Predatory Marriage - Chapter 7 - Long, Restless Night (2)

Johnathan, an old man with an extraordinary past but an ordinary end, gets reincarnated in a dark fantasy world full of magic, darkness, and mysteries furled.

However, he committed a grave blunder by taking the fiction he had read as a reference. Reborn as a baby, he hoped to be deemed gifted by speaking early.

One thing led to another, and tragedy struck. The villagers declared him a demon-possessed and called the church. Johnathan, now known as Sylvester Maximilian, realized that he had messed up.

When the church's inquisitors came to judge him and burn him on a pyre. As a last resort and to welcome his soon to arrive second death, he started chanting holy hymns as his last breath.

Overwhelmed, they kneeled, thinking he was a messenger of Solis.

From there, the story of how Sylvester Maximilian rose through the ranks to sit at the top began.

But his life won't be ordinary, as he uses his cunning and the tag of 'God's favored' to his advantage. Fighting treachery, unearthing secret plots and world mysteries, facing the darkness around him and creating his place in history, engraving his name in the annals to be forever remembered as the—Immortal Pope, The Young.

[A/N: To not mislead you, the novel's name does not mean he instantly becomes the Pope from the start. The story will follow the life of MC. Though he will become the Pope at a pretty young age. 40% of the novel will be based around MC fighting to sit on the supreme throne.

If you enjoy world building and lore building, then you will like this story.]
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***Main Tags: FANTASY, ADVENTURE, MAGIC, DARK, STRONG MC(Weak at the start because he's a baby. Not an instant OP though.), WHOLESOME, COMEDY, KINGDOM BUILDING. MENTALLY OLD MC, Politics, Backstabbing, World Building.***

[WARNING: MC will not go around saving everyone. Absolutely not if it puts him in danger. But if he can save someone using his status or position in the church, he will. He will kill innocent people if he has to. MC is not crazy, cynical, or unsociable. The world at some times may seem very DARK.]
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[DISCLAIMER]
The religion will be fake. I won't make it similar to those existing in our world not to trigger anyone. However, the Church terminologies and designations may feel identical as they are simple vocabulary words.

Again, everything you read in this novel is fictional and has no relation to our world.

I hope you enjoy my work. Stay safe and eat healthy bananas.
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As the “illegitimate child” of the Shen family, Shen Jun is cunning, ambitious, and good at forbearance. In order to become an official, he had to endure the bullying of Chengjue’s younger brother. Enduring it, he suddenly discovered that the other party’s bullying behavior didn’t seem to be what it appeared on the surface.
Overturn his wine, the actual wine is poisonous.
shoot his horse, there is something wrong with the actual horse
He seems to be contemptuous of him, but actually provides him with opportunities everywhere.
Shen Juan suddenly felt that his little brother was not that annoying, and even a little…
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Shen Fengzhang is a vicious male supporting role dressed as a woman disguised as a man. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the male lead, who would dominate in the future, was being beaten in an alley by her.
Looking at that face, she resolutely went up to make amends. From then on, while bullying the male lead, she secretly helped the male lead under the system’s requirements, just waiting to get off the line safely before the male lead ascended the throne.
Unexpectedly – the hero rebelled ahead of time! Surrounded by elite soldiers, Shen Fengzhang decided to commit suicide in order to avoid being hacked into pieces, but saw the male protagonist grab the dagger, and said convincingly, “I know you did those things because you love me.”
Shen Fengzhang:? ? ?
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[Small Theater] Everyone knows that when His Majesty was trapped in the shallows, Shen Fengzhang, Lord of Shixing County, insulted him in every possible way. Now that His Majesty is enthroned, in order to please His Majesty, Shen Fengzhang must die! The ministers of the Manchu Dynasty participated in the memorial, and the county magistrate made things difficult. However, the impeachment memorial became thicker and thicker day by day, and His Majesty never said a word. Until one day after Shen Fengzhang asked His Majesty to stand up, His Majesty threw the notebook on the ground, his eyes were cold, “You don’t want to marry! Shen Fengzhang, who do you want me to stand up for?!”
[Reading Tips]
1. Keywords: women disguised as men, enemies become lovers
2. Both the male and female protagonists are not good friends and have no blood relationship
3. Ambitious, duplicity, black lotus male protagonist X sword slanted, unconventional female protagonist
Content tags: court marquis wearing books women disguised as men above court
Search keywords: Protagonist: Shen Fengzhang, Shen Jun ┃ Supporting role: The ancient saying “Nothing but Good-looking” ┃ Others: Women disguise themselves as men, enemies become lovers

- Description from novelbuddy

[WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]He's cold,He's unspoken,He's powerful,He's a beauty identical to that of a god,His walls are up,And he's... something else.Hidden away all her life from her fate as a Silver-Haired and kept out of the grasp of the Empire for years. Sylvia's life takes a 360° turn when she's grasped away to the Empire to meet with her destiny in exchange for her father's life.An arranged marriage was all it took, into his hands, a man known as the most powerful warlock and a man said to have no desires?But beneath the warlock's icy exterior lies a heart yearning for something more, and Sylvia may hold the key to unlocking the secrets of his past.Will they succumb to the forces that seek to tear them apart, or will love conquer all in the face of darkness?-------This is the First Installation of the Silver Saga but can be read as a Standalone.Book One: SILVER-HAIREDBook Two: SILVER-HEARTBook Three: coming soon

She was reborn in the 1970s, when there were no mobile phones or TVs, people lived in poverty and marriages were arranged by families. He, the wealthy and powerful head of the regiment, who governed the local army, helped her join the army so that her family would no longer be bullied and could live a good life. And Suddenly, he proposed marraiage to her...