Shock and Horror #2
The girl has been full of curiosity ever since she was small. She would poke around every corner of the royal castle, so she was constantly getting scolded.
“She does seem the type.”
“If Your Majesty could find it in your heart to understand, I would be truly grateful.”
“Of course. She is your daughter, after all. It is only natural.”
“Aah…♡ As expected of the Demon King… You truly are on an entirely different level from him…!”
Thump! Yuria’s heart, eavesdropping on the audience chamber conversation, pounded exactly as it had the day before. The coquettish voice belonged unmistakably to her mother. Because there were no moans this time, the certainty only grew stronger. And the subject of their talk… it was clearly about her. As a child she really had been insatiably curious. Of course, what child that age wasn’t curious… but the context of the exchange pointed straight at her.
No… No!
With her patience completely exhausted, Yuria kicked the audience chamber door with all her might. The panel flew off its hinges with a thunderous crash. She sprinted through the gloom until she stood directly before the throne, then unleashed her power at once.
A brilliant lime-green radiance surged toward the dais. Yuria’s eyes locked onto the woman in the dress standing behind the seated Tyrat, massaging his shoulders. Golden hair cascading to her waist, large sapphire eyes, and a gentle, beautiful gaze softer even than Yuria’s own…
“M… Mother…”
It was Margaret Elenar—her mother, whose appearance defied belief for a woman in her early forties. Panic layered upon panic. Yuria couldn’t pull herself together. She stared, lips parted, eyes glazed, as Margaret straightened her spine and glided forward with imperious grace.
“You’ve arrived, Yuria. My daughter… His Majesty the Demon King informed me of your coming.”
Margaret wore a skin-tight black dress that boldly displayed the swell of her full breasts and clung to every curve. With each step her long, straight legs flashed into view, and the towering black heels only heightened her sensual allure. The matching black wedding gloves made her fall into evil unmistakably clear.
“You’ve changed so much. Your hair, especially… Yet I recognized you the instant I saw you. Come here, my dear.”
“No… You’re not my mother…”
Even as she denied it, the woman was the mother she had longed for—exactly as she remembered her. No, she must not waver. The real question was when this creature had arrived. If the monster wearing her mother’s face had only just reached this place, it explained why Meryl’s ears had never twitched.
“Hoo… Hoo…”
Yuria barely managed to steady her emotions. She was about to demand answers from Margaret when Tyrat spoke first.
“Yuria believes you are a monster that has taken on the appearance of Margaret, her mother.”
Margaret lifted a hand to her lips and laughed softly. “Oh dear, how disappointing. A transformed monster…? Still, you are half correct, aren’t you?”
“Since the change is not yet complete, one could say you are mistaken for now.”
“That is true.”
Yuria could not follow the exchange at all. Half correct? Not yet, so it was wrong? None of it made sense.
“Your Majesty, our lovely daughter seems terribly suspicious… Might I be granted the opportunity to prove myself personally?”
“You have my permission.”
“Thank you♡”
With a seductive sway, Margaret approached Yuria and offered a bewitching smile.
“Mother arrived an hour ago and has been enjoying pleasant conversation with His Majesty the Demon King.”
“L… lie…”
“If you truly doubt me, ask whatever you wish.”
“Wh… what…?”
“I can tell you every memory we share, of course—even the prophetic dream I had while carrying you.”
“…..”
“Shall I speak? Very well. In the year 3017 of the kingdom calendar, I conceived you immediately after mating with that vermin. Three months later a mage from the tower informed me of the pregnancy. The entire kingdom erupted into festival.”
Margaret’s gentle voice described the moment of Yuria’s conception. Listening in a daze, Yuria staggered.
“Ah…”
As a child she had heard it all from Margaret—when she had been conceived, when she first stirred, when she first kicked, even which words had made her respond inside the womb. And the mother before her now wore that same warm smile while recounting every detail, even the childish accidents that had earned scoldings.
If this woman was not her mother, then who could possibly be?
After listening for a long time to those tender words, Yuria could no longer deny the truth. She had expected the moment of shattered denial to feel devastating, yet it did not. The surge of long-suppressed longing softened the pain into something almost sweet.
“Mother…”
A single tear slid down her cheek. Margaret’s eyes glistened with the same mixture of longing and joy.
“Yuria, this is not the kingdom. You may call me Mom.”
The loving understanding in Margaret’s voice made Yuria’s lips tremble.
“M… Mom…”
“That’s my good girl… I missed you so much.”
Margaret opened her arms and drew Yuria into a warm embrace. The familiar, comforting heat was something Yuria had yearned for with all her heart. She wrapped her own arms around her mother’s back and sobbed uncontrollably.
In that bizarre setting, mother and daughter were reunited.
Some time later, while still clinging tightly to Margaret, Yuria jolted back to reality at the sound of Tyrat’s voice.
“What a touching reunion.”
This was no time to be lost in sentiment. She had to rescue her mother from Tyrat’s demonic grasp. Yuria broke the embrace, seized Margaret’s arm, and pulled it behind her own back. Then she shouted at the Demon King, voice burning with fury.
“Tyrat…! What have you done to Mom!?”
He must have brainwashed her using the powers of countless monsters. She had to restore her mother to her senses and escape this place.
“I have done nothing at all. We simply shared our love with each other.”
“Stop lying!”
“How tiresome you are, Yuria. Is it not time you learned to believe?”
“You worthless piece of—”
Yuria’s body suddenly locked rigid. It happened the instant Margaret uncorked a slender vial and held it beneath her nose.
M… Mom…?
