Even Though She Is a Girl of Love Level 0, She’s Stuck Being Asked To Kiss Him

CHAPTER 2.1: I'M TOLD TO FALL IN LOVE

Eastern part of the Kingdom of Crecia. In an old house deep in the woods so dense that even sunlight could not reach it, a group of "stray" witches was feasting in the daytime.

"It's quiet."

"I was wondering why it's so quiet today, is it because Ripley hasn't come?"

"Ripley went out in the middle of the night in a good mood. The curse she put on ten years ago was completed or something."

"Ten years is a long time to wait. It's not like aging a bottle of wine."

The witch says as she pours the amber distilled liquor into the cup.

"If you go back to the beginning, it seems that it was triggered by a grudge against the Crown Prince decades ago. In a frustrated stomach, she said that she would turn the current Crown Prince into a cat."

"What a vintage grudge, insidious girl."

 "But don't you think it's funny? It is an unprecedented farce for the Crown Prince to become a 'stray servant'. I'd like to have the Crown Prince give me a fish bone."

"It would be a sight to behold."

She put their mouths to the cup and continued, "But,"

"She's a bit of a loose cannon. We'll see what happens."

Royal Palace at dawn, Doris's bedroom.

"…I have a general idea of what's going on."

Celeste said to the dark-haired witch, whose gaze swam awkwardly in the corner of the room.

"I knew ten years ago that the curse I was going to put on D fell on Doris. So it's because that curse was inadequate during its development that my sister turned into a cat…"

"Oh yes, I was so drunk that I don't remember much of it."

"I see"

Celeste walked over to Ripley and grabbed her slender wrist. His hand glows a silvery light.

"Hey, what's this?"

Silver shackles were placed on both of Ripley's wrists.
Celeste then pulled the knife from its sheath and poked it into Ripley's chin.

"If you don't remember, let me remind you."

"Not good. It's not good! Don't think it's not good, like the Crown Prince torturing!"

Ripley paled quickly and turned her chin back.

"Your Highness, please calm down...!"

"I think we should torture her to make her talk."

"What?"

Doris felt that Euphemia, the white cat, had let out some disturbing murmur, and she looked at her, but Euphemia looked cool and her pure white tail was wagging gracefully.

Celeste sheathed the knife and Ripley smiled bewitchingly.

"Good, it's bloody and cheeky. I'm tempted to try to put the curse back on you even now."

"No thanks."

Suddenly, from between Ripley's long black hair, a black cat with golden eyebrows emerged.

Celeste glances sideways at Euphemia, the white cat.

"Are you going to use my sister as a servant?"

"No, I don't need a princess. The king's son, who looks just like the man who mocked me, I just wanted to have him as my plaything."

Saying that Ripley laughed as she turned her red, glossy lips into the shape of a crescent moon.

"'If there's no way to break the spell, then I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life…?"

Euphemia murmured in horror on the bed.

"I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. The princess and you there, please stay strong."

With a flick of her fingertips, the shackles that chained her wrists together turned to ash and spilled onto the floor. Everyone present looked at her with wide-eyed amazement.

"Oh yes, it may be none of my business, but maybe the protective wards in the palace should be made a little tighter."

Celeste and Melinda looked at each other with a stern expression, as if they were making fun of each other.

Ripley slides her white fingertips into the void, creating a tear in the space once more.

"'Um, wait, please…!"

Doris got out of bed, forgetting she was in her nightgown and tried to reach for Ripley.

"Whoa!"

Ripley's body, which had been floating in the air, slammed into her as she was pulled to the floor.

"It's Ripley, the 'stray witch'."

Out of nowhere, a man in an indigo uniform dressed in a military uniform appeared. He knelt on the spot and put his hand on her neck before Ripley could react.

"K... Kuh!"

A hand wrapped in leather gloves glowed a faint crimson, and Ripley frowned in pain.

When he removed his hand, a mark in the shape of a crimson licorice flower was engraved on Ripley's throat.

"I have placed an 'imprint' on your body. If you lie, the curse will cause you to stop breathing. If you want to die, tell me how to break the curse."

"It's disgusting."

Ripley spat out, and the man snapped his leather-gloved fingers.

"Huh…?"

Ripley suddenly put a hand to her throat, her mouth wide open, her body convulsing.

"Hmm... What...... I thought I was going to die... A wizarding division?"

Ripley repeatedly took deep breaths as she neutered the men's uniforms from top to bottom.

"Ah, yes. The one who coordinates the Court Magic Division, which is lower in rank than you."

The man in uniform was expressionless and replied emphasizing "lower rank."

"Court Magic Division..."

Celeste explains to Doris, who watches breathlessly.

"Jared Cole, Head of the Court Wizardry Division. The best wizard in the land."

Jared seized Ripley, who was still on a rampage and put a red-bronze chain around her wrists that suppressed magical powers. It is stronger than the magic shackles Celeste had just put on him.

"We can't stay in a woman's bedroom talking to her forever, can we? Everyone, that way."

With a calm tone of voice, which seemed to be about thirty years old, Jared led everyone present into the drawing room next to him.

Doris settled down on an upholstered sofa with a stole draped over her shoulders.

Next to her is Celeste holding a white cat. On the couch across from him sat Jared and a tired-faced Ripley.

Melinda leans by the door, "I'm Doris's handmaiden."

