Garden Of Poison-Chapter 234: Consequences

Emily attempted to conceal the blush on her cheeks and looked away, searching for anything to look at other than his eyes. She wondered why he seemed fixated on this particular name and asked,

"Won’t just Raylen work?"

"It won’t," Raylen replied, watching her want to bury her face in the scarf wrapped around her neck. "Say it. You’ve done it before; you can do it now."

Considering that he hadn’t made any other strange requests, Emily weighed it briefly in her mind before conceding that it was just a name. Her hands tugged at the sides of her coat, and her lips parted.

"Ray... Ray, please catch me a snowflake..." she hesitantly uttered, her words barely rising above a whisper, and Raylen took advantage of the moment by saying,

"Hm? I don’t think I quite caught that."

As Emily’s gaze shifted to look at him, he was met with her slightly narrowed eyes and pursed lips. With a hint of awkwardness, she repeated louder, "Ray Ray, please catch me a snowflake."

Raylen’s eyes lit up at her words, a warm smile spreading across his lips, and he responded, "As you wish, Princess."

Emily watched as Raylen raised his bare hand before him, and soon, a snowflake appeared right above his palm, twirling gently as it descended. It gracefully swirled, suspended in the air, allowing them to see its intricate details up close. He brought it before her, and she gazed at it with excitement. It felt like witnessing beautiful magic. Her awe was twofold—partly due to the beauty of the pristine snowflake and partly because of the archdemon’s remarkable ability.

She looked up at Raylen and asked, "May I hold it as well?"

"Sure," Raylen replied before letting the snowflake hover above her hand. He let her admire it by keeping the snowflake afloat with his powers and remarked, "It seems like you have fallen in love with the snowflake."

Emily couldn’t suppress the smile that appeared on her lips. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this excited. She uttered, "It is beautiful."

Raylen could tell that despite Emily being born as a princess, she was drawn to the simpler things in life, things she had been denied the opportunity to explore in the past.

"Thank you for bringing me here." Emily expressed her gratitude, as she hadn’t expected she would be able to witness the first snowfall, yet here she was, experiencing this moment with Raylen.

Even though Raylen liked to tease her, there were moments like these when he seemed like a considerate man. He had given her a somewhat fierce glare earlier, yet he had brought her here under the pretext of getting some fresh air when, in truth, she had only been trying to keep her distance from him. When she discreetly sneaked a glance at him, she observed him blowing smoke into the air while watching the other snowflakes fall gently around them. With his wine-red hair and a relaxed expression on his face, he stood out amidst the picturesque surroundings, looking nothing like the scenery.

"You are capable of being both nice and creepy," Emily stated, and Raylen turned to offer her a cheeky smile.

"Melting already," Raylen murmured, causing Emily’s already pink cheeks to glow even brighter. "The snowflake." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

"Oh..." Emily’s gaze shifted to her hand, watching as the snowflake slowly dissolved into the air.

But the smile didn’t leave her lips, and she was about to say something when Raylen abruptly pulled her towards him, startling her.

"We’re not alone," Raylen said in a low voice, causing Emily’s eyebrows to furrow in confusion.

Emily’s eyes scanned the surroundings, but she couldn’t spot anyone. Then a sharp twang echoed from behind them. Raylen’s eyes were quick to dart towards the source of the sound, while she barely managed to turn in time to catch sight of an arrow hurling towards them.

With lightning speed, Raylen swiftly pulled her and himself out of harm’s way, narrowly avoiding the arrow. However, more arrows followed, and a moment later, Emily found herself swaying to her right and tumbling into the frigid lake with a loud splash.

The arrows directed at them struck the earth, their tips sizzling in the ground as though infused with poison intended to weaken the archdemon.

Having used the arrows for a stealth attack due to their quieter nature, a group of demon-blooded earthlings emerged from the distant woods where they had been hiding. They advanced closer to the spot where Emily and Raylen stood just moments before.

"Did you get him?!" demanded one of the men, wanting to know if they had finally succeeded in wounding the archdemon and whoever had been with him.

"They fell in the water!" another one exclaimed, causing every eye to shift towards the surface of the water, which was still rippling before it turned still. "He should—"

A loud gunshot reverberated through the silent forest, and the one speaking crumpled to the ground. Not far from them stood a completely drenched Raylen, his gun aimed at them. Water dripped from the ends of his hair, and unmistakable annoyance marked his face as he said,

"Seriously, you guys picked the wrong time."

"Kill him!" the man who had attempted to attack him ordered his companions, and there were more than twenty of them. "Send him to Hell!"

Emily had taken cover behind a tree after Raylen had pulled them out of the icy water. She shivered, her teeth clattering from the cold, and as she peeked out from behind the tree, she observed the men relentlessly attacking Raylen, continuously firing arrows at him.

Raylen utilised the silver bullets as necessary between using his arms and legs to deliver punches and kicks to the men who seemed determined to end his life today. And though these earthlings were stronger than average men, they were still no match for the archdemon.

