NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23-1
When Otto collapsed shortly after ascending the throne, he was promptly taken to a hospital room for treatment.
“My lord, no, His Majesty, is he all right?”
“He seems to have had a heart attack, but fortunately, thanks to the quick CPR that Sir Camille performed, he seems to have made it past the critical stage.”
“His Majesty had a sudden heart attack?”
“He doesn’t show any signs of any particular illness… but we suspect that his unhealthy lifestyle may have contributed.”
Camille thought he knew what the doctor was talking about.
Otto usually lived a life without physical exercise.
His body was already in shambles from his debauchery, and with no exercise and a poor diet, it was not surprising that he was suffering from heart disease.
“I hope Sir Camille will take great care to help His Majesty correct his unhealthy lifestyle.”
“…Understood.”
Camille, who had been left to take care of Otto’s health in his sleep, sighed and covered his face in exhaustion.
‘Now I’m going to have to make him exercise too..’
As if he didn’t already have enough on his plate, how was he going to keep up with Otto’s eating and lifestyle habits?
Even a 48-hour day was not enough.
‘At least it’s fortunate that it wasn’t life-threatening.’
Camille stayed by Otto’s side, despite his exhaustion.
A few hours later.
“Mmm.”
Otto pushed himself up, rubbing his chest.
“Are you awake?”
“Where am I? Why am I here?”
Otto asked as he looked around the room.
“…You don’t remember again?”
“Yeah.”
“You collapsed right after the coronation.”
“Me? Why? You can’t possibly….”
Otto glared. “Did you hit me again…?”
“It was a heart attack.”
Understanding Otto’s misunderstanding, Camille quickly hit him with fact, sparing him the embarrassment of being grilled.
“Oh, really?”
But Otto didn’t seem too bothered by the fact that he’d collapsed from a heart attack.
“I guess I’ve done something again.”
“Huh…?”
“It’s just a heart attack. Not a brain haemorrhage. No need to worry too much about that.”
“What are you talking about?”
Camille frowned.
“You think a heart attack is some kind of muscle pain or something? It’s your heart stopping. As soon as it does….”
“Eh~.” Otto waved his hand as if it was no big deal.
“It’s okay~ I don’t care~.”
“So you want to die as soon as you ascend the throne?”
“It’s okay~? It’s not my time to die~, so whatever~.”
“Your Majesty!” Camille snapped, irritated by Otto’s casual attitude.
“When a monarch doesn’t take care of his own body, it’s not….”
“I’m really fine.”
Otto soothed Camille in a calm voice.
“I’m not going to die, at least not until the 1st of January next year.”
“What…?”
“The heart attack was just a sign.”
As he said that, Otto’s gaze was not on Camille, but on the interface that only he could see.
[A Wretched B**tard].
What sins have I committed in my past life….
Type: Curse
Duration: Infinite
Effects:
– Start level -99.
– Unable to obtain experience.
– Unable to leveled up.
– Athleticism -60%.
– +50% to Appetite.
– +200% to Sex Drive.
– +30% to Sleep Desire.
– 1% chance to get knocked back when moving.
– When moving, there is a 1% chance to be struck by lightning.
– Instant death when the character reaches his 25th birthday.
Otto de Scuderia’s birthday is 1 January.
It is now mid-November.
There are 45 days left until 1 January.
This means that Otto now has 45 days to break the Curse of the A’Wretched B**tard’ or he will die.
The heart attack was a kind of foreshadowing of his imminent death.
“I will die soon.”
“?”
At his sudden confession of death, Camille looked at Otto with a look that said what the hell?
“Suddenly, are you implying that you have heart disease or something?”
“Not really.”
“Then what do you mean by that?”
“I’m going to die on the 1st of January, at 7pm to be precise.”
“……?”
“I’m cursed.”
Otto told Camille about the curse that had been placed on him, the Curse of the ‘Wretched B**tard’.
“Who the hell put that curse on your Majesty?”
“Angela. A witch who lives in the western forest.”
Then the story of the past began to flow from Otto’s mouth.
***
It was 24 years ago.
Angela, a witch from the western forests, happened to visit the Iota estate and fell in love with Oryx de Scuderia, Otto’s father, the lord of the estate at the time.
Oryx was a handsome man, a man of great character, and a man of great charm.
But Oryx was a honest husband who only had eyes for his wife, Otto’s mother.
The couple were so happy together that there was no room for Angela to interrupt.
“I am sorry. I have a wife I love, and a baby on the way. I am a man with a family, and I am sorry, but I cannot accept your confession.”
The Evil Witch, Angela, was engaged to have her love turned down and left as she that.
“If your family is that important to you, I will destroy it thoroughly! Tear it to pieces to make you regret!”
Later that night, Angela sneaks into the couple’s bedroom and curses Lord Oryx’s wife, who is sleeping soundly, and the baby in her womb.
The wife would die after childbirth, and the soon-to-be-born baby would never be a proper human….
Angela is a powerful black mage who could single-handedly wipe out the entire Orth estate.
The reason she took the trouble to cast the curse was because she wanted Lord Oryx to suffer something worse than death.
She wanted him to suffer the loss of his wife, whom he loved more than anyone else, and to suffer the pain of watching his only child grow up to be an Incompetent b**tard, ruined it’s own life before his eyes.
Even if he lived, he would never feel like he lived.
Afterward, Lord Oryx grew weaker and weaker with grief for the loss of his beloved wife, and he was consumed with longing every day, just as Angela had intended.
With Otto’s unruly behavior and the loss of his family’s farming business, it’s no wonder that Lord Oryx’s insides are rotten to the core.
Eventually, Lord Oryx suffered from severe depression, became ill, and turned his back on the world.
He left Otto in the care of Camille, who was like an adopted son to him.