Captured Hearts: The Substitute Bride's Gambit - Chapter 1 Lin Chuyi, You Are Under Arrest!

Theodora is the Queen of Polis, a city-state that lost the war against the most powerful empire in the continent.

She is sure that they'll execute her immediately but, somehow, she survives the meeting with the Emperor, and she finds herself... Married?

Tossed in a new world without connections and allies, she has to either accept her fate or lose the chance to help her people once again.

She soon finds out that her new husband knows more about her than she does herself, and that his purposes are often far from what she expects.

A fallen queen that doesn't know how to be anything else. A handsome Duke who's the cause of her ruin. And their efforts to find some happiness in a marriage that's been forced on them.

WARNING: there are contents not suitable for a sensitive audience.

The smut scenes are half-censored at the beginning, but the amount and details will increase after a few dozen chapters (according to the Queen's mood .-. )

***

«I'm sorry for lying to you, your grace...»

«You're a Duchess. No one will dare to consider your words a lie: if you say that you were painting souls, then it's the truth.»

«I will remember it.»

«No, you have to understand it, Theodora. You're not a prisoner, but my wife. I'll protect you when you need it, and I'll help you with any issue you have. You're not just a Duchess in the name. You're my Duchess.»

«It's hard to believe in such a short amount of time.»

«For now, stop shaking like a chicken. I won't hurt you.»

***

Su Li, an ordinary person who lived for 30 years, surviving on social welfare as a laid-back slacker.Occasional pointless complaining and self-defeating philosophical platitudes didn’t bring any meaning to his 30 years.Until he was transported to another world…Su Li, who had no elemental talent, Su Li, who was labeled as useless, lived an unremarkable life.One day, Su Li picked up a person in distress and told them: “The reason you think light is important is only because darkness pervades the world. When light fills the world, darkness will become important.”The Son of Light Saint who was betrayed by the Bishop of Light— He’s right!He is the sage who guides people forward, the signpost standing before the people, my faith, my everything!He is not a god, yet he far transcends gods.Su Li saved an injured mute bird. As birds sang outside the window, he told the bird: “The reason people like things that make beautiful sounds is only because they happen to understand that sound. Because of ignorance, there is no sin.”The Level 9 demon beast Raven, severely injured by the Mercenary Association:— All people are ignorant and foolish, thinking that ravens represent evil, even labeling me as a natural disaster. I hate humans the most, but he is the exception.If the world is what he wants, I too will aspire towards it.Su Li told his young friend who wanted to go to the big city to strive for success: “Moving upward is human instinct. If one day you fall due to reality, please don’t hate yourself.”The friend who eventually amassed enough gold coins to fill a city:I once thought that a child from a remote countryside would never understand everything I pursued. However, heaven blessed me, allowing me to witness true great wisdom…

He was only an ordinary Chinese youth. Because of the strong refusal of his soul, he unexpectedly arrived in this strange world. He ardently loved peace; yet, he had no choice but to become a Demon God. If cultivating to the peak could lose person’s human nature, then all living creatures will weep with grief, waiting to be slaughtered. Can he still remain calm after this? In the vast wilderness, a handsome youth carrying the wisdom of “Daodejing”, step by step would rise to prominence in this world. Condensing and cultivating his bloodline to the supreme. Controlling and commanding the rivers. Swallowing and spitting the sun…

Tl: 1.Daodejing also mean as “The classic of the virtue of the tao” was a book of dao by Lao tzu, a sacred text of Daoism.

- Description from Novelupdates

Heaven favors the strong and wealthy.Hex realized that the day he was thrown out of the cloister and into the slums. He vowed to become the baron and show what being strong meant.To forge his own destiny, Hex scavenged the mountains, braving the cold solitude with a smile. At last, one day, he gained his chance on the verge of life and death. Even then, society and Fate tried to interfere. Faced with death, his Will didn’t waver and he gritted through, forcing his Heart to awaken. The Stone Heart in his chest defied his destiny and helped him write his own.Emboldened by his Heart of Stone, he walked the path to his dreams. His dreams, however, threatened to put him in the middle of the crossfire between Powers that could destroy Earth and Sky. Hex couldn’t allow his dreams to shatter. So, he sought to destroy all those who threatened his dreams.Follow a young man on his quest to fulfill his dreams, even if it meant to destroy Heaven and Earth.