"Of course…his daughter, the demon princess, sorry, I mean the Demon Queen, ascended the throne right after," The guard answered, though when he mentioned the words 'Demon Queen', a glint of fear crossed his eyes.
"Then when did I become the Royal Consort?" Asher asked with a narrowed gaze.
"Uhhh…actually, Your Highness was already engaged to our queen for a very long time, and the marriage happened right before the late Demon King left for his final quest. We don't know why but the Demon King had taken Your Highness at a very young age, planning to wed you to his daughter once the time comes," The guard explained while still finding it surprising and puzzling, wondering why the late Demon King would wed his precious daughter to a retard with no power at all.
Even now, after he seemed to have gained intelligence, he was no stronger than a commoner.
Asher became silent as he deeply thought about what the guard had said. Based on his words, the Demon King surely knew something he didn't. Otherwise, all the decisions he took just don't make sense.
And based on how the guards were discussing the Demon King and his daughter, it seemed that the two of them shared a strong father-daughter bond which would then rule out the fact that he forced his daughter to marry him out of spite or something.
"There you are! Why were you all taking so much time to bring him back?" A frustrated shout of a woman echoed in the area as Asher looked up after pushing away his thoughts.
He saw a tall woman with red skin and big glimmering dark blue eyes that seemed quite eye-catching. She had long dark red hair with bangs, long yet thin eyebrows, and luscious dark red lips. And on her head, there was a band from which two dark red horns were extending towards the sides.
She was wearing a revealing dark silver breastplate that showed off her upper bountiful breasts while her well-built six-pack abs were completely visible along with the rest of her flat stomach.
Her arms had metallic red vambraces, and the dark silver chausses covered most part of her legs. Still, it revealed a glimpse of her silky upper thighs and added to her overall seductive yet intimidating charm.
Most men would drool after seeing her hourglass figure, but if they saw the piercing look in her dark blue eyes, they would think twice before looking at her again. Her face was pretty enough to stand out even among other beautiful women, yet her intimidating expression and the aura she was giving off would make people look at her in a careful way.
Asher could tell that she was a high-ranked demon and seemed quite strong, too, just based on her disposition.
And quite scary, apparently, after he saw the guards beside him bow their backs fully as they profusely apologized, "F-Forgive us, Battlemaster! W-We were searching everywhere we could to find His Majesty. And there is also good news!" One of the guards quickly stepped forward and whispered something to her, making her squint her eyes as she looked at Ash with a doubtful look.
She motioned with her hand to stand aside and asked Ash in a stern voice, "Do you know your name, Your Highness?"
"Of course I do. But what is your name?" Asher asked with his hands behind his back. He didn't know why but he could sense some hostility from her toward him. He decided to first play along and find out more about his situation.
Her eyebrows raised as if in disbelief, "He can really speak? How come this became suddenly possible? Do you remember anything, Your Highness? No…since you don't know my name, you must be ignorant about everything."
She looked at the guards and said, "All of you get ready to leave and write me a full detailed report of what happened and whatever you saw. I need it on my table within 2 hours. Now, get out of my sight."
The guards bowed in fear as they scurried off before they accidentally infuriated her.
Asher noticed that this woman must be quite a frightening figure in the demon kingdom.
She turned towards Ash and said, "And you, you can call me Lady Ceti, and I am the Battlemaster, or since you can't understand what that means, I am the right-hand woman of Her Majesty. Now, follow me."
'The right-hand woman? No wonder she seems so overbearing,' Asher realized some things as he silently followed her towards a carriage drawn by red-eyed demon horses. She addressed him casually right after the guards left, making him realize that despite his official status, he held no power or respect. But that was something he expected, considering what he was before.
Still, that didn't mean that he would let this woman keep looking down on him forever. After everything that happened, he had hardened his heart to make sure that no matter who or what, they all would fall before him as long as he could destroy those who tried to destroy him.
Asher got into the carriage along with Ceti, who sat opposite him. And right when they took off, she kicked his leg with her feet and said, "Hey! Stop daydreaming and listen since you have no idea who the hell you are."
Asher took a deep breath, feeling insulted by getting kicked, but he suppressed his anger since he still didn't have a full idea of his situation. As a veteran Hunter in his past life, he knew not to let his emotions get the best of him.
He also didn't know much about the Demon Realm since nobody stayed in this realm too long to learn anything. And those who did never came back and were considered dead for obvious reasons.
All he knew was that centuries ago, the first Hunters were born when some light from the skies struck certain humans around the world. After that, all of them started receiving certain "quests" in their minds which warned them of the demons that were going to attack their world.
And those who successfully completed their quests would receive rewards that allowed them to surpass their human limits and become something more. Everyone thought that it was the gods who came to their rescue by creating "heroes" among them to ward off the demons at the right time. But in the present era, the World Hunter Association seemed sure of the fact that it was angels who gave humans a chance to protect their world.
This only made Asher more curious about the demon realm since he could find out more about the enemies he had been fighting for most of his life. But, of course, his priority was still the vow he made to himself after transmigrating.
Ceti didn't like how Ash was looking at her. She felt as if he was looking at something beneath him, but she then thought that it was all her imagination, considering how clueless he must be.
"The guards told me that they already briefly told you who you are but don't misunderstand your status just because you are the husband of our queen in name. You better keep your head low and exist as if you don't exist, just like before. Then everything will go on peacefully. Just don't cause a nuisance for our queen. This is my fair warning to you. Otherwise, you will see my face more often. And trust me…you don't want to," Ceti said in a sharp tone.
