Rebirth: The unfavored Princess is the Tyrant King's favorite-Chapter 38: An act of true love

"You know a way to break the curse?" Luciana asked in shock.

"Before we talk about that, let me introduce myself," the cat said and stood on its hind legs, tilted its upper body at a 90-degree angle, and did a little curtsy; Luciana nearly giggled at how cute it looked.

’If it was in the 21st century, someone would mistake him as Puss in Boots, except that it was white and chubby,’ the author thought.

"I’m the one and only, Lord Algrith, the mighty king of all cats and the spiritual master of the holy beasts’ clan," he said grandly.

"Do all these titles mean you are the strongest cat on the entire Windermere continent?" Luciana asked, catching Lord Algrith off guard, and his little eyes became unfocused for a moment, darting here and there and looking like someone who had been caught lying.

"No, not in the entire Windermere continent," he admitted in an embarrassed manner. If not for his fur-covered body, he would have turned pink, blushing out of embarrassment.

"Were you lying just now?" Luciana asked.

"Who said I was lying? I used to be, but not anymore, thanks to someone who doesn’t even have any idea of what she caused," Lord Algrith said defensively in a cocky manner and turned its head to one side to ignore Luciana; it was as if he was throwing a tantrum.

"Are you referring to me?" Luciana asked, her mouth in an O shape, and added, "Are you saying I’ve something to do with you? I mean, with you becoming like this?"

"At least you have some self-awareness," Lord Algrith said and added in a tone full of self-mockery, "I can only blame myself for signing a life contract with you. Boy, the life of a contracted beast with a cursed master is not something anyone can endure."

"A life contract? What is that? I have never heard of something like that before," Luciana said.

"It’s a contract that binds both parties together until eternity. It was very common 2000 years ago, but the current Windermere continent is not what it used to be. It is because of the contract that I have been trying to get to you for about two centuries now, and today I finally succeeded," the cat said dramatically as if he was about to shed tears of joy.

"I remember you!" Luciana exclaimed.

"In my previous life, weren’t you the cat in the cold palace with me? I was wondering what a fat and well-fed, chubby cat like you was doing in a place like that," Luciana said.

"I’m happy my lady remembers me," Lord Algrith said as if he were on the verge of crying before adding in a stern voice,

"But I’m not chubby, and I’m not fat. Even though I look like this, I’m actually very strong and swift in my movements. I was the feared king of all cats, and I became like this because of your curse. You know about the cat family, right? Tigers, lions, leopards—name it."

Luciana nearly rolled her eyes. ’Was he trying to teach her what the cat family was?’

"I know about the cat family," Luciana snapped, wanting him to stop diverting from the main topic already.

"Also, that wasn’t the first time I tried to get your attention in your previous life, but I think that was the only time you noticed me, but you couldn’t even hear me or understand me," Lord Algrith said.

"I’m sorry about that. So tell me, is there truly a way to break the curse?" Luciana asked.

"There are no specific steps laid down for you to follow to break the curse, but after everything I’ve seen between you and the prince during my two thousand years, I have come to a realization. It would take an act of true love to break the curse," Lord Algrith said.

"An act of true love? A true love’s kiss, perhaps," Luciana asked skeptically; she could already tell she was speaking nonsense.

"This is no fairytale princess; a true love’s kiss might not do much in this situation. The love between you and the prince is not as strong as it used to be. Both of you have yet to experience the true power of sacrifice," Lord Algrith said.

"The power of sacrifice?" Luciana repeated.

"Yes, to love is to be willing to sacrifice for each other. Both of you were born with special abilities. Some may even call your abilities an anomaly, but when two powerful people of such nature come together, doubts begin to creep in. You begin to wonder if the other person chose you merely for love or because of your special abilities."

"And when doubts begin to creep in, it gives power to the darkness to manifest within one’s heart, corrupting it and making one imagine things that are not there but look real in your mind because you’ve given it the power to grow. And then it spreads, and if care is not taken to control the doubts and the darkness, they begin to take root and are difficult to get rid of. At the end, it causes irreversible damage."

"Okay, that was quite a long speech that I’ll try to understand later, but to be clear, do you mean to say you have no direct method of breaking the curse?" Luciana asked.

"I didn’t say that," Lord Algrith said and stretched lazily, yawned, and answered.

"I’m saying it would take an act of true love—sacrifice. How much are you both willing to sacrifice for each other? Would you be willing to give up your special abilities for one another and become vulnerable like an ordinary human, or let me ask this way instead: are you willing to become mere trash with no magical ability for him?"

Luciana nearly said yes but hesitated when the words reached the tip of her tongue. ’Could she really do that?’

It might seem easy at first, but Luciana knew that in the Windermere continent, it was the survival of the fittest.

If this question had been asked in her previous life when she was younger and had always been shielded in the palace with no knowledge of the outside world, she might have said yes in a heartbeat.

But after she began to sneak out of the palace and experience life outside, she realized just how disadvantaged those without any magical abilities were.

It was those who were strong or had something to show that were respected. In the Windermere continent, you could be killed by someone stronger for something irrelevant just because you were weaker than them.

And not forgetting her difficult life in the palace as a no-ability princess consort in her previous life because her flower ability was not impressive enough. Her mind went to the day Nicholas was finally named as the crown prince, and there was a celebration banquet to celebrate him.

Everyone was made to perform a special ability contest, and before she even had the chance to perform, the empress dowager’s voice rang out.

"You should step back and let those who have the ’special’ ability to do something worthwhile do it; you should try and not get in the way and make a fool of yourself."

She would never forget the snickers and mocking gazes of the people present as they stared at her. After seeing with her own eyes how people with super strength, people who can change the elements at will, and those who have control over fire, water, ice, and other amazing abilities were revered, it made her feel inferior.

And it wasn’t surprising she was a crown princess consort only in name with no proper respect from her subjects. She could only imagine how life would have been if she were to ascend the throne as empress beside Nicholas as "a mere trash," as they used to refer to her behind her back.

"Is sacrificing my ability the only way to break the curse?" Luciana asked Lord Algrith, her heart thumping at what his answer would be.