There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 442

Chapter 442: Chapter 435. Shapes of Love

"She loves her," Zein said in the empty pavilion with just them and the closed chest. "She still does."

Zein could tell that Princess Devika wasn’t the type to use a soft approach like her stepmother, the Queen. She could not bring herself to feign a smile and disdain as she spoke sweet words to entice others. She did not want to stay in the shadow; she wanted to be the light.

She wanted to be the Queen ruling the kingdom, not a consort for some rich businessman.

In a way, she knew it was her fate. She probably looked upon Svadeva, who had to receive the same treatment. She wanted her Aunt to show her that there was a way out. And yet, she was left in disappointment; the only answer she got was that...she had to run away.

But a runaway could not become the Queen, and so she persevered. She fought her way to escape political marriage, even after she was in her thirties. Her young look helped curb the criticism, but she knew her clock was ticking. As her time was running out, her love was marred with disappointment.

"Haa..." Bassena exhaled heavily. "It’s not like I don’t understand her, but..."

"She’s not the one who did all of this, anyway," Zein stroked the back of Bassena’s head. "If anything, she wants you out of this place as much as you."

If I have to ask for something as payment, then just promise me one thing; that you will never accept the offer to be a part of the royal family.

"Well, that’s a very easy payment," Bassena shrugged as she recalled the Princess’s one condition.

"She even threw a promise that no one will disturb us anymore during our vacation," Zein chuckled. "Doesn’t it mean her influence is pretty big?"

"I heard she’s a member of the court too," Bassena replied, despite saying he didn’t care about the royal family.

But Zein refrained from making any comment, and just observed as the esper stroked the intricate carving of the chest. It was made of high-quality teak wood and thus pretty heavy. The size was only a little bit bigger than a briefcase, and from the way the Princess said it, it seemed to be filled with items that Bassena’s mother personally made in secret as an aspiring artisan.

Thus, it was truly her belonging; not the stuff being gifted by anyone else.

Bassena caressed the chest with his fingers, stopping them at the border between the lid and the base. Zein had thought he would open it now, but Bassena put the chest inside his storage ring.

"Not checking it now?"

"Not here," Bassena shook his head. "Not in this place."

Zein looked around and nodded. "Right; let’s get out of here first," he stood up and looked at his commlink. They ended up spending exactly one hour here, funnily enough. Right on time for afternoon tea, followed by that dinner reservation Bassena had made. "I don’t think we can use that portal again, though."

He had no idea how far the Capital was from Udra, but he didn’t think two or three hours of car ride would be enough. Otherwise, they wouldn’t use the portal to come here in the first place.

"Let’s find the nearest commercial portal, or we can see if someone rents a private teleportation service," Bassena tapped on his commlink to search for some information. If they were lucky, sometimes espers with long-distance, multiple-carry teleportation skills like Senia would be willing to teleport them for considerable money.

"Can’t you do it yourself?" Zain tilted his head. "You can teleport."

Bassena smiled cheekily. "Only if you want to do like...fifty of those."

Bassena’s shadow teleportation, after all, was more like a blink--fast and mid-distance; perfect for battle, but not so much for traveling. Zein wasn’t one to feel queasy while getting teleported with Bassena, but doing that fifty times in a row was still...

"Ugh..." he felt like throwing up already.

Bassena chuckled and continued to scroll down the map as they walked out of the shaded area toward what they presumed to be a palace gate. But before they could reach the place, they were stopped by a guard. Bassena was about to scowl, but the guard greeted them politely.

"Excuse me; I am to guide the two of you to the nearest commercial portal available. If you would follow me..."

"Are you sent by the Princess?" Zein asked curiously.

The guard, however, did not reply. She merely smiled and gestured toward a certain direction. It’s not her, then--Zein raised his brow in amusement. If it wasn’t her, then he could only think of another person.

"I can’t read her at all," he chuckled.

"Who?"