That afternoon, the house was warm with sunlight.
Golden light streamed through the tall window, spilling softly across the wooden floor in long shifting bands as the sun began its slow descent. Thin curtains stirred in the breeze, carrying the scent of the garden inside—the smell of grass, damp earth, and flowers in bloom.
In the quiet of the sitting room, Seraphina sat by the window.
A piece of pale blue knitting rested in her lap, her needles moving in an easy rhythm—lift, loop, pull, repeat. The motion was so familiar that she no longer had to think about it.
Now and then, she hummed softly to herself.
Nothing pressed upon her today. There were no important guests to receive, no urgent duties demanding her attention.
Only a peaceful afternoon with her daughter.
A few steps away, in the middle of the room, Kaelthar stood.
His small body balanced atop two short, unsteady legs. His knees bent slightly to hold himself upright, and his hands hovered at his sides like tiny wings ready to catch his balance if he tipped too far.
But he did not fall.
Standing was no longer a rare achievement for him.
Even taking a few steps had begun to feel ordinary.
Kaelthar looked at his mother.
Seraphina still had not noticed him.
Her knitting needles went on clicking softly.
Kaelthar watched her in silence.
These past months in a human body had taught him many things—not only about the world, but about humans themselves.
Humans paid close attention to the things that mattered to them.
And when something delighted them, they made it obvious.
He had seen it many times.
When he first managed to stand, Seraphina had nearly leapt from her chair in surprise.
When he walked a few steps on his own, his father had laughed aloud as though witnessing a miracle.
Kaelthar liked reactions like that.
They felt... pleasant.
Warm.
Different from the emotions he had once fed upon as a demon.
As a demon, he had always preferred fear, hatred, despair.
But human happiness was something else.
Not sharp.
Not intense.
Yet there was something soft in it. Something strangely soothing.
He remembered something.
Over the past several months, Seraphina and Alaric had repeated certain words to him again and again.
“Come to Mommy.”
“Come here, Mommy’s got you.”
“Come to Daddy.”
“Daddy’s here.”
He had heard them so often that the sounds had begun to take shape inside his mind.
At first, they had been only sounds.
But slowly, they became meaning.
Mommy.
That was Seraphina.
Daddy.
That was Alaric.
He understood the words.
Even before he was able to say them.
The problem was that this infant body did not obey him easily.
He knew what he wanted to say.
But his throat often betrayed him.
Sometimes it produced ba.
Sometimes da.
Sometimes only meaningless breath and noise.
Still, something had changed in recent days.
He had more control now.
A little more precision.
A little more consistency.
Kaelthar looked at Seraphina, still absorbed in her knitting.
This was a good moment to try.
He opened his mouth.
A small breath slipped from his throat.
“Mo…”
He stopped.
The sound had come out more steadily than usual.
He tried again.
“Mo…”
Then he added the second part, the one he had been practicing in private.
“mmy.”
He put them together.
“Mommy.”
The word came out small.
But clear.
The knitting needles stopped.
Seraphina slowly raised her head.
“Aurelia?”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Her eyes found him.
Kaelthar looked back at her.
He felt a small stirring in his chest.
A reaction.
He tried again.
“Mommy.”
Seraphina went completely still.
The yarn slipped from her fingers.
Her eyes widened.
For several long seconds, she only stared at him, as if she could not trust what she had heard.
Then her hand flew to her mouth.
“A-Alaric!”
Heavy footsteps sounded in the hall.
Alaric appeared in the doorway, one brow raised.
“What is it?”
Seraphina pointed at Kaelthar with trembling fingers.
“She—she said Mommy.”
Alaric turned to look at him.
Kaelthar stood in the middle of the room, swaying only slightly, watching them both with calm attention.
He opened his mouth once more.
“Mommy.”
Seraphina gave a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob.
“Oh... oh, gods...”
She rose at once and hurried to him.
“Aurelia... did you really say Mommy?”
She dropped to her knees in front of him.
Her face was close now.
Her eyes shone.
Kaelthar watched her carefully.
The reaction was even stronger than he had expected.
