Chapter 2
2. Am I not Your Majesty’s most cherished piece of bedroom furniture?
I was the ruler of the demon realm. So it was only fitting that I be called “Master” or “Lord.”
The title “Your Majesty” was reserved for my eldest sister, who ruled the highest layer of hell.
Even if they mistook me for a human, there was no reason to address me like royalty.
Besides, from earlier on, I’d gotten the strange feeling they were treating me as if I’d been unconscious for an oddly long time.
While Chimie covered her mouth with the earthenware vessel and curled her body into a ball, I was fully focused on assessing the situation.
“Her Majesty the Empress?”
“Oh my! Thank the gods!”
“Ah, what a relief. What a relief…!”
Just then, the sound of footsteps rumbled closer, and a crowd of unfamiliar humans in servant or maid uniforms began flooding into the room.
Every one of them had teary eyes and looked deeply moved, but unfortunately, I had no desire to deal with a large group of humans right now.
No, that wasn’t it. I was simply sick and tired of humans.
I had loved humans. And humans had betrayed me.
Now, there wasn’t even a single ember of love for humans left in my heart.
“Did you save me? Heal me?”
The casual, condescending tone slipped out naturally.
After all, I was used to commanding thousands of demons as my underlings in my castle. Commanding others had been my birthright.
But strangely enough, when I spoke with such authority, the humans looked relieved, their eyes still glistening with tears.
They weren’t afraid.
“Yes, Sir Noert, the knight commander, retrieved Your Majesty. However, the shock must have been great—you remained unconscious for a full fortnight… sob.”
An elderly man wiped his eyes.
From his attire, he seemed to be something like the head steward.
If I had my way, I’d kill every last human there is.
But since these people had used some mysterious means to save me, I couldn’t harm them.
According to demon law, if—embarrassingly enough—one receives help from someone, you are forbidden from harming that benefactor.
A very thoughtful law, designed to ensure you never forget your humiliation.
‘Right, that’s why my magic wasn’t being generated just now.’
I tried hard to believe that.
A creeping unease began to climb up from my ankles, but I pretended not to notice.
“Do I resemble your empress? Is that why you saved me?”
“…Pardon?”
But when I added another question, the weeping humans all stopped crying at once.
“I asked if this body resembles your empress. And what do you mean, ‘retrieved’? I never fell.”
I was stabbed to death.
I had no idea how or why these humans had healed me. The frustration was unbearable.
Whether it was because of this impatience or the dull pain spreading through my entire body, my anger kept flaring up.
“Your… Your Majesty. Could it be that your memory… is not entirely intact?”
Just then.
The knight who had been muttering beside me and being a nuisance finally spoke, his voice trembling.
“Memory? My memory is perfectly fine.”
“But…”
The knight, clamping his mouth shut, suddenly stood up and fetched a mirror from somewhere.
“Have you perhaps forgotten yourself, Your Majesty?”
“What nonsense is that…!”
In that moment, I realized my voice had changed slightly.
My formerly husky, low, and commanding voice had now become so thin it sounded as if it might fade away at any moment.
Tilting my head, I looked down at my hands and flinched.
They should have been large, magnificent, and splendid hands. But what was this?
A smooth hand with no visible knuckles, and a wrist so thin it looked like it couldn’t even hold a single book. The fingers were so slender they seemed as though they would snap if anyone applied even the slightest pressure.
Staring intently at these hands that didn’t feel like my own, I finally turned my gaze to the mirror, thinking, Surely not.
‘What the hell.’
The first thing that caught my eye was golden hair, as if sunlight had been painted with a brush.
The face reflected in the mirror was pale and ghastly, yet no one could deny it belonged to a remarkable beauty.
Large, clear eyes and mouth, a sharp nose.
Even though she had been ill for a long time, the slightly reddish lips had an alluring curve, and her two eyes were a beautiful ruby red.
But the lifeless, empty gaze made her look less like a living person and more like a jeweled doll.
‘What is going on here? Where am I… and who is this human woman?’
I hurriedly searched for the magic core embedded in my soul, but I could feel nothing. The overwhelming power I once couldn’t control—not a single drop remained.
“Ha!”
I let out a cold, bitter laugh, then began to shake with laughter. It was so absurd I couldn’t help but laugh.
Yes, this was it.
The reality I had been avoiding. The reality I had sensed something strange about but had gritted my teeth and tried not to see.
‘Over a thousand years of accumulated power, all my magic… gone. I’ve become… I’ve become human.’
Despite finally becoming what I had so desperately wanted to be, I was filled with despair.
