"This kind of good luck seems even greater than Reynaud’s situation." Angel said in surprise.
"No need to compare, my story isn’t finished yet." The Observer, perhaps having gone a long time without normal social interactions, was eager to continue now that he found someone to talk to.
"When you hear the story up to this point, does it sound like a perfect story of turning one’s life around?"
Angel nodded; transforming from destitute to a wealthy tycoon family could indeed be called a reversal of fortune.
"But, this story isn’t truly perfect."
"Oh?"
"The only perfection belonged to Charles’ family, but Charles himself was the single blemish."
The Observer continued, revealing more truths about the story to Angel.
As the Observer mentioned, luck did exist but it did not extend to Charles. He was not fortunate; from the moment of his birth, misfortune started to follow him.
Even in swaddling clothes, Charles suffered from parental negligence, either falling off the bed or being scalded by boiling water.
These were mere minor misfortunes. Yet, as Charles grew, more misfortune befell him.
His wickedly venomous elder sister, married out of the family, would often steal food from him when Charles’ parents were farming. To prevent Charles from speaking out, she even forced him to drink juices of a paralytic herb. When their parents returned, thinking Charles had eaten, they wouldn’t give him more. Over time, Charles lost his ability to speak clearly, reduced to skin and bones from starvation.
Later, when the second sister learned of these deeds, she not only did not assist Charles but joined in cahoots. As Charles became emaciated, they maliciously accused him, saying he was cursed by the Divine, an unwanted outcast.
During this period, social stratification intensified, elite classes manipulated from behind the scenes, leading to pervasive illiteracy and anti-intellectual sentiment among the poor, with religion as the only authority outside the royal family. Charles’ parents, victims themselves of anti-intellectualism, easily believed the daughters’ words, estranging their own son Charles ever more.
Due to encountering several strokes of luck, the elder and second sisters further spread rumors that this divine favor came from disowning Charles.
Charles remained in his family as the despised one, while others grew ever luckier by freely tormenting him.
The humiliation piled upon Charles, paired with his deeply ingrained inferiority, meant he couldn’t resist nor even understand the term "dignity."
And thus a longer vicious cycle began.
Over a decade of abuse rendered his family’s luck utterly overwhelming.
The elder sister, vicious and cunning, noticed many details over the years. For instance, whenever she traveled far, her luck vanished, even at home if Charles wasn’t nearby, her luck returned to normal levels.
Though the elder sister didn’t know of the Transcendent, she realized vaguely that their good fortune was likely linked to Charles.
Yet, even understanding some truths indirectly, she did not treat Charles better, instead worsened the situation, treating him as livestock and imprisoning him.
While claiming ’divine grace’, she manipulated their parents into utterly revering her. Despite initial disbelief, with time she convinced even herself, growing ever harsher towards Charles.
The Observer paused here, asking Angel, "At this point, what do you think the ending is?"
"If following a script’s template, Charles’ family surely faces a backlash, ending tragically." Angel smirked, adding, "Yet my first Mentor taught me fairy tales need only their first half read; usually the author’s first-hand experiences shared, with later developments woven dreams patching reality’s regrets. Scripts akin to fairy tales merely please readers’ preferences; the true ending lies beneath the facade of... tragedy."
The Observer nodded, "Your Mentor was right, but whether tragic or fairy-like, it depends on your perspective. If experienced as Charles’ family, it is clearly a fairy tale. If as Charles, then the opposite."
"Because Charles’ ultimate ending, as you mentioned, isn’t pleasant."
In the elder sister’s scheming, Charles ended up isolated, dying from an infected whipping wound unnoticed, in a corner of their lush household’s dog cage.
As for Charles’ family, they did not face severe retribution.
Only shortly after Charles’ death did a cloud of misfortune briefly linger. Eventually, after discarding his body in the cemetery pit beyond town, the misfortune naturally dissipated.
However, with Charles gone, their absurd good luck also vanished, leaving them with normal fortune, which mattered little since their wealth deepened, even buying nobility titles; provided they don’t sabotage themselves, their legacy shall endure.
"Is this the story’s end? Quite a truthful one," Angel remarked, "but surely there’s more to it?"
The Observer smiled, nodding, "Indeed, Charles’ tale has ended, yet his influence profoundly affected, even leading to a Legendary Wizard’s encirclement, compelled to adapt hopelessly to an item of chaos and losing his life."
"Guess why that happened?"
Angel pondered deeply.
His thoughts not on the question, but the story reminded him of another matter.
Lucas’ Lies.
Lucas wove numerous falsities into a journal, depicting absurd tales like tears forming a Sea of Flowers, eternal clear waters in Devil’s Sea, towering terrifying Island Spirits, glowing Wish Tree... all initially untrue and non-existent.
Yet after Lucas’ death, these lies materialized one by one. Although some barely manifested, they are still astonishing.
After thorough investigations, Angel confirmed the truth.
Lies remained lies, but through Lucas’ lips became reality. And Lucas’ lips bore not any "prophetic" talent, but... a Mysterious Object.
Lucas’ case and Charles’ story, while unsubstantial, shared hidden parallels.
Pondering these disparate events, an answer quietly surfaced in Angel’s mind: "Is it a Mysterious Object?"
The Observer raised an eyebrow: "Your intuition is sharp. Yes, it is a Mysterious Object."
The Observer continued with Charles’ story, though this one no longer concerned him, rather after his death.
After Charles died, his body quickly decayed, and suppressed misfortune began to dwell in the cemetery.
Anyone who entered the cemetery area found themselves afflicted with misfortune upon leaving, ranging from minor losses of wealth to severe instances of death.
The locals thus called it the "Misfortune Cemetery."
The cemetery’s reputation grew; a Wizard Family went to investigate but failed to retrieve any Apprentice sent therein. Reporting to nearby Wizard Organizations, they assumed any relation of misfortune to Cursed Wizards, dispatching a branch to handle it.
Thereby, a Cursed Wizard was sent to the Misfortune Cemetery for examination.