The Lord's Empire - Chapter 18 – Mountain Saber

[COMPLETE] Can a royal Romeo and Juliet find their happy ending?

Ayleth, Princess of Zenithra, is secretly trained in hand-to-hand combat, and collects swear words she doesn't know how to use. During the Festival of Peace, in which every royal son on the continent will be at the castle for a month, she is instructed by her parents to find a husband. Yet, Ayleth has never even been kissed—until the very first ball, when she meets the man in the Lion mask.

Etan is a seasoned warrior, and the Prince of Summitras. He attends the Festival hoping to find a powerful wife who will help him conquer the dark sorcery of their bloodsworn enemies, the Kingdom of Zenithra. But at the very first ball, he discovers the masked woman who captures his heart is the Heir to the evil empire.

Ayleth and Etan face an impossible battle. Will their love survive? Or will their parents' dark dealings keep them apart forever?

[Mature content. No sexual violence.]

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“You…” She stepped back. Then back again, her mouth dropped open. “You… You cannot be…”

“I am,” Etan said, and his hair raked back as he pushed his mask off his handsome face. So handsome her heart raced.

His hair was ebony black, his skin a warm brown that threatened to fade in in the winter months. He stared at her with glittering green eyes, over high cheekbones and a noble nose, his jaw tight and shadowed this late in the day. His chin was high over the pillar of his neck that she’d just touched with its hard lines and steel strength, so different to her own. And his chest... She gasped and covered her eyes. She’d humiliated herself revealing her stupid, childish curiosity.

“No, Ayleth. This changes nothing.”

“How can you say that? It changes everything!” She was horrified to realize she was crying.

“Ayleth, please.” His voice cracked on the plea and she stared at him, shoving her mask up and off, despite how it would pull her hair out of the beautiful twist the maid had managed for her.

His eyes locked on hers and she couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe.

She had met her One. And he was the son of her bloodsworn enemy.

She stared at him as he stepped forward again, offering both hands, palm up. “Touch me,” he whispered. “Hold my hands. This is real, Ayleth. I don’t know how it happened, but this is real. Please don’t deny it.”

She couldn’t resist. She raised a trembling hand to his cheek, letting her palm catch on the scruff of his jaw. He blew out a breath and put his hand over hers, and that jolt that happened whenever they touched shivered through her again.

“Please, Ayleth.”

“I cannot deny it,” she whispered.

I thought I had seen bad endings before—but nothing prepared me for the garbage conclusion of The Hero’s Path.Years of investment, countless struggles, and for what? The protagonist failed. The villain won. Everyone else? Dead. Furious, I sent a message to the author, only to get a chilling response:[Do you think you could do better?]Before I could even blink, my phone exploded in a blinding light, and the next thing I knew—I was waking up in a completely different body.Now, I’m Merlin Everhart, a fourteen-year-old with a 12-star talent, the kind of gift only the strongest should have.But here’s the problem: I have no idea who I am supposed to be.With nothing but a system and a first-day-of-school alarm ringing in my ears, I’m thrown into the world of The Hero’s Path.Am I just another side character in a world that already ended once?…Either way, I refuse to let this story beat me too.

Reincarnated as the emperor of the dynasty, Zhou Xuanji, he thought he would be rich and noble for a lifetime, but he was forced to flee the palace due to the grievances of the palace.

What surprised him was that a cheat program invented in his previous life turned out to be a reality!

At the age of two, he obtained the Red Dragon Sword, which contains the soul of the Red Dragon!

At the age of three, he obtained the second Divine Sword!

Every year you grow, there is an extra sword!

A hundred years later, Zhou Xuanji took hundreds of divine swords across the world!

Ten thousand years later, Zhou Xuanji stunned the heavens, Wan Jian volleyed into the sky, and ascended the throne of myth in the name of Sword Emperor!

- Description from novelbuddy

Luna Lethal, a name synonymous with fear and power, ruled both the underworld and the elite circles of society. Orphaned young, she rose through treachery to become a master of manipulation and skill. Yet, her reign ended in betrayal—a laboratory explosion claimed her life. To the world, her death was a tragedy; to her enemies, a cause for celebration. But Luna awakens in the body of Aurora Smith, a neglected and ridiculed child despised by her adoptive family. Stripped of her former strength but not her will, Luna faces a choice: seek revenge for Aurora’s mistreatment or forge a new path. As her sharp mind and unyielding spirit transform Aurora’s life, shadows of Luna’s past resurface. Loyal followers sense her presence, while old enemies seek to destroy her again. Torn between vengeance and a fresh start, Luna must confront her identity. Is she still the Devil of the underworld, or can she find peace in a second chance at life?