The entire hall plunged into silence as everybody suddenly crouched and kneeled on their right knee.
Asher was the only one standing as his brows raised upon seeing a gothic, intoxicating beauty, her expression stone-cold.
She looked like she was in her early 20s but had a supple, curvaceous figure that not many women of her age would usually have. Her pitch-black velvety soft dress left her lovely shoulders uncovered. But the dress did cover the sides and flowed down into a graceful plunge neckline, revealing her tempting deep cleavage and a glimpse of her well-endowed breasts.
The dress' waist was narrow on which a bow had been wrapped around and rested gently on her belly. Below the waist, the dress widened and had a gathered style, reaching just above her ankles and was the same length all around.
Her skin color looked too pale yet seemed unblemished and glowing. She had finespun eyelashes over her hazelnut-shaped eyes, whose color was a deep, glowing crimson.
Her long silky hair was as black as night and swayed in the air as she slowly came down the steps.
But as soon as she saw Asher, her luscious black lips parted slightly while her posture relaxed slightly.
"Asher?" She mumbled upon seeing him.
"Your Majesty," Asher saw both Ceti and Seron, along with his men addressing her while still kneeling on one knee. This was the Demon Queen…his wife.
In his mind, he never expected the Demon Queen to look so…beautiful enough to stir the blood of any man. She definitely looked more beautiful than any woman he had seen in his previous life. But at the same time, he could feel that her power must be no joke. He had heard rumors of how no Hunter was ever able to deal a blow to the Demon Princess. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to fight her in his previous life, especially since powerful demons rarely showed themselves on Earth.
Ceti added while still kneeling, "I am glad to let Your Majesty know that we brought back the royal consort safely."
The Demon Queen's gaze was as cold as her blood as it swept over Asher from head to toe, making him feel like he was being plunged into a deathly, cold abyss. This definitely made him feel convinced that her strength could be his strongest shield if things proceeded smoothly.
"Where was he? How did he leave without anyone's knowledge?" She asked as she frowned subtly.
Before Ceti could answer, Seron scoffed as he said, "Your Majesty, what matters more is that the Royal Consort has been compromised. Please let me verify things myself before I send him over to you."
"What are you talking about?" The Demon Queen asked as her eyebrows pulled together.
Asher shrugged away from the two men holding his arms as he said loudly, "My wife, he is lying. Just because my mind is no longer crippled doesn't mean I am not myself. Miracles do happen, and in this case, I happened to get lucky," Asher briefly glanced at Seron as he said this.
"You…" Ceti couldn't believe the guts of this rude man to call the queen as 'my wife' before everyone else. If it wasn't for her queen, she would have already taught him a lesson. Didn't he have the basic courtesy to at least address her respectfully before others?
The Demon Queen's eyebrows raised upon seeing him speak. Because of how surprised she was, she didn't even pay attention to how he addressed her.
She came down from the steps, letting Asher see that she was about 5 9" tall since he was around 6 8".
Seron couldn't believe this weakling was talking back to him before everyone and said in an abrasive tone, "You dare call me a liar? Who—" But before he could complete his sentence, the Demon Queen gestured with her hand to stop talking, making Seron swallow his words with an ugly expression.
"You are aware of who you are?" The Demon Queen asked with a wandering gaze as if still in disbelief.
"I have never been more aware of anything…" Asher said with a shrug.
The Demon Queen kept on staring at him with a blank expression, making Asher wonder what was going through her head.
Seron stepped forward as he said in a low yet firm voice, "Your Majesty, you know how something like this should be impossible. A mind that was as crippled as his can never be fixed. This must be the work of our enemies. I can't think of any other way this could happen."
Ceti remained silent since this was up to her queen to decide. But personally, she would prefer her queen to just get rid of this good-for-nothing and lessen her burdens.
Asher inwardly frowned, seeing that this annoying fuck wouldn't rest till he got his way. So he quickly thought of something as he said, "Didn't you hear what I said before? I was lucky enough to be graced with a miracle."
"And what was this miracle exactly?" Seron asked with a scornful look.
Asher's expression became serious as his eyes became glazed, "The first thing I remember was just…complete darkness. I was surrounded by it, but I didn't feel scared. Instead, I felt at home. But that was when suddenly I saw a middle-aged man wearing heavy black armor appearing before me. He seemed very powerful and mighty, making me feel as if touching his feet in respect the moment I saw him. But before I could say anything, he revealed to me that he was the Demon King."
The Demon Queen's eyes flickered as she heard his words while Ceti had a confused look, wondering how come this guy didn't say anything about this to her.
Seron glared at Asher as he pointed his finger at him, "You dare disrespect our late king and my brother by cooking up nonsense stories?"
"Wait. Let him finish," The Demon Queen said with her arms crossed, her eyes having a bit more glow than before.
Asher inwardly scoffed at Seron and added, with his expression changing into one of respect and worship, "I felt very comfortable in his presence, unlike my expectations. He didn't tell me much, but all he said was, 'Young man, your story is only getting started'. I didn't know what he meant, but the next moment I knew I was lying on the cold ground with blood and bodies around me. That was when I met some guards who seemed to be searching for me. And I was shocked when they told me the Demon King had died honorably when I had only met him in a vision. This made me wonder if his spirit came to help me for a reason I don't yet know."
As Asher finished retelling his experience, the Demon Queen's gaze wandered as if deeply thinking about something while Ceti had a skeptical look, not knowing if this guy was spouting nonsense or not.
But thinking about it, only someone like the Demon King would have any chance of fixing Asher. Still, if he could do it, why didn't he do it before?
However, since this happened after he died, she felt that maybe the Demon King's spirit must be really still around here and used his extraordinary powers to fix Asher.
This made her immediately close her eyes and pay her respects to the late Demon King.
Seron flexed his fingers as he saw that his niece was actually getting convinced by the words of this trash.
He vehemently said, "Your Majesty, this is all just an elaborate lie. We all know that once a demon like us dies, there is no rebirth. Even if someone becomes a wandering spirit, it will only be if their soul gets compromised right before death. And such spirits would never have a sound mind. All they would feel is endless rage and the intent to kill anything they see, be it their own family. Any of us would have known if such a spirit really was around here."
Asher took a deep breath, not expecting there to be so many conditions. But he didn't care if Seron believed it or not. All he wanted was for the Demon Queen to believe him.
The Demon Queen glanced at Asher before looking at Seron, "But do we really know everything? There are lots of things we do not know yet. So it could be possible that maybe…my father's soul might have left a message in his mind before he died. Maybe he planned it all so that Asher would wake up with a sound mind today instead of earlier."
Asher sighed in relief inwardly, not expecting the Demon Queen to really fall for his words so easily. He felt it was because he mixed some truth about his interactions with her father, which convinced her. But he didn't expect her to be so close to her father after noticing her expression when she mentioned her father. He thought demons never cared about family, but now he realized he couldn't assume anything because of the stereotypical ideas he had in his past life.
However, he didn't feel any pity or guilt for her since, in his past life, he had gone through a lot because of these demons. But in the end, he felt humans could just be as despicable as demons. The only thing he should do from now on was look after his own skin.
Seron had a look of incredulity as he said, "Your Majesty…how does that make sense? I would have definitely known if our late king had done something like that. Even if he did, what could the reason be?"
The Demon Queen's gaze became firm as she said, "It doesn't matter. My father had always kept some things to himself that even I still don't know. But I won't ignore your concerns and will personally make sure he hasn't been compromised. Come with me, Asher, and you too, Ceti."
Asher smirked as he followed her while Seron's breathing became noisy as he intensely stared at Asher's back.