Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince named Duck. He possessed a beauty akin to a sculpture crafted by the hands of the gods. Both men and women envied Prince Duck's looks, including the woman he desired. However, she was smart enough not to reveal her true feelings towards the prince, as she coveted his wealth and throne.

Prince Duck never cared that this woman was merely a commoner, without any noble status or wealth, living in a shabby cottage. He loved her with a pure heart, but he did not know that she did not love him back.

The two often met by a distant and beautiful lakeside. They would spend their afternoons together until the sun set, discussing their future. Naturally, the futures they envisioned were vastly different.

"Lily, I have to marry a foreign princess as my father arranged for me when I was a child. I can no longer be with you..."

Prince Duck said to his lover one afternoon, his voice filled with sadness.

"Why? Have you stopped loving me?!"

Lily asked sharply, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Never! I could never stop loving you. Even if the world were to crumble before my eyes tomorrow, I would still love you,"

Prince Duck said earnestly, gently wiping the tears from Lily's fair cheeks with both hands.

"Then why are you leaving me to marry that princess!"

Lily complained, pushing his hands away and walking to the lakeside.

"It's necessary. Our kingdom cannot match the power of her kingdom. If I refuse, her father will send an army to destroy us!"

Prince Duck tried to explain to his lover, but Lily seemed unwilling to listen.

"It's time to return to the castle, Your Highness!"

Prince Duck's loyal guard reminded him, seeing that the sun was nearly set and the prince showed no signs of leaving, still trying to console Lily, who stood with closed eyes and lips moving as if reciting something.

"Sigh... Lily, I must go now. Come meet me here tomorrow, and I will explain until you understand. No matter who I marry, the one I love and hold in my heart is only you,"

Prince Duck said sadly, unable to make his beloved understand his necessity.

"I do not want your love..."

Lily said softly, causing Prince Duck, who was about to mount his horse, to turn back in confusion.

"What did you say, Lily?"

Prince Duck asked, puzzled. Lily smiled sweetly and repeated her words, emphasizing each syllable clearly.

"I – do – not – want – your love!"

"Lily!"

Prince Duck recoiled in shock, seeing the malicious glint in Lily's eyes. It was as if the sweet Lily had vanished, replaced by someone who looked like her but was cold and terrifying. She quickly threw some ash-colored powder at the prince, and everything went dark...

"Are you awake?"

These were the first words Prince Duck heard, though he could not yet open his eyes.

"Lily, is that you? Where am I?"

He asked, trying to lift his weak body.

"Same place, Your Highness. You fainted,"

Lily replied sweetly. When the prince looked around, he saw he was indeed still by the lakeside.

"Lily, something's wrong with my hands... Ah!"

Prince Duck exclaimed, seeing his hands had turned into wings. He quickly stood and ran to the lake to see his reflection, finding his body had shrunk, his legs were short, and he waddled like a duck.

"Nooooooo!"

Prince Duck screamed when he saw his reflection on the water's surface. He had turned into a large duck wearing a green and white striped scarf, which used to be the color of his royal garments. A small golden crown adorned his head.

"Hehe, I wonder if that princess would still want to marry you knowing you've turned into a duck?"

Lily said sweetly, though her tone was filled with malice.

"Why, Lily? Why would you do this to me?"

The prince asked in confusion. He could not understand why the woman he saw as so kind and lovely would hide such wickedness.

"I'm saving you, Your Highness. Now, you don't have to marry someone you don't love. Hehe,"

Lily laughed nonchalantly.

"I don't understand. You know that if I don't marry her, my kingdom might fall. Why did you do this to me!"

Prince Duck asked, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Go! Go back to that princess. If she rejects you, I'll lift the curse immediately, and we can marry and be together as we promised,"

Lily said, raising her voice to drive the prince away. Heartbroken, he walked back to his castle, crying.

"Oh, I forgot. I should make your voice sound like a duck's too!"

