Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters - Chapter 1525 - 64: Siege (34)_3

The night before her coronation, Princess Elara of Dravara made a mistake she could not take back. Her friends begged her to enjoy one last night of freedom before duty tied her forever. So she escaped the palace in disguise. One night. One party. One stranger whose touch she could not forget. She left before sunrise, thinking no one would ever know.But secrets always return. Weeks later, Elara finds out she is carrying the child of the man she cannot even name. And on her coronation day, as she prepares to wear the crown, fate plays a cruel trick, the same man comes back, not as a lover, but as an assassin sent to kill her.He almost ended her life that day. His blade touched her throat. But instead of striking, he whispered that it would not be today. Then he disappeared into the dark, only to return again, this time hiding among the men who wished to become her bodyguards. Now he stays close to her, walking beside her every day, guarding her in public, while secretly waiting for the right moment to finish the job.Elara now carries a dangerous secret: she is a queen with a crown on her head, a child growing in her womb, and an assassin always by her side. His hands once held her in passion, but those same hands were trained to spill her blood. Surrounded by enemies and trapped in lies, Elara must wonder, has she given her heart to her protector, or has she trusted the man who will one day destroy her?

From classmates to brother and sister, living under the same roof.

After his father's remarriage, Asamura Yuuta ends up getting a new stepsister, coincidentally the number one beauty of the school year, Ayase Saki. Having learned important values when it comes to man-woman relationships through the previous ones of their parents, they promise each other not to be too close, not to be too opposing, and to merely keep a vague and comfortable distance.

On one hand, Saki, who has worked in solitude for the sake of her family, doesn't know how to properly rely on others, whereas Yuta is unsure of how to really treat her. Standing on fairly equal ground, these two slowly learn the comfortable sensation of living together.

Their relationship slowly evolves from being strangers the more the days pass. Eventually, this could end up in a story about love for all we know.

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Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.

#DarkRomance #ModernRoyalty #PossessiveAlpha #DominantOmega#AlphaDominant #RoyalCourt #ForcedEngagement #SlowBurn #ABO #PowerImbalance #ChosenMate #PoliticalMarriageDean Fitzgeralt has spent his life protected by power, choice, and the careful distance his family built around him. As a dominant omega born into one of the Empire’s most influential houses, he knows what the world expects of him and how carefully those expectations must be managed.When political pressure closes in, Dean makes a choice meant to end a growing diplomatic standoff: he accepts an engagement to Crown Prince Arion of Alamina without truly knowing the man behind the proposal.Arion is a dominant alpha whose power comes with a brutal truth: without a mate, he is dangerously close to madness.If he goes berserk, entire regions could pay the price.Dean is the only solution.Now bound by his choice, Dean must leave everything familiar behind and step into Alamina’s court, where patience is lethal, possession is quiet but absolute, and Arion’s restraint rests on him alone.He chose this willingly.What he didn’t know was how dangerous being chosen back would be.