The Phantom's Gambit - Chapter 1: Before the fall

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be known that this book wouldn't have made it this far without the support my dear writing buddy Rachel E. Canton who is a great writer of SINS OF THE SERAPHIM - https://www.webnovel.com/book/sins-of-the-seraphim_26438336605116805 and Derek J. PernaTo Rachel & Derek, Thank you for everything!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When the last heir of Ardel lost everything, fate would bring her to her rightful protector.Anna Adhemar, the forgotten princess, found herself betrayed by the Regent. Hunted by the Bargesians and the ruthless slave traders, she desperately fled for her life.Rescued by a mysterious man, her newfound safety was short-lived as she succumbed to a potent aphrodisiac. Then, she awoke in the arms of the fearsome Knight Commander of Gerhard, stripped bare, in a foreign kingdom.Fear, confusion, and a sense of profound devastation enveloped her.But the man before her declared, “I am your husband. I married you last night.”Then, with unwavering determination, he vowed, “ You're my woman now. No one can hurt my woman.”---Kyren Raychard, the Crown Prince who had chosen to forsake the throne and become celibate, led the Knights of Gerhard to safeguard his kingdom’s border from slave trading activities.Outside his camp, he found Anna poisoned and delirious. The healer informed him of the only cure, of which he must race against time to give and honour her.For the first time, he felt an overwhelming instinct to protect and claim her as his own.Unaware of his deepening affection, he belatedly realised his feelings as he stood on the brink of losing her.Bound by a soul-binding spell, their fates intertwined…

Betrayed. Exiled. Murdered. Reborn.In the war-torn land of Glory, power is everything and Duke Merlin's bastard son has none. Cast out to a starving border town beside the cursed Devil Forest, Kaelor and his mother were meant to die quietly.But when assassins take her life and leave him bleeding in the mud, another soul awakens within him one from another world.And with it, something else awakens too...The Fusion System.A power that lets him fuse nearly anything.Fusing one starving soldier with a dead direwolf gave birth to a Dreadwolf Trooper.Fusing one hundred wild dogs produced the monstrous Cerberus.Fusing two crumbling forts created a living fortress bristling with autonomous ballistas.From broken men and dead beasts, Kael will forge an army the world cannot understand and a dominion no one will dare challenge.

For ten thousand years, the invincible Emperor Xu Lai, descends to the Earth and takes on the role of a stay-at-home dad.Anyone who dares to bully his daughter would face his wrath!Xu Lai asked, “My dear daughter, when you look up, what do you see?”“Nighttime, the stars.”“That's not just the stars, it's the empire I've built for you. In the future, you'll rule over billions of galaxies, you'll be the Empress of the Immortal Realm!”“Dad, you're bragging again. You can't even give me a little brother or sister,” Xu Yiyi pouted.“...”

After switching bodies, Jiang Nan Shu becomes the villainous true daughter in a melodramatic tale and is bound to an all-encompassing revulsion system. If everyone's level of disgust for her reaches 100, she can return to her original world with a prize of ten billion. Being reckless is just one of her many skills. Starting with a disgust level of 89, Jiang Nan Shu sets a modest goal for herself: to live a life collecting easy money within six months. Unbeknownst to her, everyone can hear her inner thoughts!When facing the domineering CEO eldest brother, she says outwardly, “I think this project is excellent and will make a fortune.” Inwardly she thinks, “I hope you don’t go bankrupt! Once you're out, I'll steal your company's secrets.”When dealing with the indifferent medical second brother: outwardly, “The food at your colleagues' gathering looks so appetizing.” Inwardly she thinks, “I'll switch tables when the second brother picks food, to avoid catching any diseases from him.”When facing the sickly research third brother, she says outwardly, “Third brother, you're amazing to conduct such tough experiments, keep going.” Inwardly she thinks, “I’ll gracefully exit before your experiment explodes.”When interacting with the pop star fourth brother: outwardly,“These songs suit you so well, sing them all, and fame is just around the corner.” Inwardly, “Just wait for the news to break about your tax evasion.”When advising the love-struck fifth brother: outwardly, ”She's taking an hour out of her busy schedule to be with you because she loves you.“ Inwardly, ”You’ve been turned into a grassland of green; your goddess has a different companion morning, noon, and night. Bet you didn't see that coming!“As the male protagonist looks at her with increasingly deep eyes, saying, “Let's be together,” Jiang Nan Shu weeps, saying, “Don't let your sister misunderstand, I'm not worthy!” Internally, “Money's hard to earn, crap's hard to swallow, the life of a supporting character matters too!”However... why does she end up as the darling of the whole group in the end?