Chapter 24 - A Coronation Cut Short
A Coronation Cut Short
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Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: A Coronation Cut Short
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Otto collapsed immediately after ascending the throne and was rushed to the infirmary for treatment.
“Lord… no, Your Highness, is he alright?”
“It looks like he had a heart attack. Thankfully, Sir Camille’s swift CPR helped him get past the most dangerous moment.”
“Did His Highness just have a heart attack all of a sudden?”
“It doesn’t seem like there are any particular signs of illness… but I think the cause might be that his usual lifestyle habits aren’t good.”
Camille seemed to understand what the doctor was saying.
Otto had always lived a life completely detached from exercise.
His body was already quite ruined from his indulgent lifestyle, and since he didn’t exercise and had poor eating habits, it wasn’t surprising that cardiovascular disease developed.
“I hope Sir Camille will pay a lot of attention so that His Majesty can correct his bad lifestyle habits.”
“…Understood.”
Thrown into the unexpected task of looking after Otto’s health, Camille covered his face in fatigue and groaned in frustration.
'Now I’m supposed to make him exercise too…?'
With so much work already on his plate, he wondered when he would find time to manage Otto’s diet and daily habits as well.
Even if a day had 48 hours, it still wouldn’t be enough.
‘Still, it’s a relief that there’s no danger to his life.’
Despite his fatigue, Camille stayed close to Otto.
A few hours later.
“Ugh.”
Otto clutched his chest and pushed himself up.
“Are you starting to feel better?”
“Where am I? Why am I here?”
Otto glanced around and asked Camille.
“…You don’t remember again?”
“Yes.”
“You collapsed right after the coronation.”
“Me? Why? No way….”
Otto narrowed his eyes.
“Did you hit me with the fire...”
“It’s a heart attack.”
Camille quickly spoke up to prevent Otto from misunderstanding and save himself from being unfairly blamed.
“Oh, really?”
Yet Otto seemed largely unconcerned that he had collapsed from a heart attack.
“I was worried it was something worse.”
“Uhhh…?”
“A heart attack, that’s all. At least it wasn’t a brain hemorrhage.”
“What are you talking about?”
Camille frowned.
“Do you think a heart attack is just like muscle pain? Your heart actually stopped. You almost….”
“Eh, come on~.”
Otto waved his hand, acting as if it were no big deal.
“It’s fine~ You don’t need to worry~.”
“You were so obsessed with being king, and now that you’ve ascended, do you want to die right away?”
“I said it’s fine~! I’m alive, aren’t I~? It’s just my time coming~ Just let it be~.”
“Your Majesty!”
Camille bristled at Otto’s careless, easygoing attitude.
“A monarch who doesn’t take care of his own body is…”
“I’m really fine.”
Otto spoke in a calm tone, trying to reassure Camille.
“I won’t die. Not until January 1st next year.”
“Huh…?”
“The heart attack was just a sign.”
As Otto spoke, his eyes weren’t on Camille but fixed on the interface that only he could see.
[Utterly pathetic man]
What kind of sin did he commit in his previous life to deserve this….
Type: Curse
Duration: Infinite
Effect:
- Starting Level -99
- Cannot gain experience
- Cannot level up
- Physical ability reduced by 60%
- Appetite increased by 50%
- Sexual drive increased by 200%
- Sleepiness increased by 30%
- 1% chance of being struck by lightning when moving.
- Instantly dies upon reaching the character’s 25th birthday.
Otto de Scuderia’s birthday is January 1st.
It’s now mid-November.
Only 45 days remain until January 1st.
In other words, if Otto doesn’t break the [Utterly pathetic man] curse within 45 days, he will die.
The heart attack was basically a warning that death was near.
“I’m going to die soon.”
“Eh…?”
Camille looked at him with a baffled expression, as if to say, “What kind of nonsense is this sudden announcement of death?”
“What are you saying all of a sudden? Do you mean you’ve had a heart condition all along?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“I’m going to die on January 1st. To be exact, at 7 p.m.”
"....?"
“I’ve been cursed.”
Otto explained to Camille about the [Utterly pathetic man] curse affecting him.
“Who on earth put such a curse on Your Majesty?”
“Angeles. A witch who lives in the western forest.”
After that, Otto began recounting the events of the past.
* * *
24 years ago.
Angeles, a witch living in the western forest, happened to visit the Lota territory and at once fell in love with Otto’s father, Orix de Scuderia, who was the lord at the time.
Orix was undeniably handsome, had an excellent character, and possessed remarkable masculine charm.
However, Orix was a devoted husband who cared only for his wife, Otto’s mother.
Their relationship was so strong that Angeles had no way to come between them.
“I’m sorry. I have a loving wife and a child soon to be born. I’m a man with a family. So I’m truly sorry, but I cannot accept your confession.”
It’s needless to say that the wicked witch Angeles was filled with resentment.
“Kekeke! If your family means that much to you, I’ll utterly destroy it! Kekekek!”
Angeles secretly crept into the couple’s bedroom and cursed Lord Orix’s wife as she slept, along with the child in her womb.
