The Voice in the Throne Room
Shock and horror flooded her. Thump. Thump. Her heart beat with an unpleasant, frantic rhythm. For a moment, Yuria wondered if she had misheard. Margaret’s… pussy? Did you enjoy it? The unbelievable words made Yuria forget she was secretly eavesdropping and let out a shaky breath.
“Haa… haa…” After breathing deeply a couple of times, she managed to calm down. But then—
The disgusting moan made her breathing grow ragged again. The voice echoing from inside the audience chamber was unmistakably her mother’s.
Yuria, teetering on the edge of losing her mind, decided this had to be one of Tyrat’s sick jokes. He must have known she was listening in. That was why he had ordered the monster beneath him to mimic that voice.
Yes. It had to be a prank. Otherwise, there was no way her gentle mother would ever speak like some common whore. She needed to confirm it. Only then could she feel at ease.
Yuria pushed the audience chamber door open with the lightest touch. The door opened without the slightest sound. It was well-oiled. Once inside the vast chamber, she spotted a single throne at the far end of a long corridor. And there, a woman was straddling a man, eagerly bouncing her hips.
Hiding her body behind one of the many tall pillars that lined the hall, Yuria floated silently toward the throne.
A high-pitched cry loud enough to shake the entire audience chamber. She must have reached her climax.
It seemed Tyrat had finished as well. Irritation surged through Yuria. As expected, Tyrat was unforgivable. She had thought they could communicate, but she took that back. If he could pull a stunt like this, he clearly lacked even basic intelligence.
When Yuria had reached the middle of the audience chamber, Tyrat’s deep, resonant voice rang out.
The woman who had been burying her face in Tyrat’s crotch beneath the throne tilted her head.
The woman made a kissing sound against some part of him before vanishing through the portal Tyrat had created.
The audience chamber fell silent. Tyrat, his lower half covered by his imperial robe, murmured in a low voice.
Yuria flinched and stepped out from behind the pillar, revealing herself. Tyrat clicked his tongue.
“Wh-who’s a—! I was just—”
“Turn on the lights first…!”
Grind. Yuria clenched her teeth and focused her power. A soft greenish glow radiated from her body and spilled toward the throne. There sat Tyrat, chin resting on the armrest, wearing a relaxed expression. And beneath the throne, the sticky, whitish fluid staining the floor. The aftermath of their deed.
Embarrassed for no reason, Yuria shouted, “Where is that crazy bitch?!”
“The monster who imitated my mother’s voice! I’ll have her head for this!”
Tyrat’s lips curled in amusement. An inexplicable sense of unease made Yuria tremble.
“Stop messing with me!”
Yuria exploded in anger and charged at Tyrat. She closed the distance at terrifying speed and swung her fist. A fierce, powerful punch. Yet Tyrat caught it with ridiculous ease.
“Ugh…!”
Yuria swallowed a groan, wrinkling her nose at the distinctive smell of semen rising from below. Tyrat released her fist and spoke.
“What are you—!”
“As if I’d listen to you!”
“Tch…!”
With those words, Tyrat slowly rose from the throne. Overwhelmed by his usual oppressive aura, Yuria backed away and descended the stairs in front of the throne. Tyrat walked past her with a gentle smile.
Even while terrified, Yuria studied Tyrat’s face as he passed. Up close, he looked even more like Jihyeok. Her mind grew increasingly muddled. Was she dreaming? Her vision seemed to blur. Just as that thought crossed her mind, Tyrat’s next words snapped her drifting consciousness back into focus.
“What… do you mean…?”
Leaving only those cryptic words behind, Tyrat walked away. Yuria stared fixedly at his retreating back as he left the audience chamber, lips pressed tightly together. Once he had completely disappeared, she let out a long sigh and returned to her room.
She was so tired… She just wanted to sleep.
“Lady Yuria!”
Thud. Thud.
“Mmm…”
“Lady Yuria! It’s Meryl!”
Yuria, who had been tossing and turning, opened her eyes at the clear voice coming from outside the door. She sat up and looked toward the window. It was still night. Had she slept through an entire day? She wasn’t sure. Yuria braided her messy hair and called out.
“Come in…”
Even though her voice was quiet, Meryl must have heard it, because the door opened and the little fox-girl entered. She wore a bright smile and carried a large plate piled high with fruit.
“Lady Yuria! I was so worried!”
Meryl’s short legs worked hard as she walked. When one of the fruits fell from the plate, she let out a small “Hwing…” Yuria couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the sight. She regretted not playing with Meryl before going to bed. But at the time, the situation had been too shocking, and the thought of being humiliated had left her in a foul mood.
Meryl set the plate on the nightstand, picked up the fallen fruit, and began munching on it noisily. Every time she opened her mouth wide, a slightly pointed fang peeked out from the corner of her lips. They were the sharp teeth typical of monsters, yet even those looked incredibly cute.
Wearing the kind of smile a mother might give, Yuria asked, “Meryl, how long did I sleep?”
Meryl, who had been dripping fruit juice from her lips, swallowed the bite she was chewing.
“You slept a long time! It’s evening now.”
She really had slept a long time. But even so, the sun should have set by now… Outside, the moon hung in the sky just like yesterday.
“Is there no morning here? No… let me rephrase. Does the sun never rise here?”
“The sun? I’ve never seen it.”
That meant the moon was always in the sky. It really was fitting for the gloomy castle of the Demon King.
“I see… Thank you. Oh, and Meryl.”
“Yes?”
“Yesterday, after you went up to your room from the dining hall…”
“Yeah.”
