Chapter 155: Hyperactive Child

“Queen, I’m here to tell you that her majesty wants to see you and that’s why you’ll be released.”

I look at the maid who still calls me “queen” instead of just Zephyra. It seems that even though I’m a prisoner, I’m still valuable in some way.

’The demon king wants to see me…’ I heard the guards say she had gone somewhere, but it seems she’s back now.

The days in prison were really hard, as I was treated the same as a common prisoner. The food was horrible, and the hygiene was also terrible. I urgently need a bath.

And the worst part was the screams of pain from some of the other prisoners. Apparently, they were employees who were traitors, so they’re being tortured, but the focus of the torture isn’t to extract information, it’s just to cause pain.

After all, even when they screamed and told everything, the torture continued because the focus was never on the information. I could barely sleep at night because of the horrifying screams.

Soon the maid opens the cell and removes my shackles. She guides me to a luxurious room that has a bathroom and a dress on the bed.

“Queen, I can’t touch your body directly, so you’ll have to wash yourself,” the maid says as she exits the room and waits outside.

Honestly, I don’t care much about that. I need a bath, so I quickly go to the bathroom.

However, instead of taking a long bath, I try to be quick because I don’t want to cause any more trouble with Pandora.

I’ve already understood that I can’t escape her in any way, after all, she found a way to locate me even without being able to detect me with magic.

And now, she even has this tattoo on my body that has connected me to her in some way.

After taking a bath, I put on the dress that was on the bed. It’s a very detailed white dress with some light pink floral accessories.

When I’m completely dressed, I go out of the room, and the maid guides me to Pandora’s chamber.

Arriving at her room, the maid leaves me alone. I take a deep breath and slowly open the door, my hand trembling with fear as I touch the doorknob.

Soon I see Pandora, who is dressed in a beautiful black dress with red details.

However, her aura terrifies me. If before she had a dangerous aura, now it’s not only dangerous but also wild, as if she’s a monster ready to sink its fangs into anything in its path.

“Come in, Zephyra. You don’t need to stand in front of the door like a statue,” Pandora says cheerfully with a smile as she gets up from the bed and walks towards me, her tail swaying slightly with excitement.

“Today, we’re going on a date, my cute queen,” her tone of voice leaves no choice about what we’ll do, so I simply nod in agreement.

“Great, I want to stroll through the city. I’ve never seen it, even though I live here,” she says as she takes my hand and starts walking enthusiastically to some destination.

’Why was her room smelling of blood… I prefer not to know,’ I just silently accompany her as she leads me out of the castle to a carriage that soon departs with both of us inside.

I try to look out the window at the view, while Pandora keeps looking at my body as if she’s analyzing me with curiosity.

The city is quite beautiful. It doesn’t seem like something made by a barbaric people who enjoy slaughter. In fact, it’s quite peaceful and even joyful, much more cheerful than my village was.

I see various types of demons living their daily lives with animation. They seem to be a people who know how to enjoy life.

“Curious?” Pandora asks me, making me look at her.

“…Yes…” She seems to know exactly what I’m thinking about it.

“You know, at first, I was also quite curious about why my servants are so happy with the life they lead, after all, they’re not paid and run the risk of dying at any moment if they irritate me.”

“So why would someone want that? The answer is simple,” I look at her with genuine curiosity about the happiness of the demons.

“It’s because we’re simple beings, both I and them are all simple in our desires.”

“…I don’t understand,” I ask with doubt, temporarily setting aside the fear.

“Our lives can end at any moment in the dangerous environment of this territory, only the strongest can continue to live while the weak are used.”

“Since life in this place is unpredictable, the best action is to focus entirely on the present. If the future is unknown, one should not lose sight of the present. For these humble demons, it’s better to be happy with simple lives than not be happy until the day of their deaths.”

“After all, when you’re weak in a place where death is common, it’s better to adapt. That’s why they’re a happy people, not because they liked this life, but because they learned to adapt to this life and thus find happiness in simple things.”

“Did you know that demons like cute things? Because what’s cute is beautiful and simple to observe, as it brings momentary joy that is stored in memories.”

“My people are happy because they’ve learned to appreciate simple things and keep them in their memories.”

“My people use faith and devotion as a way to maintain their own happiness. My servants are happy because without me, their fate could be much worse.”

“Even if I don’t do anything for them, just my existence has saved thousands or even millions of them. Just the fact that I exist is already something that helps them a lot, because they get a safe place to stay, and their power increases.”

“That’s why they don’t mind if I kill them, because without me they would have died much earlier. The difference between one and the other is that their time has just come to an end a little later.”

