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GARDEN OF POISON
Demons' Lair (Chapter 135)
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Anastasia, like the rest of those present, became startled by Niyasa's agonising cry. When she leaned to the side, her gaze fell upon the sight of the young princess's hand trapped beneath one of the chair's legs, with blood slowly trickling from her right hand.
"What is your hand doing under my chair, Niyasa?" Dante questioned her in a nonchalant tone, and he rose to his feet so Niyasa could extract her hand from its position.
"Niyasa!" Lady Maya quickly got up from her seat and hurried over to where her daughter was. She tried to help her stand before shifting her gaze towards Dante.
Dante stared back at Lady Maya with an undeterred expression. Meanwhile, Niyasa continued to cry out in pain, as each slight shift of her hand caused a sensation akin to that of a hole being drilled from the back to the front of her trembling palm.
"M—My hand...!" Niyasa's wails persisted. The rest of the Blackthorn siblings watched her with wide eyes, knowing that his actions had been deliberate.
"Take her back to her room and tend to her wound," Dante instructed Lady Maya. He then turned to Niyasa and remarked, "Next time you will be careful, won't you?"
Anastasia observed the fear-stricken expression on Niyasa's face, the young lady's agony silencing any words that might have otherwise escaped her lips. Dante was vindictive, and his cold yet satisfied expression told her that he wasn't someone who would hold back when it came to paying people what they deserved.
"I will see to it right away," Lady Maya murmured amidst the haze and her daughter's tears and distress, leading them both out.
Dante sat down, and so did the few individuals who had risen from their seats to see the sight of the young princess's bloodied hand. Upon locking eyes with the others, they swiftly averted their gaze to their meals and resumed consuming them with haste.
When his eyes met Anastasia's, his gaze softened, and he inquired gently, "Would you like some salad? You need to eat to maintain your strength for later."
Anastasia replied softly, "I will have some." And not a moment later, a maid approached to serve her the dish of crisp leaves and sprouts.
Lady Noor tried to diffuse the heavy atmosphere by complimenting, "Is that the soulmate bond mark on your neck, Anna?"
Anastasia's hand instinctively touched her neck before she replied, "Yes. Yes it is."
"That would be Lady Anastasia to you, or perhaps it's not too soon to begin addressing her as Queen Anastasia."
They all directed their attention to Dante, who was gracefully slicing his meat with his cutlery, his movements exuding an air of elegance.
Lady Noor looked taken aback by Dante's words, and she quickly responded, "Forgive me; I was merely addressing her as I have done before—"
"And your point is?" Dante's eyes lifted to meet Lady Noor's, who was seated across the table.
"Queen Anastasia." Lady Noor inclined her head in a bow towards Anastasia, as if in accordance with the king's words.
"Anna is a nickname reserved for my siblings. Siblings who had extended their friendship and kindness to her," Dante casually stated before continuing, "For the rest of you, it would be wise not to address her with such familiarity. Unless, of course, you're eager to relive the event from five minutes ago. And I trust your wisdom, given how you enjoy switching sides to whichever benefits you."
If Anastasia didn't know better, she would have believed that Dante was deliberately provoking conflicts, but this went far beyond mere provocation. It reached back to the time when his father disregarded him and brought Lady Noor to replace what Lady Lucretia failed to provide him. He was meticulously settling accounts with everyone, leaving no detail unattended in conveying his message. After all, he was a demon from the underworld, and an earthling didn't stand a chance against him.
When she turned to look at Lady Noor, the woman's smile had faded, replaced by a nod as she responded, "Yes, Your Highness."
Anastasia's eyes moved across the table, starting from the empty seat in front of her, before shifting to Lady Sophia. She pondered whether and in what manner Dante intended to settle any scores with her as well.
When they finally finished their breakfast, during which Dante quietly watched Anastasia eat, they exited the dining room, leaving the guests still seated.
While strolling along the corridors, Anastasia glanced at Dante. Almost as if sensing her gaze on him, he said to her,
"Don't hold sympathy for people, because some of them are in need of a lesson."
