158: Thumping feet

Thumping feet

Music Recommendation: Heavens, what an afternoon - John Lunn1

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In a land where storms often brewed and the sky carried dark clouds, a trunk emitting muffled sounds had only just been carried into a palace and placed inside a room. The door of the room opened, and clean shoes entered, making their way towards it. 

Placing his hand on top of the trunk, Raylen unlocked it and opened it to find the imp still bound inside. He offered a polite smile to the creature and said, 

"The time to free you is finally here, imp. I hope you enjoyed your little journey with me, even though we didn't get to spend much time together."

Migdre wished to glare at the archdemon Raylen, but it was afraid of being trapped inside the trunk forever. Such was this man. When it tried to speak, all that came out were incomprehensible noises. 

"What? You want to spend some time with me?" Raylen asked, leaning forward, and the creature's eyes widened more than usual before it vigorously shook its head. "Now, now, you can't change your mind once you've agreed," he chuckled. 

Having already received the news about Magnus being captured inside a bottle and taken away by the Devil, Raylen had no more use for this creature. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the invisible metal strings vanished, allowing the creature to finally be able to speak. 

Without wasting another second, the imp disappeared in the blink of an eye to hurry to its master. 

"Master," a creature belonging to the Storm Prince whispered from a dark corner of the room. "The Devil has summoned you to Hell."

"In his dreams," Raylen murmured, and the bones in his back cracked. 

"Has the curse been broken completely?" the creature inquired. 

Raylen's back began to sprout bones, and the black skin shifted and moulded around them, finally forming into wings. A satisfied smile crossed his face as he remarked, "Looks like it has been broken for good."

On the other hand, Migdre moved at the speed of light, and this time, instead of colliding with the invisible barrier around the Blackthorn Palace, it materialised inside of it. 

"MASTER!" Migdre shouted, its tiny legs stomping on the carpeted floor like a duck. "Master, I know who the forest woman is! Master!" 

Seated in the living room, the Mother Queen had foregone sleep until the stroke of midnight out of worry about Anastasia and Dante. Not knowing who else to gather information about their whereabouts from, she had resorted to summoning the Devil by using the potions and a sample of Dante's blood. 

'I apologise if I am interrupting your rest, but I was wondering if you could tell me where Dante and Anna are?' she asked the Devil, who stared at her as if her inquiry had been about his very heart. 'I wouldn't have contacted you for assistance, but I didn't know who else to ask.'

'Honeymooning,' the Devil replied, and he had disappeared. 

'He's not much of a talker, is he?' she asked herself before running to the forbidden garden, where the rose had finally risen to its full glory. 'Worrying me to no end. Well, I suppose this means I'll get to see their babies soon.'

Right now, the Mother Queen pinched the bridge of her nose and ordered, "Aziel, go and see who is making such a racket this early in the morning?!" 

"Yes, milady," Aziel bowed and stepped into the corridor, hearing the faint, squeaky voice of someone shouting in the distance. 

"Master, she is lying to you! She is the one you have been searching for!" Migdre finally ended up in the same corridor as Aziel, rousing everyone from their slumber. The Mother Queen and the other family members came to investigate who was causing the commotion. "Where is Master?!" the imp urgently inquired, eager to convey the news right away. 

The Mother Queen squinted at the imp before replying, "He's on a pre-wedding honeymoon."

"She was lying—"

"Yes, yes, Noor deceived us all. If only you had arrived sooner; now some of us have sleep to catch up on," the Mother Queen replied. 

"Not Noor, Anastasia!" the imp interjected. "She is the forest fae!" When it had ventured to where the faes resided and had returned, the place and the woman smelt the same. "The one who cursed him!"

"My granddaughter possesses wonderful abilities, doesn't she?" the Mother Queen chuckled, and upon turning, she noticed her family staring at her as though this information was entirely new to them. "Love works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?"

When the Mother Queen glanced back to where the imp had been, the creature had disappeared. She said, "On second thought, I think I will have my breakfast."

"I will have the dining room ready right away, milady," Mr. Gilbert replied, and he walked away from there along with the other servants, resuming their morning tasks. 

During breakfast, the family gathered around the table to eat, while some seats remained unoccupied. And those seats belonged to Lady Maya and Prince Victor. And although the demon of mischief had been captured, not everything was well. Even Niyasa had no appetite, as Noor, the perpetrator, had caught her by surprise. She voiced, 

"Will Victor be banished from the kingdom for her mistakes?" 

"Always so hasty, Niyasa." The Mother Queen gave her a pointed look. 

"I am certain the others are wondering the same, but have refrained from asking. So, will he?" Niyasa asked, arching her eyebrows. 

"It would be wrong to punish him for something he didn't do, but at the same time, she was his mother. And we all know how close he was with her," the Mother Queen said with a small frown. "This is something that Dante will decide."

Undoubtedly, the youngest prince's life would be fraught with difficulties, even more so than those Dante had faced before, the Mother Queen thought to herself. 

While they continued with their meal, a faint crackling sound filled the room before the imp returned. However, this time, it wasn't shouting anymore and looked composed. 

"Did you meet Brother Dante?" Aiden asked the imp. 

"I did, Prince Aiden," Migdre replied, then approached the Mother Queen. It handed her a letter and stated, "I was told to deliver this to you."

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