The wife would die after giving birth, and the unborn child would be unable to live properly as a human….
Angeles was a formidable dark sorceress capable of destroying the entire Orth territory on her own.
The reason she went through the trouble of placing a curse was that she wanted Lord Orix to suffer pain greater than death.
She wanted to make him suffer by taking away the wife he loved most and to watch the child born with difficulty grow into a worthless person.
She wanted him to live a life that felt worse than death.
As Angeles intended, Lord Orix gradually weakened from the sorrow of losing his beloved wife and spent every day tormented by longing.
And in the middle of all that, Otto went astray and even botched the raising of his child, so it’s no wonder Lord Orix’s heart was blackened with grief.
Eventually, Lord Orix fell ill from extreme depression and ultimately died.
Leaving Otto in the care of Camille, who was like his own foster son….
* * *
Camille could hardly believe Otto’s story.
“I just can’t believe it. How could something like that even be possible?”
“I can’t believe it myself, but it’s the truth.”
“Who did you hear that from?”
“There was a maid who accidentally witnessed the witch placing the curse. She’s the one who told me.”
This was a hidden story that could only be learned from an old maid named Céline.
If the player maxes out Céline’s affection level, a short cinematic scene is unlocked.
The scene shows glimpses of the events that took place back then, allowing the player to uncover the truth of the past.
This was also one of the rare pieces of information that only someone who had tried everything to clear the game using the trash character Otto de Scuderia could obtain.
“Then that maid… she never told the lord what she saw?”
“Yeah.”
“How could she…”
Camille’s eyes hardened, his expression growing cold.
“Who is that maid… the one who saw that vile witch harm the lord and still stayed silent…”
Though Camille spoke in a low voice, it was filled with suppressed fury.
To Camille, Lord Orix was like a father.
No, he was his father.
So it was only natural for Camille to be angry at the maid who had kept silent about what happened back then.
“She neglected her duty…”
“Not everyone can be like you, Elder Brother Camille.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Why do people admire knights with strong chivalric spirit? How many people could honestly report what they’ve seen and heard in that kind of situation? One in a hundred? No, maybe one in a thousand?”
"......"
“Asking a simple commoner to have the courage to stand up to an evil witch’s revenge… that’s asking too much, I think. If it had been me in her place, I doubt I could’ve spoken up honestly either.”
Otto gave a faint, bitter smile.
“That’s why people look up to knights with strong chivalric spirit. Because it’s rare to find someone willing to do the right thing even at their own expense.”
“But still…”
“That all happened over twenty years ago. Holding her accountable now or punishing her won’t change a thing. And honestly… I think her keeping silent might have been for the best.”
“Why would you think that?”
“If that maid had spoken, do you think the witch would’ve just let it go? Angeles is far stronger than Nazrak or Condor. If her plan had been disrupted, she might’ve wiped out our entire territory overnight.”
“I see what you mean. But… aren’t you angry?”
Camille asked, noticing that Otto didn’t seem the least bit furious about it.
“I am.”
…though in truth, Otto wasn’t nearly as furious as Camille.
He did feel a human sense of anger toward Angeles for her actions that had destroyed a family.
However, since Kim Dojin was merely an outsider, he couldn’t feel complete anger as if it were his own affair.
“Revenge is….”
“Of course it has to be done.”
To break the [Utterly pathetic man] curse, Angèles had to be killed, so revenge was not a choice but a necessity.
For Otto, it was a matter of survival.
* * *
Camille didn’t ask Otto how he planned to get revenge.
Judging by Otto’s recent behavior, it looked like he already had something planned.
“Revenge isn’t far off. So just wait a little.”
“I trust you.”
“Then, shall we head out?”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m just going to take a quick walk around.”
“You haven’t been awake long. If you push yourself too much…”
“I told you, I’m fine.”
Otto let out a small laugh, stood up, brushed himself off, and started walking.
'Angeles will come here on her own. Meanwhile, I’ll…'
Otto’s gaze remained fixed on the yellow arrow that appeared on the ground.
The reason the arrow appeared was simple.
[Alert: A hero unit has appeared! Follow the arrow to encounter the hero unit!]
[Alert: A hero unit has appeared! Follow the arrow to encounter the hero unit!]
[Alert: A hero unit has appeared! Follow the arrow to encounter the hero unit!]
Three hero units appeared as a reward for completing the [Kingdom Construction] quest.
Otto was in desperate need of skilled individuals, so he had to recruit the hero units without delay.
The appearance of hero units, however, was entirely random.
He was almost frantic with curiosity to see which hero units had appeared.
‘Please… let something good show up… please…’
Otto fervently hoped that a high-ranking hero unit had appeared, and he quickly moved along the yellow arrow.
Eventually, Otto reached a fork and chose to follow the leftmost of the three arrows.
It led him to the riverside, where an elderly man with white hair sat fishing while casually puffing on a cigarette.
Above the old man’s head floated a golden exclamation mark (!).
“Heok..!”
Otto froze in shock at the sight of the white-haired old man’s back.
'Could it be…?'
He had a strange feeling that he knew exactly who the old man was.