“Right. A radish… Wait, what? A radish?”

His pupils instantly widened, his eyes going round in shock and confusion.

“A… a radish? You mean that radish?”

I nodded. He’d already guessed that I was planning some sort of experiment. Not long ago he’d mentioned sticking a radish inside me himself. If I could cleverly weave his own words into a plausible excuse, I could pull it off. As it turned out, I was right.

He didn’t seem suspicious. At least he wasn’t angry. Instead, for some reason, he looked completely pale. The grip on my hair slowly loosened and his hand relaxed completely.

“A… radish? You’re seriously talking about putting in a radish?”

“Stop asking the same thing over and over again. You were the one who suggested putting in a radish, weren’t you? And even if you didn’t, yours will grow as big as a radish one day, so wouldn’t it be wise to test things out first?”

“Damn it, is mine really destined to be a radish?!” he muttered under his breath, his face pale as he looked down at his lower half, looking oddly desperate.

“Don’t do it. You’ll die.”

Judging by his words, he seemed to believe me. To be honest, I thought my lie was a bit far-fetched. But seeing him fall for such an excuse made me realise that he might be more naive than I thought. Who would actually carry out such an experiment? Not that I ever intended to. I nodded obediently.

“If you tell me not to, I won’t.”

“Never do it. No sweet potatoes either. No bamboo, nothing. Just don’t put anything in there. Hell, with that blank look on your face, I can’t even predict what you’re going to try next.”

His last words were more of a murmur. Naive fool. For some reason, I had the urge to pat him on the head.

Instead, I pulled him down beside me and laid him down next to me. Straddling him, I began to unbutton his shirt. Zetak frowned and grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t do it.”

“So it’s OK for you, but not for me?”

“I said don’t.”

“Why should you be embarrassed? I’ve touched everything there is to touch.”

I hadn’t seen it, but I’d felt his torso before – burn scars and snake scales. That was probably why he was acting this way, trying to hide it. But isn’t that a bit unfair?

“I’ll do the same as you. I’ll touch you and lick you. Isn’t that fair?”

“Ha. Seriously, what kind of…”

He didn’t seem to know what to say. I thought I heard the sound of his teeth grinding, but I ignored it. Zetak glared at me, but eventually his grip on my wrist loosened.

As I unbuttoned his shirt, more of his distorted skin came into view. Pale blue snake scales gradually revealed themselves. Zetak never took his eyes off me, as if carefully monitoring my reaction.

“Isn’t it disgusting?”

“You always say things like that. Don’t hate your body so much.”

I know I don’t have the right to say this. But I wanted to. He’d probably get angry and blame me for the way things turned out. But contrary to my expectations, Zetak said nothing. He didn’t even show a hint of anger. I slowly ran my hand down his torso.

Zetak’s body was quite firm. Though his muscles weren’t as pronounced as those of a full-grown adult, I could feel the solid strength beneath his skin.

As I ran my hand over his br*ast, my fingertips brushed against a small n*pple. Just as he had done to me, I squeezed it with my fingers and rubbed it gently.

“I feel like I’m being teased. Is it just my imagination?”

“It’s not just your imagination. Why should you be the only one allowed to toy with me? I’ll toy with you too. Besides, when it comes to physical matters, it’s only logical for you to be the one spreading your legs for me. And that’s something I could make happen right now.”

Zetak’s body tensed at my words. I didn’t care, but he seemed to. He pushed my shoulder back and I let him. He sat across from me and met my gaze.

“Your Highness only needs a hole.”

“……”

“That’s unnecessary, isn’t it? Don’t you think so?”

…What a wicked thing to say. If your body is precious to you, then you should understand that someone else’s body is just as precious. Even monsters wouldn’t stoop so low. I wanted to say that, but the atmosphere was too tense. If he decided to use his nails, I could really end up impotent – for life. Cautiously, I took his hand and gently pulled it away.

“Now that I think about it, I must have been wrong. You saw me take my medication, didn’t you?”

“And what about it?”

“I take it because I’m impotent. A patient like me doesn’t need to be broken any more, right?”

“……”

“I told you, I’m a patient. If I can’t even get it up, how can I hug you?”

He probably stared at me in disbelief. No doubt he thought, How can you say that when you have just cl*maxed? But what could I do? When a member of the royal family says it, that’s how it is.

