Click.
The sound of putting down a teacup.
The sound that should have melted away in the landscape is heard exceptionally loud.
“Whoop, whoop, whoop.”
“… … .”
And that creepy laugh you hear intermittently.
I’ve had conversations and negotiations with all kinds of monsters, but I’ve never been as nervous as I am now. No, the monsters before that still communicated.
That monster in front of me right now. It is an unknown existence that will turn into a wild animal that cannot communicate with words.
“It’s good. really good. Ah, how long has it been since I felt this sensation?”
“okay.”
I don’t ask what the feeling is.
There is nothing good about bringing up a topic that touches her instincts.
What I need to come into contact with is not the instinct that seems to jump out at any moment, but the reason she is barely holding on to.
“Come to think of it, what was your business?”
“hahahaha.”
He said earlier that he had come to receive the price of a bet.
This is dangerous beyond imagination.
Isn’t your mind still going back and forth?
strength, power and wisdom.
She, who should have had all of that, now feels nothing but strength and power.
How great is my blood? no, i know now i know
What Stasia is absorbing from blood is not mere power, but the memories that person has accumulated.
So it is only natural that the years of Oz, which have repeated numerous regressions, are delicacies. This little body must have been packed with hundreds of years.
It might even be blood comparable to that of a dragon that lives thousands of years.
I’ll get drunk with just one drop… … .
“ah! Was it something of a price?”
“… … you’re right.”
“Except for those who harassed Lord Diskre… … It was a price equivalent to that of Sir Lucia for 40 days, right?”
Apparently, Lucia’s value is only 1/60 of Discre’s.
No, let’s think the other way around here.
I bet that Discre is 60 times more capable than Lucia. So just how capable is this kid?
I’m afraid.
“So what do you want to get in return?”
“An interview with Antares Van Helios, Emperor of the Empire.”
“I don’t have enough Lucia for a day.”
“… … there. Why don’t you stop using that unit for now?”
Lucia is a person.
not a unit No, of course it would be convenient in the case like now, but no matter how much it is, there is a law.
“Hmm… … . Well, assuming that one day’s worth of Lucia is financed by debt. May I ask why you want to meet Your Majesty?”
“It’s close.”
“Are you close? There’s still some time left until His Majesty’s birthday, right?”
“No, the distance between each other.”
close.
Stasia is leaning towards me with her hands resting on the table.
My heart races. However, the reason my heart beats is not excitement, but fear.
She is obviously beautiful, but how could he be willing to get close to her in such a dangerous state?
“Oh, excuse me.”
“… … .”
Stasia smiled softly and opened the distance again.
I feel like my heart is already breaking.
How far have you been talking? Did I say the main point correctly?
I don’t know. For some reason, the strange scent makes my head dizzy.
Perhaps because of Stasia’s attitude of going back and forth between instinct and reason, she can’t relax even for a moment.
“Princess Stasia. You must have at least some idea of how things are going.”
“I do not know? I don’t know. I had been shut up all this time until recently and hadn’t heard any reports.”
Stasia started biting her nails and smiling bizarrely.
A dignified figure and a figure swept away by instinct. The two faces intersect.
It’s really hard.
I can’t guess where she is now.
She was an unpretentious person from the beginning.
It’s a lie to say that I haven’t heard any reports from just now.
If I really didn’t know anything, the title for me wouldn’t have changed.
In the past, he was a ‘prince’, but now he is ‘His Highness’.
At least it means that I know for sure that I have become the king.
“Whoa… … .”
This doesn’t work. At this rate, my mental strength will run out first.
“Let’s tidy up a little bit.”
It was foolish to try to hear an answer from her, who was wandering between reason and instinct in the first place.
Yes, we need to make sure that this has happened.
beginner magic
[Wind Piercing]
Squak-!
It flings beginner-level magic and carves a scar on my palm.
Before long, blood pools from the wound and drips onto the table.
“I’ve been thinking about it.”
monster or human. It’s better to lean to one side or the other.
I was looking down on Stasia.
I’m not talking about thinking I could tame her.
“ha… … . ha… … .”
“Stasia van Helios. Let me ask you one thing.”
“Aww!”
“Are you a person? Or are you a monster? Or else… … .”