When another assailant attempted to stab Raylen, he and the earthling engaged in a struggle over the dagger. Raylen managed to twist the man’s hand, causing the dagger to point at his neck before forcing it to slice him from one end to the other, making the attacker bleed profusely and collapse to the ground. The fight continued, with blood spilling onto the leaf-covered ground while one of the men stealthily crept up to where Emily was standing.

Emily, who was watching Raylen fight their attackers, heard a twig snap behind her, and she swiftly pivoted on her heel to confront a man with red eyes.

Demon eyes. The detail faintly registered in her mind as the man advanced, but her realisation was cut short as he lunged at her with a poisoned dagger. Her eyes widened in alarm, and she quickly dodged, causing the assailant to plunge the blade into the tree.

"What did I do?!" Emily exclaimed, her hand hastily rummaging up the hem of her wet dress, which clung to her body.

Not having the time to retrieve her dagger as the man came right at her, Emily realised she would have to use her limbs or... a stone, she thought when her eyes fell on the ground she had been circling to evade the man.

When Emily reached down for a sharp stone to defend herself, the man seized her arm and yanked, sending them both tumbling to the ground. In their struggle, she managed to grasp the man’s hand, which tightly clutched his dagger, desperately trying to keep it away from her face.

However, the longer her fingers remained in contact with the man, the more the images of the man’s past flashed through her mind. She was snapped out of her daze by another gunshot, and she saw the man being forcefully pulled away from her and flung to the side.

"Are you alright?" Raylen inquired, kneeling down to help her sit up.

"I... who are these men? They have eyes like Brother Dante’s," Emily said, her gaze drawn to the blood dripping from the dead man’s temple. She turned to look in the direction of the lake, where she noticed the numerous lifeless bodies.

"Did you think you were the only popular person with a stalker?" Raylen quipped, smirking with a hint of amusement. He then added, "He must have tried to harm you because you were with me."

As a gentle breeze swept over their location, another shiver coursed through her body, and she said, "They didn’t appear to be ordinary earthling demons. What were they?"

"Something between the dead and the living. I personally call them nomads," Raylen replied, and he observed Emily gazing at her hands before shifting her attention to the man.

"He was a good earthling...before he turned into what he was now. I could see images of him and his past. Is it my ability?" Emily inquired, feeling her heart beginning to race faster.

However, she noticed the subtle frown on Raylen’s forehead, and he said, "It could be. Or it could be that your corruption is growing and making itself known."

In a distant land, far away from the Storm Kingdom, Nathaniel and Layla had returned to their mansion. Though they initially planned to stay until Layla’s cousin’s wedding after the conclusion of the gathering, they had to unexpectedly cut short their journey.

Currently, Nathaniel had just returned from an errand outside when the head servant informed him,

"Lady Layla hasn’t left the bedroom since the morning, Mr. Lynx."

Nathaniel promptly removed his coat, handing it to the servant, and then proceeded to their bedroom. As he pushed open the door, his eyes fell on his wife, who stood by the window.

"You should step outside of this room, Layla. You will fall sick if you stay in here," Nathaniel said as he walked towards her, but she didn’t turn to look at him. When he placed his hands on her shoulders, Layla closed her eyes. She stepped away from the window, only to be gently held back by him. "How long are you going to be upset about it? What happened is in the past, and you are my present and my future. You are the one I love."

Layla shook her head, her lips pursed, and she uttered, "But I was never your original soulmate, Nate. You severed your soulmate bond when you knew Emily was the one who was decided for you."

"And I chose you. You know that demons don’t simply accept what fate has decreed for them; they resist it," Nathaniel stated as he moved closer. However, Layla gently pushed his hands away from her shoulders so that she could turn and face him.

"And I am happy you chose me. I want to be happy... but ever since I found out the truth, it’s been hard to do that," Layla whispered. She had been overjoyed when she and Nathaniel got married; after all, they had loved each other for quite some time. But she hadn’t known it had come at Princess Emily’s expense.

The realisation had been gnawing at her mind ever since she had learned about it, and the guilt had only grown with every passing thought. To know that she wasn’t the original choice of destiny and that someone else had been intended for Nathaniel weighed heavily on her. Not to mention, she felt a deep sense of shame.

"If you are concerned about Emily, don’t be. She’s already meeting potential suitors and has moved on. You shouldn’t trouble yourself with it, Layla," Nathaniel reassured her, as the only person he cared about was his wife.

"How could you not tell me, Nate? I feel betrayed because you kept it from me. I spoke at length about our wedding to your rejected soulmate, and I have been feeling uneasy about it since. Like something is eating me alive," Layla expressed her distress, looking troubled.

"I did what I did because I love you, Layla. You are the one important to me, my soulmate," Nathaniel said before stepping towards her to console her in his embrace.

That night, when everyone had gone to sleep, Layla’s slumber was restless. She pulled away from her soulmate, opting to take a short stroll in the corridors to tire herself out for a better night’s sleep. However, as she walked down the deserted corridor, she suddenly coughed and brought her hand to her mouth. When she looked down at her hand, she noticed spots of blood...