A Second Chance in the Demon Queen’s Embrace

'The Demon Queen, she says?!'

I wasn't sure if there was any real authority or meaning behind the name she had given herself, but I also didn't mind calling her the Demon Queen if that's what she wanted.

After all, Demon Queen sounded much better than demon girl or demon woman.

I would have preferred a real name, but Demon Queen was fine too.

"I don't have a name~"

I turned my head toward the Demon Queen, who was watching me with amusement.

"And I never needed one. Demon Queen is simply what I am—what everyone saw me as, and what I see myself as."

I turned her words over in my mind. So she really didn't have a name!

A sense of pity tickled my heart as my eyes remained on her alluring form. But that same pity turned back and struck me instead.

'I don't have a name myself!'

'No! I just don't remember my name!'

"You woke up late, and lunchtime is near. Ask what's on your mind and eat your meal so we can go back to bed. Don't keep me waiting~~"

The Demon Queen pulled me out of my thoughts. When I looked at her to confirm what I had just heard, she only looked back at me seductively.

Just the sight of her made the blood in my body boil, but my overwhelming curiosity about who I was managed to suppress the thoughts that had begun to form.

I took a deep breath to calm myself further. Only after my head felt lighter did I begin to ask.

"Lady Demon Queen, do you know who I am? Who I was before? I would die to know!"

The Demon Queen didn't answer right away. She placed the silver goblet in her hand down and leaned back comfortably in her chair at the head of the table.

When her eyes fell on me, her gaze was reprimanding.

"First of all, you're not going to die just to find out. That overwhelming curiosity is simply your instinct as one of the sub-human races—you all tend to exaggerate your reactions."

She rested one hand on the armrest of her chair and placed her cheek against it.

"As for who you are? That, I do not know. I was just as surprised as you were when you arrived last night~"

Her last words were playful.

'Last night? Oh... right. She's the one who decides night and day in her domain—or at least, that's what she claims.'

'And it's unfortunate for me that she doesn't know who I could be.'

I lowered my head in disappointment. The hope I had clung to for learning the truth of my existence had vanished just like that.

"Don't be such a mood killer soo quickly. I still know a few things that might interest my desperate hero."

I lifted my head in hope, only to be met with the Demon Queen's amused expression.

She did know something after all?

"Please, tell me!"

I pleaded for the knowledge she possessed.

"The body you possess was not originally yours,"

the Demon Queen began, her own expression now curious and serious—unlike her usual playful nature.

"Your soul somehow found its way into the body that is now yours. The soul of your predecessor was completely erased. I have no trace of it, only yours."

'What now?! What did she just say?!'

'What does she mean my body wasn't mine, but belonged to someone else? How does that make any sense?!'

I wanted to deny her words—to believe she was lying for reasons unknown to me. But I couldn't find a reason for why she would lie. She had no motive to deceive me.

From the moment I woke up beside her, she had been nothing but honest, both with me and with herself. Even her casual words hinted at the truth of the revelation she had just laid upon me.

"Heh… heheh!!"

A bitter laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it.

From a certain perspective, I was a joke of sort. No memories, no body, no identity—nothing. Even the thing I had believed to be mine, what I had seen with my own two eyes, ended up not truly belonging to me.

'I will never know what I am.'

A dark thought drifted through the chaos of my mind. I wanted to reject it, but every possibility was against me.

"All humanoids are truly morbidly unnecessary."

The Demon Queen's voice entered my ears. I lifted my head only to meet the pity that colored her expression.

"To begin with, memories have nothing to do with the body, but with the soul. What if you are in a body that isn't your own? As long as you have a connection to those memories, you can still recover them."

My gaze never wavered from the Demon Queen. Her words stirred something inside me, reigniting a spark of hope...

"Ughh... your thoughts are really a pain to read!"

The Demon Queen groaned, covering her ears in an exaggerated reaction to emphasize her complaint.

But even then, I couldn't help but smile at her.

As long as I had hope of recovering my memories, I wouldn't give up. I was absolutely certain that my memories were important to me—otherwise, why would I feel such desperation just to see them again?

But one problem stood in my way. How was I supposed to do that?

The Demon Queen's expression shifted into one of resignation, as if she were simply waiting for the inevitable question that would come to annoy her.

