Breaking the Curse | A Royal Kiss for the Prince cursed by the Demon King ~ To Enjoy a Life with Meals, Snacks, and Naps as a Reward ~

At the grand ball celebrating the return of the crown prince of the powerful nation at the center of the world, the Riviera Holy Kingdom, a magnificent and beautiful grand hall shaped like the embodiment of the world’s grandeur. In the midst of elegantly adorned people, an abnormal monster appeared.

No, at first, what appeared was not a monstrous being, but it was certainly a monster. The sealed demon king, spoken of in the founding of the Holy Kingdom, had broken free and appeared in this grand hall. And then, the monstrous creature appeared. It was supposed to be our country’s crown prince.

“Thou accursed, wretched scion of the hero! Thou hast been cursed, cursed indeed!”

The demon king shouted triumphantly, laughing with a voice that seemed to well up from the depths of the earth.

“Verily, constraints, constraints, constraints are required, still!”

The demon king continued his words, mocking and laughing gleefully.  It carried an air of discomfort, as if the very words dripped with an unpleasant humidity.

“Let it be a chaste maiden’s kiss. Should there be a maiden who would bestow her lips upon thy cursed visage, should the ‘true love’ thou all sing of truly exist, perchance the curse may yet be undone, mortal beings.”

(t/n: translation for the above: “Let it be a pure maiden’s kiss. If there is a maiden who would kiss you in your current form, if the ‘true love’ you all sing about truly exists, then perhaps the curse can still be broken, humans.”)

In the hushed and still grand hall, the demon king’s chuckles resounded as if echoing through the annals of time…

“As I reclaim mine power, the curse grows mightier, consuming thee. Thy form, thy life, thy very soul—there shall be no time to win a maiden’s favour. Behold as thou crawl and bear witness to the world’s descent, thou wretched scion of the accursed hero. Revel in the spectacle.”

(t/n: translation for the above: “As I regain my power, the curse grows stronger and devours you. Your body, your life, your mind—there will be no time to obtain a maiden. Watch as you crawl and witness the world sink, you wretched descendant of the accursed hero. Enjoy the spectacle.”)

The demon king’s words hung in the air as he dissolved into darkness and disappeared.

My body, which had been paralyzed under the oppressive aura of the demon king, regained its freedom, and then I­­­­­­­­­­­–

No, now is the perfect time to take advantage of chaos, isn’t it?

‘That’s what I thought.’

As a noble’s child, albeit from the lower ranks, I don’t have direct knowledge of the crown prince’s character. Still, I’ve heard heaps about him – all praise and admiration. “With him around, we’re safe and sound,” they say.

The crown prince’s achievements are indeed amazing. Whether they are truly as grand as they seem, I cannot say for certain. But both I and the people believe in him, trusting that he will lead us.

Oh, our strong and beautiful crown prince, the compassionate future king.

The chaos and damage that would occur if we were to lose him are immeasurable. If the demon king were to resurrect, we would lose all hope, and the future beyond that is too dreadful to contemplate.

But now, now is the chance. With just a simple kiss, everything can be restored. With that, we can regain him… and I, I can obtain the position of the “pure maiden” who saved him.

‘Oh, isn’t it tempting?’

I placed my hand on my chest, closed my eyes, and thought whether I truly fit the description of a “pure maiden.” The question lies in what qualifies as purity, but in terms of skinship, I have yet to have a fiancé, let alone touch a man’s hand, let alone receive a kiss.

There’s no doubt, this is purity…! (over-confident)

I opened my eyes wide and began walking through the still and silent grand hall.

There were people who had fainted and collapsed, others who froze in their tracks as they held onto their loved ones, and the premonition of a sharp scream lingered in the air. I walked forward, leaving the signs of distress behind me, until I stood before the crown prince. He stood in the center of the emptiness, with his hand pressed against the ground, gazing at his reflection on the polished floor.

This is disgusting.

I stared intently at the crown prince before me.

His chin jutted out forcefully from under his nose, as if it had been forcibly stretched. If it had been animalistic, it might have been somewhat tolerable, but the twisted and deformed nose, pulled along with it, only intensified the feeling of disgust. His once beautiful golden hair was now tarnished, and due to the swelling of his head, it hung sparsely and dry like withered grass.

I couldn’t take my eyes off this repulsive sight. I couldn’t look away from something so repulsive, and my nature compelled me to observe what made it so repulsive.

I looked down at him, feeling a chill run down my spine.

His back was swollen and bulging, and his extravagant attire was torn to shreds. His arms twisted in unnatural directions, with three elongated fingers reaching forward and one short finger jutting out in the opposite direction. His nails were cracked and black.

Contrasting with his swollen upper body, his lower body had shrunk. From his chubby thighs downwards, they became thin like branches, swimming within the baggy pants. Between his loose shoes and the hem of his pants, something resembling a hoof peeked out. It bore a striking resemblance to the untamed and overgrown hooves of a cow.

I wonder if he can even stand up…

I knelt before the crown prince, placing both of my hands on his chin.

If his skin had been black, like a monster from an illustrated book, it might have been somewhat tolerable. However, it was the color of bruised and battered flesh, mottled with black, blue, yellow, and red, as if it had been beaten and battered.

