Garden Of Poison

Emily was given a tour of the Devil’s tower by Raylen, strolling through the passages before they eventually came to stand before a window to gaze at the dark sky.

Looking at the scenery outside, she commented, "This place seems much more peaceful than I thought it would be."

"The main activities take place on the other side of Hell. We could pay a visit to people you would like to see," Raylen smiled. "We should have some of your belongings brought here so that you can use them during our visits."

"Have you decided to take up your role in Hell?" Emily asked him, ready to support him on whatever path he wished to follow.

"Mm," Raylen nodded. "I think it is time I returned to pick up some duties, but it isn’t like I will be giving up on the Storm Kingdom. We can manage travelling back and forth while we raise our family in the living realm."

Raylen’s words filled Emily’s heart with warmth. She couldn’t wait for the day they would start their own family, she thought to herself, and her hand subconsciously drifted to her stomach. Ever since she was young, she had always looked forward to having a family of her own, wanting to raise her children with strength, confidence, kindness, and beautiful hearts.

"I cannot wait for it." An unbridled smile spread across Emily’s lips. As she turned to briefly look outside, her eyes fell on someone striding towards the tower. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she asked,

"Isn’t that Celeste?"

Raylen shifted his gaze to look outside and remarked, "It is her. She looks a little irritated. Why don’t we go and greet her?"

Emily gave him a meaningful look, then turned to walk alongside him back in the direction they had come from. However, just before they could meet up with the Archdemoness, Celeste abruptly took a turn away from the Devil’s courtroom. Raylen, stopping at a distance, tilted his head in wonderment as he observed her actions.

"Ray?" Emily whispered, noticing the curious expression on Raylen’s face.

"Oh! My apologies!" Emily heard her brother’s voice, and when she turned, she saw Aiden emerging from his room. In front of him stood Celeste, whose expression was unreadable as her back was turned to them.

Celeste had come to confirm if what she had felt in the living realm was indeed true. But now that Aiden stood before her, she found herself frozen in place. How was this possible? she questioned herself, as she had been certain that she didn’t have a soulmate. She had firmly believed there was no reason to concern herself with something so seemingly useless. Yet here he was...

He had eyes that resembled his sister’s, but light brown hair. By all appearances, he looked like an idiot, Celeste thought in her mind. Maybe if she stepped away, no one would ever find out. Her fingers curled into fists as she contemplated her options.

"Do you happen to know which direction I should head in if I wish to meet the tenants of Hell?" Aiden inquired, who didn’t seem as affected as her. Was it because he was now dead?

Celeste gave him a quizzical look, silently asking what he meant by ’tenants’.

Aiden laughed awkwardly. "I meant souls who are being tortured. There are people I would like to see and meet. So, where should I go from here?"

"Ah..." Raylen’s voice softly trailed off as he observed Celeste’s stiff posture and how tongue-tied she appeared. He murmured, "You don’t have to worry about your brother, Princess."

At first, Emily didn’t understand, and she frowned, wondering if Celeste intended to play bodyguard to make sure the Devil didn’t try to do anything to her brother. She felt Raylen gently tugging on her hand, pulling her away from there. She then heard him say,

"Celeste must have found out something about Aiden."

For a moment, Emily continued to look at him with a confused expression. Seeing Raylen’s persistent smile, her eyes widened, and she asked, "You think they are..."

Meanwhile, Aiden gazed at the beautiful woman standing before him. She appeared cold and aloof, but her eyes seemed to hold a myriad of emotions. With a hint of uncertainty, he asked, "Are you also a new arrival in Hell? If yes, you don’t have to worry about your punishment. I will get it reduced for you."

Celeste’s lips twitched as she stared right back at him. Even though his physical body was back in the living realm, his scent began to reach her, and she picked up the smell of trees.

"Are you mute?" Aiden inquired, raising his eyebrows. "I know some signs, thanks to Anna. Here," he said, moving his hands to convey his words.

When Celeste didn’t respond, Aiden scratched the back of his neck, unsure of how to communicate with her. He then said, "It is fine. You stay here, and I will try to find out about it from someone else."

As Aiden came closer, Celeste’s eyes lowered involuntarily, unable to maintain a continuous gaze. His scent wafted through the air more strongly as he walked past her, and she felt her heart clench. She didn’t know how to react, and it had left her speechless.

​​The Archdemoness turned, watching as Aiden took a wrong turn at the end of the corridor, and said, "It’s the other way."

But Aiden seemed to have disappeared around the corner, leaving Celeste to wonder whether she should go and fetch him. By appearance, he looked at least five to six years younger than her, not that looks mattered to her. Well, if he didn’t notice, it’s probably not true, she thought to herself.

"I should probably keep an eye on him before there’s any trouble," Celeste muttered to herself, and she headed in the same direction. However, as she approached the end of the corridor, Aiden suddenly materialised before her like the ghost he now was.

