Chapter 198: Corrupting soul
Raylen observed Emily staring blankly back at him as if she hadn’t registered what he had just said, yet it was clear she was merely taking a moment to process it. He noticed the subtle stiffness in the princess’s posture, almost as if she were unwilling and rejecting the idea. However, her thoughts never reached her lips because she knew that she didn’t have the luxury to express them.
"Is that the only way to slow it down?" Emily inquired with a furrowed brow.
"If I knew of any other method, I would have told you by now," Raylen replied in a nonchalant tone as he leaned back on the couch. He glanced down at the glass in his hand, which still held a sip or two of liquor, and continued, "We don’t know how fast your soul will corrupt. It might progress slowly due to the Blackthorn blood you possess, or it could accelerate and rapidly close in on your death."
Emily continued to stand there, rooted to the spot, as she watched him play with the liquor in his glass. She wasn’t willing to consent to having her blood extracted by Raylen. The only archdemons she was familiar with were Dante, Raylen, and Nathaniel.
"Are there only four archdemons?" Emily asked him, and Raylen shook his head in response.
"There are five. Me. Dante. Magnus. Nathaniel. Lastly, Celeste. Out of those five, only four now exist," Raylen answered.
As if reading what was on her mind, Raylen voiced it out loud, saying, "It would have been easiest to ask Dante for help, but he’s in Versailles. Even if you intend to travel back, using a ship now is unsafe due to the intensifying storms. The unpredictable risk makes it a perilous choice. I doubt Nathaniel will be willing to help. Celeste is in Hell, and she won’t respond. You are stuck with me, Princess."
Emily said, "You said I still have some time. Let us hope it doesn’t come to that point then."
"It is always good to remain optimistic, Princess." Raylen raised his gaze to meet hers, and he offered her a kind smile.
A part of Emily questioned if Raylen was merely saying it to get a rise out of her, but another part of her was keenly aware of his true nature as an archdemon. And as he had said earlier that day, he could have already sunk his teeth into her to drink her blood if he had wanted to do so.
"Why don’t we go and have supper?" Raylen suggested. He finished his drink, placed the glass aside, and then rose from the couch. "I am sure that once you’ve finished eating, you will feel much better."