“Why are you hesitating, Empress? Does the boy truly have an illness I am unaware of?”

“Well… it’s just that…”

My mother’s face had turned pale, her fists clenched tightly. She knew as well as I did that it no longer mattered if rumors of my supposed condition spread – I had already been removed from my position as Crown Prince. But her fear remained, not for me, but for herself. She was terrified that the court would find out that her bloodline was flawed, giving the concubines ammunition to undermine her.

“If it’s too difficult for you to explain, Mother, allow me to—”

“Jaibid!!” she cried out, her voice almost a scream. She got up from her seat, visibly shaken and panicking.

“Empress, calm down, let him speak. I’d like to know what kind of illness this is that causes such a reaction”.

“Your Majesty, I will explain this to you privately later, so please…”

“Oh no. I told you to stay calm. If you don’t want Jaibid to speak, then you might as well tell me yourself, what illness could possibly cause such a violent reaction?”

“…”

“Do I need to make this a royal command for you to speak?”

My mother bit her lip, clearly torn between protecting her reputation and revealing the truth. Her eyes darted nervously toward the high priests, scanning the room with growing unease. After a tense moment of hesitation, she finally leaned in toward my father, her expression full of distress. It was clear that whatever she was about to say would weigh heavily on her.

“In that case… please, lend me your ear for a moment.”

My father’s face showed a mixture of surprise and curiosity as he leaned closer to my mother. She whispered carefully into his ear, “Please don’t be alarmed, Your Majesty. Zaivid is…”

“Impotent.”

It was an unexpectedly blunt and crude word for an Empress. Though her voice was low, I heard it clearly with my heightened senses. My father’s eyes widened in shock, his body freezing for a moment as his hand instinctively reached for his neck.

“You… you’ve been hiding something like this?” And this child has been the Crown Prince all this time?”

“We thought he could be cured! I thought it was just a condition of the mind! I thought he would grow out of it…”

My father’s breath grew heavy as he looked down at me, his eyes blazing with anger at the deception he believed I had maintained all this time. Are you really impotent? His eyes demanded the question without words, full of disbelief and anger. What could I say? I met his gaze, unimpressed, calmly watching the blood rush to his face. His lips trembled violently, and for a moment it seemed as if the weight of his emotions might overwhelm him as if he were about to collapse from sheer rage.

Inside, he was undoubtedly wrestling with a fierce inner dilemma. No matter how talented a prince might be in the use of energy, a title like ‘impotent’ would destroy any chance of becoming a national figurehead. Instead of enhancing the Empire’s prestige, I would become a laughing stock if this rumor were to spread.

A prince of the Empire should carry the nation’s honor as part of a diplomatic envoy. With my abilities bordering on the monstrous, other kingdoms would be eager to secure political alliances, even offering princesses for marriage without hesitation. But once the truth of my supposed condition leaked out, it would spread like wildfire, making a mockery of any potential alliance.

If the truth were to spread, other nations would mock me as a stallion without s*men, laughing behind my back, calling me an empty shell. Since I’d be representing the Empire as part of the diplomatic envoy, their scorn would tarnish not only my name but the honor of the entire Empire. My father was undoubtedly calculating all this in his head, his anger growing by the second. He knew the weight of the shame that would follow, not just for me, but for the legacy of the Empire itself.

“…I see. So that’s why there were never any rumors about you being with a woman, even at your age.”

While I was still Crown Prince, rumors spread that I had abstained from women to avoid complications with the succession. But the reality was quite different. Compared to my previous life, human desires seemed so mild, almost trivial. The lust I had experienced as a monster had been dirty and overwhelming, and after reincarnation I was rarely moved by human desires. That was the real reason why I avoided women. But now my words had inadvertently reinforced the lie about my condition.

It seemed fitting. Since I had already accepted the title of impotent for the time being, his assumption worked in my favor. Let it strengthen the facade – it would only help to reinforce the lie I needed to maintain.

“Very well… I understand,” my father said, his voice heavy, as if the weight of the world had just been placed on his shoulders. “For now, you are dismissed. I need time to consider this matter. The Prince’s fate will be decided later. As for the empress, you are to keep the prince’s condition strictly confidential.”

