Chapter 28 - Olive’s Art of Transformation
Olive’s Art of Transformation
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Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Olive’s Art of Transformation
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In truth, Otto de Scuderia was an officially established character described as a handsome man.
With just a bit of proper grooming, he was a top-tier beauty who would undoubtedly rank within the top five across the entire continent.
And once Otto lost weight because of the [Utterly pathetic man] curse, his good looks became even more pronounced.
The lost weight sharpened his features, and his failing health rendered his skin a porcelain-pale shade, giving him a rich, unmistakable allure befitting a [Delicately frail, beautiful boy].
And with Olive’s makeup added on top of everything?
"Ooh."
Otto admired himself in the mirror.
"So? What do you think? Does it look good?"
Olive asked in a triumphant voice.
"I-It’s… It’s amazing…?"
Olive’s makeup skills were incredible.
It wasn’t just plastering on cosmetics.
With only minimal touches, Olive sharpened Otto’s features and jawline in a way that looked both clear and natural.
She adjusted his skin tone and lip color flawlessly, elevating his attractiveness even further.
As expected of someone who once served as the head maid of the Arad Empire, she was on a different level entirely.
Contrary to her appearance, which resembled a barbarian warrior, her makeup skills were nearly at the level of art.
‘Is this the kind of aura that only comes from long experience?’
Otto was sure Olive could become a well-known makeup artist if she ever pursued it.
"Your skill is amazing. I’m genuinely impressed."
"This much is child’s play."
Olive let out a small laugh.
"Of course, it’s not to my taste."
"…Huh?"
"There’s no manliness in that look! None at all!"
"....."
"You looks like some courtesan’s dainty pretty boy! How can that scrawny look belong to a strong male! A man without a beard or chest hair... unthinkable! It’s an insult to masculinity itself! An insult! How can someone that soft and fragile call himself a man?"
True to her barbarian origins, Olive’s tastes were very clear-cut.
"When you get better, put on some muscle. Got it?"
"Y-Yes…"
Frightened by Olive’s fierce yelling, Otto obeyed her quietly.
If he even thought about arguing…
‘She might fold my spine in half…’
Otto had no desire to die.
* * *
Word of Otto’s striking appearance swept through the palace almost instantly.
"Did you see? My heart fluttered for a moment…"
"How can someone be that handsome? I just want to hold him."
"Who would have guessed His Highness was such a good-looking man?"
"I want to hold him in my arms gently stroke his hair…"
Preferences varied, of course, but in his frail-beautiful-boy form, Otto drew the undivided attention of the maids.
A blond, sculpture-like beauty who also exuded a delicate, sickly charm sparked the maternal and protective instincts of the women around him.
"Where are you headed?"
"Hunting."
Otto replied to Camille’s question.
"You’re… going hunting? But you’re not dressed for hunting…?"
"Haaa."
Otto knit his brows, clearly exasperated.
"How do you live being so narrow-minded?"
"……?"
"I didn’t mean hunting animals. I meant hunting.. going out to pick people up!"
"You’re not saying… that thing where you go up to random women on the street and try to pick them up, are you?"
"Is that really the rigid phrasing you go with? It’s just hunting!"
"You’ve avoided women for so long… now that the end is near, are you feeling a bit sentimental?"
"I’m done with that part of life, but I’m not planning on dying, alright? Ugh!! Just... let’s not even talk! Not a word!"
Otto grumbled, then dressed himself up nicely and stepped out of the palace, which was still far from worthy of being called one.
Then he wandered through the most bustling street in the entire kingdom.
"We greet His Majesty the King."
"We greet His Majesty the King."
The citizens recognized Otto and bowed to him.
"Tell the people I simply came out to observe their livelihoods, so they shouldn’t mind me and should go about their business comfortably."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After giving the command to the knights escorting him, Otto began wandering the streets, pretending to be inspecting the people’s livelihood.
‘What could he possibly be thinking…? A man who claims he’ll be dead in three days has no business surveying the livelihood of the people.’
Camille stared at Otto, full of confusion.
And then.
"Buy some flowers. Flowers. Lovely roses for sale."
A lovely flower seller in a deep crimson cloak walked up to Otto.
Her features were hidden beneath the hood, but even with only her silhouette visible, it was obvious she was a stunning beauty.
‘Flowers… she chose the wrong place.’
In the impoverished Kingdom of Lota, almost no one could spare money for luxuries like flowers.
And on top of everything, it was winter.
Given the season, rose prices were bound to be expensive.
Roses bloom in late spring and wither in midsummer, so in a cold season like this one, they were extremely hard to come by.
And Camille’s sharp insight did not miss that fact.
‘Hold on... roses? In the middle of winter? And not even in a big city, but in a rural place like this?’
It was undeniably odd.
Powerful nations could use magical greenhouses to grow small batches of off-season crops, though large-scale farming was out of the question.
But in a remote, impoverished land like the Kingdom of Lota, seeing crops that didn’t match the season was, without exaggeration, impossible.
Even if they were imported, storing them would be extremely difficult.
‘Something’s not right.’
Camille kept a close eye on the woman selling the roses.
And while he was doing so.
"Ah! It’s snowing!"
"Oh my! It’s so beautiful!"
Just then, as thick snow began to fall heavily.
"Oh? Roses! Look, roses!"
Otto noticed the woman selling roses and began heading her way.
"Your Majesty."
Camille stepped in front of Otto.
"There’s something off about that woman selling roses. It would be best not to approach her…"
"She’s totally my type."
