Garden Of Poison-Chapter 253: News at Versailles

Lady Sophia hurried further inside the Blackthorn Palace. Knowing where she would find the individual she sought, she made her way to the drawing room and, upon entering, immediately caught sight of the short, red-headed woman, who was holding a glass of liquor in her hand.

"Mother Queen!" Lady Sophia exclaimed, her voice laced with anxiousness. The sudden outburst caught the older woman by surprise, causing her to startle and inadvertently spill the drink she was holding.

"Sophia?" The Mother Queen’s eyebrows knit together in a mix of confusion and concern. Setting her drink aside, she rose to her feet and inquired, "How and when did you return?"

Still standing by the door, Lady Sophia replied with exasperation, "It was that damned Devil! I’ll explain everything later. But first, we need to contact King Raylen right away to get an update on Emily," her voice ending in impatience.

"What happened to Emily?" the Mother Queen asked, moving briskly towards the entrance of the drawing room, her steps quickening with worry. As Lady Sophia appeared to be taking her time, almost as if she were still processing the answer, the Mother Queen’s concern deepened. "Sophia!"

"Yes," Lady Sophia answered, coming back to her senses. She said, "Emily’s corruption finally caught up to her. She was in such a fragile state before I returned here."

"Has the corruption stopped?!" the Mother Queen inquired urgently, and Lady Sophia nodded in response.

"Yes... King Raylen said that, in order to stop the corruption, he—he marked her."

The Mother Queen’s eyebrows arched in surprise. Meanwhile, Lady Sophia continued, "I don’t know what the Devil was doing there, but we need to make sure Emily is doing alright and check if she is awake."

Her granddaughter formed a soul bond with the Archdemon? Knowing that Raylen came from a powerful bloodline and Emily’s fragile condition after Nathaniel severed their bond, which had left a fracture in her soul, she had considered Raylen as a potential strong pillar for her granddaughter.

It was a long shot, but she had persuaded Dante to arrange for Emily’s stay at the castle, where Raylen would be present. And now that her plan had borne fruit, a hint of satisfaction flickered in her eyes.

"Thank the Heavens, or perhaps Hell in this case, that Raylen was there to rescue Emily. The poor child must have suffered terribly," the Mother Queen expressed with deep concern. She continued, "Good thing he was there to save her with a bond."

When they stepped into the corridor together, they spotted Dante standing at the far end. There was a deep frown marring his handsome face, prompting the Mother Queen to swiftly replace the happy look in her eyes with a composed expression.

"Dante, Emily is—" Lady Sophia began, only to be interrupted by Dante, who said,

"Grandmother, make the call to the Storm Kingdom."

"Certainly," the Mother Queen replied, and they proceeded to her potion room. Once there, she skilfully combined various ingredients to create a dark mixture within a vessel and carefully set it upon the intricate pattern drawn on the table. With a single tap to the vessel, the surface of the liquid wavered briefly before it went still, and soon after, Raylen appeared within it.

"Is Emily safe?" was Dante’s immediate query upon Raylen’s appearance, to which Raylen responded with a nod.

"She’s currently resting. She lost a significant amount of blood and strength earlier. It’s unlikely she’ll awaken within the next few hours," Raylen informed, though Dante was already acquainted with the effects of soul corruption.

"I heard you marked her," Dante stated with a stoic expression. His jaw clenched briefly before he continued, "You could have simply extracted the corrupted blood from her."

"I did extract the corrupted blood, but it proved ineffective. The corruption shouldn’t have persisted after the blood was removed... like it had previously," Raylen explained, observing Dante’s eyes subtly narrowing. He could tell that his fellow archdemon’s protective brother instincts were kicking in, especially in light of his next words.

"You’ve drawn her blood before?" Dante’s voice remained steady, but the look in his eyes was far from it.

"The Princess was in great pain, and she needed temporary relief from it," Raylen replied, but Dante’s scrutinising gaze showed no signs of abating.

Lady Sophia, catching up with the conversation, expressed her concern, "She was in pain? Why didn’t she confide in me?"

"She wished to spare you from worry, Lady Sophia," Raylen answered.

"Perhaps she feared you would hastily arrange a marriage for her with the first man you found suitable," the Mother Queen remarked with a frown, only to receive a scowl from Lady Sophia in response.

"You’re mistaken. I even gave my consent when I learned Emily was being courted by a man named Julius Ardolf, who is far below our social standing. It’s not my fault she chose to reject him a few days ago," Lady Sophia responded with a hint of exasperation.

Meanwhile, Dante, his gaze still fixed on Raylen, couldn’t shake off the suspicion that Raylen might have influenced Emily’s decision to turn away this Julius, well aware of Raylen’s reputation as the ’Devil’s Whisperer’.

