The Demon’s Bride

In the meantime, after Elise had left, Ian sat on his couch with his legs crossed and his eyes looked at the butler that come to show him some evidences and report he found. One of it was the letter given by Maroon which now was only a single scrap after the parchments was torn by the woman who had the letter before, Vella. The woman was Elise's friend, one of the two women who got close to Elise.

"What else you found about the woman?" questioned Ian with his smile dying off. His red eyes looking at the wall, before shifting at Ian with an expression of solemn.

"She was an ex-convict, a criminal with a heavy sentence but she was pardoned out of lack evidence granted by the Lord of Runalia," said Maroon, he had searched for the person's past in the second he learned of the odd letter she exchanged.

Ian pulled a grin, his smile looking wicked, "Lord of Runalia, Lord Garfon, the stupid Garfon and the person who can't wait to pull me from my position. He has become a very graceful man, isn't he? The maid is someone who he wouldn't meet an eye to but suddenly, he granted pardon for her. What does he receive in exchange?"

"There is no record, milord," said the butler with a stoic expression. "What I found was that the maid, Vella had worked before in Garfon's daughter's Mansion and seem to have a good relationship which explain her reason for being pardoned."

Ian could not see the reason being enough bit he remembered how Garfon's daughter was much different than Garfon. The lady was known for her kindness and purity which some times seen as stupid by others. "What sin did she do?"

"Poisoning," Maroon said with his expression unchanging and Ian likewise didn't looked surprised. "The maid is a descendant of the snake kin, and known for being skillful in term of poisons. The one who was almost killed is a son of the coachman who work in the same house of Lord Garfon's daughter. The man is alive but he was unable to walk as from hips down his body had been paralyzed from the side effect of the poison."

"Amusing," Ian whispered, he had loved to see how horrible human could do things but hearing this, he could smell something fishy with the woman's act of criminal. "I also found that a death angel had come to Warine, and I met around three of them. They all seem to be hunting down the chick."

"What do you think of Hallow, Maroon?" inquired Ian. He stood up from the seat, walking to take the glass when Maroon offered to help but was stopped by Ian's gesture of raising a hand.

"Troublemaker, useless, and unbefitting to be in the castle," he replied directly, his eyes that were gray in color flickered to shadow of red for a moment which Ian noticed. "He had been stealing food from the pantry."

"I don't question your impression about him but I do agree," Ian broke to sweet chuckle, his lips stretching wide, "What do you think about Hallow's predicament, his reason for being accused?"

"It's foolish," Maroon remarked, he sounded disgusted while expression what he felt to the grim reaper but his expression didn't show the feeling he held inside. "Death Angels should have evidence for them to move but if they attack him without evidence, I think they came for the sole purpose to kill the chick."

Ian raised his hand that held the glass that was filled with a golden brown color liquid, his head nodding in agreement. "Personal grudge is out of question as Death Angel hold no emotions at all. The reason why he is hunted is because Hallow know something that other grim reapers didn't know. I took him in for that exact reason. How strong you are compared to Death Angels, Maroon?"

"I can take three of them alone," Maroon answered, and he didn't paused before replying. The Death Angels are considered to be one of the most strongest being in the world but Maroon was able to kill them in ease because of his power as he had signed a contract with Ian eight hundred years ago.

Like Ian, in truth, Maroon was a demon but different than Ian, he was categorized as lesser demon.

"Your eyes have been switching to red one of these days, you can change it forever to red color if you want to," Ian knew that Maroon had a hard time hiding his red eyes but then there was no reason for him to change his eye color to gray but the man chose to do so years ago. "No one will question you."

Maroon for the first time, looked at Ian without replying. He took some time before saying, "I cannot. I have made a promise," his words were short but enough to deliver what he want to say.

"Okay, you can go back. Call Cynthia to meet me at nine. I would want to hear what she found out," saying the words, Maroon didn't wait to bow and went to do what Ian had ordered him. Once the door was closed, Ian walked toward the large window, remembering how the window had the same height and width as the one Elise had broken.