"Was there a trap to lure me in because there was a chance to take advantage of the protective circle?"

"You have good instincts. If the curse takes years to complete, it will appear in the palace again sooner or later. It was easier to get in than ten years ago, wasn't it?"

Knowing that she had been successfully trapped by the Wizarding Division, Ripley had a bitter expression on her face.

"Let me ask you how to break their curse."

"…"

"I could dam your windpipe right now, but what would you do?"

At Jared's merciless words, Ripley clenched her back teeth in contemplation. The reddish-copper shackles and chains on her wrists were even heavier than they looked, and sweat was pouring down Ripley's cheeks and the nape of her neck.

 Ripley breathed a few times on her shoulder before opening her mouth.

"It's a kiss."

Everyone present tilted their heads, "What?"

"A heartfelt kiss between lovers, and that's the only way to break the curse. Doris... right? If you kiss the person you love in truth, you can break both the curse of magic freezing and the curse of the princess's animalization at the same time."

The flame of the candle lit in the dimness of dawn cast a shadow on Doris's pale cheeks.

"…What else?"

Doris asked, her voice as thin as a mosquito's.

"Ho, is there anything else? For example, driving a silver stake through the surgeon's heart, or sacrificing the surgeon to the god of the forest…!"

"You say such terrible things with such a quiet face. Are you going to drive a stake through my heart?"

"I'm sorry, it's a metaphor..."

Doris shrugged her shoulders and looked away.

And next to him, even Celeste had a heavy expression like the end of the world, putting a hand on his forehead in contemplation.

"Witch Ripley. If there's anything else you're hiding about the curse, tell me now."

"You're always poking at me, aren't you? I'm not hiding anything, but there is a limit to the animalization curse, so you'd better hurry if you want to lift it."

"What!?"

The first to react was Euphemia.

"'If you've spent a day with her today, you'll know that the princess takes on the form of a cat when the sun is up and a human being when the sun goes down."

"Oh, she can change back to her human form?"

"For now."

Ripley says to Euphemia, who pins up her triangular ears as if to remind her.

"The curse limit is two months away, sixty-six days after last night, to be precise. After that, the princess will live in the form of a cat forever. And we forget the memories of our human time, our words."

On Celeste's lap, Euphemia's eyes widened in shock.

"No way…"

Just as Doris's voice trembled, Celeste gently lowered Euphemia from his knees.

He pulled the knife out of its sheath and held it in his other hand. The knife emitted a silver light and transformed into an elongated stake.

"Your Highness...?"

"I seem to have forgotten the basics. Most curses can be broken by killing the wielder."

A voice as quiet as the surface of the water, yet as cold and sharp as an icicle.

Doris almost forgot to breathe as she felt Celeste's anger for the first time.

"You can try. The moment I die, the curse of the princess' animalization will be complete, but if you still want to try."

"…"

"The purpose of this curse is to harass the royal family. Do you think I would allow such a simple unraveling of the curse?"

Ripley flicked her tongue like a snake between her red lips.

"Apparently it's not a lie, the curse of the Engraving doesn't work."

At Jared's words, Celeste wordlessly put the silver stake back into the knife and sheathed it.

"Oh, my..."

Glancing at the people in the room, Doris opened her mouth.

"I, I… that, kiss…? If I do that, it will be enough, won't it? If that is how Euphemia-sama can return to her original form, then… The original reason is that I was unable to maintain a normal mind and let my magical power outburst… I will definitely return Euphemia-sama to her original form…"

"Doris... your lack of confidence is showing on your face."

"It's all in your mind, Your Highness…"

Even with this, she is trying hard to motivate herself.

"And one more thing."

Ripley said, raising her thin, white index finger.

"In the unlikely event that she kisses someone she's not in love with, Doris will die."

"What...?"

This time Doris opened her eyes and gasped.

"In the first place, it was a curse-filled with resentment against the prince of the past who played with me. He thought he could kiss the right girl and die."

She says outrageous things so easily.

"I think it's bad that I mistargeted you, I'm sorry."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Celeste raises his voice.

"You can't just apologize! Why would Doris do such a… thing?"

"Your Highness, please calm down...!"

"How can I calm down? You, too, can get angrier! Do you know how many lives have been ruined because of this ridiculous curse?"

"But now that we've been taught how to break the curse, let's leave it to the Magicians to deal with Ripley, and let's get Euphemia back to her original form first...!"

"If you make a mistake, you're going to die!"

With that said, Celeste glared at Ripley and stood up. His clenched fists are trembling.

"Even if you don't go so far as to kill her, you should know what Doris has suffered so far."

"Your Highness, please stop...!"

Doris stood up to follow Celeste and grabbed his jacket sleeve.

"Don't stop me!"

"But… huh?!"

Doris pulled his arm as hard as she could to stop Celeste's angry impulse to hold on to him.

"Uwak!"

"Kya…"

The spur of the moment caused Celeste's upper body to tip over and she and Doris fell to the carpet with too much momentum.

"…"

"…"

Doris in her nightgown collapsed on her back, and Celeste leaned over the floor with his hands clasped together.

Celeste's bangs touch the tip of Doris's nose. Their exhalations tickle their lips.

In the silence, the sound of Ripley clearing her throat echoed. 

"Be careful, you're really going to die."

Ripley's words made Doris and Celeste both turn pale.