Garden Of Poison-Chapter 269: Who baited whom

Having not expected to cross paths with Julia here, out of all places, left Emily in a state of shock. Despite her surprise, she quickly alerted Raylen while keeping her eyes fixed on the direction in which her former maid had disappeared.

Raylen promptly left the commoners’ side and approached Emily. He asked, "Are you sure that was her?"

Emily turned to Raylen and nodded. "That was definitely her," she confirmed while raising the handkerchief she had picked up.

Raylen stated, "Let us catch her then."

Emily and Raylen wasted no time and immediately began to run after Julia across the snow-covered ground. Emily exerted all the strength present in her legs to keep up with her man, but Raylen had longer legs, and his agile movements resembled those of a panther hunting its prey as he moved ahead, determined not to lose the traitorous maid.

"There!" Emily shouted, catching sight of Julia not too far ahead, who seemed unable to move as swiftly as before, as if her body hadn’t been the same since her death.

Julia cursed under her breath, "Fuck!" before sprinting even faster than before. She darted into an alley, closely pursued by Raylen and Emily.

Emily’s breath came in slight wheezes, as if her lungs craved a momentary pause in her footsteps to replenish their oxygen supply. But right now, even she knew that she couldn’t afford to be separated from Raylen. She found it a little too coincidental that Julia happened to be present in the same town, on the same street, and in the same shop, just moments before stumbling into her.

Meanwhile, Raylen remained hot on Julia’s trail. The woman, who had initially been running at a slower pace, appeared to have picked up her speed. But he was no ordinary earthling but an archdemon, requiring little effort to close the distance between them. Just then, Emily appeared at the entrance of the alley, her footsteps gradually slowing down.

"Argh!" Julia cried out as she was forcefully hurled to the ground when Raylen tackled her.

"What has Logan given you that has allowed you to run so fast?" Raylen questioned, his grip tightening around her neck as he forced her down against the ground. When Julia pulled out a dagger, his fingers squeezed even harder. "Do you really think that a measly dagger like that will do me any harm? Where is Logan?"

Julia stared at Raylen as she breathed in heavy bursts. She uttered, "He has been waiting for you to figure it out. And he is here to take back what belongs to him."

"If it is you, we should fragment you into countless little pieces before sending you back to him," Raylen murmured, his piercing blue eyes bright as they stared back at the once-lowly maid who had now transformed into a demoness. He could smell it from her.

"You are a fool, just like Master said," Julia retorted before her eyes moved to look behind Raylen.

Raylen’s head tilted, and as he turned to look behind him, a dark and ominous circle materialised around where Emily stood. A sinister black fume engulfed her completely.

"Raylen!" Emily shouted, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished from sight.

Julia erupted into laughter, her body shaking and her parched lips stretching into a mocking grin. She taunted, "Master Logan has what he needs. You cannot stop him from obtaining what he desires—his mother, whom you killed."

When Raylen turned his gaze back on the demoness, his blue eyes narrowed with smouldering anger.

"Where is Logan?" Raylen demanded once more.

"Somewhere safe and far from your reach. You cannot get Emily back now," Julia taunted, her laughter filled with mockery. "The day the full moon ascends in the sky, that will be the day everything ends. You have lost the battle, King Raylen. You can kill me now."

"Death is too simple and easy. Torture is my expertise. I am, after all, an executioner," Raylen declared, the expression of anger on his face gradually subsiding.

"You will never find her," Julia replied triumphantly. "I was merely bait."

"What a dim-witted woman!" Raylen clicked his tongue, earning a glare from the demoness before she continued to smile. He went on, "I already knew you were a fool, given the side you have chosen, but I gave you a little credit since you were once Emily’s maid. Why don’t you listen carefully and use those eyes of yours if you can manage that?"

The demoness didn’t understand what this Archdemon was talking about, but all of a sudden, she was lifted off the ground and forced to stand, with her neck ensnared in Raylen’s vice-like grip. She stared at the spot from which the Princess had been summoned and taken—to where Logan was. But then she noticed something that made her squint.

"How is that possible...?" Julia muttered in disbelief as she watched Emily limp her way to the entrance of the alley.

"Foolish creatures, here only for a few fleeting years. You and Logan may have figured out that I wouldn’t leave Emily behind, but you both failed to overlook the fact that I am an old player not only in this realm but also in the realm of the dead, moving in far more cunning circles." Raylen’s grin widened into one of cunning satisfaction as his eyes came alive.

Earlier, when he and Emily were following the demoness, he had purposely surged ahead. In one of the narrow alleyways, Emily had stumbled and lost her footing, causing her shoe to slip from her foot. He had keenly listened to the sound of his soulmate’s footsteps, now lighter than before as the Princess continued without her shoe. But eventually, her pace slowed down, and he seized the opportunity to create a replica of her, which followed him to this point.

"Here, allow me to give you a little demonstration," Raylen remarked, the wicked glint not disappearing from his eyes. He turned his attention to Emily and said, "Sweetheart, a little help here." He raised his hand, inviting her to take it.

Emily continued to breathe heavily, one foot cold from the absence of her lost shoe. She couldn’t look away from Julia’s face, a mixture of sadness and anger settling in her mind from the betrayal. She placed her hand in Raylen’s.

