Eventually, her back was against the wall and the distance between her and Demios had grown, but this time, extreme vigilance welled up and tormented Sepia.
The memory of the first night still came back vividly.
If Demios had tried to come closer by force, Sepia would have tried to swing a candlestick.
It wasn’t just shame or embarrassment. She really couldn’t have a relationship at all.
That night, the two of them didn’t have a relationship as a couple.
Contrary to what she thought he would resent her, Demios didn’t scold her.
That was why she was even more grateful.
Even she couldn’t pinpoint a clear reason for the rejection she felt that night.
‘Is it because Demios lost his memory?’
If she had to force herself to pinpoint it, that was all she could think of.
But the memory was gone, and the target wasn’t different, right?
However, once she realized it, the rejection was deeply engraved in her mind, and it showed up every time she relaxed.
As Sepia began to reject Demios, she began to feel uncomfortable with other men.
So she concluded that it was a sudden onset of misandry.
He did not blame her for her rejection, as he treated it as an illness.
However, Sepia felt extremely guilty whenever she encountered him like that.
Not only did she feel sorry for him, but more than anything,
'The Empress has to bear a son to succeed the throne.'
Rejecting the Emperor was against the duty of the Empress that Sepia had been so obsessed with.
One year, two years.
Time passed quickly.
After extreme effort, her aversion gradually diminished.
However, things did not get any better in bed. After several years of no heirs between the two, they began to talk about it one by one. It was a question of whether to be born human or beastman. Children could be born between humans and beastmen.
This was the reason why Sepia could become the beastman Empress as a human.
The government said.
"From now on, I will warm your Majesty's bed, so don't worry too much._
Perhaps she had said that because she knew that Demios and Sepia had not had a relationship. Sepia had been pondering it all night.
Her inexplicable aversion was the reason she could not oppose Demios’ government to the end.
“Did you understand correctly? The Empress was the one who rejected me first.”
Demios spoke clearly as if he was giving a warning.
Those words pierced Sepia and made her feel a terrible sense of guilt. They also reminded her of the only duty she had failed to fulfill as an Empress.
Demios warned her, who was frozen in place.
“You better not tell me again that there are couples who are worse than others. If you are saying that we are not a couple because we do not sleep together, that would be different.”
He was still in human form.
However, instead of his squeaky voice, a low growl came through Sepia’s throat.
However, the husband’s possessiveness toward his wife only aroused Sepia’s repulsion.
“If you need a bed partner, go to Lady Titi.”
Sepia finally blurted out the words that Demios hated the most.
And those words were a success.
“...You treat me like an animal.”
His silver hair shook and the beast’s rage grew as if it would bite her neck at any moment.
As his red eyes were about to become bloodshot, Demios sneered at Sepia.
“Does the Duke know? That the Empress is a barren woman.”
A woman who cannot conceive is called a barren woman, but isn’t a woman who cannot be held the same?
Demios whispered cruelly and imprinted on her.
“You’d better remember. I, your husband, am the only one who can hold you.”
Demios pushed Sepia away.
Her legs lost their strength. She had no choice but to slump down on the carpet.
Was it because she had to look up at him?
Demios seemed like a much bigger and more fearsome target.
He read Sepia’s fear and laughed slowly.
Demios grabbed her chin and lifted it up to make eye contact.
“...This isn’t so bad.”
The index finger rubbed Sepia's lips.
The pink color that was lightly applied to her lips spread to her left cheek.
Obsession and greed were flashing in his red eyes. She couldn't help but know.
What kind of mind he had, and what kind of gaze he was looking at her with.
Her heart pounded anxiously.
“So you’d better think it over carefully.”
Demios let her go.
Even after he turned his back, his sticky gaze lingered.
The Emperor went out into the hallway.
The moment Demios closed the door, the Duke pressed his neck.
“Ugh...!”
Crack.
Demios’s neck turned to the side. The Duke’s golden eyes gleamed fiercely. His narrowed pupils were like those of a wild beast.
His red eyes contracted in response.
“How dare you, me, the Emperor...!”
Demios pushed him away from the wall.
The two beasts rolled down the hallway.
However, this time, the Duke had the upper hand.
Demios grumbled beneath the Duke.
“...You idiot. War, no. You should have died in a foreign land. Why did you come back alive...!”
The Duke laughed at the Emperor’s true nature.
“I told you then. I’d come back.”
He just kept that promise.
The Duke stood up.
He looked down at the Emperor and turned his gaze.
Towards the door where Sepia was.
He moved his lips but still couldn’t say anything.
The Emperor burst into laughter at this.
“You can’t be me. Never. Because the Empress won’t think of you.”
Demios got up and smirked.
His bloodshot eyes were those of a madman.
The snowstorm had stopped.
Winter had passed its peak and was already telling the end of the season.
Sepia, who had been looking out the window, lowered her eyes.
Since that day, Demios had not visited the Empress’s palace.
She heard that he had left for the winter villa with the government.
Perhaps it was a natural result.
‘I knew this would happen.’
Demios was right.
It was all her fault for refusing their first night and keeping her physical distance from him.
It was an act of shirking her duties as an Empress.
