The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 340: A loving family back home is what an expat needs

Chapter 340: A loving family back home is what an expat needs

In a swift motion, Izzi snatched the letter off my hand. It was so sudden that me and Zia ended up looking at him in surprise.

"I...I’m sorry, it’s just...reflex..."

Izzi pressed his lips, and I could see his hands actually trembling. "It’s fine," I exhaled slowly and smiled. "You can read it privately if you want."

"I..." he looked at me and Zia, seemingly struggling with his decision. Perhaps he was worried we would take it the wrong way if he went away.

"Really, it’s fine," I convinced him, and Zia shrugged in support.

"I..." he swallowed. "G-give me a minute!"

He almost yelled the last words as he ran back to his lab--not even his bedroom. I exchanged gazes with Zia, and the same wry smile came on our lips. Well...it wasn’t hard to understand his feelings and worry, and we were sure it would be way more than a minute. We moved to the couch then; Zia played with the confused Jade while I took out the other, more luxurious envelope.

This one was also important, and I got nervous before even opening it. "Can you get me some tea? A calming one, please," I asked the imp.

"Yes, Young Master."

It was only after I got a dose of calming tisane that I dared myself to break this overly gorgeous golden seal. I just hoped the content was as gorgeous as the envelope and the gold-rimmed paper she used.

There were several papers there, and the first one was just filled with greetings--gosh, I appreciate all the blessings and whatnot, but it was kind of annoying when we wanted to get the point ASAP. What a waste of expensive paper, Issa--oh?

Oh?!

My eyes widened as I read the content of the third paper, and when Zia saw it, she crawled to my side. "What? What? What does it say?"

Wordlessly, I gave the letter to Zia, and proceeded to take out the report papers inside the envelope to peruse them. As expected, this one talked about Izzi’s family--the direct one, at the very least. It gave me details about what the society thought of them and what they had been up to--at least what could be seen from outside, since I told them they shouldn’t be invasive.

And the report was...hmm, not confusing, but rather felt like two different worlds clashing. The first part told me that Izzi’s family members were kind of getting isolated in a high social setting. It didn’t go as far as being shunned or banned from gathering, but they would become this one family or one person who was being talked about and getting side-eyed.

This had something to do with the fact that the one who provoked Izzi and caused him punishment had influence within the community--some of them worked for the council or something. And for some petty reason, they didn’t let the topic down, constantly using it as materials for gossip.

Damn...did they have no other topic for scandal or something? No celebrity elf running away with a regular clerk? No council member using hallucination mushrooms?

Anyway, there was that. On the other hand, except within that setting--parties and such--the family was treated as usual. Their work didn’t get hindered, and there was no report of shops refusing to give them service. Izzi’s siblings went to school and hung out with their friends without any problem, and his parents worked just like before.

Now, I had no idea what I should think about this. Was this good? Was this bad? Their life seemed normal, aside from the side eye and the sneer in high social gatherings--which they were part of.

Also, surprisingly, the kingdom did not impose a fine upon them. Even though Izzi basically ran away bearing a mountain of debt, they did not demand payment from the family.

It wasn’t as bad as I originally thought, to be honest.

When I told Zia about this, she just shrugged. "I mean...he only destroyed a lab--which was prone to happen anyway. If something like that happened in my academy, it would probably become a topic for a few years, but after that...who cares?" she waved her hand. "Especially if the place had been repaired and the student in that era already graduated. At most, someone would say something like ’Hey, I heard a senior blow up a lab a few years ago’ and the other students would just go ’Wow, cool’ and forget about it."

Huh...make sense.

"I actually think him running away was good," Zia continued.

"How so?"

"Because people couldn’t see him, so they quickly forgot about it," she chuckled. "It’s not like he was destroying a landmark or a temple. The court proceeding also happened inside the academy, not open to the general public. Who would bother to remember something like that after a few years?"

"Huh..."

Zia laughed and scooted closer, refilling our teacup. Glancing at the door where Izzi disappeared to, she clinched her cup and whispered. "Do you think he might be running away because of that? So people would forget about him?"

"Hmm...maybe," I nodded, replying in a whisper too. "He did seem to love his family."

