The Devil's Betrothed novel Chapter 521

Chapter 521: Like His Own Child

There were knights all around, and even Ana was nearby, which only served to deepen Oriana’s embarrassment. Not only was Arlan holding her so closely, but his words were suggestive and shameless.

Oriana shot Arlan a glare. "Will you please behave? We are outside. Everyone can see us."

Arlan chuckled and glanced at his knights. "What do you guys see?"

"Nothing, Your Highness," they replied in unison, promptly turning around to face their backs toward the couple.

With a playful glint in his eyes, Arlan turned back to the woman attempting to free herself from his grasp. "They see nothing."

Oriana frowned. This prince and his men were like peas in a pod.

"I want to talk about Snowflake. Can you let me go now?" Her voice dripped with annoyance.

"At one condition."

"What?" she demanded.

Arlan’s face drew closer, his voice a whisper against her ear. "Tonight, you will allow me to provide you with my warmth."

She pulled her face back to look at him, only to hear him once more. "Will you?"

Her heart skipped a beat and made her anxious. "I... don’t know what you mean," she retorted, trying to push against his chest, her teeth gritted. "Let... me go..."

Finally, Arlan released her. Just as she thought it was over and stepped away from him, she heard his voice again.

"You seem to have trouble understanding whispers. Allow me to make it loud and clear so you can clearly understand what I mean." _{fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓}

Her expression tensed as she watched him speak again.

"Tonight, I want you to....umm...." His words were cut off as delicate palms covered his mouth, the owner of them hurrying towards him to prevent any further embarrassment.

Arlan didn’t back away, simply looking at her, only to hear her say, "Alright. I get it."

Under her palm, she could swear she felt his lips curving into a smile. This jerk!

She removed her hands from his mouth and watched the sly smirk play on his lips.

"Good that you understood," he said, taking her hand in his. "Let’s talk about our pet while we walk."

Oriana allowed him to hold her hand and walked alongside him. She knew he wouldn’t let go, so there was no use in resisting.

Without waiting for her to ask questions, Arlan began, "I found Snowflake almost five years back...."

He drifted back to those memories from when he was assigned to learn about military affairs and was dispatched to different military sites across the kingdom after he had finished his training at the academy where Crown Princes from various kingdoms honed their skills under the guidance of a single master.

During those military training years, one of such year, he was stationed at the northernmost border, attached to Megaris, he often found himself gazing at the towering, snowy mountains in the distance, seeking solace in the midst of loneliness. Sometimes, almost inexplicably, he even found himself teleporting there, driven by a subconscious urge he couldn’t quite comprehend.

In the thick snow and bitter cold, he would wander alone, akin to a lost soul merely existing for the sake of it. One particularly serene night, as he traversed a blanket of thick snow, his sharp hearing caught a muffled, weak sound. Intrigued, he followed the faint noise until he stumbled upon something out of the ordinary—a tiny creature, barely moving, emitting soft, muffled coos.

Arlan knelt in the snow and carefully extracted the small being, almost buried beneath the snow’s surface. In his hand, he cradled the delicate, feeble creature, its body barely warm and fitting snugly into his palm. He could scarcely detect its heartbeat and feared it wouldn’t survive much longer. With gentle care, Arlan removed every trace of snow from the tiny body and pressed it against his chest, covering it with the warmth of his thick coat, hoping to stave off the biting cold and provide some comfort.

"...I don’t know what I felt at that time, but all I wanted was to protect that small creature," Arlan shared, and Oriana listened intently. "I brought her back to the military base and tried everything I could to save her. She was a newborn baby, and I didn’t know exactly what to do. She needed food, but she was too small to eat anything. Feeding her milk was a challenging task, given her weakness, but somehow, I managed."

"How did you do it?" Oriana asked, her curiosity piqued. She wondered if he possessed the patience required for such delicate care.