Sepia had been suffering from guilt for breaking her promise and rejecting him, her husband.
And that guilt was overflowing as if it would explode at any moment at Demios’ words.
The more she thought about that day, the more painful it became.
Sepia watched the fog on the window clear and braced herself.
'...Let me do what I can right now.'
In addition to looking after the heir, there were other duties for the Empress.
The history of the beastmen was based on the law of the jungle.
Because of this, beastmen born as weak species or from slums had difficulty escaping their given fate.
Sepia started a charity business to protect the poor and vulnerable species and help them become independent.
The nobles were the strongest among the beastmen.
Sepia's actions were laughed at by the nobles.
However, as the years passed, they had to admit that the Empress's plan was effective.
The slums were the source of infectious diseases and crime.
As the Empress continued to do good deeds, infectious diseases, and the crime rate decreased.
She was also able to discover many talented people among the vulnerable species who were discriminated against as the eliminated species.
Thanks to Sepia's results, many nobles now participate in the charity business.
However, it was a business that had only just begun to take hold.
As the one who started the work, there were many things to worry about.
'I'd better worry about budget distribution.'
At first, since no one cared about helping the poor, most of the budget came from the Empress's Palace.
Now, the number of nobles participating has increased, so the budget has increased, but there was no end to where it would go.
'If we just help, there will be no development.'
Her ultimate goal was to help the poor find jobs and return to being members of society.
Sepia was looking out the window and thinking.
The cold winter wind hit the glass. Even if the snowstorm had stopped, winter would be cruel to the creatures outside.
The maid who had come to deliver Sepia's tea clicked her tongue as she looked out the window.
"That fox, it looks thick, but I'm worried."
"That's true."
Sepia nodded at the maid's words.
'I haven't seen it since that day.'
The fox, which had growled at Roxanne, disappeared into the grass.
She thought she would see it again tomorrow, but after that, she couldn't see it even when she went to the same place every time.
'I wonder if you're okay.'
Sepia checked for news of the fox beyond the Empress’s Palace, but there was no news of anyone catching or finding the fox.
The memory of the first night still came back vividly.
If Demios had tried to come closer by force, Sepia would have tried to swing a candlestick.
It wasn’t just shame or embarrassment. She really couldn’t have a relationship at all.
That night, the two of them didn’t have a relationship as a couple.
Contrary to what she thought he would resent her, Demios didn’t scold her.
That was why she was even more grateful.
Even she couldn’t pinpoint a clear reason for the rejection she felt that night.
‘Is it because Demios lost his memory?’
If she had to force herself to pinpoint it, that was all she could think of.
But the memory was gone, and the target wasn’t different, right?
However, once she realized it, the rejection was deeply engraved in her mind, and it showed up every time she relaxed.
As Sepia began to reject Demios, she began to feel uncomfortable with other men.
So she concluded that it was a sudden onset of misandry.
He did not blame her for her rejection, as he treated it as an illness.
However, Sepia felt extremely guilty whenever she encountered him like that.
Not only did she feel sorry for him, but more than anything,
'The Empress has to bear a son to succeed the throne.'
Rejecting the Emperor was against the duty of the Empress that Sepia had been so obsessed with.
One year, two years.
Time passed quickly.
After extreme effort, her aversion gradually diminished.
However, things did not get any better in bed. After several years of no heirs between the two, they began to talk about it one by one. It was a question of whether to be born human or beastman. Children could be born between humans and beastmen.
This was the reason why Sepia could become the beastman Empress as a human.
The government said.
"From now on, I will warm your Majesty's bed, so don't worry too much._
Perhaps she had said that because she knew that Demios and Sepia had not had a relationship. Sepia had been pondering it all night.
Her inexplicable aversion was the reason she could not oppose Demios’ government to the end.
“Did you understand correctly? The Empress was the one who rejected me first.”
Demios spoke clearly as if he was giving a warning.
Those words pierced Sepia and made her feel a terrible sense of guilt. They also reminded her of the only duty she had failed to fulfill as an Empress.
Demios warned her, who was frozen in place.
“You better not tell me again that there are couples who are worse than others. If you are saying that we are not a couple because we do not sleep together, that would be different.”
He was still in human form.
However, instead of his squeaky voice, a low growl came through Sepia’s throat.
However, the husband’s possessiveness toward his wife only aroused Sepia’s repulsion.
“If you need a bed partner, go to Lady Titi.”
Sepia finally blurted out the words that Demios hated the most.
And those words were a success.
“...You treat me like an animal.”
His silver hair shook and the beast’s rage grew as if it would bite her neck at any moment.
As his red eyes were about to become bloodshot, Demios sneered at Sepia.
“Does the Duke know? That the Empress is a barren woman.”
A woman who cannot conceive is called a barren woman, but isn’t a woman who cannot be held the same?
Demios whispered cruelly and imprinted on her.
“You’d better remember. I, your husband, am the only one who can hold you.”
Demios pushed Sepia away.
Her legs lost their strength. She had no choice but to slump down on the carpet.
Was it because she had to look up at him?
Demios seemed like a much bigger and more fearsome target.
He read Sepia’s fear and laughed slowly.
