The Damned Demon-Chapter 10: Why Care About My Life?
Asher followed the Demon Queen while Ceti kept shooting glares at him. He felt like this woman needed to know her place.
But ignoring her, he felt that so far, this Demon Queen was better than he expected. She didn't seem to throw contemptuous remarks at him like the others and seemed reasonable so far. He felt as if getting a wife like her might be the only compensation for all the bad things that were still happening to him in this world.
He didn't care why though he was glad since he could use this to his advantage.
On the way, he couldn't believe how insanely big this entire castle was. The cold stone air whipped around the courtyard, snaking into the Demon Queen's hair and going right through her gothic dress.
Just by looking at the sturdy stone walls, Asher could guess this castle was older than he could imagine. But despite its age, everything looked clean and immaculate, especially with so many maids and servants diligently keeping everything perfect.
And whenever they saw the Demon Queen, they would stop whatever they were doing and keep bowing with their backs fully bent till her figure disappeared from their sight.
He also lost count of how many rooms he passed by. Not even the biggest mansion on Earth had these many rooms. One would surely need a map to navigate through this castle.
At the same time, his focused eyes noticed mystical runes engraved on the walls and even the roofs, making him guess that this castle had its own defense mechanisms to discourage anyone from attacking or maybe they served another purpose. One could only guess.
Right when he was wondering where she was taking him, the Demon Queen led him into a large room with small square window openings.
A cold breeze swept through the room as Asher entered it and saw a large king-size bed with a thick mattress and clean black sheets.
Other than the bed and a single wardrobe, there was basically nothing else in the room except for a bathroom. There wasn't even a chair or a table, though he knew it was not like his previous self needed them.
"Do you know whose room this is, Asher?" The Demon Queen suddenly asked as she looked at him.
Asher raised one of his eyebrows as he said, "I actually don't remember anything of my past, but I am not surprised since a crippled mind may not remember anything, right? Still…if I have to guess, I think this is my room?"
The Demon Queen nodded as she said, "Correct. Now, sit on the bed. I have to make sure my uncle's concerns are answered."
Asher didn't know what exactly she was planning to do to check if he was legit or not. But he didn't care since what was the worst that could happen. The only concern he had was whether she would be able to know that he was actually a Hunter who got into this body? Nah...that should be impossible, right?
"As you say, my wife," Asher said with a wink as he sat down. He knew he was too weak right now, and if he had to have any hopes of gaining some power, he would have to get close to his wife no matter what it took.
The Demon Queen's forehead creased subtly as she said with a narrowed gaze, "You can just call me Rowena if you have to," Saying so, she sat in front of him.
Asher could see that she wasn't used to hearing him call her like that.
He subtly smiled as he asked, "Why not? I know we did not get to share anything due to how I was all this time. But now that your father has given me a second chance isn't it only right we get to know each other? You are, after all…my wife, aren't you?"
Ceti clenched her fists, feeling like punching his face in for acting so brazen before her queen.
The last thing she expected was this weakling to grow some balls after gaining his wits.
He didn't seem that ballsy in the carriage, making her wonder when he suddenly grew a bone.
But she had no idea that Asher had noticed how Rowena was not just a figurehead but commanded the most authority around here and wasn't antagonistic towards him. This assuaged some of his worries.
Rowena's eyebrows squished together since his words made sense. However, her expression relaxed as if she decided to ignore it and said, "Forget about it and close your eyes. Make your body and mind as still as possible."
Asher wasn't surprised she was cold to him, but he felt that getting closer to her could be tougher than he thought.
But this didn't deter him, and he decided to focus on the present as he closed his eyes and cleared his mind. His only concern was she would find out this wasn't his original body, though she shouldn't be able to…he hoped.
After just a moment, he felt Rowena's cold hand pressing against his chest, not expecting her body temperature to be so ice cold. And the next moment, he felt Rowen's sparse, cold mana permeating through every cell of his body.
Even if he felt his body shiver due to how cold her mana was, as a powerful expert in his previous life, he could sense that she was trying her best to not hurt him accidentally. If she even increases the density of her mana by a fraction, his body might explode.
This made him realize once again how weak he was right now for her to try this hard. It was evident she wasn't used to holding back her strength to this level. This must be her first time inserting her mana into a level 1 person like him.
Ceti closely observed and wondered if Prince Seron was right or wrong but hoped he was right so that Asher would return to his less annoying form instead of the present one.
After just a few seconds, Asher felt her cold, dark mana slowly withdrawing away and felt his body returning to normal as he opened his eyes.
"You…"
Asher held his breath as he wondered if she happened to learn that he wasn't exactly the same person but a hunter who got transmigrated into this body.
"You are indeed Asher. It seems my uncle's concerns were misplaced," Rowena said as she looked at Asher from top to bottom with her stone-cold crimson eyes.
Ceti clicked her tongue, feeling frustrated that now he would be a bigger nuisance to her queen. At least before, he would always be lying on his bed without making a sound and exist as if he never existed.
"But even if you were fortunate enough to regain your awareness, your body is still weak, especially without having any mana. Your physical aspects are still the same as before. So, in reality, things won't change much. You have to stay inside this castle at all times like before. We can't let a repeat of today's incident happen," Rowena firmly stated, making Asher pull his brows together.
This was bad…Did he get a second chance only to waste away his life inside these walls like some old widow? Was he really supposed to just forget about his revenge and die with regrets and pain? Only over his dead body!
Asher wanted to refute her, but he also knew she had a point. He was too weak to go out on his own to do anything. Even if he can get quests to kill Hunters or invade Earth, he felt Rowena wouldn't let him leave and that she probably must already be planning to assign guards to make sure he doesn't leave this castle.
But he had to know why she seemed to care so much about his life. He knew it was not because she truly cared for him as her husband, obviously.
So, he asked with a subtle smile, "You really care about my life that much? I guess I am lucky to have such a caring wife like you."
Ceti scoffed as she said, "Don't get ahead of yourself. Our late Demon King made Her Majesty promise to look after you no matter what. It was he who told her and everyone else that no harm should befall you."
"Ceti, that's enough," Rowena said with a side glance as Ceti apologetically bowed, "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I accidentally overstepped my boundaries."
Asher was glad to hear what he needed to know and finally felt it made sense. But what he couldn't make sense of was why the Demon King cared so much about a crippled demon? It just didn't sit right with him, especially the final words he said to him.
