MTL - The Thrilling Sword - Chapter 33 : Please ask the owner of the pool!

Theodora is the Queen of Polis, a city-state that lost the war against the most powerful empire in the continent.

She is sure that they'll execute her immediately but, somehow, she survives the meeting with the Emperor, and she finds herself... Married?

Tossed in a new world without connections and allies, she has to either accept her fate or lose the chance to help her people once again.

She soon finds out that her new husband knows more about her than she does herself, and that his purposes are often far from what she expects.

A fallen queen that doesn't know how to be anything else. A handsome Duke who's the cause of her ruin. And their efforts to find some happiness in a marriage that's been forced on them.

WARNING: there are contents not suitable for a sensitive audience.

The smut scenes are half-censored at the beginning, but the amount and details will increase after a few dozen chapters (according to the Queen's mood .-. )

***

«I'm sorry for lying to you, your grace...»

«You're a Duchess. No one will dare to consider your words a lie: if you say that you were painting souls, then it's the truth.»

«I will remember it.»

«No, you have to understand it, Theodora. You're not a prisoner, but my wife. I'll protect you when you need it, and I'll help you with any issue you have. You're not just a Duchess in the name. You're my Duchess.»

«It's hard to believe in such a short amount of time.»

«For now, stop shaking like a chicken. I won't hurt you.»

***

Clearing wasteland, farming, exploring and collecting, starting from scratch to slowly build an estate that completely belongs to oneself.Jiang Yuan always thought that the bound game was a cheat that could shuttle between two realms to sell things, until he discovered that the skills obtained in the game could also be used in reality!

In humanity’s final war against the Demon Lord, the strongest heroes fell—not by the enemy’s hand, but by their own, twisted into madness by a cruel illusion. Betrayal. Bloodshed. Despair… and then, silence.Only one person remained: Riley—the weakest warrior of them all. Powerless. Ignored. Forgotten.But he saw through the Demon Lord’s deception. The tyrant was on the brink of death—so weak even a fly could’ve finished him off.And Riley did just that, drawing every last ounce of strength to bite off the demon’s head.Victory? Not quite. A final, desperate strike from the Demon Lord pierced him from behind, killing him instantly.But fate wasn’t done with him yet.Riley awoke ten years in the past—when the online game [Apocalypse] was launched. Before demons descended. Before monsters overran the world.And this time, he wasn’t starting from nothing. He had a decade of experience—and a second chance.Even more shocking, he didn’t awaken his old D-rank Strength Boost talent. This time, he received something far more terrifying: an SSS-Rank Gluttony talent!He could now devour anything—monsters, items, talents, even traits—and gain their power.Ding![You have devoured: Iron Fang Wolf][Acquired: +4 Strength, +2 Agility, Skill: Bite (F-rank)][You have devoured: Goblin ShamanAcquired: +8 Intelligence, Skill: Mana Bolt (E-rank), Talent: Minor Spellcasting Efficiency][You have devoured: Flaming Salamander Drake][Acquired: +22 Endurance, Trait: Dragon’s Resilience, Skill: Flame Breath (C-rank)]Now, there is no demon, no god, no monster who will stand in his way. He will devour everything—and save the world.But the power of Gluttony was a double edged sword. If he wasn’t careful… he could be the one getting consumed.

Fifty years ago, the world changed forever when Earth was mysteriously connected to the Primordial World, a reality that operates like a game.This world can only be entered by Awakeners—people who have awakened with special powers. However, out of fifteen billion humans, only one million have this privilege.Enzo, a poor young man with no connection to the Primordial World, should have had no chance of becoming an Awakener.However, against all odds, he awakens... and more than that, he gains an innate skill unheard of before—the ability to make skills with only his imagination.In a world where power determines everything, how will a nameless young man carve his own path?