“Did you hear anyone coming?”
“Uung?”
Meryl tilted her head, looking confused. Yuria changed her approach.
“Your ears are really good, aren’t they?”
“That’s right. Hehe…”
Praised, Meryl giggled brightly. Yuria, now sitting on the edge of the bed, wiped the fruit juice from the corners of Meryl’s mouth with her hand and asked,
“Can you sense presences and sounds around you?”
“Yes!”
“Even ones humans wouldn’t notice?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
When she had secretly infiltrated the dining hall, Meryl hadn’t detected Yuria’s presence. That meant the ability only worked on other ‘monsters.’
“I just had a feeling.”
“Wow… Lady Yuria is super strong…”
How on earth did she reach that conclusion…? She really was pure. Yuria gave a sly smile and asked the wide-eyed Meryl another question.
“When you entered the room yesterday, did you sense anyone’s presence? For example, a monster entering the castle… or maybe hearing strange… woman’s screams…”
Meryl possessed a special ability to detect the presence of monsters. If she could even sense the ones Tyrat hid, her range and sensitivity had to be enormous. In that case… she should have noticed the crazy bitch who had been fucking Tyrat yesterday.
“Screams? You mean a ghost!?”
Meryl’s teeth chattered as she shivered. Yuria lifted her by the armpits, hoisted her up, and sat her down beside her.
“Not a ghost. A monster, just like you.”
“Really…? I didn’t hear anything.”
Yuria’s eyebrows twitched. Then the being in the audience chamber yesterday had been human… meaning it really was her mother?
Just as an unpleasant feeling began to rise again, Meryl’s next words made Yuria breathe a sigh of relief.
“But there’s magic that the Demon King installed for me in the middle room on the second floor. It’s super quiet there, so I can sleep comfortably.”
It seemed he had placed some kind of special protective spell on it. That was unexpected. He didn’t seem like the type to look after his subordinates… but perhaps he was gentle with children? In any case, the matter had once again fallen into a labyrinth.
After thinking for a moment, Yuria said, “Do you want to sleep here again tonight?”
“I want to, but… it would be rude to the Demon King.”
“There are plenty of rooms. Or I can tell him myself. Play with me today.”
“Really? Is that okay?”
“Of course. The Demon King seems to listen to me pretty well.”
“Waaah!”
Meryl threw both arms into the air and bounced with joy. Yuria chuckled, then suddenly hardened her expression.
“But there’s one condition.”
“What is it?”
“Someone’s coming at dawn tomorrow. A guest of the Demon King. When that guest arrives, just tell me whether your ears perk up or not.”
That crazy bitch had asked Tyrat if she could come again at the same time tomorrow. Since he had told her to do as she pleased, she would surely come to fuck again. At that moment, Meryl’s ability would confirm whether she was a monster.
“I’ll do it! Sounds fun!”
“Good.”
“Lady Yuria is the best! Lady Yuria! Do you want to play hide-and-seek with me?”
To think such a cute little child lived in this bleak nest of monsters. Yuria hoped from the bottom of her heart that Meryl could escape Tyrat’s grasp.
“Alright, let’s play. But we can only do it inside the castle. You must never go into the audience chamber.”
Without realizing it, Yuria had begun paying close attention to Tyrat’s mood. Meryl laughed brightly.
“Okay!”
Meryl was a child with an enormous amount of energy. Thanks to that, Yuria had no choice but to play hide-and-seek with her for a very long time. But it was good for Yuria too. Pretending to be ‘it’ and hiding allowed her to explore every corner of the castle.
Ignoring the polite greetings of the somewhat human-looking monster servants, Yuria played hide-and-seek with Meryl until the early hours when everyone was asleep, and in doing so, she learned the layout of most of the castle’s interior.
“Huaa! So tiiired…”
Meryl sprawled out on Yuria’s bed with a groan. Yuria stroked her head and asked,
“Did you have fun?”
“Yes! I sometimes play hide-and-seek with the head chef, but he finds me way too easily so it’s not fun. But playing with Lady Yuria is hard to find, so it’s fun! It’s the same when I hide. I get all excited because I don’t know when you’ll come!”
“I’m glad.”
“Please stay here a long time, Lady Yuria!”
Stay a long time… She had no intention of doing that… Feeling strangely unsettled, Yuria changed the subject.
“Calm down. First, keep your promise.”
“Oh, right. Should I go now?”
“There’s no magic cast on this room, right?”
“Nope. Only the middle room has it.”
“Then check from here. Fifteen minutes left.”
“Got it!”
Yuria spent the time carefully observing Meryl’s ears. Fifteen minutes passed… then another fifteen. Even after thirty minutes, the news she was waiting for never came. Meryl said she could only hear the sound of pages turning in the audience chamber.
Just as Yuria’s heart was about to start pounding unpleasantly again, Meryl yawned.
“Huaam…”
Feeling sorry for her, Yuria said, “You can sleep now.”
“Okaaaay…”
The moment she answered, Meryl stuffed her ears with cotton, flopped onto the bed, and began snoring. Yuria gave her a motherly smile, pulled the blanket over her, and stepped outside.
She focused her hearing, but no sound reached her. That meant that crazy bitch hadn’t come after all…
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
No. She had come. A faint voice could be heard from the audience chamber. Could it really be human? Could it really be her mother?
No… She must have just arrived. That’s why Meryl didn’t sense her.
Clinging desperately to that thought, Yuria slowly moved her trembling legs. She had to have just arrived. She had to. Otherwise… she really might go insane.