Star Gate - Chapter 316: Winds Rise (II)

Julian Ford is Scarlett Shaw's boyfriend's older brother. He is an unattainable presence.Scarlett is interested in money and looks, not people, yet she gradually loses control.Only he tramples on her, manipulating her at will.Everyone mocks Scarlett, saying she's overestimating herself, shamelessly attempting to climb high.Later—Someone sees the man pressing Scarlett into a corner, his eyes bloodshot, kneeling on one knee, “Scarlett, marry me, I beg you.”

“What does it feel like to be a shadow?”People say it's bondage — the absence of light, of freedom. But what is freedom, really?The ability to choose whatever you want?Or... just a beautiful illusion masking the void?Strange question, I know.But you'll understand soon enough.Because my lives?They've always been a little... enlightening.— Kaiser

A wicked mother one day brought home a girl. The child was the hidden legitimate daughter of the duke, the heroine of [The Duke’s House Has Three Sons and One Daughter] Loretta. I was Melody, the villainous girl who tormented her and was condemned along with my mother. Not wanting to die like that, I decided to start treating her well now. I personally fed Loretta, put her to bed, and played with her. And then her reaction was…? “I want Melody to marry me!” Caught off guard by her endless affection, I too ended up entering the duke’s family, “I’ll stick right by Miss Melody’s side.” And there, it seems I’ve met a young lord who’s an even bigger ‘Melody fool’? All I did was be kind to survive, but why am I being loved…?!

Aric Valerian was born a curse.The fourth prince of the Valerian Empire. A bastard. A cripple. A forgotten shadow in the court, mocked as a stain on royal blood.But when the gods reached down, healing his body and allowing strength into his veins, Aric tasted hope for the first time. He fought for honor, clawed for recognition—only to be betrayed by the brother he trusted most. Cast into a slaughter pit, abandoned to die.And in the moment when despair and death should have claimed him, the world offered something else.[Would you like to change your fate?]From that line, Aric Valerian was reborn—sent back to the past not as the forgotten prince, but as a weapon. A sovereign forged in agony, guided by a system of relentless ascension:[Ki Circulation Mastered: Strength +10][System Upgrade: Tactical Genius Acquired][Hidden Fortress Constructed: Security +15%]Every scar became a push. Every betrayal, a reason. With blood-soaked hands, Aric began carving a path through enemies, kin, and gods alike. The empire that spat on his name would kneel or burn. The brother who betrayed him would drown in his own crown.Yet with every victory came sacrifice. Every step forward dragged him closer to the abyss, until vengeance and damnation became one.But Aric does not care.Because the cursed prince has only one destiny left:To rise as the sovereign who will shatter gods, break empires, and tear fate itself apart.Or die trying—and take the world with him.