Author’s Note:
Hey everyone ❤️
Just a quick note about a small edit I made: Due to platform content guidelines, I changed the family relationship between Princess Aurora and Prince Kael from siblings to cousins (Kael is now the son of the Emperor’s deceased elder brother’s son, raised in the palace).
This is a technical change only.
Nothing else in the story has been altered — the curse, the harem dynamics, the emotional tension, the spice, the plot, the teasing, or any scenes remain the same.
The story you love is still 100% intact
****
The whole day passed in heavy silence.
Aurora’s pride refused to let her approach Kael herself, so she sent Kai and Rei once more.
The twin maids returned with the same answer each time — Kael would not come.
He kept claiming he was afraid for his life, repeating the excuse like a shield.
Elarion and the others decided to train in the palace grounds to distract themselves.
During the session, the heroines noticed something alarming.
Elarion, who had originally reached the Ascendant rank, had fallen to Elite.
Though his divine energy could still ignore some of the drop, the curse was clearly draining him more with every passing hour.
The next day arrived.
Aurora stood before the mirror in her private quarters, wearing a form-fitting mermaid gown sculpted to trace every curve before flowing outward near the legs.
The deep midnight violet fabric shifted between black and royal purple depending on the light, like a night sky just before a storm.
Layered sheer mesh panels and intricate floral embroidery gave the gown a subtle, almost living texture that caught the light in faint glimmers.
A high mandarin collar rose elegantly along her neck.
She bit her lip, sighing at her reflection.
Seriously, anyone would pray for a lifetime just to get a sight of me… but this bastard dares to reject me.
Hmph.
She walked outside, the gown moving with her like liquid shadow.
Elarion was just arriving at the same moment.
The moment his eyes fell on her, his breath caught sharply in his throat.
She looked breathtaking — regal, seductive, and painfully beautiful.
The gown clung to her body in a way that left almost nothing to the imagination, highlighting every graceful curve he had once dreamed of claiming as his alone.
“Beautiful…” he whispered, the word slipping out before he could stop it.
Aurora’s cheeks flushed at his words.
She asked cutely, “Husband… do I really look good?”
Elarion stepped forward and kissed her cheek with tender care.
“You are really beautiful, my Aurora. Just like a beautiful nightfall.” He pulled back slightly, his voice softening.
“But… are you going somewhere?”
Aurora’s eyes tensed.
For a brief second, she had forgotten why she had dressed up like this.
A wave of guilt washed over her, heavy and cold.
The thought of what she was about to do — dressing up to tempt the man she despised — made her stomach twist with shame.
“I’m… thinking of visiting Kael,” she said quietly, the words feeling wrong even as they left her lips.
Elarion’s expression changed instantly.
His sky-blue eyes turned cold, then filled with raw pain.
He looked down, jaw clenched tightly as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.
The image of Kael seeing her like this — seeing his promised wife dressed to seduce another man — stabbed through him like a knife.
Jealousy and shame burned in his chest, so fierce it made it hard to breathe.
Aurora noticed the change immediately.
“Husband, don’t think of this wrongly. My maids suggested I dress like this. If you don’t like it, I will change immediately…”
Elarion didn’t answer right away.
He simply stared at her, his sky-blue eyes dark with a storm of emotions he could barely contain.
The sight of her in that gown — the way it clung to every curve, the way it made her look both regal and dangerously tempting — twisted something deep inside his chest.
Jealousy burned hot and ugly, mixed with a heavy wave of shame that made his stomach turn.
He had once dreamed of seeing her like this for him alone.
Now she was dressing up like this… for Kael.
Aurora noticed the change in his expression.
She stepped closer, her voice gentle but laced with guilt.
“Husband… please don’t look at me like that. This isn’t what I want. But if refusing means you suffer more… I have to try.”
Elarion’s jaw tightened.
He looked away, fists clenched at his sides.
“I know,” he whispered, the words tasting like ash.
“I know it’s necessary. But that doesn’t make it any easier to watch you go to him dressed like this.”
Aurora reached up and gently touched his cheek, forcing him to meet her eyes.
“I’m still yours. No matter what happens in that room, I’m still yours. This dress… these clothes… they’re just tools. Nothing more.”
Elarion closed his eyes for a long moment, breathing slowly.
When he opened them again, the pain was still there, raw and visible, but he forced a small, strained nod.
“Go,” he said quietly.
“Before I change my mind and stop you.”
Aurora hesitated, her hand lingering on his cheek.
