once again. He said, "You will find that things become easier when you ask for help."

Emily grasped his hand and pulled herself up to stand. She saw Raylen bring his other hand before her, and she looked down. When he opened his closed fist, there was the firefly, resting peacefully on his palm. All his words flew out of her head at the sight, and she uttered, "You caught it...!"

"Want to capture it in a bottle?" Raylen asked, noticing her fascination with the insect.

Emily shook her head, saying, "It will die. This firefly deserves to—" But before she could finish her sentence, the firefly flew away, and her eyes followed its path as far as they could follow before something wet fell on her forehead. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked up.

Within seconds, rain started to pour down heavily. Emily and Raylen hurried back to the carriage, thoroughly drenched by the time they were seated inside. Fortunately for the archdemon, the princess, who had leaned against one side of the carriage, drifted into sleep, exhaustion finally claiming her mind and body.

"It is like having an excited child," Raylen murmured as he watched her sleeping form.

His blue eyes swept across her wet hair, knowing she was going to catch a cold, if not fall ill. With her face now turned towards the lantern’s light, it appeared paler than a porcelain doll’s, her lips redder with the residue of the drink staining them. Her wet hair clung to her skin, and she had huddled in the corner, as if subconsciously aware to keep her distance from him.

"Tonight was quite entertaining, Princess. Let us hope it remains just as amusing when you wake up," Raylen remarked with a subtle, wicked smile gracing his lips.

The following morning, when Emily woke up, her body ached with sore muscles. However, it was her head that bothered her the most, as it felt like it was being squeezed. The sun had risen high in the sky, and its brightness felt overwhelming.

"Princess Emily, you have finally awakened!" Julia sounded relieved, as she had been sitting in the room, anxiously waiting for the princess to wake up. "Good morning, Princess! There is still an hour before noon."

Emily’s mind felt scrambled, and she said, "I got back to the castle. When?" because she couldn’t remember the specific moment of her return.

"It was around eleven, milady. King Raylen brought you back, but you both were soaked from the rain," the maid replied, not knowing how that happened, and the princess seemed too disoriented to explain.

Emily attempted to piece together the events of the previous night, with one hand cradling her throbbing head. She knew she met Raylen at the inn, and although she couldn’t recall all the details, she did remember certain moments, and she buried her head between her pulled-up knees.

"Would you like me to draw you a bath?"

Yes, so that I can drown myself in it, Emily thought to herself.

"Yes," Emily whispered, adjusting her facial expression and lifting her head. When she placed her feet down on the floor, her nose tingled, and she sneezed, "Ah—choo!"

"Oh, my! You must have caught a cold, Princess!" Julia began to fret, feeling responsible for not being able to take better care of her.

"I am fine. Don’t worry," Emily reassured her, waving her hand dismissively at her minor sneeze.

’Don’t worry! I have everything under control!’

Kill me, Emily thought to herself. She couldn’t help but imagine that the man had likely had a ball seeing her in her drunken state last evening. How was she going to face him? But then she remembered what he had said:

’You will find that things become easier when you ask for help.’ The words echoed in Emily’s mind almost as if they were meant to comfort her, and she wondered whether he had pitied her situation and how yesterday had begun. Perhaps he wasn’t all that bad, she considered to herself.

Once she was dressed and in a presentable state, Emily walked down the stairs with her maid. Upon encountering Lauren, the head servant bowed respectfully and greeted her,

"Good afternoon, Princess Emily."

Emily gave a stiff nod, as if she believed the entire world had witnessed her behaviour after her generous consumption of liquor. As enjoyable as the experience had been, she didn’t want to touch it again, particularly not with the headache she now endured.

"Lauren, could you send a letter to Janelle to inquire about her health?" Emily requested.

"Did something happen to her?" Lauren inquired with a concerned expression, although the tone sounded nonchalant.

"No, no. She is perfectly fine. I just wanted to inquire, that’s all," Emily replied with a smile. Why was everything so bright and loud?

Lauren bowed, acknowledging the princess’s request.

"You are finally awake, Princess!"

Emily flinched at the loud voice, instantly recognising that Raylen’s voice was a full octave louder than usual. She noticed the slight raise in the head servant’s eyebrows, confirming her suspicion. She had initially planned to avoid him for the first few hours, but it was hard to escape when the man actively sought her out. When her gaze landed on him, he wore a dazzling smile that seemed poised to playfully butcher her.

"Good afternoon, King Raylen," Emily began, preparing to offer him a polite bow, but before she could, she heard Raylen say,

"Aw, what happened to Ray Ray?" Raylen teased in a disappointed tone. This was enough for the lingering embarrassment to fully catch up with Emily.

Emily turned to Julia, who promptly took the cue and left the room. Seeing this, Lauren also departed.

"Can you whisper, please..." Emily requested, her tone hushed. And she silently added to herself, also forget everything that happened yesterday!

"Your head must be pounding," Raylen observed. "I told you we should leave, but you insisted on staying. I must say, you are an entirely different person when intoxicated. It was a treat," he added with a smile, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Speaking of treats, you agreed to let me drink your blood."

"I think you must have dreamt it," Emily quickly countered in a hushed voice.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Raylen wagged his finger in playful admonishment. "It is quite rude to go back on your word, Princess. Very unprincess-like. If it helps, I would be happy to tell you when we discussed it. In any case, you should hurry along now. You are expected."

Emily frowned before asking, "Expected?"

"Your suitor is here to meet you."