Demios grabbed her chin and lifted it up to make eye contact.
“...This isn’t so bad.”
The index finger rubbed Sepia's lips.
The pink color that was lightly applied to her lips spread to her left cheek.
Obsession and greed were flashing in his red eyes. She couldn't help but know.
What kind of mind he had, and what kind of gaze he was looking at her with.
Her heart pounded anxiously.
“So you’d better think it over carefully.”
Demios let her go.
Even after he turned his back, his sticky gaze lingered.
The Emperor went out into the hallway.
The moment Demios closed the door, the Duke pressed his neck.
“Ugh...!”
Crack.
Demios’s neck turned to the side. The Duke’s golden eyes gleamed fiercely. His narrowed pupils were like those of a wild beast.
His red eyes contracted in response.
“How dare you, me, the Emperor...!”
Demios pushed him away from the wall.
The two beasts rolled down the hallway.
However, this time, the Duke had the upper hand.
Demios grumbled beneath the Duke.
“...You idiot. War, no. You should have died in a foreign land. Why did you come back alive...!”
The Duke laughed at the Emperor’s true nature.
“I told you then. I’d come back.”
He just kept that promise.
The Duke stood up.
He looked down at the Emperor and turned his gaze.
Towards the door where Sepia was.
He moved his lips but still couldn’t say anything.
The Emperor burst into laughter at this.
“You can’t be me. Never. Because the Empress won’t think of you.”
Demios got up and smirked.
His bloodshot eyes were those of a madman.
***
The snowstorm had stopped.
Winter had passed its peak and was already telling the end of the season.
Sepia, who had been looking out the window, lowered her eyes.
Since that day, Demios had not visited the Empress’s palace.
She heard that he had left for the winter villa with the government.
Perhaps it was a natural result.
‘I knew this would happen.’
Demios was right.
It was all her fault for refusing their first night and keeping her physical distance from him.
It was an act of shirking her duties as an Empress.
Sepia had been suffering from guilt for breaking her promise and rejecting him, her husband.
And that guilt was overflowing as if it would explode at any moment at Demios’ words.
The more she thought about that day, the more painful it became.
Sepia watched the fog on the window clear and braced herself.
'...Let me do what I can right now.'
In addition to looking after the heir, there were other duties for the Empress.
The history of the beastmen was based on the law of the jungle.
Because of this, beastmen born as weak species or from slums had difficulty escaping their given fate.
Sepia started a charity business to protect the poor and vulnerable species and help them become independent.
The nobles were the strongest among the beastmen.
Sepia's actions were laughed at by the nobles.
However, as the years passed, they had to admit that the Empress's plan was effective.
The slums were the source of infectious diseases and crime.
As the Empress continued to do good deeds, infectious diseases, and the crime rate decreased.
She was also able to discover many talented people among the vulnerable species who were discriminated against as the eliminated species.
Thanks to Sepia's results, many nobles now participate in the charity business.
However, it was a business that had only just begun to take hold.
As the one who started the work, there were many things to worry about.
'I'd better worry about budget distribution.'
At first, since no one cared about helping the poor, most of the budget came from the Empress's Palace.
Now, the number of nobles participating has increased, so the budget has increased, but there was no end to where it would go.
'If we just help, there will be no development.'
Her ultimate goal was to help the poor find jobs and return to being members of society.
Sepia was looking out the window and thinking.
The cold winter wind hit the glass. Even if the snowstorm had stopped, winter would be cruel to the creatures outside.
The maid who had come to deliver Sepia's tea clicked her tongue as she looked out the window.
"That fox, it looks thick, but I'm worried."
"That's true."
Sepia nodded at the maid's words.
'I haven't seen it since that day.'
The fox, which had growled at Roxanne, disappeared into the grass.
She thought she would see it again tomorrow, but after that, she couldn't see it even when she went to the same place every time.
'I wonder if you're okay.'
Sepia checked for news of the fox beyond the Empress’s Palace, but there was no news of anyone catching or finding the fox.
She felt a little regretful that she should have caught it and brought it here.
“Shall we go out for a moment?”
“Yes! I’ll bring the coat.”
The maid was delighted by Sepia’s suggestion and went to get the coat.
She had a headache because she was thinking about next year’s budget.
She didn’t have any particular expectations, but she thought it would be nice to go out to the garden to change her mood.
Sepia left the office with the maid.
The corridor leading to the garden had arched pillars instead of walls, so snow piled up to the side of the path.
“Oh my?”
The maid, who was about to lead Sepia to the garden, stopped walking.
Across the corridor on the other side, two males were approaching in the direction Sepia was.
“Shall we go out for a moment?”
“Yes! I’ll bring the coat.”
The maid was delighted by Sepia’s suggestion and went to get the coat.
She had a headache because she was thinking about next year’s budget.
She didn’t have any particular expectations, but she thought it would be nice to go out to the garden to change her mood.
Sepia left the office with the maid.
The corridor leading to the garden had arched pillars instead of walls, so snow piled up to the side of the path.
“Oh my?”
The maid, who was about to lead Sepia to the garden, stopped walking.
Across the corridor on the other side, two males were approaching in the direction Sepia was.
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