The Summer King and His Winter Bride - Chapter 18: The Winter Palace

In my previous life, I was half a move short and ultimately failed to reach the summit. Having traveled back to the past, this time... I want to become the strongest in this world! To become the strongest in this world, one only needs three simple steps: 1. Pick up a newly-transferred Demonic Sect Enchantress off the streets. 2. Subdue and vanquish the demon. 3. Take her cultivation technique for myself. Awesome! I’m already invincible! ———————— Years later, Yan Yu, who had earned the title of “the strongest,” was interviewed on television: Host: To whom do you want to give thanks for your success today? Yan Yu: I’d like to thank a very important woman to me. Host (eyes lighting up): Oh, is she your wise and virtuous wife? Yan Yu: No, consider her a stepping stone, I suppose. Host (wiping sweat): Then... what about the other members of your team? They must have helped you as well, right? Yan Yu: ... How could there possibly be only one stepping stone on the path to godhood?

I died in my world… and woke up in someone else’s story.But not as the hero. Not as the villain. Not even as a side character who mattered. I’m… an NPC—a nobody, a background observer, invisible to everyone.At first, I thought I was powerless. But then I discovered something strange: I could leave notes, whisper hints, move objects… small nudges that subtly changed the story. Every tiny action rippled through the plot, shaping outcomes, saving lives, and altering the fate of heroines, heroes, and even villains.The catch? The story is alive. It resists interference. Push too hard, and accidents happen. Plot twists turn against me. Minor disasters loom. The more I try to influence, the more the story fights back.So I play carefully. I study. I manipulate quietly. I watch the heroines, heroes, and overlooked side characters, weaving invisible threads that guide them. I don’t fight. I don’t cheat. I survive—and maybe, just maybe, I can change the story from the shadows.From an unnoticed NPC to the hidden hand behind the world, I’ll prove that even a nobody can rewrite the story.

Razé was a cheat soldier at the age of 15, thanks to the memories of her previous life. One day, she was summoned by her superior – the devil Prime Minister and was ordered to go on a long-term solo mission. She was expecting a harsh mission, but…

“I knew you are the right person for this, Lieutenant Colonel Razé Orphan. I want you to attend the Centrior Imperial Magic Academy starting from this spring.”

“…..what?”

Well, it seems that she has been appointed as the “bodyguard” for the prince and other noble’s kids. And so, she was enrolled to the school where the aristocratic-sama gathered.

Although she was puzzled by the glittering school life, she was trying to live a life so as not to be bullied in the future. But it seems there was a secret that she didn’t know hidden in this world.

“Hey!!!!!! No one told me that this is an otome game!!!!!”

As a bodyguard, her life would be over if any of the noble kids got hurt. But then a young lady who claimed to be the ill-fated villainess came by. If the girl died, won’t she be dead too?

Today, Razé will continue to watch over her school life (with her own life on the line).

The year was 2030 when dungeons descended and wreaked havoc across the world.Fortunately, along with the descent of the dungeons was the awakening of various people obtaining superpowers, allowing the world to barely defend against the worldwide threat.Five years later, Desther, a young man that only wants to watch anime and read online novels, awakened the SSS-Grade Talent, Ultimate Thief, allowing him to steal a target’s attribute in battle and making it his own.However, along with the overpowered talent, was an announcement he wished he never got.[You obtained the title, [Chosen One]][Clear the dungeon or Die!]