A Shadow Cast in Paradise (23 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 1
A small figure dashed through the damp forest.
The woman’s footsteps, parting the mist drifting between the trees, were breathless.
Behind her, the shadow of a black beast pursued.
“Ugh!”
Her shoe came off, and her blood-soaked feet left crimson footprints, betraying the fugitive’s path.
The hound, ears sharply erect, clung tightly to her trail, never losing the metallic scent of blood.
The pounding of its four paws against the earth quickened her heartbeat in unison.
“Hah… hah…!”
Her sweat-drenched chestnut hair fluttered in disarray, and scratches from tree branches marred her pale skin.
Yet she forgot the pain entirely, running with every ounce of strength until her lungs felt ready to burst.
Tall, straight trees swiftly blurred past. Like iron bars, the endless rows stretched on without end.
Finally.
“Kang!”
Pain shot through her leg just as the hound’s cry echoed from directly behind.
Simultaneously, her body tumbled forward.
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped her as she crashed face-first into the ground.
Turning her head, she met the beast’s persistent, gleaming eyes.
The massive hound clamped its jaws around her slender calf, its lips slick with sticky saliva.
The moment she realized escape was impossible, another hound leaped toward her neck, aiming for the kill.
‘Please…!’
Just as she squeezed her eyes shut—
“Kyeng!”
A final cry from the beast, followed by a wet, piercing sound.
At that instant, she felt the dog biting her leg go limp.
Swish!
Hot blood splattered onto her torn clothes.
The fleeing woman slowly opened her eyes.
The huge hound’s corpse lay sprawled upon the crimson-soaked earth.
Forgetting even the throbbing pain in her leg, she slowly raised her head.
A few paces away, a lone figure stood.
A man cloaked in black, his raven-dark hair blending into his shadowy silhouette—only his back visible.
She gathered herself, sitting up, and grasped the damp soil tightly in her fists.
At that moment, the sword-wielding man slowly turned his head.
Amidst the darkness, violet eyes glimmered—and her heart began pounding wildly.
‘Why…!’
Like a thief caught stealing, she hastily lowered her head, hiding her face beneath her tangled hair.
Plash—a sound echoed through the quiet forest as someone stepped into a pool of blood.
The shade-laden forest wind felt unnaturally chilling, and a searing pain radiated through her leg.
She crouched deeper into the blood puddle, curling her body even smaller.
The humid air, saturated with murky mist, pressed heavily into her lungs.
Soon, a shadow fell over her slender, pale hand.
She prayed desperately that this thick shadow would simply pass by unnoticed.
But the gleaming black boots crushed even the faintest breeze beneath them, stopping right before her.
“…To think I’d encounter you in a place like this.”
A drop of warm blood dripped from the tip of the blade held by the shadow’s master.
Then, a black-gloved hand seized her chin and sharply lifted her face.
And she met his gaze—vivid violet eyes shining brightly in a desaturated world cloaked under ashen clouds.
Shade Lester.
The Duke who ruled the Duchy of Lester, known as the Sword of the North.
Also, a former slave of mixed blood from the Lupus clan, the so-called Black Wolves.
The duality embedded in his name had become gossip in high society, periodically resurfacing on people’s lips whenever it seemed forgotten.
But to her, Shade was far more than just idle gossip.
“My lady, are you unharmed?”
Buried memories surged into her mind as though they’d been waiting all this time.
The dam of forced oblivion, carefully built to forget, began slowly crumbling.
The memories leaking through the narrow cracks soon shattered the entire barrier, flooding her mind like a deluge.
They rose until her throat, threatening to drown her.
His violet gaze swept over her, dry and suffocating.
“You vanished after abandoning me,”
his lips, once calm like a quiet horizon, moved slowly.
“…Only to end up like this?”
His flat tone dripped with mockery.
Pushing aside her tangled hair revealed a wreck of a woman.
Swollen cheeks, scabbed lips, a torn maid’s dress, one missing shoe, bloodied and battered feet—
and her calf, soaked crimson from the hound’s bite.
She clenched her eyes shut and turned her head away.
They knew each other well.
Yet neither had ever wished for such a reunion.
She had never wanted to meet him again—caked in mud and utterly degraded.
No. They shouldn’t have met again, in any form.
After all she’d done to escape…
She struggled to pull away from his gaze.
His violet eyes narrowed.
“Luise.”
An old name spilled from his lips.
The discarded name stirred her heart once more.
Long ago, it had been condemned under charges of heresy.
A traitor’s name, never meant to be spoken again.
“Luise Ideana.”
He forced her chin again, making her meet his eyes.