What I was really underestimating.
“Are you the one who wants to be a human?”
it’s her will
Stasia can’t take her eyes off the drops of blood that have fallen on the table.
but don’t run
Even though I was swept away by my instincts to that extent, I didn’t move.
“after… … . whooping… … .”
She stumbled on a dangerous line, but never stumbled to one side. He tried to stand in front of me while maintaining his reason.
“I-I… … .”
Yes, she is the princess of the empire.
heir to the emperor.
“Person… … No, a monster learning to live as a human being.”
Until now, he has lived by suppressing the blood of the ferocious demons.
Of course, there were many shortcomings.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t understand people’s emotions, so he killed dozens of people and absorbed their blood.
Even though it was a death row inmate, he did not understand the weight of life.
But she kept trying nonetheless. to become a person.
to live as a human being.
To be the emperor of an empire that rules countless people.
“I want to be a person.”
There was only one reason for everything she had done.
* * *
In the past, Stasia was a beast.
A beast that just does what it wants to do and lives the way it wants to live.
“Stasia.”
“Ugh… … .”
Stasia was living a life like an animal in a zoo, receiving food in comfort.
I didn’t learn to speak properly.
Even if she didn’t say anything, the attendants brought her what she wanted.
I was satisfied with living as the beast in the cage.
“Stasia. Sit upright. You are not a beast.”
“Ooooh… … .”
but only one.
As much as her mother, she behaved strictly towards Stasia.
I couldn’t be more strict.
Since she belongs to the empire, she has come to represent the demons.
He does not mean the demon king, but represents the impression of the entire demon tribe.
‘It can’t go on like this.’
She accidentally caught the eye of Antares and became a member of the royal family.
It is because of Antares’ interest in wondering what would happen if something else were mixed with his blood.
But at the same time, Stasia’s parents understood. this is an opportunity
Those who had no choice but to live under the persecution of the demon king, those who were only regarded as monsters.
“Stasia. We can speak and we can suppress our nature.”
A chance to be seen as a different race rather than a monster. So I shouldn’t have looked like that.
“Since you were born in the Empire, you must live as a human being, not a monster who gave in to his instincts.”
Little Stasia couldn’t understand that. The imperial palace was comfortable.
It is a space where you can eat your fill anytime without needing to starve.
But why should I be patient?
“Stasia. What you receive, what you eat, is not an offering for you. All of that comes at a cost.”
Annoyed. It was very uncomfortable to have a mother who spoke incomprehensible words.
that’s why she
“no!”
such cruel words.
For the first time in my life, I put denial in the words I uttered.
Neither mom nor dad.
Those negative words that you don’t like.
“Stasia… … .”
At the time, she didn’t know.
The first thing you say to your parents is ‘no’.
I couldn’t understand how hurtful that was.
“Stasia… … . Please. It may be uncomfortable, but it may be cramped, but please live as a human being.”
“… … ?”
“You have not only demonic blood, but half of human blood as well. I mean. Stasia.”
However, there was something that even young Stasia could know, even Stasia who couldn’t even know the discomfort in the midst of pleasure.
what her parents say
For some reason, that vague anxiety that it might be the last.
“Yeah, it’s pretty. It’s graceful and beautiful. Stasia.”
The kindness of parents who always stroked their hair kindly even when they said something they didn’t like.
“Uh, Mom… … ?”
“Stasia, live as a human being.”
I couldn’t know
* * *
After that, her mother went missing.
No, it was known that he was missing on the surface, but… … .
that was an assassination I don’t know why.
It could have been the actions of his mother’s political enemies, or it could have been Antares’ failure to forgive the woman who gave birth to the beast.
“… … .”
Even so, Stasia’s life did not change.
There were attendants who would prepare everything she wanted.
There were plenty of loyal servants who would prepare food or anything they wanted just by whining.
If there is one thing that has changed from before, it is that no one nags.
“… … .”
I didn’t feel the need to speak anymore and I was able to live a life where I just had to enjoy the coziness.
In such a colorless life.
“what?”
“… … .”
Stasia caught the emperor, Antares, who was passing by her by chance and asked for the first time.
“Twist… … . I heard it’s a beast that can’t speak… … It doesn’t seem like that was the case.”
“… … .”
