Chapter 22: The man is still exerting his strength

To be honest, Tina originally didn’t plan to read erotic novels aloud.

Because it felt kind of weird.

But after she started, she realized that Princess Lia didn’t react as expected. Instead, she gave praise:

“This book’s writing is pretty good. Let’s stick to this kind of story from now on.”

“Um……….. okay.”

Tina wasn’t sure if Lia was deliberately making things difficult for her. It was hard to imagine someone caring about the plot of an erotic novel rather than the blood-pumping content.

But since Lia said so, Tina had no choice but to grit her teeth and keep reading them in the future.

“Go to sleep, go to sleep.”

That night, Tina didn’t sleep well.

She kept feeling like someone was groping her in her dreams, but she had no proof.

***

The next day, just as Tina wanted to get out of bed, her legs suddenly went weak the moment they touched the floor.

Unable to dodge in time, she fell forward and bumped loudly against the cabinet.

Princess Lia was awakened from her pleasant dream and, looking around, found Tina had already disappeared from her side.

“What’s going on?”

She quickly leaned over and saw Tina writhing in pain on the floor.

“Your legs… don’t move!”

Lia lifted Tina’s lower leg and examined it carefully. Her previously calm face instantly darkened.

That indescribable feeling of terror made Tina know things weren’t good.

She was done for—there was no hiding it anymore.

“What happened to your legs? Why has it gotten so bad?”

“Um, it’s still the Curse. It never really healed.”

“Ah…” Lia sighed deeply. Tina braced herself for a scolding.

But Lia only picked her up and put her back on the bed.

“Can you still walk?”

“Seems like… no.”

“I see…” Lia fell into a rare silence. “It’s all my fault. I dragged you into this.”

“It’s not what you think, Lia. I truly wanted to help you. This kind of thing isn’t a big deal. Just because I can’t walk doesn’t mean I can’t live.”

Tina thought she was right. If she’d never experienced disability before, she might have broken down emotionally or even wanted to die.

But—her situation after transmigrating was far worse than losing the use of her legs. She had only lain in bed waiting to die.

Compared to before, she could accept this now.

Sitting in a wheelchair, she was still a normal person.

But Lia didn’t see it that way.

That time in the cave, Tina had said everything would be fine, and Lia chose to believe her, not overthinking it.

Now, being told it was all a lie crushed her.

Tina had known from the start she would be crippled by the Curse.

“Are you kidding me… If I’d known this would happen, I never would have let you save me. How could you sacrifice yourself like that?”

Faced with Lia’s repeated accusations, Tina had no words.

“It’s your indifferent attitude, your endless tolerance, that makes me feel guilty, Tina.”

Lia lowered her head, her voice choking. “Even if you just blamed me once… why would you go to such lengths for me…”

“Lia, my answer hasn’t changed: because it’s worth it. Have you thought about how I’d feel if I didn’t save you and watched you die before me?”

The answer was obvious.

“I’d be heartbroken too. So, both emotionally and logically, saving you was the best choice. At the same time, I hope you don’t dwell on this too much.”

“Alright then…” Lia finally relented a little, clinging to her like a kitten and holding her tight. “I’ll find a way to fix this for you. Wait for me. When you recover, we’ll get married, okay?”

“Mm, don’t worry. With my bad leg, besides you, Lia, there probably won’t be anyone else who’d want me.” Tina teased.

“Don’t say that! Can’t you take better care of yourself?” Lia lightly punched Tina’s chest twice.

“Okay, okay. How about this—I’m now a princess locked in an evil tower, waiting for a brave knight to come and defeat the villain and bring me home. Isn’t that more fun?”

“Boring!” Lia got off the bed. Soon after, she had a maid bring in a wheelchair.

“Try it first, see if you can move normally.”

Tina sat down with her hands supporting herself. It felt no different from a modern wheelchair, except it had magical propulsion, making it easier to use.

“By the way, who invented this? A genius.”

“Hmm… Rune Daniels made it.”

“Ah?!”

“He usually likes tinkering with stuff like this, even if most of the time it’s unnecessary.”

Tina couldn’t help but admire him.

That man was offline but still pushing forward?

Looks like she needed to visit him. Maybe she could help improve it.

“If you’re done here, I’m heading to the library to look for information.” Lia pinned her hopes on the kingdom’s collection of tens of thousands of volumes. Maybe there was a way to remove the Curse.

“If you get tired, remember to rest. Don’t wear yourself out.”

Tina’s current condition meant she couldn’t help much, so she just supported Lia from behind.

—Although this Curse, released by the Archbishop, was most likely irreversible, and Tina would probably have to stay in the wheelchair for the rest of her life.

***

After they parted, Tina pushed the magical wheelchair to its maximum speed and sped all the way from the palace to the maids’ quarters, startling quite a few people.

You have to admit, this vehicle Rune invented was almost like a motorcycle.

Under the disdainful gazes of the crowd, Tina finally stopped on the small path in front of the attic.

A silver-haired maid noticed her and walked over, looking exasperated.

“Huh? Why are you sitting in my wheelchair?”

“Hehe, I injured my legs saving Lia, so I’m using it now.”

“Ah—fine, I forgive you. But next time, don’t be so blatant about it, okay?”

Rune didn’t want to get scolded even after ‘death’.

“Anyway, how do you feel now? Getting used to this body?”

“Pretty satisfied.” The maid lifted her skirt and spun around as if showing off her agility.

Unbeknownst to her, this kind of move made Tina almost lose it.

How could she accept being a girl so quickly? And dress so well?

“Hey, I’m saying, you haven’t secretly wanted to be a girl for a long time, have you?”

“Tch, don’t slander me. It’s those maids pestering me every day—dressing me up, making me rate outfits—that turned me into this.”

What Rune didn’t realize was that, with the influence of the body and the environment combined, even her posture when denying it looked very feminine.

“But speaking of which, Everett met me once before and hasn’t come back since. I wonder why.”

Everyone was supposed to be bros, so why didn’t he come help when his friend was in trouble?

“Good question. When I have time, I’ll take you to find him.”

Tina felt like there was a juicy story coming.