"Julia has missed you. Why don’t you check on her?" Raylen suggested with a gentle hum, and it took Emily a second before she gingerly reached out to touch the demoness.

In the next second, the snow on the ground started to break apart, its particles twisting and weaving together like spectral bandages, eventually sculpting themselves into the form of a middle-aged man. The glass-like ice structure filled with colour before coming to life. Julia watched in terror as the figure took form, and she staggered in fear.

"This is her father..." Emily whispered in surprise, amazed that Raylen could create something like this.

"Who is the fool now?" Raylen asked Julia before decisively snapping her neck, which caused the demoness to drop to the ground, unconscious.

With another snap of Raylen’s fingers, the lifelike figure of the man dissolved into thin air. Emily had missed the earlier stunt, and her eyes shifted between Julia and Raylen in bewilderment.

"Now, how about we send this one to where she died so that we can take our leisurely time to play with her," Raylen proposed, and after a few seconds, Balor materialised before them.

"Master." The imp offered a deep bow.

"Take her to the castle and guard the place until I return," Raylen ordered the imp.

"Won’t Logan find out?" Emily asked, and he nodded in response.

"He should have already realised what happened when he found nothing but billowing steam instead of you," Raylen replied, wishing he could have gotten a glimpse of Logan’s obvious frustration for not getting his hands on Emily, and the thought made him smile.

"He has no one on his side except for my mother. Just like he wanted," he remarked, except that she remained deceased in the living realm. "Take her."

The imp approached the unconscious demoness, and upon a single touch, the creature vanished along with Julia. Raylen then turned to face Emily and said, "I would have dragged her back myself, but that would have disrupted our time together. Besides, she won’t be waking up anytime soon."

Emily’s eyes fell to the ground, where a dark patch of snow seemed to have melted away as if it had been burned. She confessed, "For a moment, I thought he would appear before me."

Raylen gently touched her face and placed his hand on her cheek. "He’s a coward. Despite having lived as many years as I have, he knows he is no match for me. And in some ways, I think he has always known it. While he might have acquired a few magic spells from other demons, he has no abilities of his own, which is why he resorts to playing hide and seek."

"Hard to imagine sometimes," Emily whispered, as the fear that Logan had instilled in her as a child still had the power to shake her.

Raylen brought her face close to his, pressing his forehead against hers, and he spoke softly, "Just remember this: if he is scary, I am even scarier. I will always protect you."

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Emily felt the heat emanating from Raylen towards her, and a sense of safety washed over her. She remarked, "I am impressed that you thought of that so quickly, and that... is that your ability from the soul bond?"

"Impressive, isn’t it?" Raylen grinned, pulling his head away from hers. He asked her, "Did you hurt yourself earlier?"

Emily shook her head. "I tripped, and my shoe got stuck in the loose snow earlier." She didn’t find the time to put it back on and instead ran without it, underestimating the coldness of the snow.

Raylen clicked his tongue and murmured, "What are we going to do with you?" However, in the next moment, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. "Your foot must have fallen asleep."

Emily felt her heart stumble when Raylen swept her feet off the ground. Her hands were quick to wrap around his neck for support as they locked eyes with one another.

"Let us go find your shoe. Not that I mind carrying you like this back to the castle, or even better, would you like me to carry you on my back?" Raylen offered her a sweet smile.

The previously tense atmosphere from chasing Julia here dissipated and suddenly lightened, allowing Emily to breathe again.

Emily’s eyes looked around, confirming no one was in sight. Raylen had assured her that Julia wouldn’t wake up anytime soon. She cleared her throat and simply said, "Back."

Raylen carried her to the side towards a wooden carton box and gently lowered her onto it. As he turned around, he felt her put her arms around his neck for support, and without hesitation, he hooked his hands under her knees. With Emily securely on his back, he began to carry her as he walked towards the alley where she had left her shoe behind. freewёbnoνel.com

The walk was quiet and comforting, and she felt completely safe in Raylen’s company. A small smile formed on her lips as she recalled a similar incident in the past when she had also left her shoe behind.

Upon reaching the spot where her shoe was, Raylen let her down, and she took a seat on some nearby steps. She watched as he retrieved her shoe, but instead of merely handing it to her, he sat on his heels and picked up her foot.

"Let me warm it up before you put it on," Raylen said, placing his hand on the sole of her foot.

Her grandmother had been right, Emily thought to herself, their short conversation still vivid in her mind.

’Aren’t you poking the wrong bear, Grandmother?’ Emily inquired when she was in Versailles. Her grandmother had been persistently bothering the Devil by constantly summoning him, and it worried her.

’There is no wrong bear when you feel it is the one,’ her grandmother responded. ’The right one will make every wrong right. You will see.’

Raylen slipped the shoe back onto Emily’s foot, and as they both stood up, ready to leave, he noticed her gazing at him. He asked, "All okay?"

Emily, who stood before him, placed her hand on his chest. She lifted herself onto her toes and leaned in to plant a gentle kiss on his cold lips. The warmth between them only continued to grow. Before the kiss could intensify further, she pulled back, her eyes opening, and she replied, "It is now."