Lily snapped her fingers after Prince Duck, who was walking away in tears.

The next day, Princess Anna arrived at Prince Duck's castle. She was as beautiful as a fairy. Prince Duck, in his duck form, hid in the castle's shadows, too ashamed to let her see him.

"Little duck, why are you sitting here looking so sad?"

Princess Anna asked kindly. The prince was startled and hurried away, but the princess followed him.

"Why are you following me, quack!"

Prince Duck asked irritably and sadly.

"Wow! You can talk, little duck?"

Princess Anna exclaimed in surprise. Her attendants laughed at the sight and sound of Prince Duck, but Princess Anna did not join in their laughter.

"Go away, quack!"

Prince Duck walked away again, feeling humiliated. He wanted to drown himself out of shame.

"Your Highness, there you are!"

Prince Duck's loyal guard rushed over to the large duck, causing Princess Anna and her attendants to stand in stunned silence.

"W... what did you call that little duck just now?"

Princess Anna asked in disbelief.

"This is Prince Duck, Your Highness. He was cursed by a wicked witch and turned into a duck,"

the loyal guard explained, feeling guilty for being unable to help his prince.

"That's right, quack! I turned into this ugly duck. Do you still want to marry me, quack!"

Prince Duck shouted at Princess Anna, his voice loud but filled with pain and sorrow.

"...I, I will marry you, Your Highness,"

Princess Anna said softly but firmly after a moment of silence. She looked into Prince Duck's eyes, which were wide with astonishment at her answer.

Prince Duck blushed deeply, while Princess Anna giggled softly to ease the tension. The prince now knew who truly cared for him. Even in his ridiculous state, Princess Anna never laughed at him and was willing to marry him despite his curse.

"It sounds like a happy ending,"

Draco said, handing another flavored bone to Firetail.

"Exactly. Why are you still sitting here sulking?"

Oliang asked.

"It would have been great, quack! If Lily hadn't shown up and kidnapped Princess Anna and then disappeared, quack!"

The Ugly Duckling Prince responded irritably, recalling the past. Since he had turned into a useless duck, he could not protect Princess Anna.

"So, what did you do, Your Highness?"

Kimhant stopped writing and asked.

"I chased after her, quack! But as you can see, with these short legs, I couldn't keep up. When I arrived on this island, both Lily and Princess Anna were gone, quack. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find them, quack,"

the Ugly Duckling Prince shook his head, helplessly. Not knowing where he could find Lily and Princess Anna.

"Do you want us to help?"

Chang Long, who had been quietly listening, asked. The Ugly Duckling Prince looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Player Chang Long has received a special quest: Hunt the Witch. The quest conditions are to help Prince Duck find the witch Lily and Princess Anna. Then, you must kill the witch to restore Prince Duck to his original form. This quest has no time limit..."

The system's voice made Chang Long's eyes widen as she looked at the Ugly Duckling Prince in disbelief.

"A special quest? Everything you told us is true!"

Chang Long asked skeptically.

"Of course it's true, quack. You've been listening to my story without believing it, haven't you, quack!?" The Ugly Duckling Prince shouted at Chang Long irritably, as she had been teasing him the whole time.

"Yeah... I thought it was a bedtime story."

Chang Long replied seriously.

"Darn it, quack! Why does someone like you have to accept my quest, quack!"

The Ugly Duckling Prince hissed angrily. It was rare for anyone to be interested in his story, and it turned out to be someone who constantly teased him and did not believe a word he said.

"What kind of quest? Can we help too?"

Siegfried asked, interested.

"Yes, quack. Just have her form a party and then request to join, quack!"

The Ugly Duckling Prince replied, sounding a bit resigned.

"Huh? How did you know Chang Long is a girl?"

Wet Trash Can asked in amazement.

"What? Chang Long. I mean, Master is a girl?!"

Kimhant, who had been busily writing notes, looked up in shock. He shouted in surprise, staring at Chang Long in disbelief.

