Chapter 29

Angéles stayed by Otto's side and took good care of him.

Otto quickly regained his condition and noticeably improved in health.

In fact, there was no need for nursing.

Angéles was the one who had cast the curse.

While Otto was asleep, all she had to do was extend the curse's validity period.

Thanks to this, Otto successfully survived and passed his 25th birthday on January 1st.

'Of course, she wouldn’t lift the curse even if I die. Sigh. This wicked one.'

Otto clicked his tongue when he saw that Angéles was not lifting the curse but adjusting its intensity.

The reason Angéles didn't lift Otto's curse was simple.

Insurance.

Though she was acting as if she would extract his gall, Angéles was a demon who could easily kill Otto if things went wrong.

For now, she was keeping him alive since they were getting along, but if their relationship soured, she would reactivate the curse.

'Love, my ass. She’s just a psychopath who sees people as toys.'

Otto knew Angéles' nature all too well, so he clicked his tongue and sighed inwardly.

After all, it was because she was a psychopath that she could fall for the son of the man she had once loved—someone she had even cursed to death.

That night.

Instead of throwing a birthday party, Otto spent time with Angéles.

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you so much."

Otto smiled at Angéles' congratulations.

"For staying by my side like this."

"It's nothing."

"No, you are my savior. That's why I want to say…."

Otto knelt on one knee and offered a ring to Angéles.

"Will you… marry me?"

"Oh my!"

"This ring… it belonged to my late mother."

"Really?!"

"It was the wedding ring my father gave to my mother when they got married. Before he passed away, he gave it to me, saying I should use it to propose to the woman I want to marry someday."

"Ah…!"

"Will you… accept my proposal?"

At that moment.

'Look at her eyes.'

Otto didn't miss the terrifying glint that flashed in Angéles' eyes and then disappeared.

And his thoughts were spot on.

'Hehehehe!'

Angéles was looking down at Otto, who was proposing to her with his mother's ring, and inwardly laughing triumphantly.

'You bitch~ Are you watching~? Your son is giving you your ring~? Hehehehe~!'

The ring Otto offered was exactly what Angéles had wanted.

She believed that this ring should have been on her left ring finger, not Otto's mother's.

After 25 long years, the ring finally came to her, and Angéles couldn't help but feel a new sense of emotion.

'Orix, are you watching? Your son gave me the wedding ring you didn't give me. Hohoho! If you didn't want to end up in such a miserable state, you should have accepted my love!'

While harboring such sinister and evil thoughts, Angéles extended her left hand to Otto.

"Y-Yes."

"Will you accept it?"

"Y-Yes…."

"Then…."

Otto slipped the ring onto Angéles' left hand.

"We have agreed to get married."

"Yes."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

At that moment.

'Ugh! I have to do this?'

Otto realized it was time to kiss Angéles and inwardly screamed.

Knowing Angéles' true nature, he couldn't bring himself to kiss her.

But he had to.

To maintain the atmosphere and fully reassure Angéles, he had to share a passionate kiss with her.

'G-Go on. Think of it as being bitten by a dog. A dog.'

For no fault of the dogs, Otto thought this, closed his eyes, and kissed Angéles.

Smack! Smack!

Slurp! Slurp!

Angéles extended her tongue and passionately responded to Otto's kiss.

'Ugh! Why is her tongue so long?'

Otto shuddered at Angéles' snake-like tongue.

* * *

The news that Otto had proposed to Angéles spread like wildfire.

"I will marry her in a month."

He also announced the news of his marriage to Angéles at the morning council meeting the next day.

Thus, Angéles, now the queen (in name), began to bully the maids as if she had been waiting for this moment.

"There's dust here! Can't you clean properly? You lazy woman!"

"Ah!"

"If I see even a speck of dust, I'll slap you!"

The head maid, Olive, was furious at Angéles' bullying.

"Please, hold back! Please!"

"Let go! Queen or not! I'll break this woman's back right now!"

"Please, please!"

Otto barely managed to calm down the enraged Olive and explained the situation.

"Is that true?"

"It is. I need you to hold back for now to stay alive. Please."

"Fine! That wretch is an evil witch! I understand! I'll hold back for now!"

"Thank you."

"But there's a condition."

"What is it?"

"Once the witch is dead and the curse is lifted, start exercising. How long do you plan to live with such a weak body?"

"…"

"Are you saying no?"

"N-No. I will exercise. Yes, I will. Haha… Hahaha…."

"Good."

After barely calming Olive, Otto went to talk to Camille.

The only way to completely lift the <Ugly Bastard> curse was to kill Angéles.

So, he had to plan how to kill her.

"Why don't you attack? Isn't now the opportunity?"

"It's not the right time."

Otto shook his head.

"Just fighting won't work. We can't kill her. We'll be wiped out instead."

