MTL - You Cannot Afford To Offend My Woman - Chapter 14 Post-smoke compression syndrome

“The masterminds are cooler than heroes,” I mutter as I stare at the chess pieces before me. It is easier to be the one who sits in the shadows and moves the pieces, likewise deciding the flow of the game.Heroes will foolishly sacrifice their lives for the good cause and villains will sacrifice the world for their own gain, but masterminds will use both the heroes and villains to their own benefit.Why, you ask? Well, that's because I've lost my life once while trying to be a hero so, I don't want that anymore. I'd rather be a mastermind who molds the world as per my convenience and live peacefully. Because, why not?***[Defender of Divine Glory says you are the hope of this world.]What?[Goddess of Wisdom believes that you will be the one to save the world.]Wait, what?![Propose the Grand Duke the idea of a fake marriage.]And, why would I do that?![Stop the assassination of Prince Eric.]Why would I save him?![The candidates for the throne are:... Who will you choose?]Ah! I give up...It seems like a curse that anyone who wishes for a slacker life in Isekai will have to go through the most troublesome things.In my past life, I died because of one rookie mistake but after being transmigrated in the world of fantasy I've gotten an opportunity to start afresh, but unlike the protagonists who look for their love and glory, I'd rather make money and live a life of a slacker.I have magic, I have power and I have money, what else do I need?Well, that was the plan but this damn system is getting on my nerves. I mean who in their sane mind would want to mess with the complicated royal family and political affairs? But that's not all though.I've also become the saviour of this world. Things just can't be anymore worse!Besides, the penalty of failing this quest is...[Failure: Destruction of the World.]It seems like if I screw up in selecting the right person then the destruction that is going to befall the world won't be stopped.If I speak of my reward then it's this vague thing.[Reward: Fulfillment of any wish.]“If that's the case then, I'd rather choose the person who would be the best fit for the throne.”And that's how I decided that I would become the Kingmaker.

Want to get super vision? Then let’s get some eagle blood.

Want to get super power? Blood of the Bear works great.

Are you going to surpass humans? Exactly, I have vampire blood here.

Do you want to be the ultimate creature? Very well, I have a drop of the blood of the ancient gods here.

…………

Become the headless mayor of the ancient, chaotic city of Arkham, where the gods breed.

Starting from blood therapy, Ross built an extraordinary shelter, a forbidden library, and a museum of the ancient gods.

Ross: We Arkham are full of talented people, and our folk customs are simple, hey! Don’t run! Haven’t visited Arkham Sanatorium yet!

Farming flow, invincible flow, behind-the-scenes black hand flow, Cthulhu.

- Description from novelbuddy

“Why didn’t you tell me?”“Tell you what, Richard? What would you have done?”“I don’t know. Apologized sooner? Bought you a burger to make up for it?”Her eyes lit up with fire, “You think what you did to me… you think a burger can make up for it?” her eyes twinkled like she was fighting tears. Did I hurt her that badly? I was just a foolish teenager.“Nita, I am sorry. I was young, I was stupid. I wish I could take it all back and tell you how I feel instead of being a constant jerk to gain your attention.”“How did you feel that would justify what you did to me?”I paused for a minute, finding the words. “I had a huge crush on you at the time. And I didn’t know how to express myself. I was full of myself, I was the school’s ladies' man and the one girl I had eyes for didn’t even care if I existed,” “And that justified what you did to me? Richard, you broke me. I can forgive you for ‘accidentally’ spilling your ice cream on me, or throwing my due assignment in the toilet, or the gum in my hair, or the glue in my chair but tell me how can I forgive you for what you did that night? Tell me!”“What night? Nita, what are you talking about?”“Remember when you asked me if I knew who sexually assaulted me?”I nodded, but what does that have to do with anything? The more we spoke, the more confused I became.“You did and I cannot believe that you would stand there and pretend like it didn’t happen!”Nita has spent years trying to forget the torment she endured at the hands of Richard. When her family’s financial ruin forces her into an arranged marriage, she is horrified to find out the groom himself was her bully.Richard, a charming and successful businessman meets the first woman to be repulsed by him. Intrigued, he proposes a deal of a one year marriage of convenience.Navigating life as a couple, old wounds reopen, buried memories surface. As Richard learns more about his wife, he finds that he has enemies that followed him from his past to continuously cloud his wife’s judgement.Will Nita believe the truth and bury old wounds or will the pain of the past prove too strong to heal?

When Lu Huang woke up as Lidia—the villainess of a cringe-worthy romance novel—she was determined not to let the story play out like the dumpster fire it was written to be. Nope. Dying at the hands of the Alpha King after being falsely accused, publicly humiliated, and manipulated into madness? Yeah, that’s not on her to-do list.Armed with a sharp tongue that could flay egos, the street smarts of a broke college grad, and the petty audacity of someone with nothing left to lose, Lidia decides she was ripping up the script. Holier-than-thou saintesses? Screw ’em. Self-righteous alphas? They can eat dirt. If this world insists on casting her as the villain, she’s going to own it—on her terms.One chaotic scheme at a time, Lidia’s ready to rewrite her fate—and if she has to break a few rules (and maybe some noses) to do it, so be it. Villainesses don’t play nice, and Lidia is just getting started.