He waved his hand dismissively, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant. And with that, the trial came to an inconclusive end. Any punishment for Zetak was also quietly dropped as if it had never been considered.

Despite escaping unpunished, Zetak wore a dark expression. It wasn’t until we were back in the room that he turned to me, his voice heavy with uncertainty.

“Did you know…?”

“Know what?”

“Did you know your hand was like this before I brought the priests?”

He seemed angrier than before, which was strange. In the temple, I had sensed a faint trace of guilt from him, but now his mood had changed again. Perhaps it was because, despite the monstrous changes that were happening to him, his core remained human. His emotions were more unpredictable, more unstable than I had expected.

“Why do you think that?”

“Your reaction when your arm was like that…” he trailed off, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of regret in his eyes. His brow furrowed as if he was wrestling with his thoughts.

“Do you regret it?”

He flinched slightly at my words, his expression darkening even further. Whatever turmoil was going on inside him, it wasn’t just about my arm. There was something deeper at play, something gnawing at him from within.

“…”

“There’s nothing to regret, compared to what I have done to you, this is nothing. It’s just an arm. When you consider how I destroyed your entire body, it doesn’t even compare, does it?”

He looked up at me with a conflicted expression. Even though his face was partially hidden by his hair, I could still see the turmoil in his red eyes. Regret and guilt mixed with something darker – a twisted sense of satisfaction, perhaps even relief, that he had caused me pain. It was clear that he was still struggling with his emotions, torn between his human compassion and the monstrous instincts that stirred within him.

It seemed too soon for him. Although I had tried to provoke a reaction in the hope that he would lean more into his regret, perhaps it was my selfish desire to see him repent. The complexity of his emotions made it clear that he wasn’t ready to let go of his resentment.

“I know. It’s a long way off.”

“Yes, a long way,” he repeated, clenching his fist.

I couldn’t tell if it was driven by hatred or a reminder to himself not to forget his pain. But there was no need to hurry. Time was still on our side.

I watched him silently for a moment. The turmoil within him was unmistakable, but whether it would eventually lead to clarity or something darker remained uncertain. For now, it didn’t matter. There was no point in pushing him any further. All he needed was patience, time would do the rest.

“Starting tomorrow, there’s a book I want you to borrow from the library.”

He looked up at me, confused as if wondering why I was bringing this up now. I gestured at his body.

“It might help you understand the changes you’re going through.”

“You need to understand your transformation. Read all you can about monsters. There won’t be much material to read through – after all, the human realm has had limited encounters with monsters. Most of the information will probably be biased reports of the few sightings that have been recorded. Still, it’s better than nothing.

“Understood.”

Even though it was a simple task, it would be an important step in preparing him for what lay ahead.

“Once you have gained the basic knowledge, I’ll teach you more in detail.”

About monsters. About the underworld. If, in the future, Zetak abandons his revenge and leaves my side, the underworld will be the only place he can go. With a body like his—especially once his transformation into a full monster is complete—he won’t be able to survive in the human world. Wherever he goes, people will demand his execution, burning him at the stake. He won’t be able to take a single breath in peace.

Rather than living a life constantly hunted by priests, it would be far better for him to cross over into the underworld, where he might find some semblance of safety.

[I won’t let you die easily. I will strip the flesh from your bones while you’re still alive. You will pay the full price for tearing off my wings.]

Thinking of the underworld brought back memories from long ago – memories of the man with the brilliant butterfly wings. I had torn off one of his wings and devoured three of his tentacles, but remembering him also brought back the memory of my death. He had kept his word.

It had torn into my belly with its tendrils, tearing at my insides with cruel precision. It tore away my flesh slowly, making sure I didn’t die too quickly. I can still remember the agony of my skin being ripped apart, piece by piece, the pain burning into me like fire. Even now, that torment remains in my mind, a reminder of the vengeance he had sworn – and delivered.

It was inevitable. He won and I lost. That was the simple truth.