The Demon's Bride

Chapter 445: Paging A Book-I

Elise was not used to threatening others, Ian might be her only example of putting his words in a thin line between threats and taunt, but she trusted to count on herself to do what she could when time needed her such as now. She saw Esther gripped on the armrest and more of Esther's fake face melted, revealing another face of the woman who looked very different from how she presented herself to look like in the beginning.

The woman appeared on her mid twenties, her eyes were still blue but fell far darker compared to her eyes. Other than the eyes and her hair color, her features had changed more notably on her chin and cheekbones that raised higher, and Elise wondered if Esther had stole someone's face like Barner did to Mr. Alfred.

"By keeping me trapped here do you think I would nod and reply to your question? You underestimate me too much," Esther formed a smile on her lips that were filled with confidence and Elise could not understand the source of the woman's courage despite the fact that the shadow blade was against the skin of her neck now.

"I think I rather overestimate you which why I had given you the holy water," answered Elise and she tapped the shadow beside her, "Also with your life on line would you still not answer my question? We should begin by your real name. It is not Esther, is it?"

Esther pursed her lips, bringing her chin down, she felt shivers when the shadow hand climbed on her legs and limbs, a sensation which she dislike to the point her stomach churn, "I did not change my name. It is Esther. Esther Fermor."

"What do you know about my father? Do you know his true name?" When Elise noticed just a slight change on Esther's expression she lifted her finger, bringing the blade closer toward Esther's neck. "Don't lie to me Esther, I don't want to treat you too roughly. My shadows seem to be able to tell lies and truth. Be careful with what is about to leave your mouth."

When Esther gulped, she felt the blade grazing and with her life on line she closed her eyes and opened it again only after some times, "Leviathan. The High Demon from Hell, the Prince of Hell, son of Satan."

She was not wrong and Ian's guess had been right on the mark, thought Elise. Her father had used the shorter version of his name 'Levi' in mortal world. It was so simple yet she doubted it. She tried not to feel dizzy while trying to sort out the informations she was about to face. Getting closer to the father she never once wanted to know until now, she could feel eagerness deep in her heat.

"You are similar to him," came Esther reply and a small smile appeared on her lips along with a small scoff, "Using the shadows to do the dirty work, you are indeed his daughter. The princess of Hell."

Elise didn't think herself suitable by the title, not because she felt she wasn't qualified for the position but because she felt foreign with it. She still think of herself as a girl who came from a small village who just went through a few things more difficult than others. But a princess? And a princess of Hell?

She pushed aside the thoughts for now, getting back to Esther, "How much do you know about my father?"

"What not much about him? I know almost everything about him," said the woman, she looked away and her expression was filled with a sudden anger, "You might not know this but then you don't know anything. You poor child, your father had been hiding things for you and all about your blood. He is making everything troublesome by not revealing what is important to you."

"You sounded like you know him very well," Elise said, keeping a careful watch over Esther's movement while her ears were opened to keenly listen at every words the woman was about to say.

"Very well. After all I am his distant cousin," Esther revealed, her words were like a sudden arrow piercing Elise's heart, sending her to a momentarily shock as the woman repeated again as if to confirm she had not heard it wrong, "I am his distant cousin from the father's side and also your aunt by blood. This is why you can feel that I am related to you by our scent. You must have noticed this."

"Aunt?" Shock flickered Elise's face over another round of surprise that came to her but she didn't immediately jumped into conclusion and trusted the woman's words as the woman spout more lies than truth since they met and she had successfully painted herself like a normal girl to make most people believe she was one when in truth she was not. "How can I believe that you are my aunt? Isn't there a way for you to fake your scent to make it similar to how my family would smell?"

"Someone...." the woman shook her head, "That demon who you are about to marry, shouldn't be told you already about the fact that scents between Demons cannot be defaced?"

"That doesn't make sense," Elise drew her brows, "You said you are someone who is related from my grandfather's side but you don't seem like a Demon and for one you are—"

"Weak," Esther filled the following answer with a grit of her teeth at the end of her words, "I know that much myself. Indeed I am related to Satan, but he is not the best man anyone would expect the King of Hell to be. He slept with many women, all high and low starting from Hell, the mortal's world, and even Heaven. It just appeared that I am one of his relatives but his blood on my body had thinned."

Elise was still on the side of not believing Esther's words, wanting more proof to decide, "How do you know my father?" action

Esther sighed, answering steadily, "I came from Hell just like your father and we knew each other since we were lesser of your age. Around the time when we were still fifteen or sixteen. He was a prince but for a prince he live like any other Demons, he wasn't donned by the luxuries he was supposed to be born with and when I talked to him he said that he hated his father, understandable because no one who is sane would want to claim Satan as their father even if it was the truth.

Elise wanted to refute the woman's words as lies but she had stressed to the shadows to give her a cue in case the woman had uttered a lie which the shadows could tell by the change of her voice and heartbeat but she saw how the shadow didn't budge from its place, showing that Esther had indeed spoke the truth. But because it was the truth, it confuses Elise more.

"Then if you were indeed my relative, why do you lie?" Elise questioned, her eyes looking deep on Esther, "You could have come to me, ask me with your true identity, rather than hiding and keeping a fake rumor all over the village so that I would find you and peg that you are my sister."

"Then would you have believed me if I told you the truth about myself?" The woman questioned back, a layer of unpleasantness was on her voice. She then closed her eyes as the shadows noticed her aggressiveness. "Lying here won't do me anything good. I know and you too know that the Demon you are about to marry is a strong Demon so let me tell you by my own mouth. I work with the dark sorcerers." and although this was what Elise was waiting to here, she felt strange because the woman confessed instead of revealing it because she had questioned it.

Elise was used to being betrayed, sold by her relatives in literal way and not. She was not surprised if she was going to be betrayed again. Holding her breaths, she asked, "Why?"

The woman gulped, "I can't tell you everything—"

Elise's eyes snapped wider at the woman, her brows drawn and in instance, the woman could feel the air suddenly shifting and though they were in the room it felt that she had been pushed to the edge of a cliff and there was Elise, watching her about the lean over the tip of the cliff while questioning her.

"I want no lies. Answer me," Elise said, her blue eyes now held spec of golden which slowly grew as the golden color spread brighter upon Esther's watch.

Esther was compelled to speak in the danger of her life and Elise was all ears to hear the woman's words but all of a sudden in the silence that ensued on the room, the two felt a chill. Elise's eyes widened except that it was not for anger like before— it was shocked. Though subtle, they could feel an appearance of someone on the castle ground— an appearance of a High Demon, coming for purpose.