Chapter 1: The Curse of Love Glows Golden

Soft spring sunlight streamed through the windows on the afternoon just after the Royal Academy’s graduation ceremony.

Allen de Luminous, the second prince of Elysion, broke into a cold sweat in his private room.

—Now, my little Allen. Forget all about that talk of an engagement with such a brat. As your former tutor, I can understand exactly what you truly desire just by the slight trembling of your skin, you know?

Elizabeth, the First Queen, leaned back on the sofa and waved a folding fan with practiced grace. She was Allen’s step-sister and ten years older, but her eyes showed no warmth. Her wavy purple hair seemed to surround Allen, reminding him of a spider’s web closing in.

“Th-that’s not it, Elizabeth-nee-sama. I’m an adult now, and I have official duties to attend to…”

“An adult? Hehe, no. You are a fledgling who should be protected within my arms for the rest of your life. Yes, there isn’t the slightest need for you to ever leave your birdcage.”

Behind her, thick purple mana swirled slowly, a heavy sign of her dominance and obsession.

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, as if to push back against her dominance.

“Get your filthy hands off Onii-sama, you old hag!”

Princess Sylphi from the neighboring kingdom appeared. She was thirteen, five years younger than Allen, but the mana around her was just as strong as Elizabeth’s. Her silver twin-tails whipped through the air as she glared at Elizabeth with bright red eyes.

“Sylphi!? Why are you here too…?”

“Onii-sama! Come to my country with Sylphi, okay? I’ve had a very quiet underground playroom built, one with no windows or doors. If we’re there, we can play together forever, just the two of us, right?”

Bright red mana poured from Sylphi’s outstretched hand. This was the curse called “Monopolization,” cruel in its pure intensity.

“Allen is my doll. I won’t let a brat like you touch so much as a single strand of his hair.”

“Onii-sama is Sylphi’s treasure! If you get in the way, I’ll break you along with him, Auntie!”

The air seemed to groan. Allen, trapped between the power of the two mages, felt himself starting to lose consciousness.

Then, the worst possible thing happened.

“—Become mine (mine) right this instant!!”

Elizabeth unleashed the “Purple Chain Binding Curse” while Sylphi released the “Red Chain Monopolization Curse.”

The two different manas of “love” collided head-on right at Allen’s chest, leaving him with no place to run.

Normally, when different spelUsually, when different spells collide, they either cancel out or explode. But both Elizabeth and Sylphi were focused on Allen. Their manas mixed, swirled, and wrapped around him, starting to tighten.!”

He heard his bones creak. Suddenly, his view seemed to rise quickly, but it was actually the furniture around him growing larger.

A fierce flash of light filled the room, and when the light finally receded…

There, where the prince’s clothes had been cast aside, was a single “beast.”

It had golden fur as soft as silk, thick short limbs, and looked like a golden mascot similar to a red panda, but with a hint of something divine.

“…Oh? Allen, sweetie?”

“Eh… Onii-sama? You got so tiny…”

Elizabeth and Sylphi stood frozen in a daze.

Allen, now in the form of the golden beast, felt a wave of fear. The look in their eyes was not confusion, but something even stronger: a wild, maddening affection.

“My goodness… You’re so small, so adorable. Like this, I really can put you in a jewelry box and keep you by my pillow…!”

“Onii-sama, you’re so cute! In that form, Sylphi can keep you hidden inside her pocket forever!”

Both of them reached for Allen at the same time. Their fingers were just about to grab him, ready to keep him locked away forever.

(No. I have to run. If this keeps up, they’ll really turn me into an “object”!)

Allen jumped with all his might. In his new mascot body, he felt light. He kicked Elizabeth’s hand aside as she reached for him and scrambled onto the window frame.

“Wait, Allen! It’s dangerous outside!”

“I won’t let you escape, Onii-sama!”

Their screams and pursuit, Screams and magic bullets followed him as he jumped from the window into the courtyard. The drop was scary for his small body, but his golden fur caught the air and let him land gently, almost like a parachute.r.

“It’s a rare beast! A Golden Spirit Beast has appeared!”

“Orders from His Majesty! Do not harm it, capture it alive!”

Guards chased after him with nets and cages. Allen ran for his life.

He ran over cobblestones, slipped through hedges, and squeezed into drainage pipes.

(I’m the prince! I’m Allen! Won’t anyone realize it!?)

He tried to call out, but all that came from his mouth was a weak “Kyuu” sound. As the castle gates started to close, he squeezed through the gap, getting covered in mud.

He continued to run until the voices of his pursuers finally faded.

Allen realized he was at the entrance to the Twilight Frontier, a forbidden land in the center of the Spirit Continent where the kingdom’s laws held no power.

A forest shrouded in deep mist. It was a place where man-eating magical beasts and savage monsters roamed.

But right now, even this place seemed better to him than the castle’s prison of love.

However, his streak of bad luck continued.

The bushes rustled, and a huge shadow appeared.

It was a Lamia, a creature with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a woman. She looked hungry and sat slumped on the ground, her face pale. But when she saw the glowing golden Allen, her eyes lit up with a dangerous glint.

“…Oh. A rare catch. You look delicious… Or maybe I can get some money if I take you to the city?”

The Lamia’s hand reached out to snatch Allen. Allen tried to flee, but his legs gave out from sheer exhaustion.

(It’s no use, I’m going to be caught…)

It was at that moment.

A cold feeling ran down Allen’s neck. The “Chains of the Curse,” usually invisible, reacted to his strong emotions and began to glow purple and red.

“Eh…?”

The Lamia’s eyes widened.

Without Allen’s control, the two chains snapped out like whips, smashing another shadow behind the Lamia—a giant Wolf that had been stalking her.

THOOM!

The atmosphere trembled with the sound of the impact. The chains coiled back around Allen’s neck and quietly vanished.

“Did you… Save me?”

The Lamia girl stared at Allen in shock. Allen also trembled, realizing just how strong the “excessively heavy power of love” inside him was.

This was the start of the wild journey of the prince who would one day be called the “Fluffy King of the Frontier.”