"I never imagined Niyasa's hand would one day end up beneath a chair leg," Anastasia murmured. "It just took me by surprise..."
Niyasa had trampled her hands and whipped her publicly, humiliating her and calling her a thief.
"She's hurt you on more than one occasion. And while it has brought us both closer rather than driving us apart, it isn't something I appreciated. Her parents had neglected her upbringing by failing to educate her, so I am confident that, in the long run, she will come to value my guidance," Dante stated as they continued to walk alongside each other. "Remember, I told you there are far worse things than death. Those who once revelled in their lofty positions will perish of humiliation, moment by moment, before crumbling in the face of hopelessness. And I am here for it."
Seeing how Lady Sophia had neither spoken nor received any words from Dante, Anastasia wondered if she was in the clear. Not to mention, she was Emily and Aiden's mother. But from what she knew, the woman had always been someone who was vocal with words without translating them into action.
As they continued to walk, they met the Mother Queen, with Aziel following right behind her.
"Oh, good, you are here! I thought you caught the demon as I heard someone scream," Mother Queen exclaimed upon spotting the couple, and she walked up to meet them halfway. Her eyes quickly landed on the young woman's neck, and a broad smile illuminated her face. "Congratulations on sealing the soul bond, King and Queen of Versailles!"
"Thank you, Grandmother," Dante thanked her, while Anastasia offered her a bow accompanied by a smile. "I see that you had quite an eventful night."
"Oh, you don't say," the Mother Queen chuckled, a sense of relief washing over her upon seeing them united. "I was thinking of organising another celebration, considering you've found each other as soulmates."
"We shall pass on the opportunity as we are heading out," Dante responded, earning a nod from the Mother Queen. "How are things coming along with the potion?"
"Excellent! I can feel my head pounding, though I am unsure if it is the potion I drank or the liquor I had last night," the Mother Queen mumbled the last words. Then she added, "Also, keep in mind that you might experience some effects. Aziel dosed everyone with it."
Dante glanced at the time, and noted that they had a good few hours before things were set to commence here, giving him and Anastasia time to visit the underworld. He then heard his grandmother say,
"I've been holding onto a gift for your future bride for a long time, Dante. I am truly delighted that I can finally present it to her."
"I can only imagine that you have been waiting for it on the tip of your toes," Dante murmured, prompting a chuckle from the Mother Queen.
Aziel then informed Dante, "The Elder ministers dispatched a letter to you yesterday." He pulled out an envelope from his coat and handed it to the king.
Anastasia observed Dante swiftly tearing it open and reading its contents, his eyes sweeping through the words before a smile graced his lips. He said, "It appears that the moment is drawing near." Turning to her, he suggested, "Why don't I meet you at the front of the palace?"
Anastasia gave him a nod and said, "Okay."
As Dante began to walk, the Mother Queen signalled with a quick jerk of her head to her minister, who promptly responded with a nod and followed the king as if to assist him.
Anastasia felt the Mother Queen pull her in the opposite direction, remarking, "It's fortunate that Dante is occupied so that it gives us a chance to talk. I wanted to show you something." They soon arrived at the location of the Blackthorn rose.
When Anastasia's gaze settled upon it, she noticed the flower no longer appeared withered and said, "It healed itself."
"It is all thanks to you and Dante, since you both care deeply and have accepted each other. The curse is almost lifted, although I am uncertain if there are any remaining steps, for I believed this would be enough," the Mother Queen confided in a hushed tone. "Perhaps you need to make babies. The sooner, the better, so that I can rest. In my chair, not in the grave."
Anastasia offered a sheepish smile to the older woman, and they departed the corridor to avoid being discovered there by Dante again. Once they exited the place, the Mother Queen said in a lowered voice, "I have been worried that Dante's demon might spiral out of control and go berserk, but you managed to create a perfect balance. Yet, that has been your purpose, be it positive or negative."
Intrigued by the woman's words, Anastasia asked, "What do you mean, positive or negative?"
