The Strongest Curse Master-Chapter 92: Rewards

Looking into those hypnotic eyes, Mandy felt half her anger evaporate, with the rest slowly fading as she became distracted by the warmth of his breath on her skin, the faint scent of him, and the way his tempting lips curled into a subtle grin—WTF! Noticing the grin, Mandy snapped herself out of her trance and shoot a glare at Ace. Fighting the urge to look deeper into his eyes and struggling to free her hands from his firm grasp, she roared, "Apologize! You jerk. Apologize for everything!"

"Alright, I’m sorry. And to show my sincerity, I now owe you two dates. Will you join me and Danny for dinner?" Ace promised, fully aware that Mandy wouldn’t let it go until she got something from him. She’d never cash in on the dates but would delight in holding them over him at every opportunity. She was an even bigger tease than Janice or Delores.

"First, let go of my hands."

Ace complied, freeing her wrists. Mandy rubbed at her cuffs, throwing another glare his way before adding, "Danny’s full and asleep. It’s just us. Let’s order room service. What do you want?"

"What’s wrong with trying the complimentary buffet?" Ace asked, wondering if he was the odd one for wanting to take full advantage of the free meal.

"I’m tired from dealing with Greg. That old fool doesn’t know when to give up. He’s lucky I agreed to buy his 25 acres for $800k. He would’ve taken a lower price just to secure the loan on such short notice. Anyway, I’m too exhausted to go out to eat. Let’s order in." Mandy brushed past Ace, heading to the minibar in the hall.

"Fine," Ace relented, realizing he didn’t feel like waiting alone in a buffet line and risking being the odd one out. Sure, he could sit at the bar, ignore the judgmental stares, and pig out, but he had plans for Operation Fortune Dive tonight.

Just as he was about to ask Mandy what she wanted to order, he noticed her at the minibar, grabbing as many nips as her two hands could carry. She closed the fridge door with her hip, spread the nips across the bar counter, and began chugging them one by one.

Sitting at the bar, Ace waited for her to finish before asking, "What happened?"

"Of course, I taught that old fool a lesson, just like I said I would. But then the old bastard had the nerve to ask me to resell him the entire 35 acres for cost or help him buy Lansky’s Orchard! I tried to do right by everyone, but he chose to be ungrateful and greedy. How dare he call me a scheming wench? Forget it—Janice will handle him," Drunk Mandy vented, reaching for another nip.

Before she could grab it, Ace caught her hand and held it down. "Let’s order something to eat first," he said gently. "Drinking this much on an empty stomach is dangerous."

"Nephew, be honest. What do you think about me?" Mandy asked, resting her hands on the counter and leaning forward, her gaze locking with his.

"Honestly? Meeting you after all these years, I could hardly recognize you. You’d become quite the tease. But over time, I’ve come to admire your skills. And eventually, I began to respect you—especially after seeing how content and considerate you are," Ace replied sincerely after giving it some thought.

Mandy could have continued earning millions if she had gone solo, combining her skills with Janice’s connections, but she didn’t. She chose to be content and retire. If not for helping her brother-in-law and teaching Greg a lesson for Hank, she wouldn’t have reentered that world. Mandy had many shades to her character, and Ace had grown fond of each one.

He was honest because he felt she needed to hear it after the ordeal with Gregory. Ace was certain that things with sly Greg hadn’t ended as easily as Mandy made them seem. Thankfully, Janice was overseeing the situation. Otherwise, Ace would never have forgiven himself for ditching Mandy if their meeting had escalated into something more serious or tragic.

"You sweet talker—you! I can’t trust a single word from those lips. Let’s order in," Mandy dismissed his remarks with a smile. However, she didn’t reach for the nips again, and her mood noticeably brightened. She even skipped over to the phone to call room service.

After a light dinner and some wine, Ace carried a drunk, fast-asleep Mandy upstairs to her room. Naturally, the wine had been Mandy’s choice to celebrate purchasing the 35 acres; Ace couldn’t touch a drop. Tucking her in carefully, he didn’t linger and headed to his own room to prepare for the night’s tasks while waiting for their parents to arrive.

Once in his room, Ace began preparations for Operation Fortune Dive. He instructed Emi to feed one of the mortal-rank gremlin curse cores to his toybox. Using his Apex persona for ten straight hours, combined with his prior curse energy consumption, had drained his reserves significantly. Ace planned to enhance his curse core with the gremlin core to level up and restore his curse energy reserves.

[ — Status screen —

> Using curse core (gremlin form) to enchant Toymancer’s curse core…

> Enhancement complete.

> Toymancer has gained,

i) +5 physical stats

ii) +5 spiritual stats

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.

iii) +70 curse energy

Note: Toymancer’s personal status screen has been updated.]

Just as Ace was about to check his new stats to see if his toybox had gained extra space, he heard the sound of the front door opening. It was their parents. They appeared to have had an excellent couples’ date, judging by the way they were buzzing with laughter and joy. Quickly, Ace dove under the covers, pretending to be asleep.

However, the laughter abruptly stopped.

"What the heck happened here?" Pam exclaimed, her eyes widening and jaw dropping in disbelief as she surveyed the chaotic scene.

"It looks like a garbage dump! Lobster shells all over the couch and floor, empty wine bottles on the dining table, and shooters scattered across the bar counter. Did they get drunk while we were gone? Ace, you’d better be asleep in your room!" Mary let out a dramatic gasp, throwing her hands up in frustration, her face a mix of anger and disappointment.

"No, no, this doesn’t look like Ace’s doing. These lobsters are clearly Danny’s mess, and the wine and nips are definitely Mandy’s. They pull this kind of stunt every vacation," Pam said knowingly. She understood her son and little sister too well to be mistaken.

"And I’m sure Ace tagged along. He’d better not reek of alcohol, or I’ll smother him in his sleep," Mary muttered, not disagreeing with her sister-in-law. She knew her son wouldn’t start trouble but wouldn’t hesitate to cheer it on.

"Ahem, honey, can’t this wait until morning? I’m feeling sleepy," Alwin interjected, darting his eyes toward their bedroom, clearly seeking his reward for being well-behaved all day. Dan, scratching the back of his head, eagerly chimed in, "Yes, Pam. I’m sure Mandy only drank in moderation. Besides, we’re drunk too."

Pam and Mary exchanged knowing looks, both recognizing exactly what their husbands were hinting at. After all, the men had indeed been gentlemen all day.

"Fine, honey. Let me check on Ace first," Mary relented.

"Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll be there after I check on the kids," Pam offered with a smirk.