Defying the Rogue Alpha - Chapter 23: Mara

On their wedding night, she gnashed her teeth, yelling, “Your Highness, that’s shameless!”

Set off by the flickering light of red candles, he curved the corner of his mouth into a wicked grin, “Actually, I can be more shameless…”

…

When they met for the first time, he was the young prince who lived in his day of brilliance, while she was the pampered princess of the adjacent state.

When they met again, he became the crippled underdog suffering from frustration, while she became the lackluster hostage stranded in an alien land.

In his mid-life, he was defeated in the fight and had his legs broken; his wife passed away and he didn’t have anything left except his father’s detestation… After constant blows took the edge off his spirit, all he wanted was nothing but serenity.

In her teen-age, her state perished and her home lost; she lapsed into an awkward situation after being abandoned and having her marriage annulled… As endless hardships isolated her from happiness, everything she wished for was no more than peace.

…

“Lu Zhishan, when I first met you, I didn’t think I’d marry you…too old,” after years passed by, one day, she lay on his laps mumbling, with a kind of hazy beauty on her boozy face, “and lame.”

“Mu Nanzhi, you have the wrong memory. At our first meeting, I’m neither old nor limp.”

“…When was that?”

“When people were celebrating your first birthday,” that man assumed all gentleness and joy crept on his eyes and brows, “On that day, you were ‘drawing lots’ in the rear hall. I also sneaked there to have a look. But, out of my expectation, you directly grabbed my true-love knot.”

…

How vivid the red love pea is embedded in the exquisitely carved dice,

Just as my feelings for you deep in my bones.

- Description from Novelupdates

Akira Kuromiya is just an average high schooler who gets killed by a robber. He wakes up and is now a chicken!? Even worse he becomes the familiar of a girl who's apparently the heiress of a powerful clan.

That was for a short while though, as he was abandoned and woke up to find out he, now she, is trapped in a deadly magical forest with all sorts creatures trying to kill her.

The world she finds herself is one of magic and monsters like the manga she's been reading. Akira, now Hinotori is trying to live her life as a chicken in another world!

Vainqueur Knightsbane is your average dragon: a giant, fire-breathing lizard who loves to take naps on his golden hoard, kidnap princesses for fun, and make the life of adventurers miserable. Vainqueur's only pleasure in life is to watch his treasure get bigger, one coin at a time.

So when a would-be thief turned unwilling minion tells him about "classes," "levels," and "quests," Vainqueur wonders if maybe, just maybe, he should consider a career change.

After all, why bother hunting monsters for free when you can get paid for it?

After dying in his previous life, Kaito Nakamura finds himself in a strange new world, free from the weight of past regrets. Surrounded by unfamiliar faces, he begins to carve out a new life, one filled with hope and the chance for personal growth. But as time passes, Kaito soon discovers that this world holds far more challenges than he ever imagined—challenges that test his resolve, his desires, and his understanding of what it means to truly live.In a world where loss is inevitable, Kaito is forced to confront the darkness that lingers within him and the painful sacrifices that come with seeking redemption. Will he be able to rise above the tragedies that define his existence, or will he become a victim of his own unresolved past?MC name: Kaito Nakamura. Age: 17.You can also join my discord, patreon or follow me on tiktok for more content, through my link tree: https://linktr.ee/Mr_MellmanThis story is authored by Mellman. I also publish under the names Mellmann and Mellman Nordberg.