“It may have been nothing significant to you, but I’ve never forgotten that day.”

“Is that really why you like me? If it were just for giving directions, I wouldn’t think it was memorable.”

“That might be true. But you’ll change your mind when you see this.”

She took the pendant hanging around her neck and handed it to me. When I opened the pendant, I was surprised by what I saw—a doll. Inside the pendant was a drawing of a doll, not a portrait of a person.

“It’s a doll made in the likeness of my late mother. When I was young, my room caught fire, and the doll burned. I asked an artist to paint it for me.”

“So it’s a picture with a story. But how does seeing this change my mind?”

“Doesn’t it look like you?”

For a moment I couldn’t understand her sudden comment. But she didn’t seem to care about my reaction and continued talking, looking at the pendant in my hand.

“When I first saw you, I thought you looked like Liri. Oh, Liri is the doll’s name. You look a lot like her, don’t you?”

“……”

Instead of answering, I looked at the drawing again. She said it looked like me. On closer inspection, the only similarities between the doll and me were the blonde hair and golden eyes. No matter how hard I tried to see a resemblance, I felt none. After all, the doll was a woman with vivid make-up. It would be more accurate to say that she looked gaudy rather than elegant.

She had mentioned that it was a doll made in the likeness of a noblewoman. Wouldn’t it be typical to make something with a touch of grace? If the woman hadn’t died, I would have wanted to ask why she had made it so cheaply.

A courtesan. Yes, that was the impression I had when I saw the doll. I had seen courtesans in the past, summoned secretly by nobles to their dormitories. Their make-up was heavy to the point of discomfort, with lips painted bright red and eyebrows drawn thinly. If someone were to model a doll after the women I had seen, it might look something like this.

“The first time I saw you, I thought Liri had come back to life and was standing in front of me. I haven’t been able to forget you since. It was as if my own Liri had returned. The sparkling blonde hair and those mesmerising golden eyes – they are so much alike. Ah, if only your hair were longer, it would be perfect.”

She murmured this with a strange look in her eyes, as if she were dreaming. If only I wasn’t royalty. I could hear her muttering, her words barely audible but clear to me.

Although her eyes were certainly looking at me, it felt as if she wasn’t looking at me at all. She was projecting someone else onto me.

There was indeed something strange about her gaze. Though it disappeared in an instant, her eyes were more those of a madwoman locked in a ward than of a girl in love. I realised it was not me she liked, but my hair and eyes.

Taxidermy and display cases. From what Zetak had said, it seemed that she was secretly collecting taxidermy specimens of people with blonde hair and golden eyes.

“Your Majesty seems to be very fond of this young servant.”

The words of my father’s mistress resurfaced in my mind. Obsession, madness, possession, monopolisation – though these feelings had quickly faded, they all seemed to linger in Karial’s gaze. What a strange look she had. Could I really have left the child I was said to favour alone?

“He must have been through quite an ordeal.”

There must have been some form of abuse, probably severe. Judging by Zetak’s reaction, it wasn’t just a one-off – it was regular. My suspicion turned to certainty. When the daughter of a noble family, let alone a count, calls for a servant, refusal is not an option.

“Come out for a moment, but keep it a secret from your master.”

She must have whispered sweetly at first to lure him out. Zetak, thinking that a beautiful noble girl was calling for him, must have followed her eagerly with his mouth wide open.

… What is this feeling? A knot formed in my stomach. The image of Zetak foolishly following Karial, grinning like an idiot, stirred something unsettling in me. Was it just indigestion?

Foolish Zetak. He brought this on himself. If he had chased after her once and gotten hurt, he should have known better than to go back a second time. If he had come to me, I would have punished her. Or perhaps there was something he couldn’t bring himself to say. As I was thinking this, there was a knock, and Zetak entered.

“Your Highness, it’s time for your meal…”

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Karial. His eyes narrowed slightly as they swept over her before turning to me, a look of silent reproach in them. His gaze seemed to say, ‘I told you not to meet her.’ After placing the tray on the table near the door, he approached me.

“It’s been a long time, Zetak. You’ve changed so much, I almost didn’t recognize you. I never imagined you were that child,” Karial said softly, her voice gentle, her eyes warm as if looking at a younger sibling.