"Unrelatable, but good for him."

I laughed about the unrelatable part--because same. "But why is that...uhh, how should we call them--rival? Enemy?--anyway, why is that other family still talking shit about him? Like...it had been so long? And it’s not like Izzi is still relatable there..."

I added the last part in an extra low volume--because Izzi would probably flip out if he heard.

"I know right? It seems excessive for just a simple pettiness," Zia replied with extra eagerness, scooting even closer. "Do you think it might be...you know, a family feud or something?"

I parted my lips to reply, but before something could come out, we were startled by a loud, annoyed chirp. [Why Master and Zia talk so quiet? Jade feel lonely...]

"Oh, I’m sorry, baby!" I scooped the little bird who was sulking on the table, kicking my teacup dejectedly. "We just--"

And then, the door of Izzi’s lab creaked open, and all of our attention sucked there--even Jade’s. We watched the elf walk out, still holding and reading the letter. I bet he had already read them at least twice before coming out, and there was a smile on his face that got me and Zia looking at each other with a relieved smile.

"Seemed like they’re doing good?" I poured him a cup of tea and shoved it to his side.

Izzi looked up and, while folding the letter, replied with a grin. "Nah, just the usual."

"Well, that’s good, right?"

"At least, my mother still has the energy to write me three pages of scolding," he shrugged. "Also, my sister told me I shouldn’t go home until all the debt cleared."

"Oh?" I glanced at Zia again. Wasn’t that quite harsh?

But Izzi didn’t look disappointed and continued rather cheerfully after drinking the warm tea. "It’s because I would only be talked about by others, including our relatives--you know them; some aunties and uncles like to bring down their niece or nephew to make their own children look better."

"Haha, yeah..." I chuckled in agreement with Zia. Now, this one was indeed relatable.

"Anyway, if I go back to when I still had debts--whether it’s to the kingdom or your husband--I’ll just give a face to the sneer," Izzi shrugged and dropped a few sugar crystals to his tea--seemed like the elf was in the mood for celebration. "Our neighborhood is alright, but my parents are a part of several committees and they had to go to gatherings often,"

"Which means those people will have ammunition to the rumors and the back talk?"

Izzi nodded, finally looking a bit annoyed. Only a few seconds though, because it seemed like nothing could break his jolly mood today. "It’s not really anything new, and my family treated it like a fly’s buzz. But it would just be more annoying if I go there now, and...my brother thinks it might make those people escalate things."

"True," Zia nodded. "Those who are petty could do the most unfathomable thing."

Hmm...reminded me of a certain Demon Lord.

"Besides, if you want to come back, you should come back with a bang!" Zia slammed the table excitedly. "No debts, patents in hand!"

Izzi snapped his fingers and pointed at Zia with a grin. "Exactly!"

"Who said that to you?"

"My eldest sister."

I watched the elf with a relieved heart. From the look of it, Izzi still couldn’t meet his family. But what had plagued his mind was what happened to them, and what they thought of him. That was what deterred him from trying to send any letter or inquiry before.

But now, he knew his family was still the same--still loved him the same and doing well. I could see it lift a huge burden and guilt from his eyes, which were now shining more brilliantly.

"In that case, you might be glad to hear that the Sarteriel will open the case and ask your kingdom to reinvestigate it," I told him.

The golden eyes lit up and widened. "Are you serious?"

"They can’t lift the blasphemy status until they are sure about the intention of your gun-making," I relayed the letter from Issa to him. "And you might need to make an oath or whatever. But they’d reinvestigate, and--"

"And if it’s going well, they might clean your name," Zia curled her lips into a deep smirk and leaned forward, voice dropped into a sharp whisper. "Now, imagine if you come home after that? Clean name, clean finance. Those who talked bad about your family will be so embarrassed."

"That’s a nice thing to imagine before going to sleep," Izzi agreed. The golden eyes shifted to me then, and the grin beneath them was filled with delight. "In that case, I should work even harder--huh, Boss?"

"Of course. Why do you think I tried hard like this, huh?" I replied in jest, and he laughed while slamming a stack of papers into the table.

"Don’t worry, Boss. I didn’t just sit idly by while you were there."