Chapter 113

EP.113 A Softening Heart

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“Kyaaaah!”

Yuria screamed as she sat up, her body drenched in cold sweat.

She frantically looked around and realized she was in her room in Tairat’s castle.

“Huff… huff…!”

Breathing heavily, she examined her body.

She was completely naked, not a single thread on her. Just to be sure, she pulled her hair forward to check—it was still light green.

Her transformation hadn’t worn off. Thank goodness.

“Ugh…!”

Her head throbbed as if it might split open.

It felt like she had just had a nightmare. Wrapping a thin blanket around herself, she got out of bed.

She wanted to find her suit, but it was nowhere to be found.

It seemed someone had taken it.

Yuria sighed deeply and noticed a black dress hanging on a wooden stand by the door.

The design was embarrassingly revealing.

This was definitely… the dress her mother had worn.

The moment she thought of Margaret, a bolt of lightning struck her mind.

“Ugh… Aaaah!!”

Overwhelmed by intense pain, she collapsed to the floor, clutching her head.

Memories she had unconsciously suppressed came flooding back—Tairat’s resemblance to Jihyuk, her mother’s transformation into a demon, the pregnancy, and Jihyuk appearing before her.

The pain was excruciating, as if her entire body was being burned alive.

She wanted to scream for help, but no words came out.

Curled up on the floor like a shrimp, groaning in pain, Yuria saw the door burst open and tiny footsteps rushing toward her.

“Lady Yuria!”

The owner of the footsteps was Meril.

She ran up to Yuria and cried out, “Lady Yuria! Are you okay? Lady Yuria! Why are you crying? Don’t cryyyy!”

Meril, who told her not to cry, was now bawling her eyes out.

Yuria felt the pure sincerity of the little demon, and her pain gradually subsided.

Once the pain became bearable, Yuria lifted her head with great effort.

“Meril…”

“Huuuuh! Don’t be in pain!”

Meril, oblivious to Yuria’s voice, kept crying, but Yuria managed a faint smile despite her pain.

She was truly grateful to Meril for helping her regain her shattered composure.

Yuria reached out with trembling hands and tightly held Meril’s tiny hand.

Instantly, Meril’s loud sobbing stopped.

“Huuuh?”

Meril blinked her large, tangerine-colored eyes.

A bit of snot was dripping from her tiny nose, which Yuria found adorable.

Feeling much better, Yuria spoke.

“Meril… thank you… I’m okay now because of you.”

“Sniff!”

Meril tilted her head, still not understanding.

Yuria wrapped the fallen blanket around herself again and sat on the bed.

Meril then leaped up to the ceiling and landed softly beside Yuria.

Her jumping ability was unbelievable for a seven-year-old.

Her ears, the fox-like markings on her cheeks, her incredible athleticism…

Every time she saw these, Yuria was reminded that Meril was indeed a demon.

But she felt no wariness toward Meril.

The lovable Meril was now someone Yuria wouldn’t trade for anything.

Even though they hadn’t known each other long, Yuria felt this way.

It seemed she had adapted to the demon society.

“Lady Yuria. Were you in pain? A lot?”

Meril asked with innocent eyes.

Yuria wiped Meril’s tears and smiled weakly.

“A little… it hurt.”

“Why?”

“I had a nightmare… no, I faced a harsh reality.”

“Huh? That’s hard… explain it simply.”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

“But why were you naked?”

“I… don’t know… What time is it now?”

Meril opened the window, looked at the moon’s position, and replied.

“It’s morning.”

The eternal night still felt strange, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as before.

Yuria shook her head.

“I didn’t sleep much…”

“Huh? Lady Yuria, you’ve been sleeping for two days!”

“What…?”

Two days? So she had been unconscious the entire time?

It was shocking, but understandable.

It was strange how calm she felt.

Perhaps it was because of Meril that she could see demons differently now, and that’s why she didn’t break down upon seeing her mother’s transformation.

Why did Earth’s saying about humans being adaptable come to mind?

“I see…”

“Are you hungry? Should I bring some fruit?”

Indeed, after two days without eating, she was starving.

And thirsty too.

“Could you? And some water, please.”

“Okay!”

Meril jumped off the bed and was about to leave when she suddenly remembered.

“Ah, Lady Yuria!”

“Yes?”

“The Demon King was worried. He said to come see him as soon as you woke up…”

“……”

Tairat… now she wasn’t sure if he was the Demon King or Jihyuk.

As Yuria pondered with a serious expression, Meril approached again and asked.

“What should we do? Should we keep it a secret?”

It was so endearing that Meril was willing to defy the Demon King’s orders for her sake.

Yuria patted Meril’s head and shook her own.

“I’ll eat breakfast first, then go. I have some questions for him anyway.”

“Okay.”

As Meril left, Yuria stared blankly at the door, then looked at the dress.

It seemed like she was meant to wear it…

“Haah…”

She sighed deeply and got up.