"Let bygones be bygones," the Mother Queen dismissed the past, as she didn’t particularly care about the involvement of a third person when Raylen had already marked Emily. Sensing Dante’s gaze on her, she coughed and continued, "I mean, what is important is that our Emily is safe. At least we no longer have to worry about her heart corrupting, right?"

Dante, who had resumed staring at Raylen, remarked, "You’re fortunate I’m not there in person." Internally, he admitted that regardless of Raylen being the Devil’s son or not, he would have struggled to restrain himself from a physical confrontation for laying his hands on his innocent sister.

Despite the palpable tension, Raylen allowed himself a slight smirk in response to Dante’s comment. "I’m aware," he replied. "But I doubt your sister would appreciate it, given that she is now my soulmate."

Lady Sophia, turning to the Mother Queen with a sense of urgency, whispered, "Did you realise he’s the Devil’s son?!"

"Really? That is news to me," the Mother Queen feigned surprise. "Did you happen to ask him where he took my Pumpkin and if she’s eating well?"

Lady Sophia felt an overwhelming urge to climb to the top of the tallest tower and jump from it in exasperation at the question the Mother Queen deemed important, particularly when her daughter was in the presence of the Devil. She then directed a sharp gaze at Raylen.

Attempting to ease the tension, Raylen offered, "I apologise for my father’s actions. He probably thought he was rectifying a past mistake." He then added reassuringly, "Had I known his intentions, I would have intervened to prevent him from approaching you."

"Any chances of me being transported as well?" the Mother Queen inquired, ready to take a little vacation and also meet the Devil who stole her precious cat.

Temporarily ignoring the two women in the room, Dante addressed Raylen with a serious tone, saying, "I thought you had fortified the barriers to keep him out. Is he still there?" He wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about Emily’s new relationship with Raylen, as it introduced the Devil into the equation. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Raylen smiled, although it didn’t meet his eyes, and he replied, "Unfortunately, he hasn’t left."

"I don’t think he will," Dante stated.

"I don’t think so either, but I have my ways," Raylen remarked. "He said something about two potions that went missing from his treasure chamber."

"Migdre took only one." Dante frowned, knowing his imp wouldn’t disobey his orders. "Someone else must have stolen it."

In the Storm Castle, Viktor stood on the ground floor with a cigar between his fingers, and Celeste lit the end for him before taking a step back. His gaze drifted across the expansive garden with a vacant expression, and he said in his monotonous tone,

"You forgot to mention anything about Raylen and the Princess. Dante’s sister."

"I didn’t witness anything unusual, Master. I spent all my time in the dungeon cell," Celeste responded in a careful tone.

Viktor took a drag from the cigar and exhaled the smoke into the air. He said, "This is not a good thing, Celeste. For me or for you. You lost a wonderful opportunity by failing to seduce Raylen."

Celeste had never taken an interest in that annoying demon, and deep down, she was glad to be off the hook for now. She stayed silent, not wanting to contribute any further to the situation, knowing it had the potential to escalate into a tornado. She heard Viktor say,

"I had such plans, and now they’ve unravelled. I need Raylen in Hell. How did her soul corrupt?"

"Princess Emily?" Celeste asked and then answered, "I heard from Amara that Nathaniel rejected her."

Viktor halted mid-drag and raised his eyebrows in question. "Archdemon Nathaniel?" Celeste nodded in affirmation. "Bastard. If he had accepted her, her soul would have remained intact, and Raylen would have been persuaded to return to Hell without the need for force. Do you now grasp how one individual’s actions can cause ripples?"

As silence filled the space once more, Viktor took another leisurely drag from his cigar, feeling the warmth filling the hollowness within before exhaling it slowly.

"And why did he reject her?"

"He already had someone he loved. He bonded with her," Celeste informed. Staying in the Devil’s company, her tone was no less flat than Viktor’s.

"People come to the living realm and turn into fools," Viktor stated.

"Master... are we going back to Hell?"

"We travelled so far; we might as well stay here and find the thief who stole the second potion." Viktor’s eyes narrowed. Or, better yet, see if what took place tonight can be undone, he thought to himself.

Far away from the castle, a figure shrouded in a hooded cloak walked silently on the cold, snow-covered ground of a deserted alley.

"Did it work?" another individual, who had been patiently waiting in the alley, asked.

The newcomer glared, his words seething with frustration, "I almost had her. I touched her soul... it was so beautiful and ready for the taking." Kicking a nearby garbage can in a fit of anger, he said, "Something happened in there, because just as I touched it, it slipped through my fingers!"

"I can go take a look—"

"No. The Devil is in the castle..." he murmured, knowing there was no way he could get near Emily now. However, there were other things that could be done. "Perhaps we should seize the opportunity while they’re not in Hell." He smiled. "It is time to steal the other soul in Hell I’ve been waiting to revive."