Yushiro was special. Lady Tamayo had personally turned him into a demon after he died, giving him a unique place in her heart. He was like a piece of art she had crafted with her own hands, a creation that held extraordinary meaning.
More importantly, in all the time Yushiro had known her, Lady Tamayo had always presented herself as a Yamato Nadeshiko—the perfect Japanese woman. She was the ideal of a good wife and loving mother: gentle, dignified, elegant, and noble. No matter the time or place, she always carried herself with a captivating grace and a soft, kind disposition. This was the image Yushiro cherished.
For centuries, the Lady Tamayo in his memory had perfectly matched the woman he saw before him every day. To him, she was like a divine statue on an altar he worshipped. She was a being to be admired from afar, never to be defiled; someone to look up to, but never to possess. The thought of having her for himself was one Yushiro believed he should never have, and did not deserve to have.
In his eyes, Lady Tamayo was the most beautiful woman in the world. Even after she became a demon, that belief never wavered. In fact, because of a demon's inherent nature, her appearance had not changed in hundreds of years, which only strengthened his conviction.
However, everything—all of his thoughts and beliefs—had been shattered after their recent encounter with Muzan Kibutsuji.
Yushiro already knew who Muzan was. Lady Tamayo had told him everything, including the fact that Muzan was the one person she desperately wanted to kill. The problem was, while Lady Tamayo's medical skills were unmatched, her combat abilities were nonexistent. And Yushiro, the loyal servant she had created, was just as useless in a fight.
Their peaceful days hiding in Asakusa, Tokyo, were over, thanks to Muzan's attack. Now, every day spent in the Infinity Castle was torture for Yushiro. He knew that if it was this hard for him, it must be a hundred times worse for Lady Tamayo, who despised the Demon King with every fiber of her being.
"Lady Tamayo, are you there?"
Yushiro's voice came from outside her room. The knocking had stopped, but he spoke again. "I just put Nezuko to sleep."
Although Yushiro was usually indifferent to anyone other than Lady Tamayo, Nezuko was a special case. She was a half-human, half-demon who had captured even Muzan Kibutsuji's attention, making her uniquely important.
But Yushiro could never have imagined the scene unfolding inside the room at that very moment.
Lady Tamayo, the woman he saw as dignified, elegant, and untouchable, was being held in the arms of the Demon King himself. She was trembling from head to toe, seemingly having lost the strength to even speak.
"Don't… don't make a sound," she whispered, her voice barely audible in Muzan's ear. "Please… please…"
In Yushiro's mind, Lady Tamayo was a noble woman. Though she always referred to herself as a 'madam,' he felt the title didn't suit someone so beautiful. 'Lady' was much more fitting. If he were to see her in such a state, his mind would instantly break. His perception of her would be ruined forever. She would have lost all her dignity as both a person and a demon.
"How does it feel, Tamayo?" Muzan's voice was a low murmur, a stark contrast to her panicked state. "Are you worried about yourself, or are you worried about Yushiro?"
He much preferred this terrified version of her to the composed woman who had tried to manipulate him before. The situation was taking a strange turn. They were mortal enemies, yet the scene between them was undeniably intimate and charged with a dark tension.
"If I'm not mistaken, Yushiro is the one you personally turned into a demon. In his heart, you're like a mother figure," Muzan continued, his tone dangerously smooth. "You wouldn't want him to see us like this, would you, Lady Tamayo?"
His simple words struck her like a physical blow. Her body trembled uncontrollably. There was something more terrifying than death, and that was having one's dignity completely stripped away. People lived for their reputation, and even as a demon, Tamayo cared deeply about her honor.
She had never dreamed—not as a human, and certainly not as a demon—that she would be threatened in such a humiliating way. It was absurd, utterly absurd.
But Lady Tamayo knew that for Muzan Kibutsuji, this was all just a simple, cruel game. For her, however, it was everything. It wasn't just about her chance for revenge; it was about the image she had maintained in Yushiro's heart for centuries. She absolutely could not let him see her in such a disheveled and compromised state.
The most frustrating part was that Muzan could kill her with a single thought. Yet, he chose this method instead—this slow, psychological torture.
For a fleeting, bewildering moment, she wondered if Muzan had done all those things in the past because he had genuinely loved her. Turning her into a demon, tricking her into killing her own family, forcing her to consume human blood until she became a fallen monster—could any of it have been born from some twisted affection?
Normally, she would have scoffed at such an idea. It was the kind of thought only a complete fool would entertain. But with someone as unstable and unpredictable as Muzan, whose mind not even other demons could comprehend, anything felt possible.
"Lady Tamayo, are you asleep?"
Yushiro's voice cut through her chaotic thoughts. Hearing no response for so long, a hint of worry entered his tone. "I'm coming in now!"
Then came the sound of the doorknob turning. Inside the room, held in an impossible position, Lady Tamayo felt a wave of pure humiliation, the kind that came with the certainty of being exposed.
------------------------
For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Mythic_Muse