Garden Of Poison-Chapter 228: Scent of hers

Music Recommendation: Le Cygne - Camille Saint

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Emily and the rest of the party returned to the castle after concluding their business with Mr. Hatt and his assistant. Her mother appeared as gloomy as the clouds in the sky, and she blamed it on the fatigue from the journey before heading to a room that Lauren had prepared.

Emily stood in front of a window, gazing out at the turbulent sea, and her eyes fell on Raylen’s reflection that appeared on the glass.

"You look worn out. Did Marshall’s ghost come to haunt you?" Raylen joked.

"Sort of," Emily replied with a sigh, and she turned to look at him. His coat had been removed, and he had rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt to his elbows. "Viktor sent my mother here."

"Westley informed me," Raylen replied. "You don’t seem too happy with her presence here."

"No. It’s not like that," Emily replied a bit too quickly, causing him to grin.

"It is alright to say the truth." Raylen mimicked zipping his lips. "My mother was a wonder too. She had her moods."

"My mother... She’s a good woman. But life has made her an overbearing person, as well as defensive," Emily said with a faint smile. "Also, the people in your kingdom are rude."

"That I can agree with. If you wrote down their names, I would be delighted to invite them to our slumber party," Raylen responded with a smirk. "Although I am not sure if your mother would approve of it."

"She definitely wouldn’t," Emily replied, the smile on her face growing more prominent. "How was your... inspection?"

"We retrieved some bodies, and most of the demons were sent back to Hell," Raylen answered, and after a moment, he added, "Follow me."

Emily gave him a questioning look but followed his footsteps before they entered the piano room. She asked him, freёwebnoѵel.com

"You are going to give me a piano lesson now?"

Raylen shrugged his shoulders, saying, "It does seem like an opportune time, doesn’t it, Princess? Take a seat."

Emily quietly made her way to the bench and sat down, and soon after, Raylen took a seat on her right, a different experience from when Julius had been teaching her, with just one person sitting on the bench. She saw him crack his knuckles and then place his fingers on the piano keys.

"You are playing too carefully again," Raylen pointed out, giving her a sidelong glance. "Follow my lead. Like this."

Emily’s fingers weren’t as slender and long as Raylen’s, and as she was being taught how to play the piano all over again, she became fascinated by the graceful movements of his fingers.

"You need to stretch them out so you can smoothly transition to the next key. Be swift on the keys, but not forceful," Raylen instructed her.

"Like this?" Emily inquired, her focus returning to producing the wonderful music that filled the room. She murmured with a smile, "It’s like summer."

Raylen watched Emily from the corner of his eye, noticing her trying to keep pace with him while he played the piano without having to pay attention to his fingers, as if the piece was embedded in him. Suddenly, her tranquil expression transformed, and she said,

"I found out that your birthday is in a week."

Raylen chuckled softly, his eyes still fixed on her, who remained unaware of his gaze continuing to study her. He replied, "You were bound to find out today."

"Did people ever tell you that you are a dramatic person?" Emily inquired. "Why do you always feel the need to pull my leg?"

"I don’t believe I have ever attempted that, although is that what you are suggesting I should do?" Raylen asked, his lips twisting into a smile.

Emily frowned and turned to look at him, saying, "It’s an expression. You are always poking fun at me. Even now. Why?" She then continued in a whisper, "If Mother were to witness it, it would upset her more than me."

"Don’t worry about her. I am excellent with mothers," Raylen assured her with a crooked smile.

"You mean to say you excel at charming a lot of people with your honeyed words," Emily remarked, giving him a pointed look. The man was certainly skilled in the art of persuasion.

"Is that how you perceive my words? As honeyed?" Raylen raised one of his eyebrows, his blue eyes meeting her hazel brown ones.

"To others, yes. Those directed at me have a sprinkle of lemon in them," Emily muttered, and she realised she had missed a note.

"You are playing with too much pressure," Raylen pointed out, getting up from the bench and coming to stand behind her. "Start from the beginning. The music sheet is right there."

Emily couldn’t help but notice the shift in Raylen’s tone, which had changed to a more serious one, and she wondered if this was the teacher’s side of him. She began to play slowly and heard him say,

"Lighter."

Biting her lower lip, Emily did as she was told, but somehow, the archdemon wasn’t satisfied, and he repeated, "Even lighter than that."

"Any softer, and I will be playing on an invisible piano," Emily retorted and fell silent, joined by the silence coming from behind her. Was he glaring at her? It was possible that he was glaring at her, she thought to herself.

Raylen, standing behind her, narrowed his eyes at her. He observed her fingers hovering above the piano keys, making movements that seemed to justify her reply before she cleared her throat.

"Place your fingers on the keys starting from the first line of the first page," Emily heard Raylen say, and she did as he instructed.

Then suddenly, she sensed Raylen’s head hovering above her right shoulder, and his hands encircled her, coming to rest on her own. Startled, she felt his cool breath brush against her ear before she could utter a single question.

"I am sure you can gauge the pressure of my fingertips on yours?" The words were soft and gentle, causing goosebumps to rise on her neck. "Ready?" he asked.

Soon, they began to play the piano again, and this time, Emily was guided by Raylen’s fingers as they moved through the music at a slower pace so that she could learn. She said,

"If you had agreed to teach me the first time I asked, I wouldn’t have had to learn to play it in two different ways."

"Who would have thought you would end up with a pendulum teacher? You jumped at the first opportunity that came your way," Raylen responded, and as he breathed in, he caught a whiff of that scent of hers. It wasn’t just the aroma of cake; it was mixed with a hint of perfume from when she had gone out to visit Julius, maybe.

Raylen’s blue eyes moved from the hands on the piano to look at her face. Her long lashes brushed against her cheeks as she closed her eyes for a fleeting moment, her lips slightly parted as if it helped her concentrate.

"It’s not like you arranged for another teacher and let me learn as it was," Emily replied, her focus on his fingertips pressing the backs of her fingers. She continued, "It’s not like Julius is bad at it; you just happen to be an expert with—"

Suddenly, a jarring sound from the piano filled the room as Raylen’s hand pressed down on Emily’s right one, keeping it against the keys. When she attempted to withdraw her hand, his fingers curled around hers.