Zetak had been silent since he entered the room. He slowly examined every corner of my room, running his fingers over the desk and scanning the books neatly arranged on the shelves. It was as if he was trying to make up for lost time. I watched him quietly, but a strange feeling of unease crept over me. The scent of a monster. Yes, Zetak was a monster. By shedding his skin, he had shed all traces of humanity and turned into one. But there was another distinct smell of a monster in the air.

“Did you bring another monster with you?” 

Zetak turned to me with a puzzled expression. 

“Why do you ask that?” 

“I think I detect a different scent.” 

Of course, humans couldn’t distinguish the scent of a monster with their sense of smell. It wasn’t so much a smell as a feeling – a kind of instinct that kicked in when another presence entered my domain. 

Zetak’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me. 

“You know something, Your Highness? Sometimes you don’t seem quite human.” 

“……” 

“Come to think of it, it was the same before, wasn’t it? When you told me about the shedding. Do you remember? You spoke casually of something no human should know.”

It felt like he was pushing me for answers, but it was clear he didn’t really expect any. Maybe he already knew I wouldn’t answer. He tapped the ground twice with his foot, and at that moment his shadow rippled and began to move, undulating like waves. 

Dozens of eyes blinked into existence within it. The shadow – or rather the monster hidden within it – slowly emerged. 

It spread like smoke, gradually merging into the shape of a black serpent. 

A mist-like monster with no solid form. Unless it chose to solidify, it couldn’t be touched, making it a difficult enemy to deal with. The snake’s body was covered in dozens of blinking eyes. I had the feeling that I had seen it somewhere before, and as the thought crossed my mind, it belatedly dawned on me. 

The black snake with countless eyes that had emerged from its shadow in the future. Even though the future had changed, it seemed that this monster had once again bound itself to Zetak. 

“I told you, didn’t I? That I’d bring back a monster less than ten years old.” 

He spoke as he took my right hand. Thanks to the transplant, I was able to perform basic daily activities again. With another five or six years of rehabilitation, I might even be able to wield a sword again. 

As he gently ran his fingers over my hand, he smiled faintly. 

“Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be necessary. Depending on the situation, I’ll either send it back to the Demon Realm or hand it over to the Mage Tower.” 

The monster still had no sense of self. Still, it seemed to instinctively sense something, and the black serpent quickly retreated into the shadows. Not Zetak’s shadow, but the shadow under the bed. Even without self-awareness, it seemed to realise that being turned over to the Mage Tower would be harmful to it. 

Zetak looked around the room once more. 

“It feels rather cold and lifeless in here.”

I didn’t ask what he meant – I already had a feeling. He was probably referring to the room, which hadn’t changed much since he’d left. After circling the room, he sat down on the edge of the bed. 

As I approached, he held out his hand and pulled me into a hug. Zetak rested his forehead on my stomach and breathed softly. It was as if he was trying to confirm that this moment was real. 

“You really came back.” 

I stroked his head in silence. He was no longer a child. It wouldn’t have been strange to feel unfamiliar with how much he had changed. But strangely, I didn’t feel that way at all. 

“What are you going to do now?” 

“Well, first I think I should have some tea in the garden.” 

His unexpected response left me puzzled, but I soon realised it was because of something I had said once in the garden. 

“Tea, huh? Sounds good. And after that?” 

“Hmm, first I’d like to take it easy here for a while. After that, if the opportunity arises, I’d like to travel with Your Highness outside the Imperial Palace.” 

“Travel? Is that what you want to do?” 

“Not I – Your Highness.” 

He pulled me onto the bed. Perhaps I had expected this – him pinning me under him. What else would lovers do after being together for so long? He looked down at me and stroked my cheek gently. 

“For seven years you lived like a restless ghost, just waiting for me.” 

“I don’t really think…” 

“I will take you everywhere.”

“You will see more, experience more. And you’ll learn so many new feelings.” 

The years I spent waiting for him felt like just another part of my ordinary life. But he seemed to think differently. His eyes were filled with tenderness and warmth, as if he wanted to compensate me for those seven years. This warmth seemed to seep into a corner of my heart, leaving me with an inexplicable feeling of comfort. 

