A Villain's Will to Survive - Chapter 42: Thesis Colloquium (1)

I used to think obsessive male leads were kind of hot. You know—the intense stares, the undying devotion, the way they’d burn the world for the woman they love? Swoon, right?Wrong.That fantasy went up in smoke the moment I woke up in the body of Sonia Mitford—the heroine of The Crimson Devotion, the first obsessive romance fantasy novel I ever read. The one that ended on a mysterious hiatus. The one with Marius Wittelsbach—a charming, possessive psychopath who thinks an ankle shackle is a love language.Now I’m trapped in a velvet-draped prison, shackled to a bedpost like some porcelain doll in a gothic fairytale. And Marius? He’s worse than I remembered. Sweet, soft-spoken... and utterly unhinged.“You don’t need to be afraid. I’ll take care of you.”Translation: I’ll murder anyone who blinks in your direction and serve you tea over their corpse.“Anyone who bothers you... anyone who looks at you the wrong way... I’ll get rid of them for you.”I thought I was playing the role just fine—smiling, nodding, pretending not to be horrified.But then—plot twist! Alessio Slovene, the forgettable side character, walks in looking like a golden retriever knight and drops this bomb: he’s actually the crown prince in disguise. And he’s investigating Marius.Finally—a lifeline. Maybe.Because people are vanishing. The body count is rising. And every time Marius kisses my forehead and calls me “Nia,” I feel one step closer to becoming the tragic heroine in a blood-soaked love story.Obsessive male leads aren’t dreamy.They’re terrifying.And I might be in way over my head.

I found myself inside the game I used to enjoy.But something feels off.

A boy born with the potential, so great that it threatend the world's powerhouses itself._____Born amidst chaos and tragedy, Azhrael, the son of the legendary Frost King and Celestial Witch, carries a burden no child should bear. Half of his soul was dormant into another world, while the other half was left sealed, hidden from the prying eyes of those who sought to destroy him.He was a child of immense potential—his very existence threatened gods and shook the balance of power in the world.However in the main story, Azhrael was only an “extra.” A mysterious beautiful boy with snow-white hair and dull grey eyes who exists in the shadow of others, bullied and beaten, unaware of the legacy he carries.That Is Until.

Xu Youyou, daughter of the Xu family who had been sent to the countryside to nurse her health years ago, had returned to uphold the marriage promise with the Lin family. On the eve of her wedding, the groom escaped abroad in search of his dream girl. The crowd gasped and watched on excitedly.

Xu Youyou’s only comment was, “Okay.” The next instant, her fair hands had seized the collar of a man’s shirt as she asked sweetly, “Mr. Mo, can you marry me?” The business tycoon, Mo Shenbai, was aloof, abstinent, mysterious, and kept a low profile. Having dominated the challenging business industry for ten years, no media was bold enough to post a picture of him, and no woman was able to catch his eye.

Everyone said that Mo Shenbai’s marriage with Xu Youyou was only a contract, and they would surely divorce after a year. Xu Youyou was happily reading these rumors about her, but then she noticed something was off, She didn’t have to pay for her shopping, nor choose her food, and everyone would ardently greet her wherever she went, calling her “Mrs. Xu.” Then, Mo Shenbai’s dream girl came back, and Xu Youyou’s ex-fiance confessed, “Youyou, only my love for you is true.

Come back to me. I won’t dislike you.” Before Xu Youyou could answer him, the domineering man embraced her and said in a low and seductive voice, “Baby, didn’t you tell him that you already have a proof of our love in here?” He placed his warm hand on her flat tummy. Xu Youyou blushed, and the ex-fiance’s eyes turned red…