“Yes, what are you curious about? You should think carefully and answer.”
If Stasia at that time was a beast, then Antares was a monster.
She could see how terrible Antares was, looking down at her with a kind face.
That’s why, while being terrified, in the discomfort I felt for the first time.
“What is the price for what I have received so far?”
“flaw… … .”
He spat out words that were short and clear, and could be evaluated as intelligent in a sense.
“Kuhhhhh… … !”
Antares burst into laughter at the piece of wisdom seen in the beast.
I thought it was just one of many failures. Yeah, that was it.
It’s just that among the demons, because they were beautiful, because they were intelligent, because they had the unique power of being a vampire.
“this… … . I don’t know if it was a mistake. dragging.”
There was only one reason.
That’s why she didn’t even pay attention to her mother being murdered.
I could have stopped it, but I couldn’t. After all, it is a world of weak meat.
Even if I was pushed to death by countless enemies, that was all.
“Yes, the things you have enjoyed are not like tribute. The price of a trade.”
“… … .”
eyes of the beast.
The brilliance that dwells within it.
Antares spoke in order to further confirm his intelligence.
“It was prepared with the blood and sweat of the people of the empire. If so, why on earth did he bring them to you, even shedding blood and sweat?”
“… … .”
Here is the turning point.
Is it a pebble that just happened to reflect the sun’s light, or is it a jewel that created a new light by embracing the sun?
Stasia’s answer will decide everything. her life will change
Stasia was troubled. He knew that the answer he would give was by no means light, so he pondered it.
And I remembered. Why did she receive them?
“… … You want to be happy?”
“Hmm… … .”
A very childlike answer.
“hahahahaha! Yes, this is the most vague yet clearest answer!”
So, I got to the core.
Antares is the monarch. He is the one who stands above everything.
Then why are you standing there? Why do you exercise power?
why the hell
give it all to him
There is only one answer. The reason for supporting that loyalty, tax, and grudge.
“Life, authority, money, all of them are for one thing.”
Desire is directly related to happiness.
That is Antares’ justice.
What he has received is just a price for what they want.
People are loyal because they are extremely greedy.
“Then Stasia. what are you what is your happiness How can you be happy?”
“My happiness is… … .”
It was only then that Stasia could understand.
The reason her parents told her to live as a human being.
yes, she had to
Everything she has enjoyed so far has been enjoyed in a human way, not an animal way.
Then it is not hers. It is a debt that must be paid off. It was the price they paid for their happiness.
“I live as a human being.”
Her mother died some time ago. But she is still alive.
If so, why?
If her mother was assassinated, there is no reason to keep her alive.
then how?
The answer is simple.
Her mother must have risked her own life to protect her.
Perhaps there was such a deal.
So, she had to live as a human being. I couldn’t live as a shameless beast anymore.
Even for the parents who scolded her.
Even for those who gave her what she needed without saying anything.
Looking at Stasia, Antares asked with a sour expression.
“Is it easy to live as a human? The stage you are standing on is one that makes that impossible.”
“I will do it anyway.”
“why?”
“Because I decided to.”
Yes, now I know what her parents meant.
Because I decided to grant you that request.
“Then how?”
That’s why Stasia didn’t avoid Antares’ eyes.
Tidying up her hair like her parents complimented her.
Yes, gracefully, beautifully.
“Even if I use everything I’ve been given.”
Give back what you have received from them.
That’s why you have to be human.
First of all, you need to be able to understand what they want.
“Hmm… … .”
Antares was troubled.
As a person, that’s a good answer.
However, that was far short of an answer the monarch would give.
yes, that’s not enough
but… … .
“Not bad.”
It’s not that there isn’t.
Stasia was not a pebble that just happened to reflect sunlight.
However, it was not a jewel that embraced the sun and created a new light.
“If I polish it a little more, it might become quite usable.”
She was a ‘gemstone’ that could be either a jewel or a pebble depending on the method.
How it will shine, how it will be processed, maybe it will break because it can’t stand it while polishing.
i’m so curious about that
“Whether you will be a cold lord or a warm lord. I look forward to it.”
That’s why Antares designated Stasia as his successor.
By the winds and waves of the world, by the checks of political opponents.
To hone with all of those things.