Garden Of Poison-Chapter 248: Hallow Day at Storm

Upon the arrival of the much-anticipated Hallow’s Day, the castle had been meticulously prepared down to the finest details, including the placement of flowers in the vases and the positioning of candles placed within the chandeliers, which were to be ignited later in the evening when the celebration commenced. Distinguished guests from far-away places had already begun to make their entrance in their fancy carriages.

Emily stood in front of one of the castle’s windows, watching as people arrived.

"Only three in the afternoon, and the guests are quickly filling in," Lady Sophia stated as she stood by the other window in the corridor. "It looks like many prominent families will be in attendance. Where is King Raylen?"

"How would I know?" Emily murmured.

"Yes, how would you know?" Lady Sophia responded. Earlier, when they had arrived in the dining room that morning, Lauren had informed them that Raylen wouldn’t be joining them as he had left early for some work.

Emily noticed her mother craning her neck as she attempted to catch a glimpse of the guests. Curious, Emily inquired, "What are you looking at?"

Lady Sophia murmured, "I thought I saw a decent-looking gentleman."

Emily looked surprised and asked, "Did someone catch your fancy, Mother?" To think that the Storm Kingdom’s atmosphere would change her mother’s mindset, she pondered silently.

"Not for me." Lady Sophia grimaced. "It is for you. Considering you have broken things off with Mr. Ardolf, even though there wasn’t anything to break. Nevertheless, I thought it would be wise to seek out a suitable suitor for you. Imagine having to spend the evening alone?"

Emily stared at her mother, because wasn’t that what she was going to do this evening?

"I’ll go and greet the acquaintances I know," her mother said, exiting the corridor.

Emily heard music drifting through the corridors from the floor below, setting the ambience for the evening. She pondered Raylen’s whereabouts. Silently, she hoped the protective barrier remained intact after the archdemoness’s escape.

She was relishing the music when her enjoyment was abruptly interrupted by a loud crash coming from the nearest room to where she stood. Swiftly turning around, she could hear shuffling noises behind the closed door and apprehensively came to stand before it. Lightly knocking on the door, she inquired,

"Is everything alright in there?" Simultaneously, she heard another crash, prompting her to open the door. Her eyes landed on the imp, and she exclaimed, "Migdre?"

Seaweed entangled the imp’s foot, and it was attempting to shake it off. It bowed hastily and addressed Emily, saying, "Princess Emily! I’ve brought the Potion of Caution, just as Master Dante instructed."

Emily observed the imp as it clumsily reached into its pocket, retrieving a flask filled with a murky green liquid. "Thank you for delivering it so soon," she said, expressing her gratitude. With this potion, the castle would become the safest place once its protective properties spread throughout.

After successfully removing the seaweed, the imp, Migdre, sighed in relief.

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" Emily kindly offered. "There are freshly baked biscuits you might enjoy."

The imp couldn’t help but think, ’It is always the good ones who are first to die.’ Being a creature of its kind, it could see the decaying state of Emily’s soul. "A short break should be fine," it replied, transforming into a ten-year-old boy.

Emily smiled. "Follow me," she said, tucking the flask safely into her pocket. As they walked along, she inquired, "How are Brother Dante and Anna?"

"Well. Preparing for the baby to come. Painting room, getting toys, clothes. Lots of clothes," the imp replied, sticking close to Emily as this was not its master’s territory but the other archdemon’s abode.

"Do you happen to know where Niyasa is?" Emily asked, worried about her sister. However, the imp only shook its head. "I see..." When one of the servants passed by, she stopped them and took the entire tray before sending the servant away.

Migdre wasted no time, immediately devouring the biscuits, munching and crunching on the snacks as though it had been left starving. But it was famished from its arduous journey and its swim through the sea to enter the Storm Kingdom before getting ensnared by seaweed.

As Migdre wolfed down biscuits in the castle, back in Hell, Raylen’s cat found her own form of entertainment by playfully nudging some flasks to the ground, watching with fascination as the spilled potions sizzled and produced a trail of smoke.

Viktor, who had returned to the tower after a stroll, was alerted by the sound of shattering glass, and Celeste, who had walked one step behind him, frowned upon hearing the noise emanating from the Devil’s precious chamber.

"Open the door," the Devil commanded, his face grimmer than before.

Celeste hastened to the door and quickly pushed it open. And just as her eyes fell on the mess strewn across the floor, she felt her soul sink. She promptly moved aside when Viktor came to stand at the room’s entrance.

The Devil’s face contorted into a scowl, and he asked in a low voice, "Who dared to enter this room when they know better than to step in here?" freeweɓnovel.cøm

"I will try to find ou—"

"Meow," Alice meowed from a nearby shelf, her white tail swishing before she gracefully jumped onto the ground. She approached the Devil and affectionately rubbed her body against his leg.

Celeste could tell that the Devil was fuming as the temperature in the room dropped lower than before. She didn’t move from where she stood, aware of the tension in the air. If it hadn’t been a cat, Viktor would have thrown it into the fire by now. But instead, he bent down, gently picking it up in his arms.

"And who let you in, Alice?" Viktor inquired in a subdued tone. He walked among his shelves, his brooding eyes scanning the items that lay shattered on the floor. He softly hummed. "Two flasks are missing from here."

"Two...?" Celeste asked in surprise.

