The Monarch - Chapter 652: The great sea

Once upon a time, there was a makeup artist who possessed outstanding skills and top-notch aesthetic judgement. When he did makeup for various stars, he could embellish sharpness onto the smooth vases that lacked edges, and he could make models who exceeded the boundaries of aesthetics to appear delicate and soft, more approachable to people.

Male stars loved to request him, for he had a thorough understanding of masculine charm in particular, and the makeup he did was never garishly slathered in oils or powders, instead exuding a natural, dashing air of elegance.

Female stars loved to request him, because not only was he excellent in his skills, he was also everyone’s closest confidant; when they chatted, he could easily hold any conversation, and his mouth would be tightly sealed, never allowing anyone’s privacy to slip out.

Although this person was quite young, after getting by in the makeup industry the past few years, he was virtually considered as a distinguished personality in his profession, and would be referred to as a ‘master’ wherever he went.

But he had a terrifying secret. He needed to carefully tread on thin ice and couldn’t expose even the slightest traces; otherwise, nobody would invite him to work ever again, and nobody would apply to the classes he led anymore.

—He was a straight man.

- Description from Novelupdates

Being adored by one's parents and hoping to achieve something that could bring them happiness, a child sacrificed their carefree personality and chose the path of books and knowledge at an early age.Without looking back to see how those they thought were their parents were, in truth, only pushing them from behind.Esme, a prodigy from an early age, excelled in everything, unlike her sister, who, though adored by both parents, always lagged behind.Finally, after saving the company from debts and restoring it to its former glory, Esme looked back at her parents in hope of recognition but...“You are not even my daughter, you pathetic fool.”“Hehe, Sister, how about I take your fiancé?”“Um, you see, Esme, I love your sister.”“Tch, insect, how dare you reject checks whenever I, your mother, asked for money!”Those words lingered in Esme's mind before she lost consciousness and woke up inside a prison.“What are you doing here, Aron?” Esme looked at a handsome young man seated in a wheelchair, gazing at her with amusement. He was her sole business competitor, and now, he was visiting her in prison.“Nothing, just came here for a proposal, Miss Esme...”Let's see what awaits the journey of an heiress who was wrongly accused of being fake, betrayed by her fiancé, and had to seek support from her business rivals.

I used to think obsessive male leads were kind of hot. You know—the intense stares, the undying devotion, the way they’d burn the world for the woman they love? Swoon, right?Wrong.That fantasy went up in smoke the moment I woke up in the body of Sonia Mitford—the heroine of The Crimson Devotion, the first obsessive romance fantasy novel I ever read. The one that ended on a mysterious hiatus. The one with Marius Wittelsbach—a charming, possessive psychopath who thinks an ankle shackle is a love language.Now I’m trapped in a velvet-draped prison, shackled to a bedpost like some porcelain doll in a gothic fairytale. And Marius? He’s worse than I remembered. Sweet, soft-spoken... and utterly unhinged.“You don’t need to be afraid. I’ll take care of you.”Translation: I’ll murder anyone who blinks in your direction and serve you tea over their corpse.“Anyone who bothers you... anyone who looks at you the wrong way... I’ll get rid of them for you.”I thought I was playing the role just fine—smiling, nodding, pretending not to be horrified.But then—plot twist! Alessio Slovene, the forgettable side character, walks in looking like a golden retriever knight and drops this bomb: he’s actually the crown prince in disguise. And he’s investigating Marius.Finally—a lifeline. Maybe.Because people are vanishing. The body count is rising. And every time Marius kisses my forehead and calls me “Nia,” I feel one step closer to becoming the tragic heroine in a blood-soaked love story.Obsessive male leads aren’t dreamy.They’re terrifying.And I might be in way over my head.

The discovery of the so-called dimensional world heralded a new era for humanity.

This world, populated with lifeforms of ever-increasing strength, would soon become known as a treasure trove for those hunters willing to brave its risk.

Soulshards and gene fragments obtained by killing such lifeforms could be assimilated into their bodies, transforming them into genetically enhanced fighters and setting the stage for the age of genetic enhancement.Zhang Lie, a seasoned fighter who had once explored the fourth of the five known realms of the dimensional world, finds himself thrown back into his youth, to the initial heyday of exploration and growth, before the secrets of this new world had been mined and revealed to all.

Armed with foreknowledge, Zhang Lie will blaze a path for humanity to the stars—and beyond.

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