Chapter 40 Fairy Tale "Actually, you were more like a cat..."
His curly black hair partially obscured his eyes, and even in the dim light, his complexion was noticeably flushed.
Originally, he was sleeping in cat form beside her pillow, where there was plenty of space. But a single room is a single room after all; no matter what, one bed can't fit two humans.
Ashlin wanted to do something, like scream and kick the guy off the bed, or dash out of the room at lightning speed. These all sounded like fairly normal reactions.
But she suddenly forgot how to make a sound or move, and just lay frozen on the bed, listening to their hearts pounding in the silence; clearly, Lucas was too.
He remained curled up in the same cat-like position, his hand supporting his chin, his legs pressed together. Beneath his long eyelashes, his blue eyes stared straight at her, as if she were a ghost.
A few seconds later, Ashlin made the worst move: she tried to get up, but accidentally tilted her head forward and bumped her forehead into Lucas's.
They both yelled at the same time and retreated in opposite directions.
Then she realized something. "Wait, you've changed back?"
He rubbed his forehead, scrambled off the bed, only to trip over his own tail and fall to the ground, knocking over a chair in the process. Clang! The chair crashed onto the table, knocking over a glass of water.
"Damn it! Can't a man get any sleep?" A curse came from behind the wall next door.
Lucas awkwardly stood up, using the chair for support, and elegantly brushed the fuzz off his shirt, tucking all his hair behind his ears.
"You are truly calm, Your Highness."
“It must be because of your clumsiness,” Lucas retorted, rearranging the furniture.
Ashlin chanted a spell to light the candle, and only then could she see his appearance clearly.
He hadn't completely turned back; he still had two fluffy cat ears on his head and a tail wagging behind him.
The most amazing thing about curses is that they can preserve the dignity of the target while cursing them. For example, when Lucas transforms from a cat into a human, he is still wearing clothes, and his pants don't actually have a hole because of his tail.
“I have to say, I really like your look,” Ashlin said shamelessly.
Lucas's face turned even redder: "Please stop talking, or I'll start to suspect this was your design. More importantly, why would you do this?"
The night was bright and the moonlight was just like the night Lucas unexpectedly turned back into a cat.
Just then, the church bells rang out from a distant village.
Twelve times in total.
"The timing of the curse can change?" Lucas pondered. "I've never heard of such a thing. Yesterday, perhaps because I was asleep, I didn't realize I had changed back to my original form at night... Ashlin, how much do you know about curses?"
Ashlyn knew he wasn't asking because he genuinely wanted the answer from her; from the beginning, she had made it clear that she wasn't good at this kind of delicate and mysterious magic.
He just wanted to organize the information.
“I know curses can be intentional or unintentional. Intentional curses are easy to understand; the triggering principle is the malice in a person’s heart. Unintentional curses are more complex; they’re more like failed magic than actual curses. Many curses grow stronger over time, especially those that curse people into turning into animals,” Ashlin said. “You know that’s how Zack turned into a rat. But I didn’t know that a person could be… half and half, like an orc, and that the switching time could be altered. That’s so strange.”
“Curses, like other forms of magic, follow certain patterns. We must have done something to change the curse,” Lucas said. “I previously suspected it was because Aidan tore up my sketch, but you’ve restored it. There’s no reason for it to be a problem now. Please repeat yourself, how did you curse me?”
“I misread ‘May the body be healed by the light of the cat’ as ‘May the body be healed by the cat in the light’.”
Lucas held his forehead.
"I really don't understand you wizards. Why do you have to add the word 'cat' to your spells? Can't you come up with something cooler, like a unicorn or a dragon?"
“Hey, I didn’t design it.” Ashlin shrugged. “Cats are auspicious symbols among wizards, and it’s common to pray to cats for power. Besides, unicorns aren’t cool either.”
"I won't allow you to talk about unicorns like that."
"I thought you had no right to interfere with my rights!"
Lucas's eyes lit up: "Your magic makes absolutely no sense."
This made Lucas's eyelids twitch; perhaps he couldn't accept that anything was illogical. Ashlin thought that if he wanted to find some logic in her turning into a cat, he wasn't exactly mentally sound. Her own magic only worked by defying the logic of nature.
“There’s something I forgot to tell you.” He pulled a letter from his clothes and handed it to Ashlin. “This is from Elaine. She said she has some other insights into curses and told me to think about fairy tales and not limit myself to one path.”
Ashlin read the letter. A fairy tale? A whole bunch of romantic stories she'd read as a child flashed through her mind, all basically following the same framework: the prince defeats the dragon, awakens the sleeping princess with a kiss of true love, rescues her from the evil witch, and they live happily ever after.
But that's all outdated now. Modern girls prefer stories of princesses defeating princes and becoming knights, or princesses riding dragons and living happily ever after with witches.
“Okay. Have you ever been in a relationship?” Ashlin asked, only to realize later that the question lacked context.
Lucas raised an eyebrow at this abrupt turn of events: "Love?"
"Yes. In fairy tales, can't a true love's kiss break a curse? Awakening the princess, turning the frog back into a prince... Maybe you should try this path."
“Unfortunately, I haven’t.” Lucas chuckled. “Have you forgotten that my parents control my…social life? They have introduced me to a few lords’ daughters, but we’re not interested in each other and are just friendly nobles for now.”
"So you've never been attracted to any girl?"
Lucas lowered his head, his black hair starting to cover his eyes again, and remained silent for a long time.
Ashlin squinted suspiciously: "Uh, Lucas? Don't tell me you were asleep."
“No.” He shifted his position, suddenly becoming very interested in the cloak on the chair. “I’ve never been tempted.”