"The positive outcome is the current scenario, where you brought him peace, though I hope I am not rejoicing prematurely," the Mother Queen said before continuing, "The negative outcome would have arisen if you hadn't accepted each other, leading to bitterness in Dante's heart. And eventually, it would have triggered his demon's primal, lethal nature. In the negative scenario, your balance would have entailed ending his life."
By the Mother Queen's words, it seemed like she knew that Dante and she were meant to be together. And she was glad events had unfolded how they were supposed to. Because she had no desire to end Dante's life, unlike Isabella, who had stabbed him to death.
"Dante might be a demon, but at his core, he is still the same person. Kind and loving," Anastasia mused.
"Of course he is! He is my grandson," the Mother Queen laughed, her expression radiating pride. "Now that you both bonded with each other, with time, your feelings will only grow stronger, and you will gain the demon's protection from his past ire."
"Then... it should be okay to tell him who I am?" Anastasia wanted the Mother Queen's guidance.
"Let's save that revelation for later, allowing you both to share some quality time together. We still need the last of the wilt to fade away. Spend some time in the garden, or perhaps lock yourselves in the room, you know. And if you need advice, I am here for you," the Mother Queen continued with enthusiasm, careful not to irk or provoke the demon prematurely.
Anastasia cleared her throat and murmured, "Thank you for your support. However, we are about to visit the underworld."
The Mother Queen's head snapped in Anastasia's direction, causing her to wince due to a twinge in her neck. She demanded, "What are you going to do in the underworld? There are no flowers there, only dead beings."
"Dante is looking for his imp, who has gone missing," Anastasia filled her in, and the Mother Queen stared at her before her mind retraced to the previous evening, just before she had witnessed the revival of the Blackthorn rose.
"Huh," the Mother Queen softly huffed. She then pulled out something from her coat and handed it to Anastasia. "Consider this an early gift, Anastasia."
Anastasia inquired, "May I?"
"Go ahead! Feel free to open it. It is meant to be opened, not set aside," the Mother Queen said as her eyes lit up with excitement.
Anastasia opened the box and found a vial nestled within, containing a potion emitting a faint greenish light. She raised her gaze and asked, "What is this?"
"Poison," the older woman replied with a straight face that had Anastasia blink in surprise. "I am joking. I reserve poison solely for my enemies. This one here is a rare find from my collection, and it will shield you from the mind abilities of both full demons and half-demons. There were originally three of them. I took one, one went missing, and now you will be the last possessor of this one."
Anastasia found herself genuinely impressed, and she said, "Thank you, Grandmother. That is very thoughtful of you."
"I know. It proved useful in preventing my son from prying into my thoughts; he had a penchant for delving into people's minds. It must have driven him to distrust me, as he couldn't read mine," the Mother Queen shared, wearing a triumphant smile.
Anastasia slipped the potion into her pocket and offered the older woman a bow when they reached the palace entrance. Not a moment later, Dante appeared astride his horse, which trotted towards the front.
"Ready to leave?" Dante asked as Anastasia walked down the stairs and reached where he was.
"I don't think I have ever looked forward to visiting hell," Anastasia confessed. And though she didn't answer him directly, when Dante extended his hand for her to take, she accepted it and soon settled onto the horse by seating herself in front of him. "Are living people allowed entry?"
"There have been a few visitors who ventured into hell, yet none have managed to return to the living world," Dante hummed as he took hold of the reins, and soon, Oasis began to trot towards the palace gates.
They travelled through the streets of the nearby town, and as they did, Anastasia couldn't help but recollect what she had dreamed this morning. A guarded expression formed on her face as she noticed the gazes of the townspeople directed their way.
"Dante?"
"Hm, what is it?" Dante asked her, his eyes lowering to look at her.
"Did you dream of something involving me? Like I did?" Anastasia inquired, curious about what he might have seen if he did, as he never mentioned it.
"I did," Dante replied. "I saw your family and understand why you miss them so much. It was a memory from when you were young. They loved you and your sister very much. To possess a loving family is a blessing."