"You know... I had this funny feeling when we first met, and your voice is probably the most attractive one I have ever come across," Aiden said with an intrigued expression. "There’s something about you that reminds me of the scent of citrus."

And here she thought he hadn’t noticed.

"I don’t mean to be forward, but I will need to confirm it. I mean, death can reconfigure senses," Aiden babbled before raising his hand towards her.

Perhaps if Celeste had never touched Aiden’s lifeless body, she wouldn’t be feeling the intense urge she felt now—of wanting to wrap her arms around him to embrace him tightly. It was as though a match had been struck, and the flame would burn until the very end. With hesitation and a blank expression, she placed her hand on his.

It wasn’t just sparks, but a surge of electricity that passed through their touch, causing a soft gasp to escape from Celeste’s lips before she instinctively pulled her hand away.

"Why did you pull away?" Aiden asked, his eyes sparkling with joy as a grin appeared on his lips.

Having never been in a romantic relationship or even thought of one before, Celeste felt awkward about the entire situation. She decided to change the topic and said, "We should go see the Devil," then began walking in that direction.

"I will go wherever you say," Aiden chirped, which only caused Celeste to quicken her pace in an attempt to hide the blush that had involuntarily appeared on her face. "By the way, what is your name? I am—"

"Aiden Blackthorn. I know," Celeste responded, noticing how Aiden caught up to her, his smile stretching from ear to ear. "Celeste Elysium."

In the Devil’s courtroom, Emily and Raylen had already arrived. Emily had picked up her grandmother’s cat, while Raylen cradled Alice as he gently petted her.

"Daughter-in-law," Viktor began, gaining Emily’s attention.

"You can call her Emily, you know," Raylen stated, seeing how Emily’s back straightened each time his father addressed her so formally.

"I thought she would like it. It’s a way to foster a quicker bond. What do you say?" Viktor asked Emily, who gave him a nod of agreement.

"I agree, Father-in-law," Emily smiled, and Viktor acknowledged the name with a pleased hum.

The Devil then said, "About the gift that you wanted, I think I am willing to grant it to you." After all, with the boy’s body uninhabitable, the soul would have no vessel to return to, he thought to himself.

Raylen saw through the Devil’s facade, as if noticing the pleased aura emanating from him. In a probing manner, he asked, "And what changed your mind?"

"Oh, well, I thought the old woman was right. I should give in for the sake of fostering a good relationship with my many future grandchildren. It would be best to get along with everyone, isn’t that so?" Viktor’s expression remained mostly unchanged, except for his eyebrows, which arched a little higher.

He must have sent Celeste to the living realm, Raylen guessed, his eyes narrowing subtly at his father. Even Emily adopted a look of suspicion, unsure if the Devil had any ulterior motives behind his words.

"Actually, I have two wishes to ask of you," Emily expressed her thoughts, prompting a single blink from Viktor.

"Not just one, but two? Someone’s feeling rather fortunate today, aren’t they?" Viktor responded with a hint of dryness in his voice.

"Considering you’re her father-in-law, why wouldn’t she?" Raylen chimed in, a subtle smile dancing at the corners of his eyes.

These brats were sure trying to milk the opportunity, thought the Devil, before saying, "Go on. Let me hear what these two wishes of yours are." freeweɓnovel.cøm

Emily smiled at Viktor’s willingness to listen, and she said, "The first one is for Aiden to be able to return to the living realm."

"Consider it done," Viktor responded with a wave of his hand, confident in the outcome, as he had sent Celeste to fix it.

"My second wish," Emily began, her lips pursing slightly before she continued, "I want you to place a certain soul in a loop of the past. A punishment for a soul that will eventually end up here."

"Now you speak like the Devil’s true daughter-in-law." Viktor looked rather pleased at Emily’s wish. "The person must have hurt you deeply for you to wish for this. I will make sure they have a beautiful experience," he assured her.

At the same time, the Archdemoness entered the room with Aiden by her side, who wore a bright smile that had the Devil look at him suspiciously before his eyes ultimately settled on his trustworthy archdemoness.

Before Viktor had a chance to discover it himself, Celeste offered him a bow and said, "I couldn’t deactivate his body. Dante was there too."

"My body?" Aiden asked, clearly shocked.

"I knew you tried to do something behind our backs." Raylen shook his head disapprovingly at Viktor, while Emily’s lips set themselves in a thin line.

"I said discreet," Viktor muttered under his breath. However, before he could say anything more, Celeste interrupted him,

"Master." The Archdemoness could sense everyone’s gazes on her, and she said, "Aiden Blackthorn is my soulmate."

"..." Viktor found himself at a loss for words, and he sighed. In a monotone voice, he muttered, "If it weren’t for all the other archdemons being partnered or dead, another Blackthorn would have been destined for the next available one."