"Heartbeat" is an interesting word, and perhaps Ashlin is "heartbeat" now: her heart was kicked like an ice cube, sliding all the way down to the eighteenth level of hell, making a commotion loud enough to wake up Cerberus.
“How boring,” she tried to maintain a gossipy tone. “I thought someone as charming as you would definitely have some scandals.”
This made Lucas look up and seize on the wrong point: "Hey, wait, you think I'm attractive?"
Ashlin felt her face burning, so she quickly turned her head away and started playing with the fluff on the blanket.
"Who said that?"
"You said it."
"I didn't say that."
"That's what you said. Do you need me to repeat myself, Miss Witch?"
Ashlin threw her bag at Lucas's annoying yet handsome face. The word "handsome" was merely an objective label.
"Awoo!" His tail straightened instantly.
“I was just being sarcastic! You’re actually cuter when you’re a cat, Your Highness.”
Ashlin snorted. "You say the same thing to those noble ladies?"
"What? Of course not. You saw them hit me?" Lucas's cat ears drooped pitifully. "This is the exclusive title of our great forest witch Ashlyn Bailey: The Most Charming!"
"Ahem... Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. I don't think this path will work, and we don't live in a fairy tale. If a true love's kiss could really break the curse, why doesn't Knox try kissing Cynthia? I guess he really loves her."
"That makes a lot of sense."
“The safest way is to continue searching for the remaining items, because even if I can’t lift the curse, I must at least prevent the Dark Witch’s resurrection. Moreover, this matter cannot be known to Father; it must be done by ourselves, otherwise it might spark another anti-magic movement…” Lucas rested his chin on his hand, his cat ears tilting back. “However, that’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about another fairy tale.”
Ashlind cupped her ears with her hands: "I'm all ears."
Lucas crossed his legs and cleared his throat. The dim candlelight flickered slowly, drawing back the curtain on the story.
"Once upon a time, there was a wizard named Karl. He was highly skilled in magic, but also very warlike. Legend has it that he was a descendant of the sun goddess Heliana, and therefore he was especially skilled in fire magic, often using fire spells to duel with others."
"However, Karl has an equally powerful nemesis named Barry. The two of them often quarrel and duel because of their differing magical philosophies. More importantly, they both fall in love with the princess at the same time."
Ashlin sighed. "Why this plot again? Let me guess, so they fought, and only the winner gets the princess."
Lucas glared at her.
"Please listen to me patiently. The princess said that only the winner of the duel could win her heart. So Karl and Barry had a duel..."
The candlelight flickered gently, casting their shadows on the wall. Under Lucas's voice, the shadows seemed to become part of the story: her shadow gradually lengthened, becoming that of the fire wizard Carl; while Lucas was his nemesis and rival in love, Barry.
Two dark silhouettes glared at each other, one raising both hands, the other raising a staff.
The duel was quickly decided, without any betting required.
How could an ordinary mage possibly defeat a descendant of the Sun God? Karl waved his hand lightly, and the flame on the candle suddenly shot up, merging into the shadow and transforming into a fireball in his hand that pulsated like a heart.
Barry waved his staff in despair, but no matter how hard the wood or how expensive the gems, the staff was no match for the Son of the Sun's bare hands.
Flames engulfed Barry, who howled and struggled in the fire before finally turning to ashes.
Shadow Karl arrived at the palace triumphantly, intending to kiss his princess. He deserved it; he was too powerful, divine blood and ambition burning fiercely within him.
However, the palace was empty.
"Yes. The princess is dead, killed in a fire. The story ends."
Ashlin couldn't believe her ears. "What? That's it? Where did you hear such a terrible ghost story? Are you sure you didn't make it up?"
“I saw it when I was very young, and I would have forgotten it if Elaine hadn’t reminded me. Only now, with the curse changing, have I realized its significance.” Lucas stood up. “Why do you think the princess died?”
"Possibly."
“I don’t understand, Lucas. What are you trying to say?”
He lowered his hand again, his eyes sparkling, just like when he saw the riddle left by the moon goddess.
Ashlyn's mind was buzzing.
To her surprise, Lucas nodded.
"What?"
“It was just a fleeting thought! Like I said, I’m an idiot,” Lucas said patiently. “But when you mispronounce a spell, you might unintentionally unleash something wilder, purer.”
"for example?"
Lucas spread his hands.
"I have absolutely no idea. I'm not a divine mage."
Wilder, purer...
Ashlin held her breath: "That day, in the Dragon Crystal Cave, the Forest Goddess told me something else. She said... the greatest essence of the forest is purity, and my will will affect everything. Also, 'The story ends at the beginning.'"
Lucas looked at her incredulously: "And you forgot to tell me?!"
"After that, I was either training dragons or being locked in the elf dungeon. I didn't get a chance."
Lucas paced back and forth: "'The story ends at the beginning'... Interesting!"
However, this statement probably has no other meaning than being amusing. They completely failed to understand.
Not long after, they discovered something else: Lucas would only transform into a half-human, half-cat for one hour at midnight.
After 1 a.m., he became a black cat again.
He then dared not sleep next to Ashlin's pillow anymore, and instead curled up on the balcony.
The next morning, a few whiskers brushed against her face, making her feel itchy.
Ashlin stretched and enjoyed the autumn morning sunshine.
Until she noticed that the black cat was staring at the clothes they had draped over the chair.
"What's wrong?"
"Our things have been stolen."
Ashlin jumped out of bed as if she had springs in her back.
Her purse had vanished, and several crystals used for casting spells had also disappeared.
It's nothing.
Ashley's heart skipped a beat.
The Magic Flute and Dragonfire are still inside.
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