Chapter 3

The wedding between Daryl and me shocked the entire Thornwick City.

It wasn't because it was extravagant. It was because it felt like a haunted funeral.

On the day of the wedding procession, instead of the traditional carriage, I told Daryl to bring me a coffin.

I said to him, "Marrying into the Splendor Palace is like stepping into a grave. I need to get used to it ahead of time."

Daryl played along perfectly. He not only agreed to my request but also had servants scatter chrysanthemums all the way to my home and replaced the wedding music with somber funeral dirges.

The people of Thornwick City all rushed out to watch the spectacle, pointing and whispering that Daryl had lost his mind, for his wedding was no different from a funeral cortege.

When it was time for the wedding ceremony, things got even more dramatic.

Instead of giving me a wedding gift, Daryl tossed a large bouquet of chrysanthemums at me right in front of the whole court.

His face was cold and hard as he ground his teeth and said, "Honey, take these flowers. May you go to your eternal rest soon. I will wait to hold your funeral."

I caught the chrysanthemums and instantly splashed a cup of wine straight in his face.

I said, "Thanks for being so generous, honey. You'd better start preparing a coffin for yourself sooner rather than later.

"I can see a dark cloud hanging over you, and a terrible misfortune is going to befall you tonight."

The hall erupted in an uproar.

The King sat at the head of the hall, his face turning green, and his wine cup trembled in his hand as if he might drop it.

Daisy and her sweetheart Archie Wilcox stood in the crowd, gloating at the chaos.

Daisy whispered to Archie, "Edith's truly gone mad. She actually cursed the Crown Prince right at her own wedding. No one can save her now."

I thought I had lost it too.

But the second the ceremony was over, something miraculous happened.

A young servant stumbled in and yelled, "Your Majesty, great news. A wall collapsed in that old abandoned treasury warehouse. And inside was a treasure stash from the last dynasty: ten thousand gold coins!"

Right after that, my maid burst in, looking like she had just seen a ghost.

She said, "Lady Edith, bad news. Wait, it's actually fantastic. Those shops of ours that were about to go bankrupt just got hit with a flood of orders.

"Someone bought out everything we had in stock, all to bring good luck to the wedding."

The King's wine cup clattered to the floor.

He stared at the chests of gold being carried in, then glanced at me and Daryl, his expression shifting in an instant.

"Th-This is a sign of good fortune," he said.

The King was so excited that his beard was trembling. "Daryl and Edith, you two fight fire with fire, and this brings you nothing but good luck."

Daryl and I exchanged a look. We both saw that familiar greed in each other's eyes.

This wasn't a wedding. It was a straight-up money grab.

Daisy's smile froze on her face, and Archie's expression looked as if he had just tasted something utterly foul.

They wanted to see us fail, to see us get ruined. But too bad for them, they had no clue what kind of game we were really playing.

That night was our wedding night.

There were no waves of passion, no sweet romance.

Daryl and I sat on the bed, surrounded by boxes of gold coins and stacks of promissory notes piled high between us.

We counted money until our hands cramped.

Daryl counted and cursed me at the same time. "Edith, you greedy witch, hurry it up."

I shot back, "Daryl, you worthless loser, you can't even handle counting this little cash. How did you ever become the Crown Prince?"

The nastier our insults got, the more rewards piled up outside.

Listening to the servants outside constantly announcing more good news, I couldn't help but laugh.

I said, "Everyone in Thornwick City is waiting for us to break up, but here we are, holed up in our room, counting cash till sunrise."

Daryl stuffed the last gold coin into the box, then shot me a look. "Honey, I spiked our wine with arsenic today."

I flashed a mischievous grin and pulled a pair of scissors from under my pillow. "Good move, sweetheart. I hid a hedgehog pelt inside my wedding robe."

After the wedding, Daryl and I officially launched our grand game of mutual sabotage.

Now that we were unbeatable in this household, it was time to look beyond and start stirring up trouble for everyone else.

Our first target? That so-called top scholar, Archie. In the original story, he was the male lead.

Archie was the classic archetype of the underdog who rises from humble beginnings. He had real talent, yet his moral character was truly a cause for concern.

At the Scholars' Banquet, Archie was full of himself, basking in his new fame as Thornwick City's golden boy. He had the guts to compose a poem mocking Daryl right there.

I can't remember the exact lines, but the meaning was clear: Daryl was worthless, didn't deserve his wife, and someone more worthy should step up.

Sitting next to Daryl, I was so mad.

Archie wasn't even trying to hide it. He was straight-up provoking Daryl, hoping to use him as a stepping stone to the top.

I was about to stand up and slap some sense into him when Daryl grabbed my hand.

"Hold on," Daryl whispered. "Let me handle the dirty work."

I blinked, then suddenly got it.

He was right. I cursed people, and they got rich. If I cursed Archie, I'd just be handing him a power-up.

This was Daryl's job. He praised people, and they got wrecked.

Daryl stood up, plastering on that fake smile that made me want to gag.

Holding his wine cup, he walked over to Archie, his eyes overflowing with admiration and appreciation.

Daryl said, "Lord Archie, this poem of yours is earth-shattering. Reading it, it's like a breath of fresh air and a sudden epiphany."

Archie was left speechless, and the whole hall froze.

Daryl grabbed Archie's hand in one swift move and shook it hard, speaking with deep and sincere affection. "Lord Archie is a true heaven-sent genius of wisdom.

"A gift like this belongs only to the heavens; it's a rarity one scarcely encounters on earth.

"I am certain you will grow to be the backbone of our kingdom, and the whole Muvaria Kingdom places all its hopes on you."

I covered my eyes, unable to watch.

That was way too savage.

Sure enough, as soon as Daryl finished his speech, Archie's face twisted.

He opened his mouth to speak, but not a single sound came out. It was as if his throat had suddenly been clamped shut.

Suddenly, there was a snap.

The belt holding Archie's jewel pendant broke without warning.

Before the entire court, with all the officials and royals staring, Archie's pants dropped to his ankles, exposing a pair of vivid red undergarments.

A stifled snort echoed through the hall.