As Sophia asked for time to think, everyone fell into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.“Greetings, everyone,” a voice suddenly broke the stillness."Master Keaton," Sophia called, her eyes widening at the old man that appeared to her side.“It seems like everyone here is waiting for your decision. Do you want me to help you?” Keaton smiled and drew a chair from the table, sitting beside Sophia.He took out a Tarot card deck. “Every time you're making a hard decision, an old man who believes in the supernatural, like me, can give you a clear view of your future.”Sophia didn’t believe in superstition, but the tension in the room made her consider any help she could get.“Let me play for ten minutes. Maybe it could give you a clear view of your problem,” Keaton suggested.Sophia looked at Keaton, who had always helped her, and nodded. “Please.”“Great, let this old man play the game for you.” Keaton shuffled the cards and randomly drew one, placing it in front of Merly.“The Si
On the border of Drakonia and Archelion, 300,000 soldiers of Drakonia were waiting anxiously.With communication cut off, they were blind. Their transportation aircraft had been attacked by drones, rendering their movement ineffective.They became sitting ducks. After hours of uncertainty and fear, their telecommunication suddenly returned.The first live video they saw showed their president being shot by Aslan's aircraft.A bomb was dropped on the president's location after he was blamed as a coward. The president, along with all important generals and ministers, was killed. All Drakonian citizens watched in horror.Shortly after this, the Archelion Empire's second prince, Christopher Kingsley, gave his first public speech. "Greetings, all Drakonian citizens. I, Christoper Kingsley, will give you the update of what really happened here in your country.”"First of all, we, the Archelion, do not want war with Drakonia. We were forced into war. Your late president, together with Aslan,
“There are no innocents in war,” Alexander said as he led the military to the front line. "There are only winners and losers. And I will never be the loser!"“How is the Drakonian soldiers’ transportation?” He asked after four hours of giving the command to pick up the Drakonian soldiers on the border.Everything was supposed to be arranged by this time.The North General responded, “We have gathered 100,000 Drakonian soldiers to join our 100,000 soldiers and aid them in recovering their hometowns in the North! In two hours, we will engage with the enemy.”“How is the Nova soldiers' base?”“The North Drakonian general and soldiers have contacted their families and friends to spies their military power and location. We have all the advantages. In this war, we have a clear view while they are in the dark. We have a 99% winning rate, and morale is high.”“Alright, tell the Drakonian people if they do well, we will treat them better than how the old Drakonian regime treated them.”“Unders
Sophia had been thinking for a long time. Her marriage with Alex seemed like a spur-of-the-moment decision, driven by a desire to free herself from everything, especially her family.Although Alex was kind and easy to love, and a part of Sophia genuinely loved him, even dreaming of growing old together, the constant rejection from her family was too much for her.The societal judgment of her marrying a poor man weighed heavily on her.She questioned if she had forced her love out of stubbornness.Sometimes, a woman has to decide whether to choose a husband she truly loves or a man who deeply loves her.Sophia stared at James, who had been pursuing her for three or four years without her giving him a chance.He truly loved her. Maybe it was time to give him a chance. He was rich and noble. What was wrong with marrying a wealthy man who loved her?She could slowly learn to love him later."I will make my decision now," Sophia said. "James, if you can solve all my problems before tomorro
Just as James pondered what to do, he suddenly received three text messages.The first was from Grandma Deneuve: “Come to Deneuve Mansion now. I can help you solve Sophia’s problem.”The second was from Victoria, saying almost the same thing.And the third was from Merly, who simply said she was willing to help but reminded him not to forget the $50,000 transfer, or she would tell Sophia everything.The amount of money was insignificant for James, so he transferred it right away. He told Victoria to meet him at Deneuve Mansion.Inside Deneuve Mansion, Grandma Deneuve was calling George Spencer to join the meeting in the conference room with all the Deneuve family.James was there with one of his bodyguards, Victoria, and her father.Grandma Deneuve started the conference, “For now, we will focus our efforts on helping James solve all of Sophia’s problems so their marriage will not be delayed.”James quickly stood up, “Thank you, everyone, for your kind help.”He was an opportunist; if
Victoria excused herself to the private garden, away from the others. After making sure no one could hear, she dialed Lucas Gotti's number, which he had given her at their last meeting.“Hello,” answered a deep voice on the other end.“Lucas, it's Victoria.”“Yes, why do you call?”“I need you to let go of Jerry.”“Why?” he asked, his tone suspicious.“Because you cannot kill him yet.”“Do you want to save him?” Lucas's voice was sharp.“Of course not. He tried to poison me. I want him dead, but we can't kill him now. In two days, you can kill him without any problems.”“Explain,” Lucas demanded.“A member of the royal family, Alex, married Jerry’s cousin, Sophia Deneuve.”“The one all over the Blackwood news lately?” Lucas asked.“Yes, that's the one. If you release Jerry for two days, Sophia will sign the divorce papers tomorrow. After that, you can kill him or do whatever you want to their family without any backlash from the royal family.”“Are you sure about this?”“You can choos
One day before Sophia’s wedding, the entire empire was shocked by the latest news from the front line."The Empire's army, led by Second Prince Christopher, turned successful against the Drakonian Federation. Now, the Drakonian Federation is no more and has been renamed the West Archelion Empire.""They led a very successful military campaign. In just five days, they have total control of all of West Archelion and their borders with Nova, Southern, and Aslan countries."Alexander was sitting in the commanding aircraft, looking at the news with intense eyes."Right as always, Leader," Lavinia said. "You still don't want people to know you and your achievements.""I am the military leader. Once people know me, more assassins will come," Alex said firmly. "The only time I can freely expose my identity is when I control the whole world.""It won't be far away, Sir," Lavinia added with a confident nod. "With controlling West Archelion, we have doubled our military funds and soldiers.""Gre
On the day of the wedding, Grandma Deneuve and the entire Deneuve family were busy.They were calling all the reporters, worried that people might not know that Sophia Deneuve was marrying into the top-ranking noble family.Sophia looked around the royal Ritz hotel, everything feeling surreal. She had always thought she would marry Alex here, but now she was marrying James. Life had taken an unexpected turn.Victoria was becoming the bridesmaid. Inside the room, Sophia looked at Victoria’s happy face.“Are you really going to marry Alex?” Sophia asked.“Why ask?” Victoria responded. “You already divorced him and will soon marry James. Just forget the past.”“Will you be okay?” Sophia asked again. “He is poor.”“Well, although he is poor, my family is quite rich, and the most important thing is my father agrees with my choice. Not like you, your whole family rejected Alex.”“You are right.” Sophia replied sadly.“Don’t think too much. James is from a first-rank family and a noble. Your