What should I call this? Is it what people call happiness? Or is it the comfort of knowing he’ll always be by my side? I thought of what he had said – to leave the palace together, to travel to different places and make new memories with him. It would certainly be very different from life in the palace. Like he said, it would be unique, full of experiences I’d remember for the rest of my life. 

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound so bad.”

Zetak looked down at me intently. He took my hand and tucked it under his. 

” Travelling can wait, this is more important right now. Tell me.” 

“Is it really small?”

I kept my mouth shut.

It seemed he was still bothered by what I’d said in the corridor. Was it my imagination, or did he seem unusually stubborn? Could it be that he was hurt by the thought of being small? Well, considering the pride monsters tend to take in such things, it wouldn’t be surprising. It was an instinct inherent to monsters – one I had myself in a previous life.

Feeling the need to comfort him, I gave him a few gentle pats. I was tempted to pat him on the head, but since he was clinging to my wrist, I decided to pat him on the shoulder instead. 

“There’s no need to feel down about something like that.” 

After all, it might be small for a monster, but compared to a human, it was quite significant. That’s what I meant, but his expression hardened. It seemed my words weren’t much of a consolation. 

“Size isn’t everything. You took medicine for a whole year as a child. Even if it didn’t show up in your height, it probably accumulated inside you. Who knows? The shooting power could be incredible.” 

“Shooting power?” 

He looked down at me, seemingly in despair. With a sigh, he pressed his fingers firmly to the bridge of his nose.

“Yes, now it really feels like I’m back.”

“I really am back. But to be honest, knowing your personality, I wasn’t expecting an emotional reunion or anything.”

“But still, isn’t it a bit much to call it small?”

He said as he began to unbutton his shirt. Then it hit me – what I’d said earlier had once again wounded his pride. I’d managed to provoke him again. How could I explain this? Should I say he’s big for a human? But he’s no longer human. By monster standards, he must be considered small.

As I struggled to organise my thoughts, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. My words caught in my throat as his hands moved down, slowly undoing the buttons from my collar down.

With each button undone, his skin was gradually exposed. From his neck to his collarbones, from his collarbones to his chest and from his chest to his stomach. Why couldn’t I look away? This body was nothing like the one I remembered. The small frame he once had, the scars from the burns that had marred his skin, the serpent scales – all of it was gone. 

What emerged as each button was undone was the body of a robust man. I couldn’t take my eyes off the taut, firm muscles that looked almost carved into place. It felt almost instinctive to reach out and touch him. Slowly I ran my hands over his body, pulling the clothes off his shoulders and down. 

Even before, his physique had been solid for his age. But now, as a fully grown man, his body was undeniably masculine. As I stared at his broad, thick chest muscles, I found myself involuntarily swallowing. 

Zetak just looked down at me without stopping me as I slowly ran my hands down his body. When my fingertips brushed against a small bump, it brought back an old memory. Had I scratched him while searching for evidence of the experiments on his body? Lost in the memory, I unconsciously pressed my nails into it, scratching lightly. His shoulders trembled slightly as he chuckled, as if remembering the same thing. 

As I pressed against it, rubbing with my fingertips, I could feel it slowly hardening under my touch. 

“Please don’t tease someone like that.”

“I’m not teasing you. It’s a right I have.”

“A right?” 

“I couldn’t touch you before. But you – you touched me as much as you wanted. So it’s only fair that I claim my right now, don’t you think?” 

I didn’t touch him back then because I knew he wouldn’t like it. I wanted to respect his pride in his “cocoon”. But now there was no need to hold back. Zetak looked at me with darker, more intense eyes before his lips curled into a slight smile. He didn’t say anything, so I assumed he was okay with it. 

I ran my hand over his firm stomach and as I moved lower, I felt something in the way – his trousers. I could already feel how tight they were, so I undid the buckle and pulled the zip down. As I lowered his trousers and underwear together, his length jumped free with a bounce.