"Is there a way to recover my memories?" I asked without hesitation, as if I weren't the same person who had nearly broken down just moments ago.

The Demon Queen let out a long sigh. She muttered something under her breath that I couldn't hear before looking at me again, as if making some kind of decision.

"There is no direct way for you to recover your memories, and I can't help you either. You can only wait."

She finally spoke, but her words weren't what I had wanted to hear.

"What do you mean I have to wait? Can't you help me? Aren't you strong and capable?"

I asked, a slight frustration creeping into my voice.

"I have the ability to forcefully extract your memories, but waiting for your chance is better than my interference."

The Demon Queen said as she prepared to rise from her seat.

But before she could, she glanced at me, already sensing the question I was about to ask.

"Is something going to happen? What exactly am I supposed to wait for, other than my memories?"

The Demon Queen slumped back into her chair, staring at the ceiling with dead fish-like eyes.

She took a deep breath that lasted no less than thirty seconds before looking at me again with tired eyes.

"I suppose I should tell you!"

---

"This realm is called the Kingdom Between the Cracks of Reality—a home after death."

The Demon Queen spoke to me, though she wasn't looking my way. She was too busy slipping off her long black robe, leaving her body completely bare.

I sat on the bed, my gaze burning as I took in every detail of her form, making my blood boil. Yet, despite the distraction, my mind remained focused on her words.

We were now in her chambers—the same room I had woken up in—having returned from the dining hall at her command.

The Demon Queen had argued that if she let me run my mouth, we would never leave the dining hall. So, she dragged me back to her chambers to do the exercises she had promised, all while answering my questions.

I wasn't sure if my mind could handle doing both at once, but this was important to me. So, I figured I could amuse myself in the process.

On the way to the bedroom, she didn't stop complaining, saying that it wasn't fair for her to give up my lips and tongue during our exercises. but in the end, she decided that she would be the one doing the kissing, noting that my neck had always seemed so kissable to her.

"What do you mean by 'a home after death'?"

I asked, my curiosity piqued by her statement, while attempting to undo the belt of my own black robe.

But the Demon Queen stopped me, her expression suddenly serious, as if I had just broken some cosmic law.

"STOP!!! I'll be the one doing that… for you~" she explained the gravity of her reaction, her expression melting into a flushed euphoria.

I froze mid-action, staring at the look on her face—it was almost enough to awaken the lower half of my body.

I couldn't resist the allure of her naked form, but her beautiful face had its own kind of intoxicating charm.

She began to crawl toward me from the edge of the bed, moving excruciatingly slowly, her chest moving back and forth with each breath, though her long black hair concealed much of the view.

I found myself anticipating her arrival more than her answer to my question. And when she finally reached me, she spread her legs apart slowly, straddling me, giving me a perfect view of her exposed thighs.

Pure instinct drove my fingers between her legs. But she caught my wrist midair, pinning my hand against my chest.

"Don't be too eager—that takes away your innocent charm."

She took the same hand and placed it on her breast.

"Hold this instead."

I had no objections to that. In fact, I moved my other hand to her other breast, just to keep things balanced.

The Demon Queen remained seated on top of me, watching as I played with her chest, a satisfied smile gracing her lips.

"I am the Demon Queen—"

Part of my focus shifted to her as she declared her presence and identity. Her posture above me was that of a queen sitting upon her throne.

"I am eternal—"

The weight of her sitting on me increased, as if demanding my full attention, which I gave her.

"I am inevitable—"

Her tone rose, carrying a hint of challenge.

"Fated to destroy worlds, to slay heroes… and yet—"

She grabbed my clothing and lifted me effortlessly, as if my weight was nothing to her.

Her crimson ember-like eyes burned into mine, filled with a blazing curiosity—alongside other emotions I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"You! You've left me utterly clueless~"

The moment the words left her lips, her hands cupped both of my cheeks, and then—

She drowned me.

Her face, her mouth, her lips, her tongue—consuming mine without hesitation.

My eyes trembled in reaction, my body twisting slightly under her.

I had no idea why her excitement had ignited so fiercely, but I didn't find myself resisting.

I simply tried to match even a fraction of her enthusiasm as I wrapped my arms around her head in a gentle embrace, pulling her closer.

'She's not as terrifying as I once thought.'