The Cursed Prince

Before Harlow could respond, the demon king had planted a deep kiss on her lips. It all happened so fast that the princess didn't have time to dodge nor to shove the man away. Her eyes bulged and she was dazed.

Fuck! Her first kiss was stolen just like that!!!!!

"Mmm... as sweet as ever," the demon king murmured when he let go of her lips and looked at her deeply. Something flickered in his eyes and for a moment, Harlow was charmed.

"Y-you...." When she finally found her voice, the princess could only speak in a stammer. "What were you doing???"

Raphael batted his eyes innocently. "I was showing you that my lips are not cold like you expected."

Harlow was rendered speechless. This man was too shameless, she thought.

"I never said your lips are cold, bastard!" Harlow murmured through gritted teeth.

She pressed her lips in shock. She really didn't know what to say. Her plan was to trick the demon king to get drunk and then find his secret chamber where he kept all his valuable magical artifacts.

However, it seemed she was the one being tricked into getting into bed with this shameless demon.

"Oh, then I have mistaken you, darling," Raphael pursed his lips. "I guess I am not that good with reading women's minds."

Harlow gave him a murderous glare. "No, apparently not."

"Shall I correct my mistake and redo the scene?"

"What do you mean 'redo the scene'? Don't spout nonse—" Before Harlow could finish her sentence, suddenly the chamber, everything around her turned into a spiral and disappeared.

POOF

Harlow batted her eyes in confusion when she found herself supporting the demon king's shoulders and they moved very slowly toward the bed. Just a couple more inches and they would be there.

The princess thought she was dreaming. Wasn't she in bed just now? Why was she standing here with Raphael and—

"By the way, I forgot I can actually teleport," Raphael muttered and snapped his fingers.

SWOOSH

Harlow's eyes bulged when she realized she was suddenly in bed again. The princess was now lying on the rose-petal bed and Raphael was on top of her.

Raphael grinned when he realized where they were and how his body was pressing on Harlow's.

"Wifey..." he called her with a husky voice.

Out of instinct, Harlow immediately pressed his lips with her palm.

"D-don't kiss me!" she threatened him. 

Raphael raised an eyebrow. "I won't. See? I fixed it and redo the unpleasant scene."

"So, you did it?" Harlow couldn't believe what she heard. So she was not crazy nor dreaming. She did experience the man turned back time for several minutes and... and as he said, redo the scene.

"Guilty as charged," Raphael replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

"How could you do that?"Harlow was dumbfounded. How powerful was this demon king that he could turn back time... just like that?

"Well... I learned some tricks from the Time Master,"  Raphael explained. "He owed me something and taught me this neat little trick."

Harlow thought this must be Raphael's modus operandi. He would go around and spread 'kindness' but it was just his way of making people indebted to him. Then, at the right moment, he would collect what was due.

She could imagine this so-called Time Master must not want to share his tricks willingly. Did Raphael also trap him into this just like he trapped Emmelyn?

"How far can you turn back time?" Harlow asked him, started feeling so intrigued. "Do you need any tools to help you... or can you just use your magic?"

"Well, I do have this," Raphael took out a small pendant from his pocket. "This item stored a small power from the Time Master. I could use his power to turn back time, not too long. Just for a few minutes."

It was a blue pendant, made of regular stone, there was nothing special about it. If other people saw it on the street, they would think it was a pebble and kick it.

"Whoa... this seems awesome," Harlow couldn't help but touch the pendant with curiosity. Before she could touch it though, Raphael had put it back in his pocket.

"Easy there, wifey. What is mine will be yours, when we get married," he said with a grin. "Shall we officiate our wedding tonight? Then you can take whatever you want to take from me. Not only this pendant, but also my body. They are all yours."

Right at that moment, Harlow realized that the presumptuous king's body was still on top of hers. She tried to push him away but he was too heavy. She was trapped under him, unable to move, which was weird because she didn't actually feel his weight.

Harlow realized that everything around her was manipulated by magic. This place held so much more magic than anywhere she had ever been.

"Well... that sounds like a good idea," Harlow said. When she saw the man's beaming face, she hastily added, "Not the part about getting married tonight... sheesh.... but the part that what is yours will be mine."

"Ah, you are a smart woman, I always know that," Raphael chuckled. "Of course, when a man and woman get married, they will share everything they have. That's the bare minimum. You shouldn't take a man who won't give you his everything."

Harlow looked at the man with a newfound appreciation. Raphael sounded decent when he spoke this way. Unfortunately, his method of getting a wife was less than stellar.

"Uhm... can you... I don't know, move away from my body please?" She poked his shoulder with a finger. "I would love to talk about what is it that you have and can offer me when we get married. I might be interested."

"Oh..." Raphael seemed to just realize that he was still on top of her. The man chuckled and moved up from her body with difficulty. "Sorry, wifey.... I think I was too drunk to realize where I was."