Garden Of Poison-Chapter 274: How many?

Screams continued to reverberate against the dark walls, spilling out into the nearby corridors. Emily couldn’t help but flinch at one point, as if Julia were living through her worst nightmares, even though the Princess couldn’t see them.

As if sensing Emily’s reaction, Raylen pulled his finger away from Julia’s forehead and turned to look over his shoulder. He said,

"It is perfectly alright if you want to skip this part."

Though the screams stopped, the room still vibrated, and Emily, who had been staring at Julia, reluctantly tore her gaze away from the maid to meet Raylen’s eyes, which bore a sinister gleam. She inquired, "What did you do to her?"

"Sweet Julia had forgotten some of her memories, and I thought I should help her refresh them. I believe it is quite rude when someone forgets where they come from," Raylen hummed in an eerie, calm voice that could send a chill down one’s spine. He questioned Julia, "Tell me, how was the taste of the past?"

Julia gritted her teeth, breathing harshly while she trembled in pain. Although she appeared perfectly fine apart from her displaced jaw, the true damage lay in the torment her mind endured as she relieved painful moments from her childhood.

"I am of no use to you except to gratify your demonic inclinations," Julia said, wheezing in between her words. "Master deserves retribution for what you took from him. Their lives." Her gaze then shifted to Emily. "I would have thought you would have chosen someone better, but you decided to pick someone who killed his own family." There was pity in her voice.

"I thought the same in the beginning, but it seems I should have been more cautious of those who posed as my supporters. Like you." Emily’s eyebrows furrowed as she observed the continued lack of remorse on the demoness’s face. She said, "You aren’t worthy." At her words, Julia’s smile faltered. "You weren’t a worthy daughter. You weren’t a worthy friend."

’You aren’t worthy, child! I wish you’d burn!’ Julia heard her father’s distant voice echoing in her mind.

"You are a princess; what do you know about hardship or what I went through? Where were you when I needed help?" Julia screeched, most of her words unclear due to her displaced jaw. "Do you have any idea what we commoners endure?! You—"

"It is a shame that you had such a bitchy maid, Emily," Raylen interrupted the demoness’s frustrated rant. "For someone who served you so closely until recently, it’s surprising she failed to grasp your true nature. What made you pick her?"

Emily stared back at Julia with a sullen expression. Despite the fact that the Princess had appointed Julia as her maid after Anastasia, she had encountered the demoness even before meeting her sister-in-law.

’Hey? Are you alright?’ Emily asked the maid, who stood next to a pillar, partially concealed by a bush.

Julia turned to lock eyes with the Princess’, her gaze filled with tears, and she nodded in response.

’Did you get scolded for not doing your duties properly?’ Emily inquired. ’Mr. Gilbert can be strict about certain things, but you don’t have to take it to heart.’

Julia shook her head and softly said, ’It isn’t that, Princess. Please forgive me for presenting myself before you in such a state. I was scolded by Princess Niyasa and punished.’ She looked down at her reddened hands.

A frown appeared on Emily’s forehead, and she responded, ’I will have Gilbert arrange for someone to help you with your hands.’

’That is very kind of you... I am sorry about the King.’ Julia offered a bow. ’I know how it feels to have a father and lose him.’

This remark caught Emily’s attention, and she replied, ’I am sorry about your loss as well.’

Hearing approaching footsteps, they turned to spot a young woman, who was none other than the Princess’s mute maid.

"It looks like you are used to some level of torture, Julia." Raylen’s words snapped Emily back to the present. "But don’t be disappointed, because I am sure we can come up with a splendid scheme to make your torment enjoyable for all of us. What do you think, Princess?" freewebnoveℓ.com

Emily was disturbed by Julia’s actions and words, knowing she was far gone right now. She said, "I want to try it too."

Raylen’s eyes lit up like candles in the dark. He stepped aside and asked her with eager anticipation, "And what do you have in mind, my beautiful?"

A conceited expression crossed Julia’s face as the demoness taunted, "What can you, an earthling, possibly do? Hit me with your delic—"

Earlier, Emily had picked up a small iron bar from the table that was at the entrance of the room, which was typically used to tighten chains, and in a swift and forceful motion, she struck it against the demoness’s head. She watched as Julia threw up blood, which stained the front of her dress. Within a second, Julia’s teeth came loose and fell out of her mouth.

"ARGH!" Julia grunted in agony, her mouth bleeding.

"My, my," Raylen drawled playfully.

Emily turned to Raylen and remarked, "I didn’t want to bruise my hand for her sake."