However, Zetak’s response was cold, even mocking.

“Why don’t you go polish your display case instead? What are you doing here?”

*Clatter.*

Karial dropped her teacup at the mention of ‘showcase’. The tea spilled across the table and the cup shattered on the floor.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. My hand just slipped…”

Karial stood up, holding her skirt with no sign of embarrassment. Before the tea could spill under the table, Rey quickly wiped the surface with a cloth. Her actions in picking up the broken teacup were smooth and natural. To an unsuspecting observer, it would appear to be a simple case of a cup slipping from her hand.

However, I didn’t miss the slight tremor in Karial’s fingertips at Zetak’s words. Rey, Karial’d maid, also had a subtle but tense expression on her face. From her reactions, it seemed she was complicit in whatever was going on. I couldn’t tell if it was because she wanted to be, or if she was reluctantly following her master’s orders.

“Would you mind stepping outside? I don’t want to be interrupted during this private time with His Highness.”

“……”

Had Zetak’s personality always been this twisted? He knew that Karial had feelings for me. Whether those feelings were normal or not, it was clear that she liked me. That was why he said things like that – to provoke her.

“You’re a little too full of yourself. No matter how much favour you have with His Highness, you’re still just a servant. Watch your words.”

Karial spoke her mind, occasionally glancing at me for reassurance. However, unlike before, she refrained from slapping my face or acting condescendingly. Instead, her eyes seemed slightly troubled, showing a hint of anxiety, as if she was more focused on observing Zetak’s reaction.

“A servant is still a servant,” she said, her voice sharp.

“If I’m a servant who receives the Prince’s affection every night, I believe I have the right to speak boldly to someone accused of necrophilia.”

…necrophilia. First it was taxidermy and now this? What an odd choice of words. Karial’s face went pale, obviously shocked that Zetak would say such a thing.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” she stammered, her voice unstable. “Why are you suddenly saying such strange things…?”

“It means that the secret you’ve been keeping about me no longer matters,” Zetak replied calmly.

“What…?” she whispered, confused.

“It’s not a secret, is it?” Zetak continued. “Anyone could find out the truth just by looking at the documents in the Administration Palace.”

Karial’s expression changed subtly. The hint of confusion she had shown disappeared and her face became as expressionless as a doll. Behind her, Rey looked at Karial with a worried expression.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Your Highness, this child seems to be mentally unstable due to the demon contamination. He’s saying strange things.”

“Well… it sounds quite interesting to me. Just keep talking.”

“No, I think it would be better to confess in the temple. If there is a mental disorder, it means that he has almost become a demon, doesn’t it? Just look at your arm…”

As she reached out to take my right hand, a strange sound came from behind me. It was the sound of grinding bones and bursting flesh. At the same time, something reached out from behind me and wrapped around me. Legs. What gripped me were eight spider-like legs.

“W-What is that…!!! Ah, Your Highness!!”

Karial stumbled back in shock and fell over. Rey also seemed to lose her legs and sank to the ground. She seemed to think Zetak was going to eat me as she cried out in despair.

“No, Your Highness’s face…!”

As she retreated, she seemed to worry about my scalp with hair and my eyes.

I looked back and saw Zetak. The spider legs extending from his back moved with a crackling sound, shifting slightly. The spider legs were covered in pale blue scales.

I had assumed he was a reptilian demon because of the scales on his body, but… he was a spider. No, judging by the scales, it wasn’t a true spider either. It was a mixture of spider and snake.

I knew it was a high-level demon, but I had never expected it to have two forms. As I ran my fingers along the spider-like legs, I could feel the disturbing texture of the demon’s limbs, which should have been hidden inside its body, but were now fully exposed.

This wasn’t just the early stages of becoming a demon. He was already over 80% transformed. His transformation had progressed to the point where he felt hunger for humans.

“Go clean up the corpses.”

Zetak’s voice came from behind me, sounding like metal scraping against metal. It was undoubtedly a human voice, but there was a bizarre growl in it – a demon’s warning. It indicated that he was serious. If things went wrong, he really meant to kill Karial.