Riftan’s POV (Under the Oak Tree Side Story) - Chapter 17: Riftan’s POV

“Each betrayal leaves a scar… and hers ran the deepest.”Once, Aveline Laurent gave her heart to Damien Ashford - the man who promised her a future, only to cage her with sweet lies.She endured it all with a smile… until fate dragged her back to the very beginning.Now, with a second chance hanging by a fragile thread, Aveline returns.Not to plead, but to punish.
Not to forget, but to make him remember.But revenge is never simple. The path is fraught with shadows—and an unlikely ally–Alaric Lancaster–whose loyalties remain as mysterious as his gaze.

I, Olga Rifald, have remembered the moment my engagement was canceled.

I had died in an accident and got reborn as the heroine in the Otome Game “Princess Road”.

The end of this engagement signifies the start of the game.

… And, if I’m careless, I will head towards the death route at full speed.

… Eh? Isn’t that dangerous? Ain’t dying dangerous?

I have already died in my past life, so at least here, I would like to live peacefully…!

… That being the case, I will do my best to aim towards the slowlife.

… Even though that was the plan!

Zhou Youlin, a famous ice queen of the special forces. During an accident in her mission, she was betrayed by her squad mates and was shot twice. She died on the spot. When she woke up again, she became the useless madam of a rice family and was a resentful wife who was neglected by her husband. Her son, too, was neglected.“If I’m not mistaken, we’re already divorced. You’re currently invading my home, my dear ex.” Zhao Youlin raised her chin and sat at the end of the couch with her legs folded. She looked prideful.Mu Tingfeng was expressionless. “We can get married again.”Zhou Youlin quirked her eyebrows. Then, she swung her hand, and a large number of handsome men’s pictures were spread on the table.“Baby, be a good boy and choose someone you like to be your stepdaddy, okay?”Mu Tingfeng’s expression… turned dark.

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.