"The revealing and the longevity." Viktor’s eyes shifted to a fiery red hue that could scorch anyone. Because it wasn’t just two, but twenty more flasks that had fallen to the ground. "Now, who is the thief? Who needs these potions, Celeste?" However, the archdemoness had no answer to offer.

"Only one has the nerve to steal from me," Viktor declared, his eyes narrowing. "Prepare the closest portal to the Storm Kingdom. It is time for a personal visit."

Celeste clenched her hands tightly before she mustered the courage to speak. "Master... the portal won’t open directly inside the kingdom. We will need to use a ship to travel there."

Viktor turned to look at her, his expression unyielding. "What are you waiting for, then?"

Back in the Storm Castle, Emily watched the imp voraciously stuff its face, pushing the biscuits into its mouth as if afraid that someone would steal them if it didn’t gobble them quickly. When she heard approaching footsteps, her attention momentarily shifted, but when she returned her gaze to the imp, the creature had disappeared, along with the tray.

"Migdre?" Emily whispered the imp’s name, wondering where it went.

"Princess Emily." It was Westley who had arrived to stand before her, and the demon cast a glance behind her, detecting the lingering scent of an imp. "Your mother has summoned you."

Emily nodded and followed him to the place where the guests had begun to gather and engage in conversation.

"There she is." Emily heard her mother’s voice, and Westley departed to attend to another guest. "This is my daughter. Emily Blackthorn," she introduced to a couple who stood with her, both of whom appeared to be around her mother’s age. "Emily, these are Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin."

Emily politely bowed to the couple. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin."

"What a lovely daughter you have, Sophia," Mrs. Baldwin praised upon her eyes falling on Emily. "Very beautiful."

"It is good that we finally met here after so many years," Mr. Baldwin remarked, before turning his attention to Emily. He said, "Your mother’s family and ours have been close acquaintances for a long time. We frequently meet your aunt Cecelia, but with Lady Sophia moving to Versailles after her marriage, it has been challenging to stay in touch."

Lady Sophia smiled warmly and responded, "Indeed, it is good that we meet here at such an opportune time," her eyebrows raised slightly, "especially with our children present."

"Of course," Mr. Baldwin agreed, then turned his attention to a young man and called out, "Maverick!"

The young man possessed green eyes, and his blond hair was parted slightly at the centre before being neatly combed back. Mr. Baldwin said, "This is Maverick, my son."

Emily offered a polite bow to the young man as he looked at her. Stepping closer, he picked up her hand, bending down to raise it to his lips and place a kiss on the back of it.

"A pleasure to be meeting you."

Although Emily knew that this was a customary greeting in the Storm Kingdom, she couldn’t help but sense that the young man had already begun to take a particular interest in her. Not to mention, she caught her mother looking at her with an approving smile. Mother!

"Maverick Baldwin. And what is your lovely name, milady?" he inquired, his tone filled with charm and curiosity. Before she could withdraw her hand, the surrounding crowd fell momentarily silent.

As Emily turned to see what had caused the sudden silence, her gaze landed on Raylen, whose cool blue eyes locked onto hers from a distance. And despite everyone’s birthday wishes for him, his eyes fell on her hand, and she quickly pulled it away from the man’s grasp.

"Let us go and offer our wishes to the King," Mr. Baldwin suggested to his wife. Lady Sophia accompanied them, while Emily remained in her spot with the young man named Maverick beside her.

She saw the guests hovering around Raylen to offer their wishes and speak to him as he moved through the crowd. When he was walking by the area where she and Maverick were standing, the two of them offered him a respectful bow.

"Wishing you many more lives, King Raylen," Maverick offered his well wishes.

However, before Emily could convey her own greetings, Raylen had already taken a couple of steps away, seemingly uninterested in her wishes. She bit her lip, then quickly moved to stop him, saying, "King Raylen," and walked closer to him. She continued, "A parcel you requested arrived several minutes ago."

Raylen’s piercing blue eyes shifted to look at her, causing Emily’s heart to momentarily pause. There was an unusual seriousness in his gaze, something she wasn’t accustomed to, as she had grown used to his playful side.

"Cellar."

Raylen offered no further words. He continued to smile as others along his path greeted and extended their wishes to him. The cellar? Emily asked herself. She waited for the guests to return to what they were doing before quietly excusing herself and leaving the hall.

Descending down the spiral stairs, Emily reached the lower level to catch sight of Raylen, whose back faced her. She silently made her way to where the liquor bottles were neatly stacked on racks.

She waited for him to turn, and when he did, he pulled a bottle from one of the racks, and she heard him say, "I have been saving this bottle for the past few decades. For a special occasion." With a deft motion, he removed the cork. "It is one of the finest liquors, crafted with unspeakable ingredients," he shared with her.

"Happy—"

"Not yet," Raylen interrupted her.

"You don’t want me to offer you my wishes," Emily murmured with a puzzled frown.

"I don’t recall saying that," Raylen responded with a pointed look. He pulled out his handkerchief from his coat and moistened it with liquor. Walking towards her, he said, "Imagine it is your birthday, and you receive a gift, but someone tries to open it for you. And though it might sound silly, it does annoy me."

Emily felt Raylen gently lift her hand, and he proceeded to carefully wipe the back of her hand and fingers with the handkerchief. Was he... trying to disinfect her? There was a subtle glare hidden behind his eyes, but Emily understood that it wasn’t directed at her. This was Raylen being jealous.

—

With the ball that is going to begin tomorrow, feel free to drop the dress you would wear if you were to be invited ^.~