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historical

Scholar's Mate

“In an age where knowledge cuts deeper than knives, Victoria is about to learn far more than is safe for any soul to bear.” Victoria and Robert were torn from the gentle dullness of their ordinary century and cast into a realm governed by proto-concepts—those ancient, unblinking truths from which life, death, and divinity themselves are carved. Proclaimed “Heroes” by a world too desperate to question its own choices, they were commanded to rise in strength, confront a Demon Lord, and deliver salvation to a land that had never been theirs. Robert donned the mantle with the fervour of a man stepping into destiny. Victoria… hesitated. And in that hesitation, something old—older than scripture, older than light—turned its gaze toward her. She felt its attention like a draft through a locked room. In a moment poised between terror and terrible understanding, she accepted its offer: a contract sealed in silence, a year of her life exchanged for a thing that should never have been permitted to exist. Not in this world. Not in any. She did not yet grasp that, in straying from the Hero’s ordained path, she had not merely shifted her fate— she had begun to unwrite the very scaffolding of her humanity. Now Victoria walks like a phantom through a world that has marched on without her— one year behind the celebrated Hero, yet burdened with an insight so sharp it threatens to cut her free from mortality itself. She can now trespass upon knowledge forbidden to scholars, sorcerers, or even those who stand at the pinnacle of human mastery. She commits the kind of acts whispered only of beings who have stepped beyond the human threshold… and never returned. And in a world built on primordial, immovable truths, one truth endures: Knowledge is power. But power, when mishandled, becomes a curse that devours its bearer— quietly, inevitably, like rot beneath embroidered silk.
NovaLumin · 201.5k Views

Tread Lightly on Thawing Ice

Title:섭우춘빙 (Seop Woo Chun Bing) Author: 밤꾀꼬리 Description: *Clang!* The mask split in half, revealing a face so extraordinary it seemed almost otherworldly. Skin as pale as if it would smudge with the slightest touch, a sharp and elegant nose, perfectly shaped lips. Every feature was as refined as if sculpted by a master artisan, untouched by the passage of time. Once jet-black like the night, the hair had turned as white as the snow-capped mountains of the northern lands. It was still beautiful, but a fragile, ethereal quality had been added, as if the figure might scatter and dissolve into the air at any moment. As the mask fell away, revealing eyes beneath fluttering, slow-blinking lashes, they shone like polished black onyx—noble and luminous. It was a visage so close to a work of art that it seemed a pity only Ye Kang-oh and the sun bore witness to it. However, in the presence of this breathtakingly handsome man, Ye Kang-oh’s expression began to crumble. There was no way he couldn’t recognize that face. Not because it was a beauty that could rival even Song-ok or Ban-ak, but because it belonged to someone who had once been Kang-oh’s protector. "Is it you?" Ye Kang-oh, the youngest disciple of the Black Sky Lord, stood before the man he had once revered and adored. Dan Woo-hyo, the Lord of White Virtue Palace, whom the martial world believed to be missing, was there. "Has it really been you all along?" ------------ ⚠⚠⚠ EDITED MTL
happyyyyal · 205.8k Views

A Scandal By Any Other Name

BOOK TWO OF THE HAMILTON SERIES WARNING: A Regency Era novel. Adult content with detailed smut…Read at you own risk⚠️⛔️ Genre: Historical Romance / Smut / Enemies-to-Lovers / Mystery / Comedy / Found family [Book Two of the Hamilton Series. Can be read as a standalone, but better enjoyed after Lady Ines’ Scandalous Hobby.] To the world, Duke Rowan Hamilton is the perfect gentleman. But in the bedroom, he is a man possessed. Rowan Hamilton has it all: a Ducal title, the face of a fallen angel, and a smile that makes debutantes faint. He is the "Golden Duke"—charming, responsible, and utterly adored by society. But it’s all a lie. Beneath the coats and polite manners, Rowan is a man haunted by a ghost. For three years, he has remained faithful to the memory of a masked woman who stole a kiss, bested him at a game of chance, and vanished into the night. He doesn't want any one as his wife; he wants her. When his domineering aunt tires of his bachelorhood, she hires London’s most notorious underground matchmaker to force the issue. Enter Miss Delaney Kingsley. She is sharp-tongued, infuriatingly competent, and entirely unimpressed by his title. Her mission? To drag Rowan to the altar with the season’s "Diamond," Lady Celine, within three months to collect the juicy payment Rowan’s aunt had to offer. Rowan intends to fire the meddlesome woman. But when Delaney looks at him with those hazel, intelligent eyes and orders him around like a young lad, he feels the first spark of life he’s felt in years. He decides to play her game. He will let her find him a wife. But he has no intention of choosing anyone even Lady Celine. "You were hired to find me a Duchess, Miss Kingsley. But the only person I want in my duchy and in my bed... is you." As mysteries turn into forbidden nights and the bickering turns into scorching passion, Rowan begins to suspect that his matchmaker is hiding a secret of her own. She moves like a shadow, handles a rifle like a soldier, and tastes exactly like the ghost he’s been hunting for three years. What to Expect: * High Stake Mystery: They try to untangle themselves from the Farrington’s trap. * The Golden Retriever Duke: Who turns into a possessive Alpha behind closed doors. * The Matchmaker Trope: She’s trying to marry him off; he’s trying to take her clothes off. * High Heat: Slow burn that explodes into intense smut. * Competence Kink: He falls harder every time she bosses him around. * Cameos: Featuring the chaotic domestic life of Duchess Ines and Duke Carcel (and their baby Harry!). Excerpt: "Your Grace, please focus," Delaney snapped, adjusting his cravat with efficient, gloved hands. "Lady Celine is waiting in the ballroom. You must look at her as if she is the only woman in the world." Rowan caught her wrist, stopping her movements. He stepped into her space, backing her against the heavy oak door of the study, his "Golden Boy" mask slipping to reveal the hunger beneath. "And how, exactly, does one do that, Miss Kingsley?" he whispered, his voice rough. "Show me." "I—I cannot show you, It I s not in my place to—" "Then teach me," he growled, lowering his head until his lips brushed the sensitive skin of her neck. "Teach me how to pretend I am not burning alive every time you walk into a room."
Cameron_Rose_8326 · 810.5k Views