“From their perspective, if I saved their lives, then I can also decide when they end. Do you understand why they are happy? Because they know how to accept what they have.”

What Pandora said makes a certain sense.

“So tell me, Zephyra, why are you so hypocritical?” She suddenly becomes serious, looking at me and calling me a hypocrite.

“You have a chance that none of these demons have even dreamed of reaching. You have the chance to have a perfect life with me, so why can’t you accept me?”

“Why can’t you accept the happiness I’m trying to give you? You have a chance that millions would kill for, just to have a 1% chance of being in your place.”

“Even so, all you do is be afraid, try to deceive me, and ultimately try to escape. Tell me, why do you prefer to choose pain over joy?” She asks with genuine curiosity in her voice, like a child who doesn’t understand something.

“I-I don’t do that…” I deny what she said.

“Don’t you? Zephyra, have you already tried to see how good I’m trying to be with you? I know my love is difficult, but it’s only difficult because you make it so. I’m doing my best to show you my kindness.”

“But you don’t see my kindness, you only see me as a mere monster. However, you haven’t seen even half of how much I can make you suffer if I really try.”

“Zephyra, you have no idea how cruel I can really be when I want to. Do you really think what I’ve done to you is the worst thing I could do?”

“I-I don’t know… it’s just… I’m afraid…” I say while thinking about what she’s telling me.

“Afraid, huh? What are you so afraid of? Do you think I’m someone who doesn’t know kindness? Do you think I’m so distorted that I don’t know the concept of being kind? I may be a monster, but I also have my own feelings.”

“After this date, I’m going to war. My plan is to eliminate 100% of the enemy army, keeping only the leader alive. Do you think that’s cruelty on my part?”

“…”

“You think it is, don’t you? However, can I tell you what real cruelty is? I could capture everyone and kill them in front of their families after devouring those they love most, or I could just use them as test subjects, even as food, for long periods.”

“Even so, I’ll just eliminate them quickly and reduce their suffering. I’ll even take their people as if they were mine so they can live here.”

“Understand one thing, Zephyra, there is no good or evil in the world. The powerful and the victors are the ones who define good and evil.”

“Currently, I am the one who defines it, and as long as I am able to define it, I say that I am the good and the just in this story.”

“So just understand, I know how to be good when I want to. I know very well how to be kind, and I’m doing my best to be kind to you. And all I ask in return is that you accept it.”

“You don’t know how much I struggle to think about what I can do for you. You have no idea how much I try to be kind to you.”

“Is it really that hard to just accept? I’m offering you everything, a position of power, servants, wealth, the power to command. I’m trying to offer you my love and give you my best.”

“And all I want in return is your love. I don’t want you to fight, I don’t want your power, and I don’t want to force you to do any kind of work. All I want is for you to live by my side as my queen and give me your love.”

“Is it really that hard to love me?” Her voice carries a certain vulnerability when talking about being loved, as if the act of receiving love was something extremely scarce for her.

“I-I… I understand, I think I can do that,” I say with a not very beautiful smile for her.

She really seems to be right. I’ve never seen her gentle side, but I’ve never seen her worst side either. Although what she did to me was terrible, it wasn’t the worst she could have done.

“Oh, your color,” she seems momentarily shocked while blushing, her gaze is on me, but at the same time, it seems to focus on something else.

She gets up from the seat she’s in and sits on my lap.

“Zephyra, I love you, and I just want you to love me too. I don’t need anything else besides your love,” she says this and then kisses me, while her tail sways excitedly.

I return the kiss without fear, while not knowing exactly what to do, I hug her, which seems to make her more excited.

I think that, as she said, I just need to adapt to this and accept it. I’ve always wanted to be free, and she provides me with a great deal of that freedom.

Soon we share saliva in the midst of our deepening kiss. She kisses me passionately, and I try to keep up, not knowing exactly how to do it.

After a while, she separates the kiss, with a silver thread of saliva connecting our lips. She’s blushing and seems quite excited.

“I promise I’ll show you how amazing I can be on this date,” she says with a beautiful smile, which makes me look away, blushing.

The aura that was once so dangerous and wild seems to shrink and completely lose its danger.

She soon gets off my lap and sits back down in her seat with a smile, like an infatuated girl. Her tail sways slightly, still with excitement from our kiss.

I decide to look out the window, embarrassed to face her, who seems so happy. In the end, she’s still a child.

’A hyperactive child’ I think that thinking of Pandora as a hyperactive child makes it easier to understand her.

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