For a brief second, she looked like she might stay.
Then she stepped back, turned, and walked down the corridor toward Kael’s quarters, the midnight violet gown flowing behind her like a shadow.
Elarion watched her go until she disappeared around the corner.
Only then did he let out a shaky breath, his shoulders slumping as the weight of everything pressed down on him once more.
The scene shifted to Kael’s isolated quarters in a quiet, deserted corner of the palace.
Dork stood at the entrance, even more tense than the day before.
He paced back and forth, muttering to himself.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, he assumed the twin maids had returned once again.
He prepared to refuse them with the same excuse.
But when he looked up, his breath caught sharply in his throat.
Aurora stood before him in the midnight violet mermaid gown that clung to every curve of her body.
Her regal purple hair cascaded down her back, and her cold golden eyes gleamed with irritation.
The dress revealed just enough of her chest and thighs to make any man forget how to speak.
Before Dork could even open his mouth to greet her, Aurora’s silver aura flared.
With a casual flick of her hand, she hurled him against the wall.
Dork slammed into the stone with a heavy thud and slid to the floor, groaning.
“Why take your anger out on a side character like me…?” he cried pitifully.
Aurora ignored him completely and stepped inside.
Kael was in the middle of exercising.
Now that he knew he could grow stronger, he had started training his lean body with renewed determination.
Sweat glistened on his skin as he finished a set of push-ups and stood up, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.
Aurora stopped a few steps away, arms folded across her chest.
Her voice was icy.
Kael wiped the sweat from his face and offered a soft, innocent smile.
“Cousin, don’t you know me? How could I ever dare to reject your summons?”
Aurora’s eyes flashed with anger.
“Then what was that little show you put on yesterday, you little shit?”
Kael immediately stepped back and covered his face with both hands, his expression twisting into fake fear.
“See? How can I come near you when you keep releasing your aura like this? Don’t you know I’m just a mortal? One light slap from you could snap my entire existence.”
Aurora took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
“Kael, stop playing games and tell me what you want. If I really wanted to kill you, I would have done it long ago. What would I gain by killing a useless guy like you?”
Kael slowly lowered his hands.
Not so high and mighty anymore, are you, my dear cousin?
He thought.
He asked meekly, “Can I really say what I need?”
Aurora sighed, clearly irritated.
“Tell me.”
Kael’s lips curved into a small, dangerous smile.
“Let’s go on a date.”
A heavy silence filled the room.
Aurora’s aura exploded violently, silver energy crackling around her like lightning.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
“A date?” she repeated, her voice dangerously low and laced with pure disgust.
“Have you completely lost your mind?”
Kael didn’t flinch.
He simply wiped the last trace of sweat from his brow and offered that soft, innocent smile that always made her blood boil.
“Why not, Cousin? You want something from me. I want something from you. It’s only fair we make a proper deal, don’t you think?”
Aurora took a threatening step forward, fists clenched so tightly her nails bit into her palms.
“You dare speak to me like this? I came here dressed like this because of you, and now you want a date? You filthy—”
“Careful,” Kael interrupted gently, raising a hand as if to shield himself.
“I’m still fragile, remember? One wrong move and your precious hero might stay weak forever.”
He tilted his head, violet eyes gleaming with quiet triumph.
“I’m not asking for much. Just a proper date outside these palace walls, unlike you, I never allowed outside, just one date. You will dress nicely, walk with me, talk to me… treat me like a loving big Cousin for one evening. No rushing, no cold commands. After that, I’ll cooperate fully with the purification. No more excuses.”
Aurora stared at him in disbelief.
The humiliation burned deep in her chest, hot and suffocating.
She, the Crown Princess of Grandora, was being forced to negotiate with this worthless trash like some common whore.
The thought of parading around with him — smiling, pretending affection — made her want to vomit.
“You… are truly disgusting,” she spat.
Kael’s smile widened, soft and sweet on the surface.
“So? Do we have a deal, dear princess?”
A heavy silence stretched between them.
Aurora’s aura flickered wildly as she fought the overwhelming urge to crush him where he stood.
She thought of Elarion’s pained face, the curse slowly draining him, the way he had forced himself to let her come here.
Finally, she exhaled through gritted teeth, her voice barely above a whisper.
“…Fine. One date. But if you try anything disgusting, I will kill you myself — consequences be damned.”
Kael’s eyes sparkled with hidden delight.
He bowed his head meekly, though the corners of his mouth twitched with satisfaction.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, dear Cousin.”