Ace of the Bench - Chapter 45: Third Quarter: The Strategy Unfolds

[SLOW BURN ROMANCE. RATED 18: NO RAPE]What if the sort of love you'd wanted and desired, only but a man incapable of love could give it to you–a man who has not the slightest of an idea what the word “Love” meant?.....Vampires coexisted with humans for centuries without either side hunting or killing the other due to a peace treaty. They didn’t feed on human blood for so long either, but that changes when the first vampire auction is held.Six human slaves were sold, and among them included Avelina, a twenty-six-year-old woman.Avelina is sold to an infamous Vampire prince, Draven Delgaard, rumored to have committed heinous acts even amongst his kind.She fears for her life upon their first encounter, but to her utmost bewilderment, Draven Delgaard makes a deal with her.He sought the inheritance of the royal family, but to be qualified, he needed a wife. Since his kinds weren’t available due to his reputation, Avelina was one of the few options left.In exchange for her freedom, she will assist him in obtaining the inheritance. But this royal inheritance can only be acquired through the style of a chess game with other royal opponents. A game of strategy and survival.Should she succeed, her freedom shall be regained and it would be a win-win for both her and Draven. However, she soon realizes that success might come at a very heavy cost.Will Avelina and Draven be able to win the game of chess? Will they secure her freedom and inheritance, or will they fall victim to the dangerous machinations of the royal family?

Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am powerful

Talent.As a demon born into a prestigious family like the Tenebris, Cale lacked nothing, except talent.Talent, to surpass his twin sister, who was better than him in every way.Talent to earn the approval of their mother, the cold and ruthless Matriarch.It wasn’t mere rivalry; his very life depended on it.But, no matter how hard he trained or how low he stooped, using forbidden methods to grow stronger, he never succeeded. He couldn’t awaken his bloodline, nor defeat his sister in a single duel.“Just give up already. You’re only making it more painful for yourself,” she would say every time.He was pathetic, and he knew it.But giving up on life was never an option.“One more time... I’ll try it one more time.” That was how he always responded to her scorn.Was it ego? Or a desperate desire to prove everyone who waited eagerly for his downfall wrong?Cale didn’t know. But he always stood up again.No matter what they said, he refused to surrender.Not to his mother.Not to the world.Not even to his sister.If the world stood against him, then he would crush the world.-------------------------“Wow. That’s an incredible backstory for a villain.”I flipped through the worn pages of an old book, my only functional eye open wide.“But where did this come from? It wasn’t here before.”I’d read this romance fantasy novel back in my childhood, and as far as I remembered, Cale Tenebris never had a backstory.“Did I grab the wrong book?” I tilted the cover to check the title.[Curse of the Crown]It was the same one.“Did I skip this chapter before?... Whatever.” I shrugged, turning the page again as I slowly lost consciousness.And then I died.

The protagonist is an accidental time traveler - he didn't wait, didn't guess, only dreamed, but ended up in history, which he didn't pay much attention to. He was just lucky with his lineage.Ryo is a new member of the Nara clan, from the Uzumaki lineage on his father's side, and it so happened that he was born not at the beginning of the known plot, but more than three decades and two world wars later. Now he has to figure out how to get out of this situation however he can.