His eyes, raised slightly, were shifted to the left and right, larger and rounder than my hands, reminiscent of a fish.

They stared at me from the murky depths, filled with an unsettling gaze that seemed to drag me into a place from which I could never return, stirring up a sense of unease.

There were no remnants of what could be called lips. His upper and lower jaws were fused together, and when the crown prince tried to open his mouth, the flesh stretched and tore with a squelching sound. The stretched and torn threads of flesh wriggled and squirmed, as if trying to reconnect.

His tightly packed molars peeked out through the gaps in the threads of flesh. If they were fangs, I might have been somewhat accepting. But the sight of the tightly packed large molars, imagining them being crushed, made it even more repulsive.

“Excuse me, Your Highness.”

I gently pushed up the crown prince’s lower jaw. If I didn’t, it would feel like my face was being shoved into his enormous mouth. The texture of his jaw reminded me of raw chicken meat.

As the crown prince closed his mouth at my urging, our gazes locked. His eyes reflected my serious expression.

****

A palace, yes, a palace would be nice.

I don’t really know what will happen to the demon king and the world, but I unconditionally and irresponsibly believe that if we can just regain him, he will somehow fix everything. The crown prince of our kingdom, who has completed his journey – the hero.

I don’t desire his love or his position.

That’s why I think a palace would be nice.

I fundamentally lack motivation. The evaluations from those around me are pretty much all the same: “You can do it if you try.”

So, for this once-in-a-lifetime major event, I’ll do what I can if I give it a shot. And from now on, I’ll live as someone who can say, “I did it because I tried.”

Relying on the outstanding achievements that anyone can’t ignore, I’ll hang around and live dependent on this prosperous country.

I’m not interested in luxury or extravagance. I want to live a laid-back life in a corner of the royal palace, with three meals, snacks, and afternoon naps, leisurely reading the royal library’s collection.

Certainly, the current Crown Prince is really annoying, but if I close my eyes, give a little smooch, and open them again, there’s that revered face. Well, it’s totally doable.

Everything precious to me is in this country. I want to live carefreely, without anxiety or conflict. So—

I closed my eyes and kissed the crown prince.

“Thank you, I will definitely repay this favor,” He whispered.

When I opened my eyes, there stood the beautiful crown prince.

“I’m relieved,” I said with a faint smile as I sat down on the floor.

It’s a relief that I don’t have to be labeled as a “pure-hearted maiden” or have the requirement of “love.”

From the appearance of the demon king to this moment, it took just over 10 minutes.

“Holy sword!!”

The crown prince stood up, tearing off the tattered clothes clinging to his upper body. He raised his hands wide open and let out a fierce cry. The adorned holy sword flew through the crowd and landed in the crown prince’s hand. A metallic sound echoed as he gripped the hilt.

When I looked up, the crown prince’s face was burning with fury.

Oh… he’s really pissed off… Well, it’s a good thing I’m sitting down, or my legs would be like jelly…

The crown prince, with a brisk pace and echoing footsteps, headed towards the balcony.

“Mitchell! Hand over that coat!!”

“Hehahaha! Right away, Your Highness!”

The knight standing in front of the balcony jumped up energetically, fumbling to take off his jacket and handing it to the crown prince. The crown prince swiftly put on the received jacket and disappeared into the night sky from the balcony.

The grand hall still remained in silence. Everyone missed the timing to scream and missed the timing to cheer as they were left behind by the situation. A voice of confusion echoed through the grand hall, “Wha…?”

The king rose from his throne and raised his voice, “Silence, everyone!”

His clear voice resounded through the now silent grand hall. It has been quiet all along, but I understand. It’s difficult for even the king to know what to say in this situation…

“Unfortunately, the Demon King has broken the seal, but thanks to the immense gratitude of a pure-hearted maiden, my son has regained his original form! The Demon King is no longer a threat! As the true hero, he will surely defeat the Demon King… Ah!”

In the midst of the king’s rallying voice, the sky beyond the balcony suddenly lit up.

“…Huh! Rest assured! The threat has already passed! We will address the situation once things have settled down! We shall adjourn for today! Let this be the end of our ball!!”

The plot is moving too fast… No one can keep up with it…

Everyone seemed to be in a daze as they were guided by the knights towards the exit of the Grand Hall.

Occasionally, there were voices saying, “Hurray for the Crown Prince…?” in a questioning tone. It was indeed a confusing situation for everyone.

I, too, stood up with the help of a knight. While being guided, I was asked, “We’ll come to pick you up later. May I have your name and place of stay?”

“Ah, yes, I’m Kanan de Moley. From the Moley Viscount family, staying at the Mercur Marquis family’s townhouse.”

I answered the knight while barely holding onto my crumbling debutante. It’s partly my fault, but seriously, it’s hard to keep up with everything…

*********************

Translator’s notes- I’m really having fun translating this, I wanted to do something short and fun and this just fits the description haha. This is a short story for all our shoujo lovers who just wanna read something for fun while relaxing~

I hope you have fun reading it ~ curiosoth!

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