She tried to speak but could not. Nothing moved except her eyes. It was impossible. A Beast Slayer in full transformation, paralyzed? Yet the impossible had become reality. Yuria stared at Margaret in bewilderment as the woman calmly examined her immobilized form.
“Yuria, you must not speak to His Majesty the Demon King in such a manner.”
Her own mother… was defending Tyrat. Worse, the look Margaret gave her was filled with clear contempt. The sorrow of it cut deep—her own flesh and blood seemed to value the Demon King more than her daughter.
“The paralytic worked perfectly. Well done, Margaret.”
At Tyrat’s low, amused chuckle, Margaret’s face bloomed into a radiant smile.
“For Your Majesty’s sake, I would do far more than this.”
A spike of pure terror shot through Yuria. Was he planning to violate her?
“You look frightened. Fear not. I shall not lay so much as a finger upon you.”
Tyrat’s benevolent expression only made Yuria’s heart plummet further. Even now, unable to move, he had read her thoughts again. She wondered whether he had mastered some form of mind reading.
“You confirmed it through Meryl as well, did you not? Margaret is human. At least until today.”
Once again he had anticipated her. She was being toyed with completely. Until today? What did that mean?
Margaret’s hand brushed her daughter’s cheek. Yuria’s eyes darted wildly. The woman caressed the soft skin with careful affection and asked in a sorrowful tone,
“Yuria, why do you harbor such hostility toward His Majesty the Demon King?”
Because obviously…
Yuria felt as if her breath had been stolen. It was true—she had carried excessive enmity toward Tyrat. In the past she had sharpened the blade of vengeance because he had destroyed her kingdom and slaughtered everyone she knew. That feeling had been perfectly natural. But the present Yuria had returned to the past while sharing Jihyeok’s outlook. The deaths of insignificant commoners no longer troubled her. She had hated her incompetent father for ruling the kingdom and for lying to her. Of course remnants of old resentment still lingered; she could still recall the sensation of her heart being torn apart when the kingdom fell. Yet now that pain had transformed into indifference. Humans were evil. They deserved death. Besides, her mother was alive and well… so there had been no need for hostility. Moreover, Tyrat stood at the pinnacle of survival of the fittest—the very being capable of creating the ideal world she once dreamed of. A sovereign who, like Jihyeok, embodied absolute power. Should she not respect him? Then why was she still showing open enmity? The contradiction left her confused.
An old Earth proverb came to mind: the strong possess everything, while the weak can only dream of revenge. Her current behavior was exactly that of the weak. She was displaying the very pathetic, mosquito-like figure she had always despised.
Yuria shifted her gaze from Margaret to Tyrat. He wore a mysterious smile that suited his supreme confidence perfectly. Yet she felt no desire to admire him. Because Tyrat was not Jihyeok. She acknowledged his strength, but the only one she would ever serve was Jihyeok alone.
“Oh? Yuria’s eyes have grown resolute. How admirable…” Margaret’s voice dripped with sensuality.
Tyrat gave a slow nod. “She has steadied her heart by thinking of the person she keeps hidden within.”
“I wonder who it could be… the one our Yuria cherishes?”
“A fierce yet merciful man worthy of kingship.”
“Someone like Your Majesty the Demon King?”
“Like… yes, quite similar. Within a few days Yuria shall learn the entire truth. Enough idle chatter. Let us begin.”
“Yes~”
Margaret moved to the throne and stood gracefully at Tyrat’s side.
“Tell your daughter what you intend to do from this moment onward.”
“With pleasure♡”
A dazzling smile that seemed to brighten the entire chamber spread across Margaret’s face as she turned back to Yuria.
“Yuria, my daughter… you despise humans, do you not? Creatures who, despite their weakness, seek to rule others with nothing but silver tongues, who refuse to take responsibility yet eagerly display their desires for all to see.”
….?
“You believe it would be far better to serve monsters who place His Majesty the Demon King’s commands above all else and follow the law of the jungle.”
That’s…
Monsters were easy to rule. Show them overwhelming power and they submitted on their own. With sufficient strength there was virtually no fear of betrayal, and they obeyed the mighty Demon King without question. Moreover, seeing Meryl’s pure, childlike innocence had a way of warming even the coldest heart. Certainly… monsters did seem preferable to humans.
“Mother hates humans too. How contradictory—to be human and yet despise humanity. And when I imagine my lovely daughter hating me for being human, it feels truly unbearable.”
There was no need to worry on that account. Just as she cherished the monster Meryl, she did not hate every human. Those who understood their proper place, those who were close to her—she did not brand them as evil.
“When I am among monsters, my heart feels at peace. So very free. I am liberated from all the complicated, political entanglements of the human world…”
Yuria could understand her mother’s feelings perfectly. But why confess all of this now?
As Yuria watched in bewilderment, Margaret smiled sweetly and began to remove her clothes. She revealed her voluptuous figure without the slightest trace of shame. Yuria’s mind reeled.
Mom! What are you—
Her gaze locked onto one spot: the sinister crimson pattern glowing just below the curve of Margaret’s abdomen.
“Therefore, I have decided to become an existence like the monsters. I shall become one of His Majesty’s kin and devote myself to my duty.”
What… did you just say…?
What on earth was she hearing? Become what kind of existence?
“I hope you will watch closely as this mother sheds her human shell.”
Now completely naked, Margaret knelt before Tyrat. She bowed respectfully and asked,
“Your Majesty the Demon King, may this one be permitted to touch your august person?”
Tyrat gave a benevolent nod. “You have my permission.”
“Thank you♡”
Margaret slowly slid her hand beneath the hem of Tyrat’s dragon robe. Yuria watched with trembling eyes, unable to look away.