Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 224

Chapter 224

Inside the Nauze palace.

In the spacious and magnificent dining hall, a long dining table covered with a fine silk tablecloth was laden with a sumptuous feast.

Beili and Ashera sat at one end of the long table.

At the other end sat the King of Nauze.

The King of Nauze was exceptionally portly, his body easily the width of three men, seated in an extra-wide, reinforced chair.

Seated along both sides of the long table were the Princesses of Nauze Kingdom and the Princes-the King of Nauze enjoyed sharing his meals with his children, as it was said to improve his appetite.

The princes and princesses were quite young, hardly old enough to be called youths or maidens.

They had clearly received strict instruction in table manners; they were quiet, neither noisy nor unruly, and ate without making a mess.

“I have been searching for you, my dear brother.”

Beili had just finished the crepe on her plate. A person dressed too magnificently to be a servant approached her, intending to serve her more food, but Beili shook her head in refusal.

It was then that she heard the King of Nauze blurt out those words.

Before she could even react, she heard him continue:

“My father… oh, that is, the Former King of Nauze, only told me about you when he was on his deathbed.”

“But he only managed to utter a few disjointed sentences before he left this world, leaving many things unclear. The clues he left me were very scarce.”

“I later invited Mages who could communicate with the deceased, attempting to speak with the soul of the Former King once more. But no matter how many Mages I went through, none could find the Former King’s Spirit.”

Only then did Beili realize that the King of Nauze had just addressed Ashera as ‘brother’.

She paused, her mind feeling a bit muddled.

“Oh-I heard you were first imprisoned in Sainthos’s Thorn Prison, and then in the Holy Island Academy’s underground dungeon… that damned old fossil, Cumberland!”

The King of Nauze spoke with a face full of sorrow and resentment.

At the same time, he stabbed his silver knife and fork into a large piece of stewed meat as if to vent his anger.

The tips hit the plate with a sharp ‘clink’.

The sound wasn’t loud, but the Princes and princesses were startled, stopping their eating in unison.

The King of Nauze paused belatedly, instantly reining in his anger. He raised a slightly bloated hand and said:

“My dear Children, this has nothing to do with you. Continue eating.”

Only after hearing this did the Princes and princesses resume chewing.

“…”

Beili took a sip of sweet tea from her cup while stealing a glance at Ashera beside her.

The latter hadn’t said a word, and the food on his plate remained untouched.

He had been sitting with his eyelashes slightly lowered, lost in thought. Sensing her gaze, he turned to look at her.

His lips curved upward. Beneath his slightly messy, short silver hair, a gentle smile appeared on his pale, gloomy face.

Since waking up today and seeing Ashera in his Youth Form taking control of the body, Beili hadn’t seen him wear his mask again.

Later, upon entering the palace and seeing the King of Nauze repeatedly comparing him to a photograph, Beili realized the guy was doing it on purpose.

Beili quirked the corners of her mouth at him, offering a faint smile.

She turned her gaze back to the opposite end of the table.

The King of Nauze was looking over eagerly, waiting for the youth’s response.

His bloated, aging face held a subtle, irrepressible expression of excitement.

It was the look of someone who had finally laid eyes on a treasure they had been coveting for a long time.

Yet, the youth was still looking at her.
He looked as though he hadn’t absorbed a single word of the King of Nauze’s speech.

The King of Nauze didn’t seem to mind, continuing to drone on to himself.

Beili sipped the sweet tea in her cup, listening intently while trying to parse and organize the information within his words.

From his rambling, Beili gathered that Ashera was a youth born after the Former Kings of Sainthos, Nauze, and Tilisha had each taken something.

A youth.

Indeed, Ashera had appeared in this youthful form from the very beginning.

Even as the Former Kings of the three kingdoms aged and passed away one after another, he remained unchanged.

Of course.

This was merely her speculation.

After all, the King of Nauze wasn’t about to mention the Former Kings taking things right in front of them.

…

“You’re… eating very little. Is it… not to your taste?”

The youth suddenly spoke, asking her in a low voice.

“I can’t eat much when there are so many people around,” Beili replied.

“That old fossil Cumberland suddenly sent a letter a few days ago, fishing for information… But don’t you worry, I didn’t reveal a single thing.”

This was immediately followed by a torrent of complaints directed at the King of Santos.

Until-

The King of Nauze’s words were interrupted by the sound of retching.

Beili followed the noise and saw one of the little princes in his seat, head bowed, his face contorted in distress.

It was unclear if he had overeaten or consumed something strange.

Beili suspected the former was more likely.

Regardless, the young boy clutched his stomach and vomited the food he had just eaten onto his plate with a wet splash.

The King of Nauze’s face darkened instantly.

But then, as if remembering there were two guests at the table, his grim expression vanished, replaced by a mask of serenity.

“You are…”

His voice trailed off, sounding uncertain.

“He is Prince Bolan, eighty-ninth in line,” a person standing by the wall spoke up to remind him.

“Bolan?”

The King of Nauze frowned and muttered, “Sounds a bit like Cumberland. What an unlucky name; I wonder who gave it to him.”

The person by the wall remained silent.

Beili felt that the person’s silence very likely meant that the King of Nauze himself had named the eighty-ninth prince.

It was just that he had so many children he had long since forgotten.

The King of Nauze looked coldly at the boy.

The boy didn’t cry. He simply lowered his head in terror, eyes wide and vacant as he stared in panic at the vomit on his plate.

“Even though I requested that you all join me for this breakfast,” the King of Nauze said slowly.

“And even though your stomachs are indeed quite small, other clever children have already learned to slow their pace of eating. But you-”

The King of Nauze sighed, shook his head in disappointment, and waved his hand.

“Take him to Forbidden Fruit Lord. This palace has no need for stupid children.”

Hearing this, the little boy lowered his head even further.

Aside from the sound of vomiting earlier, he hadn’t dared to make a single noise from start to finish.

Until the boy was carried away, the King of Nauze didn’t spare him another glance, acting as if the incident had never happened as he prepared to resume his previous topic.

He asked with a smile, “Apologies-for making you two witness such a sight. Now, where was I?”

“Why don’t you just state your purpose, Your Majesty?” Beili said.