A warm sense of satisfaction bloomed inside him.
He smiled faintly.
“Mommy.”
Seraphina laughed, bright and breathless.
“Oh, did you hear that?”
Alaric crossed his arms, grinning.
“She already knows exactly which word will make you happiest.”
Seraphina scooped Kaelthar into her arms.
“My clever little girl...”
She kissed his cheeks over and over.
Kaelthar did not resist.
He observed everything with deep curiosity.
The embrace.
The laughter.
The softness in their voices.
All of it felt... very pleasant.
He lifted his head slightly.
“Mommy.”
Seraphina burst into laughter again.
“She said it again!”
Kaelthar blinked.
The pattern was very simple.
He said the word.
His mother became happy.
He said it again.
She became happier still.
A clear and useful cause and effect.
He did not need long to think about it.
He opened his mouth once more.
“Mommy.”
Seraphina laughed even harder.
“Oh, I’ll never grow tired of hearing that.”
She hugged him tighter.
Kaelthar could feel the movement of her chest as she laughed.
The small vibration was strangely comforting.
He said it again.
“Mommy.”
Now he was almost playing with the word.
Each time he said it, Seraphina reacted.
Sometimes she laughed.
Sometimes she hugged him.
Sometimes she kissed his cheeks.
Kaelthar found himself growing more and more pleased.
As a demon, he had never denied himself something he enjoyed.
If something brought pleasure—
he did it again.
And again.
And again.
He looked at his mother’s radiant face.
“Mommy.”
Seraphina laughed until tears nearly filled her eyes.
“Alaric, she just keeps saying Mommy!”
Alaric shook his head with a quiet chuckle.
“I think that may be her favorite word now.”
Kaelthar tilted his head.
Favorite word.
An interesting idea.
He opened his mouth again.
“Mommy.”
Seraphina lightly touched his cheek.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
Kaelthar had no real answer.
He was only saying it because it felt good.
“Mommy.”
Seraphina laughed again.
Kaelthar smiled more openly now.
He still did not fully understand human emotion.
But one thing had become very clear to him.
Seeing his mother happy—
made him feel deeply happy too.
And as always—
he saw no reason to stop.
_______
Aurelia, now living within Kaelthar’s body, stepped slowly through the great gates of the demon palace.
The moment she crossed the threshold, the world outside engulfed her in a dense fog of emotion. Vengeance, hatred, and anger pressed against her senses like a scorching wind against her skin. She could smell the fierce, biting scent of competition radiating from the demons around her, as if the entire world were locked in an endless dance of hostility.
Her body reacted instinctively.
As Kaelthar, she was meant to welcome these scents—to absorb them eagerly, savoring them like a feast. Yet the soul of Aurelia within that body felt suffocated by it all. She forced herself to resist the pull, struggling to keep her mind calm amid the storm of emotional energy that blanketed the demon realm.
Behind her, Anna walked quietly, her face devoid of expression.
She moved like an empty puppet, guided only by commands. No emotional scent came from her at all—no hatred, no fear, no trace of feeling.
The emptiness surrounding Anna made her feel alien even in this world, and the realization struck Aurelia like another blow.
She shouldn't be like this, Aurelia thought bitterly, glancing briefly toward her.
She lost everything because of me.
The world beyond the palace walls felt strangely new to Aurelia, despite the fact that she had once been the Demon King.
In Kaelthar’s past life, he had rarely walked among his people. As a ruler, most of his time had been spent inside the palace, dealing with demon nobles or fending off ambitious siblings who constantly sought his throne.
Now, she wished to see this world from a different perspective.
The streets were crowded with demons of every imaginable shape and size.
Some smaller demons darted through the crowd, carrying objects that looked like weapons or building materials. The scent around them carried a restless sweetness, mixed with a desperate drive to survive.
In the corners of the streets, larger demons gathered in groups, speaking loudly among themselves. The air around them smelled of arrogance and scorn, sharp and pungent like overly strong spices.
Aurelia observed everything with quiet curiosity.
She could not help comparing this place to the human world she once knew.
