Of Arms and Arcane - Chapter 168

Kwan Dae-ha.

[Mature Content:]Alaric was too close to Nicolette.Her mouth was just inches away from his.He could smell the lavender on her skin, the heat radiating from within her.But he held back, refusing to be carried away by her charm…“Mr. Allens…” she purred, and he looked down at her.Her eyes widened with desire, and he knew, in that moment, that if he wanted to kiss her, she would let him.The last thing he wanted was commitment. He knew that Nicolette didn’t want that either.But why was she this tempting?So willing?It was that willingness that confused him.She blinked, then swallowed as she pulled the jacket off her shoulders. His eyes lingered on her exposed neck.God.He just wanted to bury his mouth in that hollow spot.“Here,” Nicolette said calmly, extending the jacket to him.He took the jacket, his hand brushing hers just a second. She flinched, her face turning pink as she clutched the towel against her chest.His stomach flipped at the sight.If only that towel would give way to…Before he could stop himself, Alaric pressed his arousal against her stomach, pushing her against the wall, cornering her.She gasped at the sudden movement and for a moment, he lost his mind.“Cole…” he breathed, crushing himself against her.Her eyes gleamed with desire and a vulnerability that rocked him to his core.He would be foolish not to give in to this feeling.But he would also be a fool if he did.She had chosen to marry him.Not her boyfriend.And definitely not Lucian Crawford.Yet, he couldn't help it.She was only his for a year.But still…***************When her business and the gallery she inherited from her mother burn to the ground, Nicolette Voss is determined to rebuild—and get revenge on her father.She turned to her father’s rival, Alaric Allens, for an alliance.Alaric is willing to help, but on one condition—she must be his wife for a year.They called him Ruthless Alaric after an infamous incident 6 years ago. Alaric is back in town, and so are the crumbs of his past. But he is determined to change everything with a wife.He has his hidden agenda.She needs her revenge.But will this marriage between storm and steel survive the heat? And what will they do when deep secrets threatens to destroy them both?

At the age of ten, Jiang Qi had black hair, shallow pupils, and a pale, delicate appearance. He often got injured, with blood flowing from his head. He was the son of a ‘notorious’ mu*derer in Chen Kong Alley, and people cursed him, saying that he had vile blood running in his veins. Except for Zhi Qi, no one paid him any attention.Zhi Qi often cried while bandaging his wounds, her voice soft as she asked, “Why do you always get hurt? Does it hurt a lot?”Jiang Qi smiled, the cold and rebellious boy appearing particularly obedient in front of her: “If you comfort me, it won’t hurt anymore.”By the time he reached high school, he had become the most famous madman, cold and ruthless in all Lin Lan. Zhi Qi remembered Jiang Qi once saying that most of his life was lived like a dog. He would rather have everyone fear him than let anyone bully him.Even though everyone feared him, Zhi Qi was not afraid.Unfortunate people spend their entire lives healing from childhood, and Zhi Qi wanted to heal Jiang Qi with her own efforts. She would make a promise to him on the rooftop of the school, where he brought her to the top: “Jiang Qi, take care. When I reach the legal age, I can marry you.”The boy’s response was a faint smile, his gaze clear and clean like the stars in the sky, filled with rare yearning for the future.Zhi Qi didn’t know that a simple promise saved Jiang Qi’s life, pulling him out of hell.Unfortunately, ‘redemption’ has an expiration date. When the clock strikes twelve for Cinderella, he remains the sick dog with nothing.A crazy boy, and all the sweet names in his obscure life are called ‘Zhi Qi’.

This is the story of Lara, a young woman from modern times, raised with one singular purpose: to exact revenge on the family of the general who destroyed her own.But fate had other plans. On her way to carry out her mission of vengeance, a twist in the plan led to disaster. Lara was struck by a military truck escorting the very general she intended to assassinate.When she awoke, she found herself in an entirely different world—one where her identity and purpose were starkly different from the life she had known and how she had been molded to be.Abducted by human traffickers, she outsmarted them and escaped. Then, she encountered a mysterious martial arts master whose ancient skills far surpassed her own. For two years, she trained with him in the remote mountains. One fateful day, while hunting deep in Mount Ourea, Lara stumbled upon the Prince of Northem, disguised as a commoner. He was gravely injured while pursuing a notorious group of bandits. Lara saved him then vanished without a trace.Haunted by his savior, the Prince of Northem searched for her but to no avail. Duty called, and he rejoined the Northem army, embroiled in a fierce battle against the bandits and soldiers of Estalis in the Alta-Sierra mountain range.Amid the chaos, Lara was mistakenly swept onto the battlefield, disguised as a soldier. The Prince of Northem, intrigued by the disguised warrior, recruited him as his guard.During the battle, fate played another cruel hand. Lara came face to face with General Odin and his two sons—only to discover that General Odin was the spitting image of the general she had been trained to assassinate. Could the man from her world be a descendant of this brave general?Torn between her mission and her newfound reality, Lara faced an impossible question: How could she kill her biological father?Her internal conflict deepened when she uncovered an elaborate plot to frame General Odin and his sons as traitors. The true culprits? His own subordinates and trusted allies.In an ironic twist of fate, Lara found herself becoming the 'protector' of the family that, in modern times, she was supposed to ruin.After the war, Lara returned as a hero, ready to reveal her identity to General Odin, but she learned of another betrayal. Her cousin, Mira—the orchestrator of her abduction—had taken over her identity. Mira lived in her home under the guise of comforting Lara's grief-stricken mother because of the death of her only daughter. Not only that, she also did a lot of scheming and eventually claimed Lara's betrothal to Prince Alaric.With her identity stolen and her mission turned upside down, Lara faced a new challenge: reclaiming her life and honor and protecting her new family.