Chapter 321: Show Your Nature-I

Elise decided to keep the name in mind as she would soon study about all Demons and possibly learn few things about hell that might help her. The priest pulled his hands behind him, "Anything else you wish to find or learn? We have variety of books here if you are curious."

Elise nodded at the man's consideration, "I wish to also read about Angels, like Gabriel," and she noticed Redrick raising his brow although he did it very subtly. "And I am not sure if you might have this, I want to know about Demon's Bride."

"The Demon's Bride," repeated Redrick with a frown, he can't understand why Elise would want to search about Demon's Bride. He gave it a thought, uttering while thinking, "I have heard about Demon's Bride before, it is a human girl who are married to Demon in order to kill them."

Elise nodded in response, confirming his words, "Is there no book that speaks about them?"

Redrick gave another thought, but this was Elise's request. Even though the girl lived like any other human, unaware of what she was, he had many things he owe to the couple who brought her to this world. 

"I suppose there is but I have forgotten where it was, you can wait here and I will come back once I found the book. Meanwhile, you can read the book. The words that have no meanings have been rewritten in our language while some words remain a mystery as I haven't been able to decipher."

"I will try to decipher some if I could," offered Elise. Redrick smiled without saying and Elise took it as a yes but she can't help to notice the meaningful gaze that flickered in the priest's eyes. 

When the priest had left, Elise walked over near the glass case where the chalice was placed. While thinking to kill time, waiting for both Ian and Redrick Elise opened the book reading it slowly. 

The book was filled with interesting things some were the things she knew and most were foreign stories about Hell and how the place was. In silence she muttered what she read aloud, "Time flow in Hell moved slower than it is in the living world."

"That is correct," chimed Ian who came right beside her, taking her by surprise. 

She settled her hand from the side of the book to the middle of her book, looking him by his expression to draw nothing, "What happened?"

"With Cy?" He asked and went to her side to take the book from her hand, reading it as he spoke, "She told me a few thing about your sister's village and how there was another odd happenings in a village not too far from here. If you are curious we could go there on our way home."

Elise nodded in reply to his offer as she was indeed curious, "What did Cy said about my sister's village?"

"Just little things," Ian said meaningfully, "It was about how there are wolves sightings around the village and she told me she might have found out reasons of why your parents never visited rivers or place with a lot of waters including water well. That what seemed make her rush here but I think it's better if we heard it together so I allowed her to investigate the village we will go to and talk about it once we got back." he passed the books again on to her hands, "This is very amusing."

"This is?" Elise asked him, she wondered what was funny as he was smiling.

At the same time, Redrick came back with another book which was much older than the other two books that he gave to Elise. When Redrick find Ian had come back, he internally frown. "You came back early, milord."

"I don't think it was pleasing for my wife if I let her alone for long, she always feel lonely without my company," boosted Ian. The word 'wife' had a very nice ring into it that reddened Elise's complexion.

Redrick didn't like the word though, he spitefully corrected, "Bride."

Ian was a rather petty person, he soundfully argued, "Wife because that is the word that leaves my mouth not yours." and that earned him a dangerous glare from the priest which Ian politely return with the same intensity.

During the entire time Redrick searched throughout his mind to find methods to reveal Ian's true nature to Elise while being subtle about it, Ian had also thought to tear down the fake facade of a human that the priest wore. He didn't know what the priest was but he could see through it that the priest was anything but a human.

Needlessly to say, in front of Ian, it was easy to read one's goal in their mind. Most people comes as see through to him with some not. Redrick was an open book, much to comparison of his intelligent look. He was aware Redrick planned to Ian had angered him in purpose so the priest would throw a fit of anger, revealing what he was while at the same time exposing what he is.

Redrick decide to look at Elise rather than polluting his eyes at this Demon, "I have found the book about the Demon's Bride but I can't guarantee you would understand it. But trying won't hurt," said the priest, placing the book and he added another one which had a very white cover. Elise immediately noticed a complete striking difference between the white book that held no dust at all when compared to the two 'Demonic' books on her hands. 

"On this book is written everything about Angels. All that you need to know and all there it is to know. Reading about Angels would take almost three racks to understand, I think this book is perfect as it's summarized the essence about Heaven that you need to know," said the priest.

Elise didn't miss how the priest looked at her while saying these. She learned from the past few days that to read one's expression was important— a teaching which she learned from Ian by watching him. Which why, Elise didn't move the way the priest's gaze lingered long at her. She can explain that the gaze wasn't one that admired beauty but something much more different her hand couldn't point out.

"Thank you for your consideration," Elise replied politely, she could tell the books were important, "Is permitted to borrow these books?" 

"That would be fine," said the priest willingly without giving a second to think of it. "Reading all the four books at once would be tiring, you can bring it back to your home and once you have finished reading it, the Church would be available at anytime for the return."

"That's great," chimed Ian, and Redrick didn't like the way he continuously get in between his conversation with Elise, not leaving any space of conversation to flow when he is present. 

"I didn't take you to be a person who would like books," commented Redrick, narrowing his eyes as the Demon's hands touched the snowy book. 

Elise thought that perhaps due to how mischievous Ian looked he would seem so and perhaps if she hadn't come to his library that was packed with nothing but books she would have believed that was the case.

"I find some books interesting. It is said that books are window to knowledges, something we can pass to our children and the generations that would come after. Books are only interesting if you read it once however as it gets boring when you read it for the hundred times," he spoke purely from his experience, "And like the book over here, this one is very amusing. Have you read it, priest?" 

Elise's gaze slowly shifted from Ian to Redrick. The priest replied, "All the books in the library have been read by me."

Ian hummed, neither surprised nor amazed by his reply, "Then do you remember all the content?"

Gradually, Redrick grew curious of what the Demon was trying to pull him like a donkey with an apple. "I do. You can ask me questions if needed," the priest said with a slight proudness.

"Okay," Ian replied as if he was waiting for those words from him. "In the opening of the book it mentioned about a single lone flower that could bloom without any difficulty in Hell. That flower would stay bloom even without Sun and after drowned in fire."

"Yeslia," replied Redrick at the question, "A flower that is describe to have a glowing blue stem and a blood-like petals which bloomed in a way camellia flower would." The priest went confused at the question as Ian hummed stalely after his words.

Instead, it was Elise whose blue eyes widened at the utterance Redrick said and her eyes shifted at Ian. Aside from admiring Redrick's quick memorization, Elise was much surprise at his reply. It was not because he was right, it was the opposite way. Redrick had replied it wrong and yet he seemed to be very proud of his reply. Most of the talk about the flower was similar but it turn wrong when Redrick went to describe about the flower.

Ian showed the text in front of Redrick, "Is that what you read?"

Redrick raised one eyebrows internally questioning but his face had leaned forward, rereading the same reply again. Elise could tell the priest wasn't loosing it, to his eyes the text was written that way— different from what she and Ian had read.

Elise didn't say anything because she noticed something was off. "Okay," was the simple one return Ian uttered. When he looked at Elise, he pulled a grin, "Fascinating, right? We found something new about you, it seems." he chimed and Elise felt the need to gulp.