"…Huh?"
"I’ve just found my ideal woman."
"What are you even talking..."
"Angeles."
"……!"
"That woman is that witch, so just stay quiet, watch, and play along when needed."
Whispering this into Camille’s ear, Otto strode confidently toward the woman selling roses.
* * *
The wicked witch Angeles was a villain who appeared naturally during the game’s progression, so there was no need to track her down.
Angeles was set to appear three days before Otto de Scuderia died from the [Utterly pathetic man] curse and linger nearby.
Because she wanted to watch the child she had cursed die.
This occurred only if the player survived up to the point where the next year’s January 1st was just three days away.
‘It gets easy from this point on.’
As Otto walked toward Angeles, he wore a satisfied smile deep within.
"Could I buy one rose?"
"Y-Yes, of course."
Angeles appeared utterly unprepared for Otto to approach, her expression filled with obvious surprise.
"It can’t be easy working out here in the bitter winter, my lady."
"Oh, it’s nothing…"
"Here. Please accept this."
Otto removed the gloves he had been wearing and offered them to Angeles.
"May I ask why you’re suddenly giving me your gloves?"
"Your hands."
As he spoke, Otto subtly reached out and held Angeles’s hand.
"They’re freezing. If you walk around outside in this bitter winter without gloves, your hands could get frostbite."
"Y-yes, that’s true."
"It’s a gift from me. Please accept it."
"Oh my…"
Angeles looked a bit touched by Otto’s unexpectedly sweet behavior.
‘Ugh. Disgusting.’
Otto felt nauseous at his own lines and was about to lose his mind, but he held it in and kept pushing the flirtation.
The lines were embarrassingly cheesy and cringe-inducing, but it didn’t matter.
‘As long as I reel her in, that’s all that counts. Heh.’
Otto was thoroughly familiar with Angeles’s tastes and behavioral patterns.
‘A severe face-lover, and someone who falls in love instantly. It doesn’t even take her a single second to fall.’
With that knowledge, he was able to toss out those painfully cheesy lines without a shred of embarrassment.
"What… should I give you in return?"
"You don’t need to give me anything. The gloves were simply an expression of my goodwill…"
Then.
"Cough! Cough-cough!"
Otto suddenly spat blood and doubled over in pain.
"Your Majesty!"
Angeles quickly caught him, supporting his body.
"Are you all right?"
"I-I’m fine. Cough! Cough, cough!"
"Your Majesty…"
"Life can be… truly ironic."
Otto wiped the blood from his lips and spoke in a faint, powerless voice.
"I finally met the ideal woman I’ve dreamed of my whole life… today of all days…"
"Wh-What…?"
"Ah… it seems… I won’t live much longer… kuh!"
With those final words, Otto toppled into the snowy ground.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, are you all right?!"
Camille and the knights hurried over and gathered around Otto, lifting him up in a rush.
"Get His Majesty back to the palace at once! Move!"
Camille shouted out.
"If it wouldn’t be rude… may I accompany you?"
Angeles walked up to Camille and asked.
At that moment, there was only a single thought filling her mind.
‘To meet the ideal woman I’ve dreamed of my whole life… only today…’
The line Otto uttered just before collapsing echoed sharply in her mind.
"Accompany us? What do you mean by that?"
"I’m the daughter of an herbalist who lives in the western forest, and I’m very knowledgeable about herbs. His Majesty seems unwell, so I’d like to take a look at his condition."
"But…"
"Has His Majesty not been suffering frequent heart attacks lately? Has he not been collapsing or losing consciousness often? And coughing up blood as well?"
"How do you know that?"
Camille put on a shocked expression, though it was all acting.
"I’m very familiar with this kind of illness. His Majesty’s life is in real danger. If things continue like this, his condition will worsen, and he won’t last even a week."
"My goodness."
"I know a way to treat His Majesty. So please, I beg you, allow me to accompany you."
"All right."
Camille, wearing the expression of someone desperate enough to grab even a stray piece of straw, granted Angeles permission to join them.
‘Perfect.’
Otto, still pretending to be passed out, overheard their exchange and smirked to himself.
* * *
That night.
After being brought back to the palace, Otto began receiving care from Angeles.
"Where… am I…?"
"Are you awake now?"
As Otto regained consciousness, Angeles gently spoke to him.
Naturally, he had only been acting unconscious, in reality, he’d simply taken a short nap…
"You’re… the woman who was selling roses earlier in the street…"
"That’s right."
"But why are you… here…?"
Angeles explained to Otto why she had accompanied them all the way to the palace.
"I-Is that true? Can I really survive?"
"It may be an incurable illness, but it’s not completely hopeless."
"Please… I beg you."
Otto tightly held Angeles’s hand as he spoke.
"I want to live."
"Are you so attached to living?"
"Rather than attachment… I simply feel it’s such a shame. It’s embarrassing and awkward to admit this, but… I fell for you at first sight."
"Ah…!"
"I don’t need to be completely cured. I just want to spend whatever time I have left with you."
Otto gazed at Angeles as he spoke.
"Please… would you stay with me, even if it’s only for a few days?"
"O-Okay…"
Angeles accepted Otto’s request, turning her head slightly as if embarrassed.
Her face was flushed red with embarrassment.
But as for Otto…
‘Ugh! This crazy old crone. She has absolutely no shame. Acting like this at her age.’
Knowing all too well what Angeles looked like in her true form, even her bashful display struck him as revolting.