Why Did France'S Plan XVII Fail In 'The Guns Of August'?

After I was caught in a dockside explosion, I was bound to a Survival Program. It gave me twenty-five years and four designated targets. If even one target’s Love Score or bond score reached 100%, I could wake up in my real world. But I failed all four. Because every target I tried to reach eventually turned toward Sophia Lane, the heroine of this world. They called my pain a performance. They called my tears manipulation. They said I was only pretending to break down so they would choose me over Sophia. But if they never loved me, why did they lose control when my mission failed and I chose to leave this world for good?

For a Captain of the Royal house to have honour, he must saves the life of the only heir to the throne, else he will be dishonoured, and excuted; and for Captain Casablanca to become the king of the sea, he must kidnap the only hier, and vomit terror all around the Western sea.

She forgot her empire. He never forgot her. Lana Marcone was only four years old when her world was torn apart. After her parents were brutally murdered in a massacre that shook Valdoria's Five Families, she was rescued by Don Emilio Vitale, the most powerful man in the alliance and the sworn brother of her late father. Bound by an unbreakable promise, Emilio raised Lana as his own daughter, determined to protect both the child and the legacy her parents died to preserve. But not everyone welcomed her into the Vitale family. As Lana struggled to find her place in a home that never truly accepted her, unseen enemies quietly set a conspiracy into motion, one that had begun the night her parents were killed. Eighteen years later, on the eve of a historic Council of Five gathering, Don Emilio is finally ready to reveal a secret that could change the future of the alliance. He never gets the chance. An explosion rips through the council hall. The King survives. Lana disappears. Before the smoke clears, the empire has already chosen its traitor. Accused of betraying the man who raised her, Lana becomes the most wanted woman in Valdoria. Five years later, she is living under another name, with no memory of the life she left behind. She no longer remembers the empire that once called her its future, the father who chose her, or the man who never stopped searching for her. But the past refuses to stay buried. As forgotten memories begin to return, Lana realizes that the greatest secret threatening the Five Families was never hidden in a vault or locked inside forgotten files. It has been buried inside her all along. And when the Queen remembers... an empire built on lies will finally fall.

The night before I officially registered my marriage, my friends convinced everyone to play a "mystery box game." The female guests each placed a gift into a box, and the gifts were randomly given to the men at the party. Everyone said it was the fairest way. When I opened my box, there was only a thin card inside. It said, "Thanks for participating." The entire room instantly went silent. Some people couldn't hold back their laughter. My fiancée, Charlotte Kilbourn, reached over and straightened my collar. "Your luck is still terrible." Lyra Sharpe, my childhood friend who grew up with me, whispered, "Just smile. Don't make people think you're a sore loser." Meanwhile, Connor Winfield got the hidden prize in the same round. Inside were a limited-edition mechanical watch personally chosen by Charlotte, a couples' island vacation package I had dreamed about for three years, and a handwritten note from Lyra that said, "We'll always protect you." I forced myself to laugh along, then placed the card back into the empty box. I thought winning a game was just about luck. But when I went to the restroom, I overheard the host checking the prize list in the lounge. "Ms. Kilbourn, you didn't give out the prizes wrong, did you? The hidden prize went to Mr. Winfield, and the participation prize went to Mr. Rayner." Charlotte answered calmly. Lyra laughed and added, "That's right. He won't take it seriously." Standing outside the door, I suddenly remembered the night I turned 18, when I stood in the rain waiting for the midnight fireworks at my debut party. Charlotte and Lyra had given the only umbrella to Connor. Then they turned back and told me, "George, you're closer. Just run a few steps and you'll be fine." That night, after I walked home soaked in the rain, I still believed I was just unlucky. But tonight, I finally understood the truth. They had never planned to give me that umbrella from the beginning. So this time, I tore the card into pieces and canceled my marriage registration appointment. I didn't want to play a "lucky game" they had already planned for me anymore.

On our seventh wedding anniversary, my wife handed me a divorce agreement that was valid for seven days. She had fallen for a male intern at her company who was seven years younger than her. She wanted to experience what she called a proper romance with him, one that would last exactly seven days. On the first day, they booked an entire private cinema and made love to each other from the entrance to their seats. On the second day, they went to the seaside to set off fireworks, and the light spread across half the skyline of Veyron. On the fifth day, the intern burst into an art exhibition I hosted and cried in front of the entire press. He accused me of coming between them. That same evening, the story of a rising painter becoming a homewrecker for love reached the top of the trending searches, and the hate comments poured in. On the sixth day, my wife apologized to me on the intern’s behalf, and his punishment was a three‑day ban from shopping. On the seventh day, my wife finally sensed something was wrong. She called me ninety‑nine times and reminded me that we were supposed to reconcile the next day. I replied with a single “okay” and quietly told my assistant to arrange for my luggage to be shipped out. What she did not know was that seven days earlier, I had already made plans to go abroad to continue my studies. This time, I was done playing her game.

Viola gave Brian everything for seven yeats; her dreams, her career, her whole future. All for a man who promised to be her family after she lost her parents. One promotion to Paris. One shattered coffee table. One spilled urn of her parents' ashes. That's all it took for Viola to discover the truth: her fiancé had been living a double life with his dead best friend's sister, Vanessa. While Viola bled from glass wounds, Brian chose his lover over his bride-to-be. While she mourned her parents' remains scattered across a dirty elevator floor, he was planning a secret wedding. While she stood humiliated in a wine-stained dress at Vanessa's birthday party, they were already picking out wedding invitations. But Brian made one crucial mistake—he underestimated the woman he destroyed. Now she's on a plane to Paris, and Brian has no idea what's coming for him. The broken woman he destroyed is gone. What's left is someone with nothing to lose and a burning need for payback. He stole seven years of her life. Time to take everything from his. Or not.