"A beautiful moonlight, good evening, my friend," came the sound from Ian's left shoulder and his eyes turned to look at his crow that had began to speak in human language. Picking the crow from the back of the neck, Ian then clicked his tongue.

"Should I blocked you from contacting me forever through my crow, Beelzebub. It feels disgusting," Ian remarked to then let go of the crow's neck for the bird to fly near his face.

"Touché! Don't get too hasty. Are you protecting this crow because this is where your wings are stored at?" Ian's red eyes met the crow's red eyes and his smile was not shown on his lips any longer. "I can't understand you who ripped your own wings to separate them from your body. I know how painful it is, it feels as if your limbs are twisted, taken out, and that was not yet the end of the pain, it will continuously grow painful as time passes, and not only you have tore your wings from your back, you also burnt your back so it would never grow forever again," Beelzebub said, a sound of pity came to lace his voice and his expression on the crow looked at Ian with a genuine concerned look that make them seem as if they were close friends. "Not all Demon could withstand the pain."

"You know how you sound right now, Beel?" The crow raised an eyebrow to Ian questioning when he spotted the man smiling wide, "You sound like a disgusting hypocrite who feels pity to me when you were the one who most enjoyed seeing my wings ripped out. Should I, when we meet again, rip your wings and show you what I felt that day? You will surely like how painful it was, the burning pain, the blood, and I can't wait to hear your piercing screams."

"Oh no," Beelzebub flew away from the spot he flew, and settled on his shoulder, "Don't be too angry my friend, I was joking. I don't like to get my wings ripped out. It's painful and I think in Hell only you are the one who could do that. Not even Satan was able to. Did you remembered what expression he showed to you when you ripped your wings? That was divine!"

Ian looked bored at the crow and he raised his hand to snap his finger when the crow flew hurriedly in front of him. "No, no, please wait. Spare me a second to hear what I am about to say. It's something that had to do with your bride."

Ian wasn't interested in Beelzebub's words. He knew better than anyone of how cruel and cunning Beelzebub was. Not that he cared about Beelzebub trying to do anything to him because the demon failed to do so six hundred years ago.

Ian moved from the window and he took seat on the couch where he and Elise day before. Crossing his leg, he then looked at the crow that had flew from his shoulder to sit on the desk before him, "Go on and speak, you told me that you want to speak earlier."

"I am about to visit the human's world, the land where mortals live in," Beelzebub spoke fast so Ian would not stopped him in the middle of their talk. "I want to meet you once I arrived there and if possible, let me stay on your castle. I heard from other demons and lesser demons of how wide and fancy your castle is."

"I don't ask about that, what did you say of Elise?" Ian had gotten to the surface of Elise's power but he knew that it was not something easy as breaking things. The way the glass breaks into snowflakes were different than merely breaking things.

"Don't you remember about the curse of the sweet child?" Beelzebub form where he was crossed his leg, and his hand was propped on the table that had splattered color of red that look like paint when in truth it was blood. "Of the fact that everyone around sweet child would die and the Sweet Child would forever be alone. They are destined to be a loner with only friends as ghosts and faeries who could not die as they are not living beings who could be affected by the curse."

"What about it?" Ian looked unsurprised by his words. He knew far before when he met Elise for the first time that nine years ago that the little girl would have to suffer death but she would not be the one to be feeling the pain of death; It was the people around her who would die, while she would suffer from the pain of loosing people who are dear to her.

Ian had not tell Elise of the curse she was force to take. With her current state, he knew his sweet bride would end up holding a pile of guilt over her shoulders for the death of his family that could be said caused by the curse she had for being a Sweet Child. This could also be the reason why her aunts and relatives sold her; because they were too afraid it would be their turn next who would die out of the curse. That is if they knew Elise was a sweet child.

"I found something else about the Sweet Child. One secret that I think would help you in finding the truth behind your sweet bride," saying the words, Beelzebub twisted his lips, a sly glint lurked behind his eyes which were the color of red. "However, I will only whisper this secret of hers if you agree for me to stay at your castle. Simple, ain't it?"