Anastasia wondered why Dante didn't ask her what she had seen in her dream, unless perhaps there were too many sad memories that he didn't want to stir up, and she decided to let it rest.
"Is that the only way of entering and exiting hell?" Anastasia changed the subject. "Through the lair?" That is where she believed they were going.
"Not exclusively. Some demons can create portals, but it opens the passage for other demons to make use of. And because we were cursed, our abilities aren't functioning at their full potential and are rather half-baked. The visit to the underworld should rectify it," Dante explained with a faint smile, his eyes focused ahead of them.
When they found the ruined city, it remained unchanged from the last time they had seen it. The demons' lair stood amidst the debris and its broken structures, with cobwebs thriving in the shadows. As they set foot on the ground, Anastasia released the breath she hadn't realised she had been holding. She asked,
"Is it safe to leave Oasis here?"
Dante patted his horse's neck, caressing it affectionately, before he said, "He's a strong boy. He will be fine, and it's common knowledge not to touch what belongs to me."
Anastasia saw Dante turn to look at the place, causing the shadows to recede, and her eyebrows lifted in surprise. They arrived at the location where the three coffins rested on the large platform. Before they entered hell, she said,
"Dante, there is something I need to tell you," her eyes meeting Dante's crimson ones.
"Is it about Grandmother's gift?" Dante inquired, watching her calmly. Anastasia felt a growing unease in the pit of her stomach.
The gift, Anastasia thought to herself and pulled out the vial. She said, "She gave me a protective potion."
"How nice and thoughtful of her," Dante remarked, his eyes focused on the liquid.
Anastasia saw Dante's gaze shift to her, and he walked towards her, the air around him beginning to intimidate her once again. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to something beside her, and he swiftly caught it before flinging it to the ground. She heard something grumble in the room before a creature similar to an imp appeared, though its demeanour bore a distinctly sinister quality.
"Looks like someone was enticed by your gift," Dante remarked as the creature menacingly leapt at Anastasia. With a snap of his fingers, the creature erupted into a pool of black, gooey liquid on the ground.
"Wh… Are there more of them?" Anastasia asked, her concern evident as her brown eyes scanned the empty room and the long corridors.
Surveying the surroundings with his demonic eyes, Dante murmured, "A few of them. After witnessing this, they will know not to approach. Once unfortunate, twice a fool." He then took the vial from her hand and sampled it as she watched him. "You can go ahead and drink it now."
There was a time when Dante had made her drink something to test if it was poisoned, and now he was the one taking the first sip before passing it to her.
Accepting the vial from his outstretched hand, she stared at it, contemplating whether she should take the leap now, and if he would still be there to catch her if she did.
Dante picked up a broken stick from the ground and started using it to draw a circle in the dirt around them, as if marking something. Anastasia clenched her cold hands, and she spoke up,
"What I wanted to tell you earlier wasn't related to the gift. It was that I am a person of the forest… Also known as a forest fae."
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GARDEN OF POISON
Worth the leap? ( Chapter 136)
Anastasia observed Dante stop what he was doing, his demeanour shifting to one of seriousness as he turned to face her. Their eyes locked in a moment of intensity. She knew the Mother Queen prohibited her from discussing the matter, but the weight of impending doom grew too heavy for her to withhold the truth from him any longer.
Please don't hate me, Anastasia silently prayed in her mind while feeling her heart clench. With resolve, she proceeded to express in a single breath,
"I found out about it when I was serving the princess, and then you said you wanted to kill the woman's descendant…"
Anastasia saw Dante's narrowed gaze, his hand rising towards her as if on the brink of snapping his fingers, and her eyes widened in response. Her lips trembled as she managed to utter, "D—Dante—"
At the sound of Dante's finger snap, her heart plummeted. However, it wasn't her who exploded, but one of the creatures who had decided to enter the room they stood in. A soft gasp escaped her lips, feeling the surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins and freezing time, leaving her with specks in her vision.
"You should finish consuming the gift before it attracts any more of these creatures being drawn to you," Dante advised in a hushed tone, gently nudging the vial from its base towards her lips. "Drink it until the last drop."