"You shouldn’t. I quite like the iron bar. It’s a nice accessory for you. If I may add, striking." Raylen smiled, leaning in to plant a kiss on her cheek. He then reached out to touch the long iron bar and inquired, "Isn’t it heavy? Let me take it for you."

Emily hadn’t noticed its weight until he mentioned it. The adrenaline rush had given her the strength to pick it up and swing it. She replied, "It must be the soul bond or demon blood."

"Could be both. Though I must confess that I am quite turned on from the earlier action," Raylen hummed, and Emily couldn’t help but smile in response.

"You are weird, Ray," she murmured.

Julia, who was still in pain, shot a resentful glare at the couple. She asked, "Are you planning to keep me here like this?"

Raylen’s gaze shifted back to the demoness, his eyes darkening as if the light in them was meant solely for Emily. He stated, "For now, yes. It seems you didn’t complete your term in this castle as originally expected, so you will be provided with some free visits to your past."

Julia gritted her teeth. "Don’t keep me alive to the point where Master will come for me."

Raylen stared at the woman for a moment before his laughter erupted in the room, its echo spilling beyond the walls. The demoness was left perplexed at what he found so amusing. He remarked, "Look at that, Princess. This one has jokes, oh well."

Raylen removed the iron rod from Emily’s hand, running his fingers along the handle to trace its contours. "My brother has what he needs the most, and that certainly is not you. You were nothing more than a pawn he knew how to use, but you were happy with that." He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Emily noticed Julia’s face contouring in anger and refusal. Julia vouched for Logan, declaring, "You don’t know him!"

"Perhaps you are right. That is why he hasn’t made an attempt to come for you, so that I can discard you for him," Raylen remarked, and in that moment, Emily realised that her former maid was in love with Raylen’s brother. She was blindly loyal to the man. "The next person he will come for isn’t you, but Emily, for he needs her soul to use to bring back our mother."

"I am more than happy to die all over again if it will help him succeed," Julia smiled.

"She’s too far gone, Ray," Emily said to Raylen with a sense of disappointment. Julia’s jaw was displaced, her teeth had been knocked out, and she was bleeding while restrained. However, torturing her was like torturing an impassive wall.

A mixture of emotions swirled within her. A part of her was sad, while another part of her was angry. Angry for the lives that had been sacrificed in pursuit of Julia’s quest to get closer to her. Some souls were beyond redemption, and if it had to...

"I think I would like to make a deal with the Devil," Emily declared, gaining the attention of the other two people in the room.

"Hopefully it is a favourable one?" Raylen inquired, and Emily nodded in agreement.

"It is." It was because she knew that if there was anyone who could make it happen, it was Viktor.

Curious, Raylen wasted no time and fetched the summoning vessel into another room. Before long, they stood before it and tapped into the channel of Hell. The surface of the murky liquid wavered briefly before going still.

"A pleasant surprise, Raylen," Viktor greeted his son with a lack of enthusiasm. "Are you planning a visit to Hell? They say it is a tradition in Versailles for newlyweds to pay a visit to their in-laws."

"We are looking for a gift before we visit you." Raylen presented his father with a charming smile. "Any news on where the soul you made a deal with has disappeared?"

"Your mother," Viktor uttered, his voice, if possible, turning drier than before. "Somehow she is the only one we weren’t able to reclaim. I am hoping you had nothing to do with it." Taking something from him and gifting it back to him, the Devil’s eyes narrowed.

"If I wanted to, I would have stolen her long ago. But she holds no value to me," Raylen responded before revealing, "However, I do know who stole her."

Viktor stared at his son before saying, "I am listening."

"You remember Logan, my half-brother? Apparently, he has been alive all this time," Raylen informed Viktor, whose expression remained unchanged before he said,

"I didn’t deem him a lowly soul worth knowing about, but he dared to go against me by stealing a soul I had made a deal with." Viktor hummed, not to mention breaking into his tower. "Considerably more of the potion is missing than what was initially assumed."

"Do you still have the Locator Potion?" Raylen inquired, and the Devil’s face soured at the mention of it. "Let me guess, it was also taken."

"Emily Blackthorn." Viktor used Emily’s full name.

"Emily Storm," Raylen corrected his father, whose face twitched slightly.

Viktor said to Emily, "You seem to be glowing. Sex, was it?"

Emily’s face suddenly lit up like the wick of a candle coming into contact with fire. "Hello, Viktor," she replied stoically.

"Don’t make my woman flustered, Father. Only I get to do that," Raylen responded, protectively putting his arm around Emily’s waist. "Are you looking forward to grandchildren?"

With no change of expression on the Devil’s face and how bored he looked, one might have been inclined to think that he had no interest in the subject. But then he replied, "I would like five of them."