She Belongs To The Devil

"Er… Greetings, Your Highness." Miriam gave a respectful bow to the Princess when she finally caught her breath and when her mind registered what she had heard.

But then, she didn't know whether it would be alright to accept the Princess's generous offer or if it would be rude to do so. She didn't know whether the Princess was just trying to be nice or if she was genuinely worried about her.

And seeing her silent and confused, Joyce politely said to her, "Of course, the decision is yours to make. I won't force you to come with me. But I would really like it if you did. I don't think this lone house is a suitable and safe place for you anymore."

"But…" Miriam turned to look at her and her late husband's house. She was about to say that that lone house was the only place she had, safe or not.

However, she dreaded entering that house again, that also alone. And knowing how there weren't any houses nearby and any neighbors she could depend upon, she felt as if she would die because of fear.

So she looked back at the Princess and asked, "Is it really okay for a commoner like me to come with you to the castle?"

"What good is a castle if it can't provide for one of its citizens in need?" Joyce gave a subtle smile to Miriam. She looked at her torn clothes and asked, "Why don't we go inside and take a few of your belongings? And we will head for the castle."

"And what about him?" Miriam asked while pointing at that unconscious man.

Joyce turned to look at that man and replied, "I will send some guards later. He won't run away or anything."

After a while, the two of them came outside. Miriam had changed into another gown and she was carrying a small handbag.

Joyce led Miriam to her horse and helped her to get on. She also got on the horse and headed for the castle without sparing another glance at the man who was still lying unconscious.

When their horse reached midways, Joyce saw a few horses heading towards them. When they got a little closer, she noticed that they were her guards.

They all stopped in front of her and bowed after getting close enough.

"Are you all going somewhere?" Joyce asked the guards.

"Your Highness," one of the guards replied to Joyce, "The Crown Prince send us to look for you. He was worried about you."

Joyce nodded and asked them, "Well, I am okay, as you can see. But there's a criminal lying there in the lone house near the entrance of the village. Bring him back to the castle so that he can be punished."

"As you wish, Your Highness." That guard gestured for two of the guards to return with the Princess while the other three left for the lone house that the Princess was talking about.

Upon reaching the castle, Joyce was welcomed by her husband at the gate.

Vlad was waiting for his wife there because she had never taken this long to return before. And he got worried thinking that maybe she was stuck in some difficult situation this time.

"Joy! What happened? Why did you take so long?" Vlad asked his wife and glanced at that woman who she had brought along.

Joyce briefed how Miriam had nearly died and how she needed a place to stay.

And Vlad instantly ordered the servants to arrange a guest room for Miriam to stay at.

Joyce made sure that Miriam had everything she might need in her room. And she also asked a maid to take care of Miriam and her needs.

After arranging everything, she went out to find her guards. They had brought that man and he was currently being kept in a prison cell.

Joyce then went to the prison to verify if they brought the right man. They did. He was still unconscious.

As Joyce was the one who had caught that criminal, the prison guards asked for her opinion, "Your Highness, shall we treat his broke limbs or shall we leave him be?"

Joyce thought for a while and answered, "Leave him in that state until he regains his consciousness. And I will decide what to do depending on how he behaves."

The prison guards agreed with the Princess and left that man alone in his cell.

After wrapping up everything, Joyce finally went back to her and her husband's bedchamber.

Vlad had asked the maids to prepare an herbal bath for his wife. And Joyce couldn't be any more thankful.

She instantly went and soaked herself in the bathtub. "Ah! This is so soothing," she thought to herself and rested her head on the rim of the tub.

She finally got the time to think back to today's incidents.

Joyce frowned and mumbled to herself, "I never knew it had grown so much… And I didn't know it could now suck the souls."

She looked down at that capsule on her neck and cursed it. "Why the hell did you behave that way today? This is the world of the living! You're not allowed to claim any souls here!" She talked with that capsule as if it was a human who could understand her speech.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

She covered her eyes with her palm and cursed herself, "But I can't really blame the plant for doing what it is meant to do. I shouldn't have gotten carried away and let it out, that also when others were around."

"Joy, are you talking to yourself? Are you alright?" she suddenly heard her husband's voice from outside.

She sighed and replied, "Yeah, I'm okay. Just… a few things in my head…"

"Do you want to tell me what it is?" Vlad pushed the door to the bathroom a little and asked while peeking inside.

Joyce looked at her husband and gave a mirthless smile, but said nothing.

Vlad could tell that she was greatly troubled. So he walked inside and sat down on the floor while facing his wife. He looked into her eyes and asked, "You can talk to me. Did something happen while you were there?"

Joyce bit her lower lip and nodded while looking down at the capsule. "I took it out… the plant. And it almost sucked out the soul of that man." She explained in detail about that scary incident.

After she finished explaining, Vlad held her hand and said, "You took control of it and didn't let it have its way. That's what matters the most." Experience more tales on empire

He then looked at that capsule and asked, "Can you not wear such a dangerous plant? Why don't you keep it somewhere safe? I don't want it to put you or the others in danger again."

Joyce took off that chain and then threw it in the tub, near her feet.

The two of them blinked and the chain was around her neck again. Joyce inhaled deeply and said, "I can't get rid of it. I think the only way to get rid of it is if someone else claimed it from me. It needs to have another owner."

Vlad then instantly asked, "Then give it to me. I will take it away from you."

Joyce gave a soft smile to her husband and shook her head. "I can't do that. What if you mistakenly take it out and you can't control it? I can at least do that… for now."