The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride - Chapter 115: Closer (5)

In a world where everyone is a slave, someone is born who cannot be controlled. At the same time, an unstoppable villain rises on a quest for revenge. But the truth is darker than he ever imagined, and now he must face an unbeatable enemy — including himself.***Bruno was a young man born on Earth, the son of an influential modern Emperor. Despite having everything money could buy and receiving the best and most rigorous training to succeed his father, he chose the opposite path, defying his family’s ruthless rule.The price of his innocence? A merciless death and the complete erasure of his existence by the deity controlling his fate. On Earth, the law of the powerful was absolute; a slave could never rebel.But then, he wakes up again.He’s reborn in a world of cultivation, where freedom was promised to those strong enough to claim it. Now, he could soar like a free bird and carve his own destiny... or so he thought.The harsh reality of this new world soon showed him how insignificant he still was. He realized he had only changed masters.The freedom he sought was an illusion. The heavenly laws treated everyone as servants, and their rules were unbreakable. Bruno learned this bitter truth after losing everything that made him happy due to an unjust rule.But who was he to question?Hopeless, Bruno died... and was reborn as Alm, an unstoppable villain. With a soul poisoned by pain and vengeance, he sowed chaos across the universe. Planets were destroyed, countless lives taken, and his name became synonymous with terror.A hero rose to oppose him, wielding a sacred sword of hope. People from all corners of the universe united against Alm, raising their voices and weapons to stop the villain who defied the heavens.But Alm was no longer just fighting for revenge. He was challenging the heavenly laws that sought to control him, fighting fate and all living beings.And against all odds... the sacred sword shattered. The alliance of the entire universe was defeated.The villain won!Now, Alm found himself alone in the empty void of a dead universe, facing his own inner demons. Who could be more ruthless to him than himself?“What have I done?”At that moment, the doors of truth opened to him.Everyone was a puppet of a supreme figure, an entity that manipulated minds and even the heavenly laws.“I will find you, no matter where you are!”Thus, the last emissary of the true Heaven’s Will awakened. Alm, who once only relied on his sheer will and rage, now had a system to guide him. But his opponent was an immortal existence, above even the heavens.The villain who destroyed an entire universe now faced a new beginning. He discovered that the universe he devastated was just a tiny grain of sand in an infinite cosmos, where countless other universes existed.And so begins the legendary tale of the villain’s rise... and the Sacred Round God? A strange Duality of Shadows existed within one person.But this time, he wouldn’t be alone.***To clear up any potential confusion or frustration, here are some key points about the story. I’ll avoid major spoilers, but a few things will be revealed.You might find this concerning at first, but just check the book cover—it shows the main character and his only partner. She first appears at 10 years old, but rest assured, there’s no inappropriate content or early romance.At around 13, SHE starts developing feelings for the protagonist, but he doesn’t respond until she’s an adult. With her determined personality, she tries to seduce him at 17/18, but it doesn’t work. Their relationship only happens much later.The book has nods to other works, with my own spin on them, and focuses on avoiding elements I find problematic in other stories.Lastly, the beautiful book cover was commissioned and created by HDIArt.

“You shouldn’t have crossed this line, Elisha, if you didn’t want it to be like this.”

A sturdy arm wrapped around her swaying body. Her head became hazy and an intentional hot sweet sigh was pulled out of her.

‘How the hell did I get myself in this situation—’

Elisha recalled. This never happened before.

‘Yeah, I remember.’

Her future in which she would become the fake concubine to a demonic man from the same family, and would be eaten to death—even down to her bone marrow. A future in which the Cartier ducal family is embroiled in a power struggle and fragmented.

To avoid that future, Elisha threw herself at Lucerne, the archrival of her former life.

Yeah. There was no problem. She knew this man, before and after her regression. She already knew he was the most notorious maniac in the Empire.

20-year-old Elisha owes 30,000 gold coins (about 15 billion won in Korean currency or around 15 million in USD).

After going back in time, in order to avoid a hellish life because of debt, she becomes the most capable illegitimate child in the world and visits Lucerne, the archenemy of her master.

“What do you want from me?”

“Please lend me some money. And… make me your subordinate. I’ll give you all the information I have.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“I’ll give myself up as collateral.”

Lucerne listened to Elisha and watched her quietly.

“Okay. But I decide how to deal with the collateral.”

“…….”

“First of all, marry me.”

“…… huh?”

Elisha didn’t expect it either. That her information transaction would become a marriage contract.

Transmigrated into the novel you read and became the heir of the Duke, only to be trampled under the protagonist's foot?Passerby villain?Appeared in only one chapter?“Who are you looking down on?”Ian cursed his destiny and vowed to change everything.[Ding!][A new quest has been activated.]'Oh? Do I have a system? Even better.'[Basic Quest 1: Don't let your flower slip through your fingers.]'Nice, I won't let go of her anyway.'...[Basic Destiny Quest 1: Can You Finish What You Have Started?]'Bring it on!'...[Ding!][You are at an important fork in your fate.][Unique Destiny Quest: Fight with all you have.]'Heh? Who are you looking down on?'As Ian completed one quest after another, he also inadvertently began to fall into a vortex of the unknown. He discovered there was more to this world than described in the novel.'Damn it! These suspense and twists, one after another, are killing me!'---Tags: Smut, 18+, Harem, no incest, weak to strong, Romance, Wizard, Magic, Knight, System, Multiple Planes, Elf, Demons, Monsters

Anita White gave up everything for love.Her family. Her power. Her legacy.Eight years ago, she found David. He was poor, brilliant, naive, and loyal. Or so she believed. She built his empire from the ground up, turning a nobody into a billionaire.But when betrayal came, it was more than infidelity. David Blackwood shattered her body, her mind, and her soul—infecting her with disease, killing her child, and freezing her out of the very world she created.But Anita is a White. And now, she’s coming home.Back in the arms of the most ruthless family in the country, Anita must navigate corporate warfare, mafia politics, and deadly alliances.To take down David—whose saintly public image masks darker secrets than she ever imagined—Anita turns to the one man she vowed never to see again: Maverick Ravenswood, a mafia kingpin with questionable loyalty and a dangerous obsession.And then there’s Killian Wellington. The childhood fiancé whose life was destroyed, and who may want revenge... or something far more complicated.As secrets unravel and past sins come to light, Anita realizes the betrayal goes deeper than one man. She was never the queen... she was just a pawn in someone else’s game.But now?She’s about to burn the board with Maverick on her right, Killian on her left, and her father, Reginald White behind her.#Slowburn