The Demon’s Bride

Oliver knew there was something more than how Ian looked. He was known to be a mad person with a charming face, but no one knows the secret the Lord hiding. He was not a human, and Oliver wondered why he was here.

"I am honored that you are missing me, milord."

"Oh that wasn't what I meant," Ian interjected him, "Please don't misunderstand me, I said I missed you, that our path didn't cross until now. I didn't know you would be here. I see that you went to my carriage."

Oliver frowned, the carriage was four houses away from here, then how did Ian saw him talking with Elise? "Did you see, milord?"

Ian chuckled, his eyes looking at Oliver as if he was stupid, "If I grow my eyes on my carriage, maybe I would be able to. I can smell my beloved from you. She smell different you see like roses and rose don't suit you because you smell more like... weed," he saw how Oliver's eyes glared at him and Ian turned his head to the older church member who he came with at first, "Kyle is this all I need to be here for?"

"Yes milord, thank you very much for your cooperative statement as a witness and for helping the village from the massacre," Kyle said, although knowing how there was slight lies on Ian's statement gratefully thanked Ian as in the end, it was him who had saved the village.

Ian raised his hand stopping the man from bowing as he knows Kyle's back would twist if he do that, "It's one of my responsibility as the Lord, and my major reason being someone asked me for help," and the reward Elise agreed for. "Although I am curious I was sure there should be someone here who had notified the Church about the attack, but you all came late."

A sigh and another wrinkle appeared on Kyle's forehead, "We tried to come as early as we could, and issued sorcerers to come and protect the village. In fact we have come an hour as soon as we received the alarming news we came to the village, but at that time we cannot find the village."

"You mean you lost yourself?" asked Ian which was not possible. Kyle might be old but he wasn't a three-year-old who had no sense of direction. Unless...

"It might sound weird, milord but when we came here everything was forest. We searched every nook and cranny only finding the village when everything had ended," Ian narrowed his words, understanding what happened now. "If we have wings perhaps coming here would be fast."

"I doubt that," Ian responded and the man in front of him raised his brows, "What you experienced is a magic."

"Magic?" Kyle asked, not understanding what he meant as he never heard a magic that could erase a village.

Ian nodded, deciding to enlighten the man, "It's an illusion magic that made you believe there was no village when you have been walking around it. The reason why the magic broke is after I defeated the sorcerers. I don't think it would be easy for the Church to find anyone who could break illusion magic but you should be working on it now."

"I see, thank you milord for giving us your insight," Kyle was a man honest for his work although Ian had disliked him for taking Elise away, out of all people in the Church, he was one of a handful people who work in the name of justice.

"No problem," Ian was about to leave when he saw Oliver. The man stood near Angelica's body that was currently wrapped in a white large fabric. "Have fun watching, Oliver?"

Oliver didn't know when Ian had appeared behind him, but then Ian had always been like this and he knew who he was. Without getting startled, Oliver turned his face, "I was thinking that you have done a very great work, milord. It's not easy to burn a body like coal. I was just praising that you are very good at this."

"At killing people you mean?" Ian questioned, and seeing the man didn't reply he chuckled, "I don't think I am as good as you." the question quickly had Oliver smile to fall like how a pin would to the ground, flat.

"Pardon?" Oliver's gaze changed to a weary look after what Ian said.

Like how Oliver had not reply to his question earlier, Ian only smiled. His smile was more malicious than the calm one that the churchman had before. Reaching out his hand, Ian placed it on the man's shoulder before leaning to speak in a lower voice, "I don't what you have been trying to do or planning to do Oliver, but I have ears and eyes that are more sharp than a the tongue of a blade. I know that many people have wondered why do I know many things; and that is because not everyone could hide their intention. Even if they could, I can see more than what others could. Nothing could be hidden before me." said Ian, making sure his words easier to hear for Oliver as the man wasn't smart enough to know how dangerous what he was going to. 

Ian then asked, "Have you ever heard of a saying that said to be cautious with fire? Do you know why it is?"

"So you wouldn't get harmed by the fire?" Oliver didn't deterred when Ian tightened his grip on his shoulder, not wanting to show how Ian's grip. He appeared to not be bothered by Ian's words, but inward the man was filled with shock and questions. 

"Yes, so it seems that you are not as dumb as a weed, but not completely smart either," Ian commented, his red eyes turning deeper in color while facing down Oliver who was shorter in stature than him glaring at him, "You should know Oliver, that fire is alive and they are particularly hateful when someone is disturbing their rest. If you stick out your hand too deep, you would be the one engulfed to the fire— combusting to ash. If you want to carry your peaceful life, don't stick your nose to my business."

The threats Ian gave was not subtle, and he meant every of his words. 

"Are you threatening me, Lord Ian?" questioned Oliver when he flinched at Ian's grip that felt no less than an ironclad. 

Ian retracted his hand, taking three steps behind and with the mischievous smile he inclined his head, "I wonder what you mean by threats. I don't make threats Oliver. I am warning you."

Oliver turns his hands to fists, to be told off by a Demon didn't sit well with the man. "I never pegged you to be a kind person who would warn others."

"Believe me I do," Ian responded in a sing-song voice. "You should know that I hate germ the most. I don't want to dirty my hands and caught by unknown illness. But I don't stop people from courting death, as maybe it could be one's fetish to die and I'm not one to stop though I would like not to participate. Which why if that is your fetish, you should find someone less than me, I don't like to give other a quick death."

The color on Oliver's face changed to a darker hue, the man was appalled by what Ian said and that only had one side of Ian's lips to raise higher, "Next time don't come close to my Rose again or I will pull you like the weed you are." Giving Oliver one last pat, Ian then left the place to go back to where Elise was, leaving the former with a face filled with hate.