“Your Highness, please relax. I will be gentle as well.”
Seraphina closed her eyes, clearly able to “feel” the flow of magic coursing through her meridians, focusing on certain specific areas.
This complete invasion, leaving no privacy at all, churned uneasily in her heart.
“Hmm… the potion is absorbing well.” Erasia withdrew her magic, her tone as calm as if she were inspecting an ordinary object.
“The Transformation Process… is basically as expected. You may use today’s potion.”
The cup of faintly blue liquid was brought before Seraphina by her own hand. The liquid slowly swirled inside, refracting an eerie glow.
She didn’t know exactly what it contained, but after being forced to take it for so long, she understood some of it—this was probably a deeper layer of Catalyst, perhaps mixed with ingredients to make her softer, weaker, and easier to control.
A brief silence filled the air. Erasia’s gaze quietly settled on her face—no urging, but an invisible pressure.
Seraphina knew there was no escaping this. Her fingertips trembled against the cup’s edge, but in the end, she suddenly tilted her head back and gulped it all down.
“Your Highness, please swallow it all. Don’t let any leak out.”
“Uh… ah…”
The icy liquid slid down her throat, carrying a peculiar sweet fragrance and a slight viscosity, then quickly transformed into a warm current, spreading rapidly throughout her body—especially intense in the lower regions.
Though it wasn’t the first time, Seraphina couldn’t help but let out a sound she found deeply humiliating.
As the potion took effect, a deeper, more fundamental weakness quietly surfaced, far more exhausting than a full day’s work.
“Very good.”
As usual, Erasia meticulously recorded something. “His Majesty is deeply concerned about Your Highness’s condition. Please continue taking your medication on time. This is crucial for your ‘health’ and ‘future.’”
She deliberately emphasized those words before closing the box. “Also, His Majesty has granted you a night’s leave. May you enjoy it well.”
The white figure silently retreated.
The study fell back into silence.
The frequency of the potion had been decreasing lately. Seraphina still remembered how at the beginning she had to drink it three times a day; now it was only twice a week.
Lower frequency meant the “treatment” was nearing its end, and the effects were about to manifest!
In fact, signs had already appeared. For example, beautiful girls with perfect figures constantly surrounded her—like Erasia just now, whose figure beneath her white robe could make anyone’s blood race.
But Seraphina felt no desire at all. Even her pilot’s license had been revoked—the plane had no fuel and couldn’t possibly take off.
She suddenly buried her face deep into her arms on the table. There had to be some kind of desire-inducing substance mixed into the potion. She felt a faint heat spreading through her body, and a blush slowly rising on her cheeks.
Yet combined with the near-total loss of function somewhere below, that tiny spark of desire couldn’t be released, tormenting her mind relentlessly.
At the same time, the potion’s power circulated within her body. Her skin seemed more delicate and sensitive; even her breath felt gentler.
“Damn it… damn it!” she screamed silently.
After a long while, she slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were bloodshot, her pupils had briefly shifted into a more alluring shape… though now they had returned to normal.
At least the one good thing was that she could finally rest, even if only for one night.
As she was about to get up and return to her bedroom…
“Thud!”
Her legs felt as if their muscles and bones had been drained of strength—soft and limp, utterly unable to bear her weight—and she collapsed heavily onto the table.
“Hiss…”
After struggling to sit upright again, she looked down at her smooth, jade-like legs. They were spread flat like a pancake on the chair, as if the bones were missing.
It had never been this bad before; at worst, she could hold onto walls to walk. This time… standing up at all was incredibly difficult.
The dosage was increasing. Maybe next time, or the time after that, she would lose something forever.
Though it was embarrassing, there was no other choice at the moment…
“Someone! H-hold me… carry me back…”
In the end, Seraphina was carried back to her bed by one of the Maids. She didn’t even have time for dinner before falling into a deep sleep.
***
At midnight, Seraphina was awakened by a bone-deep ache.
Though, rather than truly waking, it was her body, pressed by the potion, barely regaining a trace of consciousness.
She felt like melted snow under the harsh sun—soft and weak, sinking into the excessively soft bed, even lifting a finger was extraordinarily difficult.
Faint memories surfaced of being carried back to her room a few hours ago, accompanied by a humiliating warmth.
She tried to move her legs but was met with the same helpless limpness, as if those legs no longer belonged to her.
“Damn Movira… damn potion…” she cursed silently, her voice hoarse as if sandpaper had scraped it raw.
Outside, the Abyssal Night had not fully retreated; an eternal dusky purple draped the sky.
Seizing this moment of quiet, the demons within her mind tangled once more, abruptly reminding her of Movira and Erasia’s words. A chilling panic overtook her, surpassing even the weakness in her body.
She truly couldn’t wait any longer!
“Escape… I have to escape! Get out of the Demon King’s Castle! Return to the Human Empire!”
But… if she went back looking like this… she would surely be seen as a freak!
Still, that was far better than enduring endless torment here.
This thought was like a spark of hope in despair, instantly igniting the last of her willpower.
She gritted her teeth, using sheer force of will to command this limp, broken body. Each movement felt like fighting an invisible swamp—both the potion’s induced weakness and the fundamental changes to her body were double chains.
“Move…”
She tried to awaken her body in an almost pleading tone, slow and torturous.
She nearly rolled off the bed, her knees hitting the cold floor with a dull thud.
Perhaps because of the pain, she gradually regained a sense of her body’s presence—though it was far from what it had been.
No time to dwell on that, she crawled toward the drawer with all fours. Inside were some small supplies she had been saving—originally for late-night meals after working on official documents.
Now, they were her little capital for escape.
Several pieces of black bread, hard as stone but long-lasting.