The Benefits of a Cursed Princess

Tae-hyun froze. He had been just about to shout, "Throw that man in prison this instant!" but someone else had beaten him to the punch. The culprit was Lee Da-bi.

"??"

"Ah... I'm sorry. My mouth just moved on its own..."

"No, there's no need to apologize. I was about to do the exact same thing. Throw that man in prison this instant!"

"Understood!"

"W-Wait, no! Why?! We had an agreement!"

"This is a completely separate matter."

In Pandemonium Online, players could marry other players or even NPCs. That wasn't the issue. If marrying an NPC could net him a special skill, item, or class, Tae-hyun would have seriously considered it. But there were limits. Asking him to marry a literal child? This guy didn't just lack a conscience; he was utterly shameless.

"Throw this shameless scoundrel into the deepest dungeon of the Valley—"

"No! I didn't mean this child! I was talking about my other daughter!"

"Ah. Is that so?" Tae-hyun felt a bit sheepish. The Second Prince's young daughter stared up at Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi with wide, round eyes.

"Are you going to lock up my daddy?"

"Um, no." Tae-hyun was relatively weak against innocent people and children.

- Help me, Da-bi.

- Do you really need help with this...?

Lee Da-bi was dumbfounded, but she decided to step in and handle it for him. He's a royal and has a high Speech skill, so it shouldn't even matter if he handles it himself. It was always baffling how he could toy with a Demon Duke like a plaything, yet hesitated to deal with a completely harmless royal child NPC.

"There's been a misunderstanding, sweetie."

"So you're not locking Daddy up?"

"That's right. We won't lock him up."

As the tension defused, the Second Prince spoke in a relieved tone.

"I am glad the misunderstanding has been cleared. I was planning to send her to another noble family to secure a marriage alliance anyway."

"Right now?"

"Well, yes, she must go now."

"Throw that man in prison this instant!"

Well, now I'm curious. Looking at the quest window piqued his interest. What on earth was the secret of the Erangs royal family? If it's the location of the Crown of Erangs or the Sword of Erangs... The Crown of Erangs and the Sword of Erangs were among the kingdom's most famous artifacts. Hadn't the First Prince searched for them first thing when he launched his rebellion? And even now, the current King of Erance was struggling to use them because his undead status prevented him from equipping them. Honestly, Tae-hyun wanted them!

Hey, this is totally unfair. I didn't get anything like that even after becoming the King of Atali. Of course, he had access to various king-exclusive skills, but he had never been granted any mystical, overpowered bloodline skills passed down from the Ancient Empire.

With all the blood I've spilled for them, we might as well be blood-related.

"Hmm. But the problem is, if I marry her, I'll have to fight the Erangs Kingdom."

"Tae-hyun, you don't need to worry about that."

"?"

"You can just marry her and not fight."

"Wait...!"

Is she a genius? Tae-hyun was deeply impressed by Lee Da-bi's suggestion. Come to think of it, he could just get married and then simply refuse to fight Erangs. Even if the Second Prince complained, Tae-hyun wasn't the type of person to be swayed by a little whining.

Ah, oops. Lee Da-bi realized she had made a mistake. She should have just told him not to do it...!

"True. If we keep the marriage a secret, how would the King of Erance ever find out?"

"I... I suppose so."

"I am... glad the misunderstanding has been cleared," the Second Prince said in an exhausted voice. Having been seized and released multiple times, his clothes were completely tattered.

Tae-hyun asked, looking genuinely puzzled, "Why do you look like a total mess?"

"..."

"Anyway, fine. I'll give it some serious thought. Where is your other daughter?"

"She is waiting outside."

I hope her level is high.

Lee Da-bi leaned in and whispered,

- Tae-hyun, what kind of partner would you prefer?

- Me? Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. If he were to get married, what kind of partner would be best?

- First of all, her level has to be high.

- ...

- As for her class... Ah, combat, crafting, or artistic classes are all good. It's a tough choice. But if it's a combat class, a mage would be best. We have more than enough warrior types right now. It'd be great if she possessed some overpowered, rare magic... Crafting classes aren't bad either. We have plenty of prominent blacksmith NPCs, but tailor NPCs are quite scarce, aren't they? If she's a tailor, she might bring along the Erangs Kingdom's secret tailoring skills, which would be even better. If she has an artistic class, I'd like her to excel in sculpting or painting. As you can see, the Valley is constantly expanding with new buildings...

Tae-hyun rattled off his requirements without pausing for even a single second. Lee Da-bi was utterly overwhelmed by his rapid-fire response. No...! That is not what I was asking...!

- ...I guess that about covers it? Da-bi, what kind of partner do you think would be good?

- Personally, I think a kind person would be nice.

- Kind? Da-bi, there's no way. Basically, every NPC that comes to the Valley has a screw loose somewhere.

- I'm sure that's not always the case...

While they were talking, the Second Prince seemed to have brought his daughter in.

"She is right here, Your Majesty!"

"...?"

"???"

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi tilted their heads in confusion. There was absolutely no one standing in front of them.

"An invisible person?"

"A stealth skill?"

