The Incubus System Chapter 1076. Not An Almighty Queen II

The Incubus System Chapter 1076. Not An Almighty Queen II

I frowned, tilting my head slightly as I looked at her. “Wait… where did you get that feeling from? I mean, we’ve only met once before this.”

Zalira’s lips curled into a faint, knowing smile. “Let’s just say I’m… sensitive, Damian.” She crossed her arms, her eyes studying me like she was measuring her words carefully. “Besides, I’ve been around that angel my entire life. Puriel’s presence shaped everything in my kingdom.”

Her tone was steady, but there was something underneath it—a quiet vulnerability she rarely showed. “I rarely travel, and even when I do, I always bring a holy crystal with me,” she added after a pause.

“The spheres you use to test people?” I asked, remembering the way those crystals could reveal someone’s power, be it holy or demonic or just neutral.

She nodded. “Exactly. Those crystals heightened my sensitivity to holy energy.” Her gaze lingered on me, unreadable. “And that’s what I feel from you now.”

I blinked, letting that sink in. “You feel holy energy from me?”

“Yes,” she said simply, though her expression was anything but. Her lips parted slightly as if she were about to say more, but she hesitated.

“Go on,” I urged gently. “What else?”

She exhaled, her tail coiling slightly as she shifted her weight. “It’s not just any holy energy, Damian. It’s… strange. Extraordinary. Powerful.” She paused again, her eyes locking onto mine before glancing away. Her voice softened as she added, “And somehow… it makes me feel comfortable.”

That made me pause. I stared at her, my mind whirling. She didn’t look at me, her gaze fixed somewhere in the distance, as if admitting that had cost her something.

“I see…” I said quietly, more to myself than to her. I folded my arms, letting the pieces fall into place in my head. ‘So that’s what this is all about.’

It made sense now—her behavior, her initial hostility toward me, the way she tried to demean me during our first meeting. It wasn’t just because I was a demon or because I had taken Puriel. There was something deeper at play.

‘She felt it back then too,’ I thought. ‘My demonic power probably triggered her instincts, and confused her, but at the same time, my charm attracted her. She couldn’t reconcile the two, so she rejected it—and me.’

She didn’t realize it, though. She wasn’t conscious of the way her own instincts had been warring within her. I could see it now in her hesitance, in the way she looked away from me, her tail shifting slightly in what I could only describe as nervousness.

“You’re quiet,” she said after a moment, her voice low but steady. “What are you thinking?”

I shook my head, forcing a small smile. “Just trying to figure you out, Zalira. You’re… complicated.”

Her lips twitched, but her eyes narrowed slightly. “Complicated? Coming from you, that’s almost funny.”

I laughed softly, leaning back slightly. “Fair point. But still, you don’t really strike me as someone who gets… comfortable around anyone. Especially not someone like me.”

Her gaze flicked back to mine, sharp and searching. “You’re not wrong,” she admitted. “I don’t trust easily, Damian. And with you, it’s even harder to understand.”

“Why?” I asked, keeping my tone light but genuinely curious. “What makes it harder to understand me?”

Zalira hesitated, her eyes flickering as if she were searching for the right words. Her tail coiled slightly. Finally, she exhaled softly, her shoulders relaxing just a fraction.

“I… don’t understand it either,” she admitted, her voice quiet but steady. “Maybe I’m just tired.”

That caught me off guard. “Tired?” I repeated, leaning slightly forward. “Of what?”

“Of everything,” she said, her gaze falling to the floor. “The responsibilities. The decisions. Always having to be the strongest, the smartest, the one who holds everything together. I’ve never had the luxury of… relying on someone else.”

I stayed quiet, letting her words sink in. There was something raw about the way she spoke, the way her usual confidence seemed to waver. This wasn’t the regal, sharp-tongued queen who had challenged me before. This was Zalira—vulnerable, real.

She looked back up at me, her expression softer now. “You’re something… more, Damian. More than me. I’ve felt it since the moment we met. Maybe that’s why I acted the way I did. Some part of me wanted to maintain my pride, my ego. To prove that I was still in control, that I didn’t need anyone.”

Her voice dropped slightly, and she glanced away again, her cheeks faintly flushed. “But another part of me…” She paused, as if the words were too heavy to say out loud. “Another part of me just wanted to let go. To relax. To stop carrying everything for once because I knew—no, I felt—that you could handle it. That I could lean on you.”

The silence that followed was thick, heavy with meaning. I wasn’t sure what to say at first, the weight of her confession hitting me harder than I expected. I’d seen her strength, her resolve, her relentless determination to keep everything in her kingdom running smoothly. To hear her admit that she was tired, that she wanted someone to lean on—it was as humbling as it was unexpected.

I softened my voice, leaning forward slightly. “You don’t have to hold onto all of it, Zalira. You know that, right? You’re not alone. You’ve got people who respect you, who want to support you.”

She let out a soft, almost bitter laugh. “Support? Maybe in theory. But there’s a difference between people following orders and truly having someone you can rely on. Someone who can catch you when you fall.”

“And you think I’m that person?” I asked, my tone steady but curious.

She hesitated again, her fingers idly tracing the edge of her robe. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But you’ve shown me things I’ve never felt before. Your power, your presence—it’s overwhelming. But it’s also… comforting. Like I finally found someone who can stand beside me without needing me to be perfect all the time.”

Her words hit deeper than I expected, stirring something in me that I couldn’t quite name. I reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened slightly at first, but then she relaxed under my touch, her gaze meeting mine.