Garden Of Poison-Chapter 218: Another archdemon in the kingdom

On their way to the gathering, Emily redirected her angry gaze from the front of the carriage to the window beside her in silence. She didn’t appreciate that Raylen had played the card of informing her mother about her plans to stay at her relatives’ place for a few days.

"Are you pouting?" She heard the archdemon speak beside her, refusing to grant her the peace she craved.

"I don’t pout," Emily replied tersely without looking at him.

"You sure?" Raylen probed, and Emily turned to shoot him a glare. "You don’t appear to be in a good mood. Cheer up. Everything I do is for your benefit. If you were to go with Julius right now, he would think you have forgiven him for what he said and didn’t do. This will make him work harder to gain your attention. What?" he asked innocently.

Emily clenched her jaw and warned him, "If you can be a tattletale, so can I, King Raylen." If she was going down, she was determined to take him down with her, and she saw Raylen’s eyes simultaneously brighten and narrow in response.

"Oh, Princess. You forget that you don’t have the ingredients to open a portal to Hell. Also, it would make me very unhappy, and believe me, you don’t want that," Raylen said as he smiled at her without once breaking eye contact.

"Doesn’t mean I cannot get my hands on them. You should see to it that you don’t upset me," Emily replied calmly, raising her eyebrows and showing no fear of him.

Raylen chuckled, finding her even more amusing than before, and asked, "Or what? Going to ruthlessly claw at my face like this?" He turned his cheek to reveal the darkened line that she had caused. He hit the bullseye when he detected a trace of guilt in her hazel brown eyes. With a teasing tone, he remarked, "Who is the cruel one now?"

Emily pressed her lips and replied, "If you hadn’t brought your face close to mine, it never would have happened." As if remembering the moment, the right side of her body instinctively pressed against the carriage wall.

Emily curled her fingers that rested on her lap. She was aware that if she was someone unrelated to Dante, Raylen might have killed her for her behaviour by now, but the archdemon deserved it! Did he think she was just like one of the women he toyed with and that he could take her first kiss? she questioned herself.

She began, "About my stay at—" freёwebnoѵel.com

"It appears you may not have understood my earlier words, so allow me to say it much more clearly," Raylen said with a kind smile. "The answer is no. I am confident that your family would agree as well, all for your own good."

"What harm could a week possibly do?" Emily asked, wondering why Raylen insisted on her staying in the castle, as when she first arrived, she had sensed that he was accommodating her under duress. "Is there something that I need to know?"

There was more than one reason at play. Firstly, the person who had once kidnapped Emily was likely here, and he had to keep an eye on her, even though she did a decent job of staying out of trouble herself. Secondly, he needed to keep her in close proximity for when his thirst for her blood arose. He desired to sink his fangs into her and savour that deliciously sweet blood again.

Seeing Emily’s gaze on him turn suspicious, as if she were sensing that he was hiding something, he said,

"Your abrupt change in accommodation might raise suspicion once the news about Marshall spreads throughout the kingdom, which I think has already occurred." Raylen continued to explain, "We wouldn’t want people to believe that the young lady is no longer under the king’s protection and open to potential witch-hunting, do we? Also, you will lose the remaining credibility you have with your potential future prospects."

Emily sighed, reluctantly admitting, "I hate to agree with you." However, she recognised that he was right. She then inquired, "Where is... Marshall?"

Raylen’s eyes lit up, and he asked, "Do you want to see where?"

"No," Emily replied, not wanting to see the dead man again. "I assumed you would hide his body so that no one would find it."

"I did think about it," Raylen hummed before adding, "but the perfect murder is the one before your eyes, which you could never pinpoint to the killer. Hidden in plain sight."

Once they arrived at the mansion hosting the gathering today, they exited the carriage. As Emily began to walk towards the entrance, Raylen grasped her arm to stop her.

"Where do you think you are going?" Raylen asked a startled Emily, who moved back a step. He said, "Today, you will be walking with me."

Emily smiled as her gaze locked with one of the guests who had just disembarked from their carriage. She inquired, "And what about my suitor?" She noticed Julius standing at the entrance, seemingly waiting for her to join him. He was currently engaged in a conversation with another guest.

"I don’t mean to be impolite," Raylen began as they made their way towards the mansion’s entrance, "but let me remind you that you currently have only one suitor, who needs a little competition to pull up his socks to see if he performs." He continued, "We need to raise your value to enhance your standing at the gathering, placing you back in the competition."

"You are turning me into a prized horse," Emily whispered.

"I know how people’s minds work," Raylen responded, then added, "Look at me."

"What?" Emily inquired, turning to meet his bright blue eyes.

As they walked inside the foyer, Raylen commented, "There. Now you have successfully managed to ignore Julius and direct his attention to your back."

"Don’t you think it was rude?" Emily asked him, a sense of guilt gnawing at her because she wasn’t one to ignore someone after giving them her word.

"He will live," Raylen replied nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned about Julius’s feelings.