Chang Long looked annoyed as Kimhant continued to stare at her in shock. She had a face as beautiful as an angel, but a demeanor tougher than any man. Anyone would naturally assume she was a man because there were plenty of men who looked like women, but women who looked and acted like men were much rarer.

"Do you want to die, Kimhant? Stop staring."

Chang Long scolded when she saw that Kimhant was still staring at her, stunned.

"S... sorry, I was just surprised. Your name sounds like a guy's, and your behavior is so rough. I thought you were a man,"

Kimhant apologized and returned to his notes, still puzzled.

"I've been meaning to ask, how did this journalist from the Journalists Association end up with Chang Long?"

Oliang asked curiously, because earlier, Chang Long had seemed too angry to coexist with Kimhant.

"Exactly, and he calls Chang Long master just like Kitsune,"

Wet Trash Can said, also feeling curious.

"I'm not part of the Journalists Association anymore. They took advantage of me. Now, I'm Master Chang Long's subordinate. I have freedom, and everything is so interesting,"

Kimhant replied cheerfully, surprised by how enjoyable being free from the association was.

"Speaking of Kitsune, where is he? Chang Long came here with Kitsune, right?"

Draco asked, because Kitsune was usually always with Chang Long, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

"He's right there,"

Kimhant pointed to the three-tailed fox who was tilting his head, listening intently to their conversation.

"Huh!"

Everyone looked where Kimhant pointed and exclaimed in surprise.

"That's Master Chang's pet. Are you making this up!"

Peach Blossom asked Kimhant with a skeptical expression.

"Wait! Does anyone know what Chang Long's pet is named?"

Oliang asked. Though he felt doubtful, he found it hard to believe. The game never allowed players to transform into beast or vice versa.

"His name is Kitsune,"

Kimhant answered again. This time, everyone's jaws dropped except for Siegfried, who had already heard about this from Goddess Veritas.

"What do you mean, Chang Long? Did you name your pet after your lover?"

Wet Trash Can asked in shock, not expecting the seemingly cold girl to have such a romantic side.

"You named your pet after your lover? You must really love him."

"Who's my lover now?"

Chang Long asked, amused. She had only been playing the game for a few days, and suddenly she had a lover she did not know about.

"Kitsune,"

Oliang replied, looking puzzled by Chang Long's amusement.

"Yes, don't pretend you don't know, Chang Long. We all know you two are a couple,"

Wet Trash Can said seriously, looking at Chang Long with a hurt expression, not expecting her to hide something so small from them.

"Are you all crazy? Kitsune and I are not a couple,"

Chang Long laughed lightly as she replied, wondering what made these people think that. She could not see how she and Kitsune seemed like a couple, no matter how she tried to think about it.

"That's right. There's no way Master Chang could be lovers with that guy,"

Peach Blossom quickly chimed in, clearly displeased that everyone thought Kitsune was Chang Long's lover instead of herself.

"Why not?"

The three guys asked simultaneously, even the Ugly Duckling Prince and Kimhant, despite not knowing much about the situation.

"Well... that's because the human form of Kitsune and the three-tailed fox sitting there are the same person,"

Chang Long explained, tapping her little dog's forehead twice affectionately.

"What! Quack!"

Everyone exclaimed loudly, even the Ugly Duckling Prince. The owner of the restaurant they were chatting at jumped in surprise. Chang Long gestured toward the three-tailed fox, who barked cheerfully.

"So, should we keep talking about this, or discuss the sad story of the Ugly Duckling Prince instead?"

Chang Long suggested. Everyone understood that it meant she would not answer any more questions about this topic. But at least the mystery about Chang Long's supposed lover was cleared up, even if they were still curious about how her three-tailed fox could transform into a human.

-----

Read 'Adventure World Online (AWO)' before anyone else with more chapters at https://www.jinovel.com/en

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.