Kaze no Stigma - Volume 2, Chapter Five - Fall part two - The price of Soul-

Aric Valerian, the fourth prince of the Valerian Empire, bears many titles: The Forgotten Prince, The Whore’s Child, The King’s Bastard—names that have been spoken more than his own. Born with a crippling illness and devoid of mana or ki, Aric was a disgrace, scorned by his family and the court. But when the gods cured him and gifted him the strength to fight, Aric dared to hope. He sought glory in battle, only to be betrayed by his brother and sent to die in a hopeless war. In his final moments, as death closed in, a mysterious text appeared before him… [Would you like to change your fate?] After being given another chance, Aric embarks on a ruthless journey to claim absolute sovereignty. [Ki Circulation Mastered: Strength +10] [System Upgrade: Advanced tactical planning unlocked] [Hidden Fortress Established: Stronghold security +15%] The forgotten prince claws his way through the treacherous landscape of imperial politics, he is forced to make impossible choices, each decision pushing him further down a path soaked in blood. He learns that true power demands sacrifice, and the price of vengeance may be his soul.

Despite being betrayed by her boyfriend, the neglected heiress Lariette Elsher is still forced to marry him – all because her family wants to appease the fake daughter. The one she was switched at birth with.Screw this! She's done playing nice!Devasted and enraged, Lariette seeks her friend's help – to pick the best man at her butler cafe to be her contracted husband.Enter Ruediger Alvord, infamously known as the poor outcast of the Alvord family, the Elsher's family nemesis. He proposes to be Lariette's partner-in-crime, to wreak havoc in both families.While Lariette is busy getting her revenge, she fails to notice her contracted husband's strange behavior. She also fails to recognize him from a distant past.Before>Ruediger: I have nothing much on my name but, I can be a good househusband.Lariette: It's okay. I can feed you.After>Ruediger: Do you want that house? It's nothing much. Only one billion.Lariette: Aren't you just... a househusband?Since when is her husband a billionaire?!

As soon as she transmigrated, Ding Yao became a mute that was kicked out by her stepmother! It’s okay, don’t panic. She had a fiance who was willing to pick her up. However, her fiance’s family had very bad luck. Today, someone got injured. Tomorrow, the chickens were dead. The day after, there was no more rice to eat…Ding Yao: “Have I been possessed by an unlucky god?” Seeing that her younger siblings were about to starve, Ding Yao’s naive and innocent fiance comforted her.

“It’ll be fine, Yaoyao. I’ll go hunting in the mountains tomorrow. I won’t let you starve.” Ding Yao glanced at his broken leg and knew that the credibility of his statement was low. If one relied on the mountains, the mountains would fall. If one relied on others, others would fall. Ding Yao rolled up her sleeves. Well then, let’s make fortune with our own hands! Thinking of the 21st century which she transmigrated from, she has superb medical skills. It was not a problem to treat illness and injuries.

Not to mention, she had a system which allowed her to have her own medicine field. It wasn’t a problem to get rich! Under Ding Yao’s leadership, her fiance’s family leaped from being the poorest family in the village to the richest in the country in only three years. The days got better and better, but those who looked for trouble also increased…One night, a familiar assassin dressed in black appeared. Ding Yao was in a daze and thought, ‘Do I deal with this with silver needles? Or poison needles?’ At this moment, her weak fiance stepped forward and pulled her into his arms to protect her. “Don’t be afraid, my darling! No one will hurt you while I’m here.” Ding Yao was confused. Then, she was shocked when her weak fiance kicked the black-clothed assassin. This man had pretended to be weak in order to gain the upper hand!

Ten years of marriage.Known since childhood.Yet, he felt he had never known her.What he saw was a loving and gentle wife. But what he heard about her from others had always been different.One said she married him for his money.One said she seduced a Prince behind his back.One said she spiked her sister and sent her to a man’s bed.One said she tortured the servants behind his back.One said…He had heard many such things but never believed anyone.Until one day, he saw how she scolded his brother, slapped his sister-in-law in the face, and pushed his nephew into the pool.He couldn’t take it anymore and asked for a divorce but she rejected to his face.Then he heard the news that she obtained the shares of their company and was about to overturn his brother’s position.“How did she turn into a scheming wife?” he asked, not really expecting any answers.But he got a chance. He woke up to the day he got married.He thought it was his chance to get rid of the woman from his life. He would save his brother and his family from his ‘wife’. He will get a divorce from her.But…Why couldn’t he get rid of this wife at all?Had she been so scheming all her life? Clearly not.In this life, he started seeing her life the way he had not seen before. From her perspective, she had shed tears without him knowing.He realized that he had been a bad husband all along.Suddenly his life changed from trying to divorce her to changing her ‘fate’.Who would win in this battle?Her fate of becoming a scheming woman? Or his determination and … love?