Ascendance of a Bookworm - Chapter 123: Ink Workshop

[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.]

******

“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.

After dying from betrayal, Thomas reincarnates as Jolthar Kaelzhar, the neglected son of a powerful clan, just after his brothers kill him. With Jolthar's memories and the blessing of Qalena, Thomas vows to rise from his lowly position and claim power in his new life.

Lian Xi transmigrated into an ancient tyrant’s general essay and became the female supporting role of a wealthy family of the same name.
The female supporting actress has a beautiful appearance and a prominent family background, but she was forcibly demoted by the plot. Whenever the male and female protagonists need emotionally, she will be pulled out to do things, and she will be slapped in the face again and again, a proper tool person.
Lianxi: I’m sorry, I have money, looks, and figure. Whoever loves this wise female partner will be the one, and I will say goodbye.
System: If you don’t complete the [Vicious Female Supporting Team] quest, you will die.
Designated line 1: [You are also worthy of me to grab a man]
Lian Xi was driving a Ferrari, and a drifter got off the car and sneered at the boss who was confronting the villain: “You are also worthy of me to grab a man.”
President: ? ?
Opposition:  …
Designated line 2: [Look in the mirror without urinating]
Lian Xi rushed over with a group of bodyguards and pushed away the boss who was hugging the heroine and kissing him: “Be a hooligan, don’t pee and look in the mirror!”
President: ? ? ?
Mistress:  …
Designated line three: [You think you can beat me]
Lian Xi was mad, so he directly bought the Oriental Pearl LED advertising screen and played it on a loop: “Oh, Mr. Ba, do you think you can beat me?”
President: ? ? ? ?
After finally crushing the original male protagonist, Lian Xi completed the mission of the vicious female supporting role.
System: Congratulations to the host, the master mode has been successfully activated.
Lianxi: Huh?
She took a meaningful look at the villain with eight-pack abs lying on her bed, lit a cigarette afterwards, and threw 500 million: “Sign this contract and let me sleep for five years until I become pregnant with an heir.”
The villain laughed so innocently: “Want to fuck me?”
The original hostess: We always want you to look down on you, don’t know what to do!

Content tags: rich and powerful family system wear book cool text
Search keywords: Protagonist: Lian Xi ┃ Supporting role: Hengkong ┃ Others: Pre-received “The squeamish concubine wears a book”
One sentence introduction: drag sister online, kill the Quartet!
Purpose: Sisters and sisters stand up

- Description from novelbuddy

Set in the Shadow Slave world...a time before Sunny was born...this story follows a simple soldier who must survive in a dystopian, apocalyptic landscape where magic and gun warfare collide.In a far-off Quadrant known as North America, a young soldier named Hope is 16 years old when he gets infected by the Nightmare Spell. He passed! But...he feels a bit scammed...?A flaw that makes him fade from people's memories...A cursed attribute that makes him remember everything endlessly in eternal wakefulness...It's as if the Spell is twisting his future and existence into an almost improbable one.All he has ever known his purpose to be was to serve as a simple soldier. Not too powerful. But not so weak either. And maybe, just maybe like some others, become an Awakened. Although he never dreamt of being one.Now that his whole life is compromised after his First Nightmare, his first objective is to survive on his own. But as he tries to escape his fate, his actions seem to lead him further from his goal.He struggles against obstacles that slowly grow bigger and out of proportion.Maybe the Dream Realm and the Real World aren't so different than one may think.Hope's journey involves uncovering secrets and gaining knowledge about his true nature and his new role in the world.Is he fit to be a hero?Could he redefine it?***Please read the READER DISCLAIMER in Volume 0.This is my spin-off novel of “Shadow Slave” by Guiltythree.But please don't expect the same writing style, setting, and characters, especially the main character.This story reveals more about how people/cities/governments operate after the Spell’s arrival. I always find it interesting how maybe one country handles it fairly, but how others handle it with desperation to the point that you question humanity.There will be easter eggs pointing to the original novel either intentional for the plot or unrelated to it, but all for fun.I am a new author so props to all who bear with me and helps me improve my writing. If it is not for you, please don't leave outright hate comments. Eat wassabi instead if you want pain. Critique and advice would be great too.