Chapter 026: Breaking the Curse

Belle was displeased and said, “What makes you say my father is a thief? My father is an inventor, not a thief at all.”

She had initially felt some sympathy for the beast before her—a prince who had been enchanted into a beast.

But after hearing Wang Bo say he was irritable, harsh, and arrogant, her sympathy had faded somewhat.

Now, hearing him call her father a thief, Belle suddenly felt no goodwill toward the beast, and even couldn't help feeling a bit of “serves him right.”

If you weren't so bad-tempered, how could you have been cursed by the witch and turned into a beast?

The beast, unaware of Belle's thoughts, opened his bloody maw and said, “Why isn't he a thief? He stole my rose without my permission.”

Rose?

Belle suddenly remembered that before her father left, he had asked what gift she wanted, and she had said, “A rose, just a single rose.”

She never imagined that because of that one rose, her father would be caught by this ferocious beast.

Belle's heart filled with sorrow and guilt, and she felt even less fondness for the beast. At the same time, an indescribable absurdity arose.

“Just because of a rose, you captured my father?”

“That was my rose,” the beast said, not groveling before Belle just because she was beautiful, but arguing his point. “He took my rose, so he is a thief.”

“But it was only a rose.”

“Belle.” Just then, Wang Bo spoke up, stopping their endless argument, and said softly to Belle, “Belle, you need to understand something.”

“What?” Belle was puzzled.

“In this society, royal power is supreme. In your eyes, it's just a rose, but in this prince's eyes, not to mention a rose, even a handful of dirt from his palace would not be given to so-called commoners.”

Wang Bo said with a sarcastic smile, “In their view, everything in their home is precious and cannot be touched by anyone, even a rose. That's exactly why this stingy prince refused the witch's request for shelter and got cursed, isn't it?”

The beast felt like beating the bastard to death right then—didn't he know not to hit below the belt?

Wang Bo continued, “You must have noticed on your way here: this is actually a prince's palace. Though it's now abandoned, its owner still lives here.”

“Belle, even though you're a country girl, you should know what happens to someone who breaks into a royal palace to steal, even if your father only took a rose.”

“But in this prince's eyes, the nature of the matter hasn't changed.”

Belle fell silent. Yes, even as a country girl, she knew that stealing from a royal palace was a capital offense.

Even the boldest thief wouldn't dare do such a reckless thing.

“But my father is innocent.”

“Yes, Belle, I believe you.” Wang Bo comforted Belle, but his gaze involuntarily turned to the beast prince. “I want to take Belle's father away.”

“He committed theft; he is a thief,” the beast reminded him.

Wang Bo said, “Actually, I could take Belle's father by force, and you couldn't stop me. But I'm not unreasonable. I'm willing to make a deal with you.”

“What deal?” The beast, guessing something, asked eagerly.

“I can break the curse on you. You return Belle's father to us,” Wang Bo said.

“Of course, of course I can,” the beast said excitedly. “If you can break my curse, I will not only release that thief but also reward you with everything I have, kind sorcerer.”

To break the curse, he would spare no effort and make heavy promises.

Fortunately, Wang Bo didn't take it seriously. A man's mouth is a liar's trap—Wang Bo knew that well. Moreover, these princes and kings well-versed in politics were no good.

Words of gold, promises of kings—all nonsense.

As long as the price was high enough, these people would swallow their own words on the spot.

So he said calmly, “Alright, release Belle's father.”

The beast agreed at once and led Wang Bo and Belle to the cell where he had imprisoned the thief, Belle's father.

Seeing his daughter before him, Belle's father was both shocked and angry, shouting at the beast, “Why? Why did you capture my daughter? I was the one who stole your rose; it has nothing to do with my daughter.”

The beast opened the cell and let Belle's father out.

Belle's father was bewildered.

Belle quickly went up, hugged her father, and explained to him in a low voice.

The beast said, “Now, I have released the thief. You should fulfill your promise and break my curse, sorcerer.”

As he spoke, his heart was filled with anxiety, because he didn't know whether this sorcerer could break his curse and restore his original form.

After all, in his mind, the witch was powerful and evil.

Could a sorcerer really break his curse?

He didn't know, but now he had no choice but to try.

“Alright.” Wang Bo was not one to break his word. Since the other had released Belle's father as agreed, Wang Bo began to gather his magic to break the curse on the prince.

But when Wang Bo attempted to break the prince's curse, he was astonished to find that the curse's strength exceeded his expectations.

Forcibly breaking it would not be something that could be done in a short time.

So Wang Bo increased his magical output, found the source of the curse, and began to forcibly break it.

On the way to the cell, Wang Bo had learned from the beast prince about the curse. When the witch had cast the curse on the prince, she had said, “As long as the prince finds someone who truly loves him, he can break the curse.”

So there were two ways to break this kind of curse.

The first was to fulfill the curse's condition: find someone who truly loves the prince, and then the prince's curse would naturally be lifted, turning him back from a beast to his original form.

The second method was what Wang Bo was using now... forcible breaking.

Using greater power to directly shatter the curse on the prince.

Fortunately, the witch who cast the curse on the prince was not as powerful in magic as Wang Bo, so after Wang Bo increased his magical output, the curse gradually wore away.

A few minutes later, the curse was forcibly broken by Wang Bo.