"Then how do we get rid of her?"

"There's a way."

Otto whispered the method to kill Angéles into Camille's ear.

"Is that really her weakness?"

Camille asked, slightly surprised.

"It is. The problem is that it will take about a month to complete the preparations. So, just hold on until then."

"Understood."

The key was how well they could endure until the preparations to kill Angéles were complete.

For the next month, it was crucial to cater to Angéles' whims and prevent her from revealing her true form.

* * *

Angéles' tyranny worsened day by day.

From the moment she secured the position of future queen, Angéles treated her subordinates as if she were the king.

She also began to indulge in extravagance.

In the name of preparing for the wedding, she bought all kinds of jewels, ordered dozens of expensive wedding dresses, and even purchased a super-luxury carriage pulled by 12 horses.

As a result, the finances of the Iota Kingdom were on the brink of collapse.

Angéles' level of extravagance was beyond what a small kingdom could bear.

The person who was most furious at Angéles' tyranny was none other than the Duke Wazir.

"What the hell! What am I supposed to do with this financial state! It's a deficit! A deficit! In just three weeks, the finances have been ruined!"

Duke Wazir was as furious as a raging dragon.

In charge of running the country, he couldn't help but be angry with the money leaking out.

"Please, just one more week…."

"What?!"

"We have a plan, a plan."

"If you fail again, your tiny kingdom will be marked with a red flag!"

"…"

"I'll give you one more week to see!"

"Yes…."

Though Otto was severely reprimanded by Duke Wazir, he endured it given the situation.

'Just one more week. One more week.'

Otto engraved the character for "endure" in his heart countless times, enduring for one more week until the preparations to kill Angéles were complete.

A month passed.

"The Ego Caravan has returned."

"Of course. I expected them to be back around now."

Otto immediately met with Ego after receiving the report from Camille.

"Your Highness, I have decided to accept your offer. I will invest 40 million ber."

"Of course, I expected as much. What about the items I asked for?"

Otto mentioned the items he had requested from Ego last time.

"Of course, I have them."

Ego pointed to the carriages.

"Good. The price…."

Just as Otto was about to say he didn't have money now and would pay later,

"You don't need to pay. Consider it a gift to celebrate our first transaction."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Good."

Otto smiled.

"I will guarantee Ego Caravan the exclusive distribution rights for Lloyd's potion."

"Good."

"Let's take our time with the contract, and you can stay here and rest for a few days."

"Understood."

After completing the transaction with Ego, Otto turned to Camille.

"The materials have arrived?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Let's start immediately."

"Knight Camille, I will follow your orders."

Camille knelt on one knee before Otto.

* * *

Three days later.

As Angéles' tyranny reached its peak.

"This kind of food…."

"Your Majesty!"

Angéles, who was about to scold a maid for the tasteless dessert, quickly changed her expression when she heard that Otto was there.

"Next time, please be more careful. Understand? I'm asking you."

"A-As you wish, Your Majesty."

The maid, trembling with fear, tried to act as if nothing was wrong.

'If you show any sign, you'll die. Got it?'

Angéles intimidated the maid with a silent glare, and the maid nodded without a word.

"Are you well?"

Otto asked Angéles.

"Of course. I was waiting for you. Hehehe."

Angéles smiled sweetly, as if she had never been tyrannical.

"Is now a good time? I have something to show you…."

"What do you want to show me?"

"I've prepared the venue for our wedding."

"The venue? But I'm already decorating it?"

A hint of anger appeared on Angéles' face.

Otto was trying to change the venue she had decorated, which made her angry.

"All my efforts to decorate the venue…."

"It will be a super-luxury venue."

Otto quickly intervened.

"More magnificent than anything in history…."

"Really?"

"I promise."

"Okay."

Angéles, swayed by the promise of a "super-luxury venue," followed Otto without any suspicion.

Otto led Angéles to the throne room, which was covered in red cloth, unlike usual.

"Why is it covered in red cloth?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

Otto smiled and answered.

"Let me see how luxurious you've made it."

Angéles crossed her arms and glared at Otto.

If she didn't like it, she wouldn't let it go….

"If I don't like it…."

Right then.

Bang!

Otto swung a mace and struck Angéles' face.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Angéles flew far away and crashed to the ground.

"You little bastard…."

Angéles jumped up and growled.

"How dare you hit me with a mace? I'll tear you to pieces."

Then, the beautiful woman disappeared, and a monstrous creature appeared.

"Ugh."

Otto, looking at Angéles' true form, frowned in disgust and clapped his hands twice.

Swish!

The red cloth covering the throne room was lifted, revealing the "super-luxury venue" Otto had mentioned.

"This…!"

Angéles' face, already ugly, twisted even more.

The Hall of Mirrors.

The ceiling, walls, and floor of the throne room were entirely covered in mirrors.