As the potion entered her mouth and glided down her throat, she felt its chill seep into her chest, all the while maintaining unbroken eye contact with him.
With his gaze steady on her, Dante remarked, "I was wondering when you would come clean about it."
When the vial lowered, Anastasia's heart showed no signs of stopping its frantic pace, and her widened eyes continued to stare back at Dante. He knew… He knew! His words registered in her mind. She asked him, "W—When did you find out?"
"Before I found you at the dock," Dante retrieved the vial from her grasp. "My abilities have been linked to the Blackthorn rose for quite some time; the markings that surfaced on my hands were proof of that connection. I won't deny that there was a time when I wanted to kill you, as in the past, it would have brought me immense joy for what I had to endure."
Dante said, "My suspicion arose the day I found you next to the Blackthorn rose. When I reached the dock, I was consumed by anger, but with the ship gone and finding you again, something changed."
"My head is spinning a little," Anastasia confessed, and Dante swiftly steadied her so she wouldn't fall. Once she felt she could breathe again, she asked him, "Why didn't you tell me anything?"
"You weren't forthcoming either. I wanted to see if you would conceal it or trust me enough to tell the truth. You've done well not heeding my grandmother's counsel; sometimes you have to follow your gut," Dante remarked with a content smile playing upon his lips. "To think that out of everyone, my half-demon self ended up being paired up with you, the very enemy I was hunting in my demon time. Our fates have been intertwined for a long time, and it was meant to end up like this. The influence of the Golden Moon has a cryptic way of affecting people, binding a demon to submit to a person in the living world."
Anastasia felt a sense of relief as Dante's words washed over her like waves. And with every wave that touched her, her worry was carried away, leaving her feeling lighter than a feather.
Recalling the imp, Anastasia frowned as she inquired, "Why are you looking for the imp, then?"
"You thought I summoned him to report to me?" Dante crushed the vial he held, reducing it to dust, and saw her nod. He said, "I had other tasks in mind for him. However, he's gone missing, as I cannot sense him. It is possible that Magnus caught him, but it wouldn't make sense, considering how intent he has been on sending you away from me."
Dante brought his hand below her chin, tipping it upward. He pressed a kiss to her lips before saying, "There seems something very alluring about kissing you, especially with the knowledge of what happened in the past and who you are. It's almost as if it's forbidden, yet fated."
"Right now, I will accept anything," Anastasia replied, her face near his, and she said, "Thank you… Thank you for not harbouring resentment, thank you for not killing me, thank you for—"
"I will kill you, little rabbit. Very slowly," Dante promised her while staring into her eyes.
"Now, if you are feeling better, why don't you give me a hand in prying open the coffin to hell?"
She would follow him anywhere, Anastasia thought to herself. With a nod, she placed her hands on the lid as Dante watched her. As she exerted pressure to open it, she heard something click within the coffin before the lid swung open, releasing a cloud of dust that spread throughout the room.
Anastasia waved her hand in front of her, and after seconds, the dust finally settled. Once the air cleared, she realised that it was a regular coffin, contrary to her anticipation of finding a staircase.
She turned to Dante and asked, "Is this how it is supposed to be?"
"It is exactly how it is supposed to be," Dante replied, his hand enveloping hers. Lifting her hand above the coffin's surface, he explained, "It is a portal. All you need to do is touch it."
As their hands made contact with the bottom of the coffin, Anastasia sensed her surroundings shift into darkness, and a chilling sensation enveloped her before she found herself dropping onto a desolate land, her feet touching the barren ground.
Anastasia said, "I imagined hell would be covered in flames."
"Don't be disappointed; this is another side of hell," Dante chuckled, and when Anastasia turned to look at him, she noticed he had transformed into his demon form. He whistled amid the stillness of the seemingly deserted area. Not a moment later, the sound of clopping hooves reached their ears, and a black horse came into view. Turning towards her, he offered his hand before he said,
"Let me show you the world I am from."
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