This wasn’t how I wanted to become human.
And now that I had been betrayed by Enrique, what good was being human?
If this was fate, it was cruel. A truly terrible twist of fate.
“Ugh, huuuh…!”
Without realizing it, I clawed at my chest and struggled. It felt as if my chest was blocked—I couldn’t breathe.
“Your Majesty! Please allow a physician to examine you.”
Rage climbed up my throat, and I spat out blood. Not the black blood of a demon, but red blood flowing through a human body. The knight looked at me with desperate eyes, as if he would die in my place.
His trembling demeanor, not daring to lay a single finger on me, reminded me painfully of my past self.
‘I was a fool. An idiot. I should have listened to my sisters.’
I thought our love would be different.
But in the end, it was just another clichéd love and ordinary betrayal.
Just one of countless stories told in the human realm.
My entire body shook violently. Biting my lower lip hard, I chewed on it until I tasted blood, ignoring the knight’s protests. Only then did I feel my sanity barely returning.
“Please… please, Your Highness. Strike me instead if you must. If my hand is unworthy, I will offer you a handkerchief. Just please stop harming your sacred person…!”
Just then, the knight crumpled the bedsheet in his hand and approached me on his knees.
Gazing intently into his gray eyes, which wavered with anxiety, I realized that what was reflected there was not me, but the owner of this body.
In an instant, a scene flashed through my mind.
A crescent moon hanging over a high spire, a wailing knight, pale toes fluttering like a dance over cold stone floors.
And a fall.
‘So this is it. My wandering soul must have taken refuge in this body the moment its original soul departed. I was strongly drawn here by something.’
Look at me. Reduced to this.
I had lost my immense power and my strong body. I had no love, no one who loved me.
I was trapped.
“Ugh… ughh…”
At that miserable realization, I silently screamed and then promptly lost consciousness.
This wretched body wouldn’t even let me cry as I pleased.
When I regained consciousness, it was night.
A night so familiar and comforting to me.
But the darkness I faced in a human body did not feel gentle as I remembered.
“Your Majesty, you’re awake.”
I sensed a presence—it was the knight from before.
Staring blankly at the man’s haggard face, I slowly parted my lips.
“Sir Noert?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty. Derrick Noert. Your knight.”
“…I see.”
So this was how it was.
Lying down, I stared vacantly at the ceiling.
I felt hollow. But who did they think I was?
Not once in my life had I ever forgiven an enemy. I had been the foremost among my siblings to trample and mock the brothers who underestimated me because I was the youngest and tried to take my place.
Even my older sisters would sometimes try to stop me because it was too much.
I had merely lost myself for a brief moment, driven mad by love.
“I just need to take it all back.”
Muttering quietly, I forced strength into my arms and tried to sit up.
“Please, allow me.”
The knight immediately approached and supported my back. With one hand, he skillfully adjusted the cushions so I could lean against them.
He truly loves this body.
I could tell—his devotion was so meticulous and selfless it was almost nauseating.
What is love, anyway? What’s so great about cheap love that he’d go this far?
“Your Majesty. How are you feeling?”
After a moment, the knight knelt carefully before me.
I appreciated his extremely respectful attitude, but still, he was only human. And having just died, I had already decided never to trust humans again, never to grow attached.
“Get out now that you’re done.”
At my harsh, cracking voice, the knight looked as if he might cry.
I was about to spit out even harsher words but stopped. For some reason, I felt as if I had done something wrong.
“Am I not Your Majesty’s most cherished piece of bedroom furniture?”
“…”
“And yet, how can you discard me so easily?”
The knight spoke like a madman, tears dripping down his face.
He wasn’t crying prettily—he was crying pitifully.
‘Haah. Why does every single one of them have to cry in front of me?’
There was a time when I would rush to comfort my lover if they cried.
I would fidget anxiously until Enrique showed me his shy smile again, wanting to give him everything I could.
Not that Enrique ever wanted much—just a cream bread he rarely got to eat, or some sugar-coated cookies.
Back then, I would have smashed the entire world to pieces just to lay it at his feet.
But now, I was sick and tired of tears.
“Stop crying. It’s giving me a headache.”
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“You foolish thing. You’re just like a winter bear.”
“If Your Majesty says I am a bear, then I am a bear.”
“…Haah.”
This stubborn knight wouldn’t leave me no matter what I said.
“If you insist on being my servant, then I’ll use you as my footstool.”
At that, the mad knight smiled brightly.
It was such a familiar face—the face of someone madly in love.
