MTL - The Dark King - Chapter 11 : Re-into the slums

Time is an illusion, and reality is a fragile thread in Kael's fractured world.Kael's life is defined by darkness, memories that flicker in and out like glitching shadows. Struggling with haunting nightmares and terrifying hallucinations, he finds himself trapped in a reality that doesn’t make sense—a reality where time is breaking, and nothing is as it seems.When a mysterious red notebook, filled with cryptic symbols, falls into his hands, it opens a gateway to a world where the laws of time no longer apply. Every hour, every minute, every second twists and warps, and Kael begins to realize that something—or someone—is manipulating time itself, pushing him to the edge of his sanity.But he's not alone. A girl, whose existence is as twisted as the world around them, seems to be connected to his suffering. Kael's bond with her grows as they both search for the truth behind their disturbing experiences, yet the more they uncover, the deeper they fall into an abyss of despair and madness.The Pulse, an unfathomable force that distorts time and reality, pulses through their very existence. As Kael inches closer to the truth, he faces a devastating choice—one that could either save them or shatter everything they hold dear.Time is collapsing, the Pulse is awakening, and Kael must confront the horrors lurking in the fractured timeline before it consumes them all.

“I can’t accept this! I can’t! Even as a ghost, I’m going to spend eternity cursing that your relationship will shatter like glass! Break apart like a pair of mandarin ducks that fly away from each other!” With such a persisting obsession, it would be difficult for the vengeful departed spirit to move on.

Original name: Prince Charming's Next Door, finished. One day, she slept with him accidentally. Two month later, she found herself pregnant, so they got married with baby. “Mr. Gu, I like the dishes of this restaurant.” Then the chef of that restaurant was hired as theirs. “Mr. Gu, I like the bags of that brand.” Then the designer of that brand was employed exclusively for her. She thought of herself as a stranger to him after marriage as she had always been, but in fact he doted on her totally beyond her imagination. He would satisfy all her demands, except letting her find a job. She kind of got anxiously bored at home, so she sneaked out to find herself a job. However, whichever company she was hired by would go bankrupt somehow or other. Finally, she got to know it had been always him who had done mischief surreptitiously. She went to question him angrily, but he gave her a job with a smirky smile. The next day when she went to take the office with delight, she found her employee ID card on the desk said ‘Name: Qin Zhi’ai, Position: Wife of Gu Yusheng’.

“You shouldn’t have crossed this line, Elisha, if you didn’t want it to be like this.”

A sturdy arm wrapped around her swaying body. Her head became hazy and an intentional hot sweet sigh was pulled out of her.

‘How the hell did I get myself in this situation—’

Elisha recalled. This never happened before.

‘Yeah, I remember.’

Her future in which she would become the fake concubine to a demonic man from the same family, and would be eaten to death—even down to her bone marrow. A future in which the Cartier ducal family is embroiled in a power struggle and fragmented.

To avoid that future, Elisha threw herself at Lucerne, the archrival of her former life.

Yeah. There was no problem. She knew this man, before and after her regression. She already knew he was the most notorious maniac in the Empire.

20-year-old Elisha owes 30,000 gold coins (about 15 billion won in Korean currency or around 15 million in USD).

After going back in time, in order to avoid a hellish life because of debt, she becomes the most capable illegitimate child in the world and visits Lucerne, the archenemy of her master.

“What do you want from me?”

“Please lend me some money. And… make me your subordinate. I’ll give you all the information I have.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“I’ll give myself up as collateral.”

Lucerne listened to Elisha and watched her quietly.

“Okay. But I decide how to deal with the collateral.”

“…….”

“First of all, marry me.”

“…… huh?”

Elisha didn’t expect it either. That her information transaction would become a marriage contract.