As they continued walking through the corridors, Emily could hear people conversing about Marshall’s death. One of the women exclaimed,

"His body was discovered near Deathfall, rotten! I wonder which woman’s husband he pissed off."

"It must be one of those rats from the lowly town," commented a man standing nearby. "They should hunt down the culprits, and Senior Travis will undoubtedly see to it that the perpetrators are harshly punished."

When Emily’s hand tightly gripped Raylen’s arm, the archdemon reassured her, saying, "Calm down. No one knows you witnessed his death. Though you did hammer little Marshall."

"Is this why I am accompanying you?" Emily asked him.

"Have I ever told you how refreshing it is when you speak? It restores my faith that there are still intelligent people in the world," Raylen murmured with a smile plastered on his face. "Just enjoy your days of respite from stupidity while they last."

But apart from the obvious gossip, some attendees cast wary glances at Emily and Raylen, as if speculating that she was the reason why Marshall was dead. After all, it was a little too coincidental that the man had died shortly after rumours of yesterday’s scene in the town involving Emily had circulated. However, they weren’t the only suspects, as Emily had also been in the company of Julius. Thus, people also regarded him with questioning looks as well.

Was he the one who killed Marshall? The question lingered in the minds of those present, and just like that, Julius Ardolf turned into the prime suspect and a potential murderer in their eyes.

"Lily!" Janelle exclaimed as she appeared and greeted Emily with airy kisses on the princess’s cheeks. "Have you heard about the speculation surrounding Mr. Ardolf? People are saying that you are keeping your distance from him because of it."

This only made Emily feel increasingly uncomfortable because she knew that the man had nothing to do with it. Nor had he shown any intent to harm anyone the previous day. She shook her head and firmly stated, "His hands are clean."

"They could be, and if it is true, the poor man. I mean, people do enjoy making up stories. It looks like his reputation is taking a hit," Janelle whispered to Emily.

As the two women spent time conversing with each other and Raylen talked to two ministers just a couple of steps away from them, Emily sneaked glances in the direction where Julius stood.

As the minutes passed, Emily noticed how the people near Julius gradually moved away, the crowd around him becoming scarcer before eventually ignoring him altogether. He politely smiled when people looked in his direction, but those individuals merely stared before turning away, causing his smile to falter. Emily could see that he was unaware of the rumours circulating about him, and she could tell he was making a concerted effort to maintain his composure, which she suspected would eventually break.

"Lady Janelle, I would like you to meet someone." Mr. Hurbert approached her friend and led her away.

Emily walked over to where Raylen stood and patiently waited for the ministers to conclude their conversation and leave, which they eventually did. She leaned in closer to him and whispered, "We need to do something."

Raylen’s blue eyes locked onto hers, and he asked in a nonchalant tone, "About what?"

"About the rumour Julius is getting dragged into," Emily replied with furrowed eyebrows. "He had no part in Marshall’s death."

"He’s courting a woman of high status. I assume he’s aware there are pros and cons to everything," Raylen replied, raising the glass he had been holding and taking a sip. "Had he been firm with the dead man, perhaps it wouldn’t have come to this."

Emily shook her head because she knew how it felt to be isolated and recognised that only someone who had experienced it could truly understand. She expressed, "I am upset by our conversation yesterday, but I am not so upset to want to see him being mistreated. He doesn’t deserve it."

"You make a fine princess with such strong morals," Raylen praised her, and Emily only stared at him in response. "It wouldn’t be wise for you to approach him."

"Is there a way to shift the blame away from him then? To someone deserving of it, rather than someone who is innocent?" Emily asked him with concern evident in her voice.

Raylen gazed into her eyes, full of worry for the earthling. She cared a little too much. He said, "Unfortunately, I am unable to remember who the guilty ones are."

"I will give you my blood," Emily suggested in an attempt to jog Raylen’s memory, and his lips twisted into a smile as he replied,

"I guess there is one that can be used for that purpose."

Emily noticed Raylen’s lingering gaze and followed his line of sight to where a female guest stood, whom she had never seen before. The woman had light ash-coloured hair neatly tied in a tight bun, and her eyes reminded the princess of Westley.

"One of your playmates?" Emily inquired.

Raylen chuckled and replied, "Something like that. I will be back in a moment. Be a good cat and stay in the room."

Emily watched Raylen approach the woman, and she caught the woman’s gaze briefly shifting to her before falling back on Raylen.

The woman offered Raylen a bow even before he came to stand before her, and he remarked, "I didn’t know you were looking for an earthling husband, Celeste. I have some outstanding candidates in mind for you."

"You have been summoned by the Devil to return with me to the underworld," the archdemoness, Celeste, replied in a monotonous voice. She looked a little fatigued after the long sea journey to the Storm Kingdom.

Raylen smiled at the archdemoness. "Unfortunately, I have only just begun having fun, and you will once again have to return empty-handed."

Celeste’s eyes shifted back to Emily, and she inquired, "Is that Dante’s infamous sister? You seem friendly with her. Come with me, and I won’t report this to the Devil."

"Is that a hint of jealousy that I detect?" Raylen teased with a grin.

