The Heart of a Smith - Chapter 16 - Dropped Formalities

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

Joven, an AI that transmigrated here from the stars became a daughter of a rich family, lost in a rural village but finally returning home for a certain purpose.Everyone thought that she would be unrefined and lack culture given her poor upbringing… until the eldest Lu brother realized that his youngest sister was the one who casually agreed to the contract he just signed.Second Lu Brother: What? My younger sister invested in the movie I was leading?Mama Lu: The unlabeled products my daughter gave me are from a state-of-art research center?Papa Lu: The cheap stuff my daughter gave me is actually worth millions?!Big shots of various industries: Would you like to be an instructor? The type who earns over hundreds of millions?A certain conglomerate: Had enough fun yet? Now get back here and inherit your billion-dollar estate.Scumbags: Weren’t we promised a pathetic wimp to bully?***The day Li Hanzhou learned that Qiao Wen equaled him in net worth, he made inventory and put everything before her. “You can have all of these—plus one husband! Please sign here.”Qiao Wen: “You’re the one who insisted on no puppy-love. It’s important to keep your promises.”

Zero, a 35-year-old mercenary, after being betrayed by one of his teammates who told his enemy about him. He chooses suicide so that he can kill his enemy and his traitor teammate. After that, he was reincarnated into the world of magic, in the body of an 18-year-old teenager with the same name as him. However, his body does not have mana or the talent for magic. But with the help of the cultivation system, he has unrivaled power in the world and has a harem of beautiful wives.

An advertising film director was reborn in the bustling Hollywood in 1988. From then on, he began his own domineering road to becoming a legend in the film industry, mastering everything from writing, editing, directing, and supervising films and TV series, dating a lot of female stars, and having a bunch of child stars.Unofficial translation of 我就是好莱坞 by 贾思特杜.