Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 79: Something is amiss (2)

Moira looked at Azrael who was meditating with his eyes closed.

Just as Lareina was about to retract her hand from Moira’s mouth, the woman suddenly held her wrist and pushed it away.

The pain that pierced through her bones made Lareina flinch.

"My Lady, are you alright?" Astra rushed to her, looking at her in concern.

Azrael opened his eyes at this moment.

’’I... am fine,’’ Seeing the clueless and questioning look on their faces, Lareina knew that Moira had left no loophole before she acted out.

After inhaling a deep breath, Lareina rubbed her wrist, ’’Don’t you smell the fragrance in the air?"

Moira looked around before speaking, ’’My Lady, you are being overly cautious. This is the fragrance of ordinary flowers and it’s very normal around here....’’

Lareina did not glance at the woman. Rather, she turned to Azrael and Astra, ’’When we came here, there was no such fragrance. This village also barely contains traces of any vegetation.’’

As her words dropped, Azrael motioned to Astra who immediately moved. With a sweep of her sleeves, the fragrance dispersed immediately.

A ’knock’ sounded on the door before the lady of the house stepped inside the room, ’’Here... These are some of the local specialties,’’ Her son also followed her, holding some dishes in both his hands. In no time, the table was filled up.

’’You did not have to prepare so much,’’ Lareina smiled.

’’Ah, you are our guests...’’

’’Guests? You whore... you dare bring people here?" The woman’s words were yet to finish when a snarl resounded by the door. A man stormed in, face red with rage and without any warning, he clutched the woman by her hair.

"Ahhh...’’

’’You... Let her go...’’ Lareina instinctively stepped forward, her heart rising to her throat at the scene. But before she could take another step, her hand was grabbed by Azrael who shook his head lightly.

’’Father, let mother go... Let mother go... It is my fault. I brought these saviors here...!" the little boy ran to clutch the man’s leg.

But the man raised his leg and kicked him away with full force, ’’Hah~ Saviour? Saviour? She will kill us all... She will kill us all.... No one can save you...’’ When the man looked up at the group, he went silent for a moment, ’’Aren’t you those people from the tavern? The pregnant lady?" He looked at Lareina.

This man was none other than the one who had left the tavern in fear before it could get dark. Rune had followed this person to get some information from him regarding the situation.

Azrael stepped forward, covering Lareina behind his back, ’’Here...’’ he held out a pouch towards the man.

Sensing some movements from the corner of her eyes, Lareina looked to the side and caught sight of Moira who had grabbed a bowl and started wolfing down on the food.

The man grabbed it and tugged it open with his teeth. As he looked at the soul crystals shining inside it, his grip on his wife’s hair loosened immediately, ’’This much...’’

’’We are inconveniencing you by staying over so It is only right that we compensate you well,’’ Azrael cupped his fist.

The man laughed, eyes shining with greed, ’’Don’t worry. Don’t worry. You can stay hover for a few more days!’’ He walked off to the room in the corner.

’’Are you fine?" Lareina supported the woman.

The woman was standing blankly. The moment Lareina touched her, she jerked back in shock, ’’Ah..?"

Lareina retracted her hand seeing her reaction. Undoubtedly, seeing the family’s interaction, this seemed like a daily occurrence in them.

The woman looked down, embarrassed, ’’My husband is a good man. But after our daughter’s death, he has no longer been himself...’’

’’May I ask... what happened to your daughter...?" Astra asked softly.

’’It’s the work of those ghosts... My daughter was a healthy child but she gradually became sick and died in the matter of a few weeks...’’ As she spoke, tears rolled down her eyes, ’’Guests, you must be tired. You should have dinner and sleep. The bedding here is not up to the mark so you will have to suffer a little.’’

After speaking, she dragged the little boy and left. At every step, the little boy turned around to look in the directions of the group.

’Thump’

The sound of something clashing on the floor attracted everyone’s attention.

When they turned around, they saw Moira who had started feasting on the food at some point splayed on the table. Half of the meat she had chewed had dropped out of her mouth and her posture was as such that Moira would hang herself if she knew she was seen by Azrael like this.

Astra squatted and checked her body before looking at Azrael, ’’She seems to be fine,’’ As she spoke, she picked up a bowl of broth and sniffed it, ’’Earlier the kitchen was empty except for some rotten ingredients but she still managed to prepare so much. Is there something wrong with the food?"

’’It should not be,’’ Lareina said softly. Although there were a few varieties of dishes, the base of every dish was meat and the meat seemed fresh.

Moira had started eating in the middle of the conversation which was understandable because they all had barely gotten a chance to eat anything since they set out.

Moira was probably hungry but she could not let herself be seen by Azrael while she wolfed down the food so she started eating when they were talking to the woman. Just like Lareina, the other woman must have noticed it too but if she did, she did not have much of a reaction.

If she tampered with the food, she would not have been so calm when only one of them was eating.

When Astra looked at Lareina questioningly, Lareina was about to explain but Azrael was one step ahead, ’’She was scared by you.’’

’’Ah!" Astra blinked, a sudden realization dawning over her when she saw the implication in Azrael’s eyes, ’’I will stand guard outside and observe any movements. Let me take her with me so she can get some fresh air,’’ As she spoke, she picked Moira and swung her over her shoulder like a potato sack.

Nobody noticed Moira’s little finger violently twitching as her sleeping face scrunched a little occasionally.

Once the room was empty, Azrael was about to walk back to the corner he had occupied earlier when he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve.

When he turned around, Lareina tightened her grip on his hand and looked up at him.

’’She will be fine,’’ Azrael said without missing a beat, ’’Situation is not looking good around here and in such a situation, she let us in. That triggered the man but it’s good that he is a greedy one. With all that money, he will stay put and not touch her for the time being.’’

Lareina relaxed a little when she heard that.

After a while, he noticed that she still had not released her grip on his sleeve so he stood there quietly and waited for her to speak again.

’’What are we going to do from here?" Lareina asked finally.

’’Are you scared now?"

Hearing his teasing tone, pursed her lips and released his sleeve. As she pulled her hand back, her wrist felt like it was knocked down by a hammer. She instinctively clutched it tightly, brows furrowing in pain.

’’What happened to your hand?" Azrael’s eyes darkened as he grabbed her fingers and gently moved her hand closer but when he examined it, there was no sight of any wound on it.

Lareina could not understand it as well. Moira had barely given it a tight squeeze but it felt like her bones had shattered. However, with a pain so intense, why was there not a single bruise?

When Azrael tapped the spot she had clutched earlier, Lareina flinched, jerking her hand out of his grip. But he held her hand firmly by her fingers, ’’What’s wrong?"

After analysing it a bit, Lareina asked the man, ’’Do you think some ghost casted a spell on me back in that river? Such that... it hurts... but there is no bruising?"

Azrael’s lips twitched. He raised his hand and flicked her forehead without hesitation.

Lareina closed her eyes, knowing it was too late to touch but the expected pain never came. Rather, there was only a light tap of his index finger.

"Ghosts cannot cast spells like demons. Come here...’’ He held her hand by her fingers and led her to the place where a straw mat was laid in the name of the bedding.

After Lareina sat on it, Azrael sat beside her. Holding her hand in both his palms, he gently massaged it.

At first, the pain made her frown but gradually, it seemed to dissipate. Under the ministrations of his cold palms, a gentle breeze seemed to flow into her skin, soothing the pain.

Suddenly, Azrael’s body was ramrod straight. In one swoop, he pulled Lareina into his arms and his other hand shot towards the wall in a swift movement.