The female demon disregarded his words and stated firmly, "There’s nothing for you in the living realm. Your place is in Hell."

"Everyone has their own personal hell," Raylen remarked with a smile before suggesting, "Why don’t you get a drink, relax for a while, and then make your way back to the underworld while I am still feeling hospitable?"

Celeste wore a grim expression, well aware that Raylen wouldn’t come with her easily, but she had a mission to fulfil, and she was determined not to return without her fellow archdemon, who hadn’t set foot in Hell for aeons. Raylen was stronger than her, but she wasn’t some lowly demon. She spoke with determination, saying,

"You leave me no choice."

Upon hearing her words, the playful look in Raylen’s eyes shifted to one of seriousness. He stated, "I know I am amazing, but Viktor makes it sound as though Hell doesn’t function without me."

"Your rightful place is in Hell, not in the living realm, Ray," Celeste reiterated firmly.

"You should know by now that no one controls me," Raylen replied, tilting his head.

"I know. That is why I decided to take another approach," Celeste responded.

At the same time, Emily, who had been quietly observing Raylen talking with the woman, was startled when someone behind her greeted her loudly.

"Princess Emily, how wonderful to see you! I wasn’t expecting to find you here."

Emily’s heart nearly slipped from her chest, and those nearby turned their heads in her direction. When she turned to face the person who had greeted her, her eyes landed on the familiar face of a woman who had previously attempted to capture her eldest brother’s attention.

"Amara..." Emily whispered.

Amara wore a broad smile and remarked, "I didn’t expect the Princess of Versailles to be attending this gathering. I mean, there should be a line of men waiting to see and speak with you."

"Princess of Versailles?" asked one of the guests in the room. "Like the Blackthorn one?"

"Isn’t her last name Thorn?" another guest added.

"Did you finally give up on my brother after learning he has a soulmate, who isn’t you?" Emily pointedly inquired of Amara, who was purposely speaking loudly to garner attention.

A bitter expression crossed Amara’s face upon being reminded that all her past efforts had ultimately failed. She replied, "It appears that our families aren’t destined to be united. My brother, Nathaniel, rejected you as well."

"Isn’t Lady Emily a distant niece of King Raylen? Does this mean that the Storms and Blackthorns are siblings?" someone else asked, prompting Amara to turn her attention to the man.

"Siblings?" Amara scoffed. "Archdemon Raylen is no relative of hers." She dismissed the notion with a hint of disdain.

A couple of gasps escaped from the individuals in the room, and they stared at Emily with the same scrutinising gazes that they had previously turned on Julius. The revelation left Julius taken aback, and he glanced back and forth between the king and Emily.

"They were never related?"

"Is she one of his..." a voice trailed off in the room, and Emily’s eyes began to turn red at the insinuation.

Celeste watched Emily with a blank expression, without a care for her plight, as the woman didn’t hold any significance for her. Meanwhile, Amara asked Emily,

"Princess Emily, why did you fabricate such a lie? Was it because you were—"

A sigh emanated in the room, followed by the sound of fingers snapping, which abruptly culminated in Amara exploding into a pool of blood on the ground. Before Celeste could react with an attack or capture him, Raylen trapped her within a circle of markings he had drawn when the demoness had turned to look at Emily. With yet another snap of his fingers, the archdemoness vanished from everyone’s sight.

The individuals in the room were left in stunned silence, not breathing a word after witnessing the king’s astonishing display. Raylen smiled kindly at the crowd and inquired,

"Anyone else have an opinion? Please feel free to share."

None of those present harboured a death wish, and they sealed their lips shut more firmly than ever before. They remained rooted to their spots in a state of shock, breathing cautiously, as if making even the slightest noise might draw the king’s attention and result in them being the next ones sent to Hell.

"No one?" Raylen asked in a tone of disappointment. "Well then, carry on. Enjoy the gathering. And have the floor cleaned up."

The music resumed playing in the room, and the guests tried hard to avoid looking in Raylen’s or Emily’s direction, nor discussing them as they resumed their attempts to enjoy the rest of the day.

Emily left the room, and Raylen caught up to her. She said, "I told you the truth was going to come out one day."

"And I was still enjoying it," Raylen replied with a smirk. "It seems you are always in the spotlight, but if it helps, no one is thinking about Julius being a murderer now," he added, causing Emily to give him a speechless look. "I said if it helps."

Emily felt a headache coming on, and when a passing servant carried a tray of glasses filled with liquor, she picked one up and gulped it down. She mused, "I knew she was a troublesome lady, but I didn’t expect to see her here. It’s as if she came to remind me—"

"They were here for me," Raylen interjected, and he inquired, "Another glass?"

Emily quietly glared at him. "No," she replied firmly. She then asked, "They were from the underworld, sent to take you back down?"

"Mm," Raylen responded, his demeanour remaining calm.

Emily said, "They seem quite determined to take you back. Thankfully, it wasn’t like that with Brother Dante."

Raylen remarked in a nonchalant tone, "Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the Devil as their father."