I Live on the Land in Global Games
Chapter 278 - 274: The King’s Past

Chapter 278: Chapter 274: The King’s Past

If Mu Ying’s memory serves her correctly, the princess from the Thorny Kingdom was born 18 years ago, the same age as Mu Ying. At that time, the curse had only recently begun to afflict Ferena as well.

Moreover, within two years, the thorns started to mutate, and everyone who could flee the Thorny Kingdom did, leaving those of the Royal Family who were heavily targeted by the curse trapped inside the Royal Palace. Five years ago, the thorns even spread to the borders of the Thorny Kingdom, so it’s unlikely that Ferena had much of an opportunity to see the Thorn Princess.

Was their connection really that strong? Strong enough for him to risk his life to save someone he had never met? Even a fiancée wouldn’t be that important, would she?

That’s what Mu Ying thought, and so she asked.

"I haven’t seen her, but this is my responsibility, my mission bestowed by the heavens. Only my kiss can awaken her and restore the Thorny Kingdom to its former state," Ferena declared confidently.

Mu Ying was shocked by his overly confident and slightly delusional speech. Responsibility was one thing, but a mission? What mission? Who gave it to him? Was it not to lift the curse?

This isn’t really a fairy tale, is it? A prince of a country braving a deadly thorny forest for the sake of a mission, isn’t that a bit naïve?

"If you can’t even get through this thorny forest, how are you going to save her?"

"That’s why the heavens have brought me to meet you here. Let us go together to rescue the Thorn Princess!" Prince Ferena was eager to try, "Fairy Mu Ying must find it intolerable that the eighteen-year-old Thorn Princess hasn’t seen the outside world and is just going to die in her sleep, right?"

Mu Ying never imagined that one day she would be morally blackmailed.

A fairy, my foot. The affairs of the Rose Kingdom were already settled; she might as well not be a fairy anymore.

"I can bear it just fine, unless you tell me what the Thorn Royal Family did to bring about this calamity. It can’t just be an unwarranted disaster, can it?" Mu Ying said irritably, she was now a witch!

Although the curse must be lifted, she would decide how it was to be done.

Nowadays, it seemed that letting Prince Ferena go in and kiss the Thorn Princess would do the trick, but Mu Ying sensed there was something fishy about it.

The curse was aimed at the Thorn Royal Family, and yet all they had to endure was sleep; their bodies were unscathed. Just one kiss from Ferena could break the spell.

What was so special about this kiss?

Logically, the object of the curser’s hatred should be the crux of the matter.

But her mother, Catherine, had lost her life because of it; how could her enemies just sleep for a few years and then bounce back to life?

Mu Ying didn’t care about that stupid prophesy; she would lift the curse, and she would avenge Catherine.

Ferena did not expect Mu Ying to respond like that. Weren’t all fairies kind-hearted?

Mu Ying gave him a look that said it all, "What, should a fairy be taken advantage of for free? I can let you in, but you must tell me the whole story. As members of Royal Families and related through marriage, you must know something, right?"

Ferena’s face turned red with embarrassment; indeed, other fairies played the role of godmother and even got paid for it. It was only natural for Fairy Mu Ying to want to exchange information for services.

"I’m not very clear on the details, but it’s probably because the reigning King of the Thorny Kingdom enraged an evil witch, cursing the entire Kingdom. As for why he angered her, I guess only the Thorn King would know that," Ferena replied.

Mu Ying: "..."

No way, her current body’s cheapskate father couldn’t possibly be that Thorn King, could he?

Witches roaming abroad are most likely to intersect with men because, to produce offspring, they must mate with males from other tribes.

Love is often more profound and memorable than friendship, so when a witch turns evil and is thwarted, nine times out of ten, it’s because of a man.

Mu Ying changed her approach and demanded, "Tell me everything you know about the Thorn King!"

Prince Ferena nodded and began to recount his knowledge.

Unlike the Rose Kingdom, which adhered to primogeniture for the succession of the throne, the Thorny Kingdom’s throne succession was fraught with strife and scheming, granting all royal offspring an equal opportunity to compete for the crown.

The current Thorn King was originally an illegitimate child born to the previous King of the Thorny Kingdom and a Maid, and he was initially at a disadvantage in the succession struggle. However, he mastered the cultivation of the metallic thorny trees, a special kind of thorny tree that fears no flames and is extremely tough, which, once processed, could even be comparable to metal weapons.

It was with these metallic thorny trees that his power rapidly grew, enabling him to suppress his fellow princes and emerge as one of the two most distinguished candidates for succession.

However, the other prince’s mother came from an illustrious background, making their competition neck and neck, and he was even somewhat at a disadvantage. In the end, he made a political marriage with a Princess from the Rose Kingdom, which then allowed him to smoothly inherit the throne.

After their marriage, the King and Queen had a daughter—the current Thorn Princess.

Now, in the Royal Palace of the Thorny Kingdom, those three are asleep.

At this point, Mu Ying was already very skeptical. Could ordinary people really cultivate metallic thorns that were impervious to fire and as tough as iron after special treatment?

Did her mother, Catherine, play any role in this?

Perhaps the King had deceived Catherine’s affections for the sake of the mutated thorns and then, upon achieving his goal, betrayed her and married another?

In that case, this sleep seemed even more strange—it looked less like a curse and more like protection.

Think about it, if there were no such thing as this sleeping spell, the pervasive thorns would have likely killed the instigators a long time ago!

However, Prince Ferena was also unclear on this point; all he knew was that a kiss from someone close could awaken those in their slumber. This referred to blood relatives and betrothed lovers alike.

Mu Ying sighed, it seemed that she would still need to speak to the people involved!

"I really don’t know anything more," said Prince Ferena, somewhat anxiously, as he noticed Mu Ying’s growing displeasure.

Mu Ying didn’t trouble him further; now, there were only two ways to awaken the three individuals in the Thorny Palace.

One was for the King of the Rose Kingdom to kiss and awaken the Thorn Queen, since although they were half-siblings, they were still of the same blood. The Queen could then awaken the King and the Princess.

The other option would be for Prince Ferena, as the person betrothed to the Thorn Princess, to kiss and awaken the Princess, who could then awaken the King and Queen.

It was obvious that the King of the Rose Kingdom would never kiss the Thorn Queen, even if they were related by blood.

So, Prince Ferena truly was crucial.

Mu Ying had no problem bringing him inside—it was actually unnecessary to traverse the Thorny Forest at all.

After using Life Magic to heal the injured horse, she took out the Magic Flying Carpet and stepped onto it, "Come with me."

"Is this the carpet that can fly?" asked Prince Ferena curiously.

When the Queen Mother suddenly appeared on the balcony of his room that day, she scared the Maid inside. Later, he found out that a fairy had sent her back on a flying carpet.

Mu Ying nodded, "Yes, that’s the one. We’ll fly straight to the Royal Palace of the Thorny Kingdom."