"Don't tell me he wants me to marry an imaginary person he made up? That's actually genius." Tae-hyun was slightly impressed. If that works, I could use that trick multiple times too.

But the Second Prince was dead serious.

"She is right here! Your Majesty! Please look closely!"

"No, the only things here are the mounts you guys rode in on..."

As Tae-hyun spoke, a sudden chill ran down his spine. There was one more mount than the total number of the Second Prince and his escorts. Because it was dressed up so extravagantly, he hadn't noticed at first, but the appearance of this particular mount was on a completely different level from the others. While the other mounts were perfectly normal, excellent warhorses or giant eagles... what was this one?

"I-Is that a Basilisk?!"

"Can a Basilisk be a mount?" Tae-hyun suddenly began to feel confused. What exactly counted as a mount? Come to think of it, since demons could theoretically be used as mounts and players could ride dragons, it made sense that a dangerous monster like a Basilisk could be a mount too...?

"Tae-hyun, get a grip. Basilisks aren't mounts; they're usually boss monsters." Lee Da-bi, who usually agreed with almost anything Tae-hyun said, had no choice but to look dead serious now. Basilisks were incredibly powerful monsters. While they weren't on the level of dragons—which easily surpassed level 1,000 and were considered the strongest monsters—it wouldn't be surprising at all if a Basilisk was over level 600 or 700.

Crraack!

As Tae-hyun approached, the Basilisk began to stretch its body. Because the giant, serpent-like Basilisk had been coiled up tightly, they hadn't realized its true scale, but as it unfurled, a massive body reminiscent of a dragon was revealed.

- Did the Second Prince actually come here to assassinate me? Come to think of it, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wouldn't be surprising if he had made a covenant with some cult.

- If he came here for an assassination, he's a truly remarkable NPC.

After all, he had endured even after Tae-hyun repeatedly shouted, "Throw that man in prison!" To hold out like that, he had to be a genius actor who surpassed even Tae-hyun.

- Da-bi. If it starts attacking, fall back immediately.

- But what about the other NPCs here...?

- They can die.

- ...No, they absolutely cannot! Do you know how massive our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠losses would be?!

The Archisus Paladins guarding Tae-hyun here were the elites of the church, NPCs they had carefully raised and fed experience points through various quests. If they died, the financial damage would be astronomical.

Fortunately, contrary to their fears, the Basilisk did not attack.

"Ah... I guess it really was just a mount."

"I doubt anyone who rides around on something like that has a good personality."

"I ride around on a demon."

"...Come to think of it, you do."

Karbanog was advising Lee Da-bi to start by doubting whether Tae-hyun actually had a good personality, but unfortunately, his words didn't reach her.

"So, Prince Auston. Where is your daughter? I'd like to meet her and have a chat. I also want to ask how she managed to tame a Basilisk."

No matter how one looked at it, he didn't seem curious about his potential bride at all; he just wanted to know how to tame a Basilisk.

Your true intentions are completely transparent...

"She is right there!"

"Where?"

"I don't see her."

Frustrated, the Second Prince pointed at the Basilisk once more.

Tae-hyun spoke in a voice filled with horror. "Are you saying... that Basilisk ate your daughter?!"

"What absurd nonsense! That is my daughter!"

"..."

"..."

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi felt a sudden wave of dread. So... uh... that Basilisk was the Second Prince's other daughter?

"Tae-hyun. Let's just kill him. No matter how I look at it, this is an assassination attempt."

"Hmm."

As Lee Da-bi whispered, the Second Prince grew anxious and quickly made an excuse.

"Of course, it is easy to misunderstand! In fact, it is only natural to misunderstand! But once you hear the full story, Your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Majesty will surely understand!"

"Uh... do I have to climb inside the Basilisk's stomach to hear it?"

"Ah... so the Second Prince didn't marry a Basilisk."

Both Lee Da-bi and Karbanog stared at Tae-hyun in utter disbelief. What kind of mind was so incredibly free of prejudice to even think of that?

"To think she was transformed by a curse."

"I naturally assumed it was a curse...!"

"Really? I thought she might have had Basilisk blood in her."

"If it's a curse that turns someone into a Basilisk, it must be incredibly powerful. Let's gather mages and summon priests to analyze the curse and find a way to break it step by step. The Archisus Church has grown quite large, so we should easily be able to find a solution."

"?"

"What is it?" Lee Da-bi tilted her head. Tae-hyun's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reaction was completely different from what she had expected. Shouldn't he be offering a better plan or suggesting an alternative?

"Uh... do we really need to break the curse?"

"...Excuse me??"

"I feel like she'd be way stronger as a Basilisk than if she turned back into a human."

"...No... Tae-hyun..."

Both Lee Da-bi and Karbanog were so horrified they tried to stop him. But Tae-hyun was completely serious.

"Just because it's a curse doesn't mean we absolutely have to lift it. If it's a beneficial curse, we can just exploit it. A Basilisk is incredibly strong and rare, so wouldn't it be a waste to throw that away?"

Faced with his bizarrely plausible logic, Lee Da-bi felt herself momentarily swayed.

Wait... is he right...? Is a Basilisk bride actually better than a normal one??