At the end of his relentless stare, the corner of his red lips twisted upward.
“…I thought you were dead.”
At that softly murmured phrase, her heart dropped heavily.
The hand gripping her chin held no warmth anymore.
Gone was the pure, sparkling light she remembered from long ago.
“I must give you a chance for revenge before killing you.”
A fleeting smile crossed his cold face.
Relief that his chance for vengeance hadn’t slipped away.
Triumph that his prey hadn’t escaped.
The former sincerity and warmth had become outdated ornaments, ill-suited to him now.
In place of naive sincerity and cumbersome kindness, he now bore refined arrogance and beautiful contempt.
Much had changed—and she was no exception.
“Liana…”
Her trembling lips barely formed the name, sounding like the lament of a sacrificial lamb offered to the altar.
“I’m… Liana Serpens.”
Uttering the name burned her tongue.
Liana Serpens—everyone called her that now.
Luise Ideana, the traitor and heretic, no longer existed in this world.
All that remained was a commoner maid bearing only the name Liana,
utterly devoid of the noble grace once befitting a lady of aristocracy.
“Your Grace must be mistaken me for someone you know.”
Liana bowed her head, feigning the most shameless expression she could muster.
She reminded herself of who she was now.
Gone was the noble lady’s beautiful platinum hair—instead, thick brown locks, dull as dead leaves, hung tangled around her face.
She sat on the muddy ground, clad not in pristine gowns but a torn and filthy maid’s dress.
Instead of finely polished leather shoes, she wore rag-woven slippers—or rather, had lost even one of those, exposing her bare, bloodied foot.
She’d abandoned her melodic Western cadence, adopting a slow, relaxed Southern accent instead.
Thus, not a single soul—not even one—had recognized her until now.
And yet.
“Mistaken?”
A flicker of amusement passed beneath his long lashes.
Simultaneously, the long fingers gripping her chin slid slowly down her throat.
The sensation brushing her neck felt both scorching and chilling.
Like the touch of a blade, Liana froze in place.
And then—
“You can’t fool my eyes, Luise.”
His indifferent hand seized her collar and roughly tore it open.
The already ruined buttons of her maid’s dress popped off helplessly.
Beneath the torn neckline, her pale, unremarkable collarbone and shoulder were exposed.
His gaze dropped deliberately to one spot.
The black crescent-shaped birthmark etched upon her collarbone.
“You of all people shouldn’t dare try to deceive me. Right?”
He tugged her collar like tightening the leash of ensnared prey.
Indisputable proof was branded upon her very body.
Her slender hands frantically pulled the collar closed, trying to compose herself.
“Please let go.”
“…Of me?”
Her feeble resistance dissolved beneath his rough fingertips.
“I have to return.”
“Where? To Baron Godwin’s estate?”
At Shade Lester’s mocking question, her widened eyes met his.
“How…?”
How could he know she worked as a maid at Baron Godwin’s estate?
Seeing doubt flicker in her trembling eyes, Shade casually gestured toward the fallen hound.
Emblazoned clearly on the dog’s collar was the Godwin family crest.
Moreover, her bloodied black maid’s dress bore the region’s distinctively provincial frills—undeniably the uniform of Baron Godwin’s household.
“To endure such treatment and still return to the baron’s estate—now that’s truly admirable loyalty.”
“…His Lordship treats me kindly.”
Liana clutched the dirty hem of her skirt with trembling hands.
Shade’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Kindly?”
He scrutinized her through the narrow slit of his eyes.
The state of a maid supposedly cherished by her master looked particularly convincing.
“I’m quite curious just how ‘kindly’ he treats you.”
A cruel smile curled Shade’s lips.
His fingertips slowly caressed the hilt of his sword.
Realizing his intent, Liana shook her head.
“My master treats me…!”
“Are you worried Baron Godwin might seek revenge against me?”
Shade Lester chuckled softly and yanked her necklace sharply.
Her body lurched forward, closing the distance between them instantly.
She held her breath—he was close enough for his breath to graze her cheek.
The heavy scent of the forest mingled with the metallic tang of blood emanated from him.
Shade locked eyes with Liana, who could barely breathe.
“If you still see me as that slave from long ago, my lady, you’re sorely mistaken.”
His low, murmuring voice sent chills down her spine.
Liana’s lips trembled.
“I’ve risen as far as you’ve fallen.”
When male lead is the homewrecker
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
I’ve read the novel below twice already. Girls, I’m highly recommending it to you!
The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.
Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.
The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.
I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.
There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.
For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.
I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.
Here’s the story synopsis:
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Intro 1:
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.
Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.
In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.
Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…
Intro 2:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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