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In the end, Yuria put on the dress.

She couldn’t meet the Demon King wrapped in a blanket.

The design was the same as her mother’s, revealing every curve of her body.

Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Yuria cringed at Meril’s compliments while eating the fruit.

Afterward, she left the room and went down to the first floor.

The demon servants bowed respectfully to her.

Just like when she had played tag with Meril.

Back then, it had been unpleasant, but now it felt different.

It was puzzling… her mood was strange.

‘Get a grip… please…’

Shaking her head, Yuria ignored the servants’ greetings and stopped in front of the audience chamber.

The door she had destroyed had been repaired.

Just to be sure, she pressed her ear against it—it was completely quiet.

She sighed in relief and was about to knock but hesitated.

Just go in. With that thought, Yuria opened the door.

The audience chamber wasn’t as dark as usual.

The large fireplace at the end crackled with flames, casting a soft orange glow on the throne.

Yuria swallowed hard and carefully examined Tairat’s face as he sat on the throne, reading a book.

‘He looks like Jihyuk… but also not…’

Her head was spinning, and her chest felt tight.

As Yuria stood there hesitating, Tairat closed the book and spoke.

“Stop staring like that.”

Yuria flinched.

She asked nervously, “Who… are you?”

“Sit down.”

With a wave of Jihyuk’s hand, a luxurious chair from the corner of the room floated over and settled beside the throne.

“Magic…?”

“To be precise, it’s telekinesis using magical energy. I said sit down.”

“……”

Instinctively feeling she should obey, Yuria cautiously stepped forward.

Walking across the soft carpet, she approached the throne, glanced at Tairat, and then climbed the steps to sit in the chair.

It was incredibly soft, like sitting on a bed.

Fascinated, she examined the chair, and Tairat complimented her.

“That dress looks lovely on you.”

“Thank… no, wait…”

Still confused, Yuria hesitated.

Tairat chuckled.

“What do you want to know?”

Taking a deep breath, Yuria mustered her courage.

“I just asked. Who are you?”

“Tairat. The ruler of the Demon Realm and the Demon King.”

“…… That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what?”

Tairat looked at her with a teasing smile.

Biting her lower lip, Yuria spoke.

“You… look like someone I know.”

“Is that so?”

“This isn’t something you can brush off so easily. I want a proper answer.”

“You’ll find out naturally.”

Yuria thought Tairat was trying to ease her into accepting the truth.

She was currently forming a hypothesis.

That Tairat and Jihyuk might be the same person…

And that, like her, he might have returned from the past.

Hypotheses and truths carry different weights.

If this were true, no matter how much she expected it, the shock would be overwhelming.

Even more than when Margaret turned into a demon.

If that happened, she might faint again, and Tairat seemed to be trying to spare her that by speaking this way.

‘What should I do…?’

She wanted to hear the truth but lacked the courage.

Should she wait to realize it naturally, as Tairat said?

After much deliberation, she decided to change the subject.

“Where’s… my mother now?”

“She’s in the underground prison. Oh, she’s pregnant with your sibling now, so maybe the prison is too harsh?”

Yuria shot up at his words.

Seeing her furious expression, Tairat raised an eyebrow.

“Sad, isn’t it? What happened to your mother.”

“Shut up…!”

“Fortunately, there’s still a chance. A chance to turn your mother back into a human.”

Yuria’s eyes widened.

“How…?”

“If I retrieve my essence from Margaret’s body, she’ll return to being human.”

“Do it now…!”

Yuria was about to demand her mother’s immediate restoration but stopped herself.

She couldn’t defeat Tairat now.

That much was obvious.

Trying to solve things with force wouldn’t work.

Perhaps flattering him to get what she wanted would be better.

As Yuria trembled, Tairat sneered.

“You’re catching on quickly this time. Not attacking me deserves some praise…”

“You…!”

“Let’s make a bet.”

“A bet…?”

“Try to convince Margaret. If you can make her say she wants to return to me, I’ll retrieve the demonic energy without any conditions.”

“Really…?”

“Of course. But… do you think Margaret would want to return to being human? She’s a human who came to hate humans. There’s deep-rooted distrust in her mind. She even carried my child.”

Yuria gritted her teeth.

It was infuriating, but it was true.

She didn’t know how her mother’s heart had been turned, but… her mother had become a demon by her own will.

Recalling her mother’s words after the transformation, it seemed she truly understood her position.

That she belonged to the demon group.

“Besides, you think demons are better than humans now. Can you really convince her?”

“Don’t act like you know me!”

Yuria shouted angrily. Tairat shrugged slightly.

“I’ll give you two days. During that time, you can come and go between the prison and the castle.”

“I’ll go see my mother now… make sure the demons don’t stop me.”

“I’ve already arranged that.”

Tairat looked relaxed.

Yuria resolved to convince her mother and crush that smug… no, that high-and-mighty attitude of his.

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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