Despite living in hatred, demon society was not the chaotic nightmare she had once imagined. There was order. There was hierarchy. Even a strange form of communication hidden within the emotional scents they radiated.
Yet one thing remained constant.
The scent of violence was always present.
Every glance.
Every conversation.
Each carried the sharp edge of challenge.
Demons did not speak kindly. Their words were wrapped in threats, cruel smiles, and mocking tones.
Even the small demon children running through the streets were no exception. They glared at one another with open hostility, as though hatred itself were a kind of game.
Before long, several demons began noticing Aurelia and Anna walking through the streets.
They quickly stepped aside, bowing their bodies in apparent respect.
But the scent they released told a different story.
What radiated from them was not true reverence, but excitement mixed with curiosity.
As Kaelthar, she was still recognized as one of the Demon King’s strongest heirs. The surge of hatred she had unleashed in the arena earlier had only strengthened her reputation.
The demons around her emitted the scent of challenge—sharp, eager hatred that pricked against her senses like needles in the air.
A few larger demons, their bodies covered in scales and their eyes glowing red, followed her movements from a distance.
They did not attack.
But their gazes carried unmistakable threat.
Aurelia clenched her teeth.
They don't hate me the way humans hate, she reminded herself.
For them, this is excitement. They're provoked by what I showed in the arena. They want to feel it again… to draw out that same hatred within themselves.
Anna remained silent at her side, showing no reaction to the attention they received.
Her emotional emptiness made her seem like an anomaly within this world built entirely upon hatred.
Even the demons watching them barely glanced at Anna, as if someone without emotional scent simply did not exist.
After walking for some time, Aurelia arrived at a large marketplace near the center of the city.
The market was filled with tents selling all manner of goods—weapons, alchemical materials, and even living creatures sold as slaves.
In the human world, such a sight would have filled her with rage.
Here, she felt only bitterness.
The emotional scents within the marketplace were far more complex.
Greed floated through the air, mixed with subtler strands of fear and resentment.
Demons engaged in negotiation released controlled hatred, like small flames carefully kept alive. Merchants and buyers exchanged smiles heavy with threat, yet no one dared to attack openly.
Meanwhile, the scent of fear drifted from cages containing human livestock.
The moment Aurelia and Anna stepped into the market, attention shifted toward them.
The atmosphere, once filled with murmured voices and coarse laughter, fell briefly silent.
Dozens of glowing red eyes turned toward them.
The scent of challenge intensified.
A massive demon with curved horns approached them.
His face was covered in scars, and his aura radiated sharp arrogance.
“Kaelthar,” he said in a heavy voice, his grin cruel. “I hear you bared your fangs in the arena. How about showing us a little of that strength here? Or are you only brave when facing a weaker brother?”
Aurelia looked at him without expression.
The challenge radiating from him was so intense that Kaelthar’s body reacted instinctively. It urged her to answer, to prove herself.
But Aurelia’s soul held firm.
If she surrendered to this provocation, she would only sink deeper into the hatred of this world.
“I don’t have time for your foolish games,” Aurelia said coldly as she stepped past him without a second glance.
The demon burst into loud laughter, the sound echoing across the market.
“You’ll regret refusing me, Kaelthar,” he called out. “One day I’ll make you pay for that insult.”
The scent of his hatred flared stronger.
But Aurelia kept walking without turning back.
She sensed Anna following quietly behind her, and the steady presence gave her a small measure of calm.
I can't waste my time on them, she thought.
I'm here to understand this world… not to play their games.
When they finally left the marketplace, Aurelia let out a long breath.
The demon world was far more complicated than she had imagined.
Violence was their language.
Hatred was their scent.
Yet within all of that chaos, there was structure she still did not fully understand.
This world lived according to its own rules.
And if she wished to survive—or perhaps even change something within it—she would have to learn those rules.
Anna still walked silently beside her.
Aurelia glanced at her briefly.
Despite Anna’s empty expression, Aurelia spoke softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I’ll find a way to help you, Anna. I promise.”
But deep in her heart, she knew that promise would only become harder to keep in a world saturated with the scent of hatred.
