The Demon Queen's Royal Consort

Of course, it would cost me everything. I was no longer the innocent boy who had wasted away in a hospital, fighting cancer. No, I was a traumatized man, haunted by despair, who now only saw the dark side of things—the twisted opportunities that arose.

The situation worsened as my analytical mind continued processing the facts, weighing the pros and cons. Death row inmates were, by far, the best specimens for experiments that defied ethics and morality. And classifying the pink gas tests in that category was the only certainty I had.

'They're producing a bioweapon, designed to kill or destabilize primarily normal people and the Awakened. Nothing more.'

Being alive in that luxurious room was proof that I was likely the only survivor, the sole test subject the experiments hadn't killed. And now, they would take their plans to the next level, and I would be the lab rat, now graced with luxury.

In front of me, Lesley calmly sipped aromatic tea from a pot on the table. I, however, had no stomach for food.

"Not only will it cost you everything, but now many important people will want your head at any cost."

I frowned. Those weren't the words I expected.

"Not only will powerful and influential people try to kill you, but it will also be difficult to survive under my care."

My expression grew even more closed off. I was completely lost.

"Am I still going to be experimented on?" I asked, seeking clarity.

"Experiments?" Lesley frowned, confused. Then understanding dawned on her face.

"Ah, no, forget that," she said confidently. "Nothing I'm talking about has to do with experiments. Well... I mean, it does, but not in the way you're imagining."

'Not in the way I'm imagining? Since when can you read my thoughts?' I thought but held back the remark.

A cynical smile curved her lips, and a malicious glint appeared in her eyes.

"You've been given a new opportunity, Glenn. All your previous records will be erased. Anyone who might still recognize you will disappear from the map. In fact, I think they already have. Your old family didn't cultivate many social ties, especially with those of our race," she said with a sharp edge.

"You've been given a unique chance, but with it will come a burden we'll see if you can bear," she concluded skeptically.

"What opportunity is that?" I asked, apprehensive.

"Starting today, you have been named a 'Royal Consort Candidate to the Demon Queen.'"

A glacial chill ran down my spine, and my stomach twisted violently. My heart pounded so hard I feared it would leap out of my mouth. My breathing grew short and irregular, my lungs refusing to take in air. A deafening buzz echoed in my ears, and my vision blurred for a moment. It was as if my body was collapsing, unable to bear the weight of those words. I almost fell back into the chair.

A bitter smile stretched across my lips, a grotesque contrast to the gravity of the situation.

'Is this it? They don't want to tell me the truth. It has to be that!' I thought amidst the chaos.

Still in shock, I watched Lesley sipping her tea as if nothing extraordinary had been said, vainly hoping it was some tasteless joke.

"Agh... agh..." No coherent sound came from my mouth, and my thoughts churned like a volcano erupting.

There was no way this was true. I might not be from this world, but I knew very well that the terrifying woman seated on the throne in the sanctum was the current Demon Queen, the most powerful to walk these lands, perhaps the most powerful creature in this world.

As my thoughts raced, the strange tattoo of two eagle wings on my chest pulsed slowly and softly, unnoticed by me.

"Hahahahaha," a hysterical laugh escaped my lips. It was dry, almost a choke, filled with disbelief and dread.

"You've got to be joking," I hissed, my eyes flashing with fury and madness at the same time.

"I'm not," she replied curtly.

My entire body trembled, consumed by a wave of denial so intense it threatened to spill over into violence. Those words insulted my intelligence, defied all logic.

"So you're telling me that the most powerful woman in the entire demonic realm, if not the planet, simply chose me as a potential companion?" I asked with biting sarcasm, throwing all caution to the wind.

"Companion, no," she corrected coldly. "Candidate."

Her expression turned icy, a palpable power emanating from her, and the cup she held shattered, scattering porcelain shards across the room. Her heavy aura pinned me to the chair, my breathing faltered, my heartbeat went haywire, and the sensation of death washed over me again.

"You have a long way to go, if you even want to be worthy of polishing Her Majesty's shoes," her aura intensified, and her words hammered into my mind.

"You're nothing but a nobody who got a second chance at life after a death sentence."

"You're nothing but a creature that everyone who wants to harm our queen will spare no effort to destroy."

"You're nothing but a miserable being that all the political lords of influential families, who don't want to lose their grip on power, will try to kill."

"You're nothing but a tiny speck who, if you don't grow at the pace desired by Her Majesty, will be mercilessly crushed just for being in her presence."

"You're nothing but an easy target for every assassin organization that will do anything to boast about killing the royal consort of the Demon Queen. Not just of this kingdom, but of all the nations of Atlas."

"You're nothing but an infectious disease that has tainted the pure, immaculate robes of our queen," she shouted, exasperated. "Do you understand?"

Her aura crushed me; I couldn't breathe, but an uncontrollable fury began to burn inside me. 'You crazy bitch, when did I ever ask for this…?' The thought repeated like a mantra, growing louder with every word Lesley spat in my face.

'You crazy bitch, when did I ever ask for this…?'

'You crazy bitch, when did I ever ask for this…?'

'You crazy bitch, when did I ever ask for this…?'

Until I exploded. Before I knew it, I was screaming at the top of my lungs:

"YOU CRAZY BITCH, WHEN DID I EVER ASK FOR THIS?!" I shouted, gasping for air.

My scream broke Lesley's momentum, and she finally seemed to wake up to the consequences of her words. An awkward silence hung in the room.

For long minutes, we stared at each other, eye to eye, neither of us willing to resume the conversation