His hand slowly caressed my stomach, moving lower and lower. His fingers cupped my p*nis over my trousers, applying pressure.

“Well, good.”

He let out a small sigh and got to his feet. As if he had no lingering attachment, he climbed off the bed. Watching his back as he buttoned his shirt, I felt a pang of regret. Was there no way to make him cling to me a little longer? The thought brought to mind something Karial had once mentioned: orphanage born.

“The orphanage…”

The words slipped out unconsciously. At my murmur, Zetak seemed to pause for a moment. But if he did, it must have been my imagination, for he continued preparing to leave as if nothing had happened. What if the child I had rescued from the basement of that orphanage was really Zetak?

This could work to my advantage. I could bring it up subtly. Look, I saved you once, long ago. Something like that.

It might soften his hatred for me. I may have broken him, but I also saved him once. Of course, just knowing that wouldn’t instantly change Zetak’s feelings towards me, like flipping a switch.

But it would be better than doing nothing. To confirm it, I had to be sure. I had to find out if he really was the child I had saved. To do that, I had to visit the basement again.

First, I had to concentrate on attending my classes. I could use a day off to visit the orphanage. There was no need to worry. Zetak would remain by my side for the time being.

—

Soft music played as nobles danced gracefully to the rhythm. Among the many skills a noble was expected to master, dancing was essential. After all, stepping on someone’s foot at a banquet would be a humiliation like no other. That’s why dancing was part of the Academy curriculum. Since my dethronement, I had stopped attending these classes. Nobody wanted to dance with me.

“May I ask Your Highness for a dance?”

I was astonished when a slender young woman confidently approached me. As she asked for a dance, several nobles looked in my direction and whispered to each other. For a noblewoman to ask a man to dance was unusual, to say the least. No, it was more than unusual; it defied all convention.

Normally, the man initiated a dance request, with the woman having the right to accept or refuse. But here she was, standing tall, her freckled face adorned with a bright smile.

Although I had no personal connection with her, I had seen her before. She had been at Bapharos’ side many times over the past year.

“Marienne.”

As I called her name, Marienne gracefully lifted her skirt and curtsied.

“It is an honour to be recognised. I’ve wanted to speak to Your Highness for a long time, but opportunities have always been rare… So I had no choice but to approach you in this way. May I ask you to consider my request?”

It seemed that the dance was just an excuse – she had something she wanted to discuss. As I took her hand, I felt Zetak’s eyes on my back. But when I turned to look, he was looking elsewhere. It must have been my imagination.

As we walked into the hall, I could feel eyes staring at us from every direction.

“My right hand is as it is, so I won’t be able to hold yours. I hope you’ll understand.”

“Of course. I’ll make sure I hold it myself.”

She clasped my right hand gently, and as she put her left hand on my shoulder, I put mine on her waist. Although we were in the right position, neither of us was actually dancing. We were just moving our feet, imitating movement. After all, dancing wasn’t the point of this encounter.

“Your Highness doesn’t like unnecessary embellishments, is that right? May I get straight to the point?”

“That would be preferable.”

She nodded at my words, though her face looked tense. Marienne lowered her voice as if she feared someone might overhear.

“Is it really nine times?”

Her question lacked a subject, so I just looked at her in silence, trying to figure out what she meant. But for some reason, my lack of response made her complexion grow even paler.

“R-Really? No, even if it’s true, it doesn’t matter! Could you just go to His Highness Bapharos and tell him it was a lie? I’m afraid of the nights now. I was so scared that I ended up hiding under the bed!”

“……”

“I got caught because of my skirt! He grabbed my ankle and pulled me out – oh, I almost screamed. It was so horrible, I still get chills just thinking about it…”

It wasn’t until then that I realised what she meant by nine times.

“Tonight with Marienne.”

Bapharos had actually muttered something to that effect. It looked like he’d actually gone through with it. I glanced at Marienne. She was always slim, but now she looked even more pale and gaunt.

“I’m afraid he’ll go on like this until he’s done it all nine times… That’s why I wanted to ask Your Highness. Could you tell him it was all a lie…?”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence. A noble lady dancing nearby bumped lightly into Marienne. She quickly bowed her head apologetically to Marienne, but her whispered words were anything but an apology.

“Ugly woman. Is His Highness Bapharos not enough for you?”