Niehime to Kemono no Ou

After a hundred-year war between humans and beasts, their peace treaty requires a human girl to be sent each year as a sacrifice to the king of Ozmargo on the Night of Revelation. Sariphi arrives as the 99th offering, but she neither cries nor begs. She has no family waiting and no home she wishes to return to, so death holds little power over her.

Her calm defiance fascinates the king everyone else fears, and he allows her to remain near him long enough for the two to actually know each other. Sariphi begins seeing the person behind the beastly appearance and the secret he hides from his kingdom. When the Night of Revelation arrives, that truth transforms their bond and leads the king to a decision that shocks the palace: he wants Sariphi beside him not as a sacrifice, but as a possible queen.