Unable to help feeling excited, Olivia’s heart fluttered with the small change of leaving the hotel. It felt like a new life was beginning, even under the same Lytton sky.
Arriving at the stop for the carriage to Riverside 3rd Street, it was quiet, having just missed the previous carriage. Olivia pondered whether to wait for the next thirty minutes or catch a passing private carriage. Then, a newspaper stand next to a streetlamp caught her eye.
[The Duke of Edinburgh, Johann Leopold, to Engage with Princess Irene of Tanicia Krantz?]‘Impossible!’
Shocked by the unbelievable headline, Olivia’s eyes widened.
Her gaze, captivated by the article, slowly moved down to the picture below.
The woman wearing a tiara was a beautiful, delicate lady, and next to her were side-by-side photos of Johann Leopold.
Olivia felt momentarily stunned.
Marriage?
Of course, Johann Leopold would marry Clara Saint. So, this Princess Krantz couldn’t be the one.
‘It means anyone will do.’
Trembling hands clasped together, Olivia felt a chill.
This world’s firm intention was that for the heroine, Clara, to stand out, an antagonist was necessary.
To fulfill this, the role of Johann’s oppressive wife was important, and it seemed to imply that it didn’t have to be Olivia Blanchett.
The area around the stop began to bustle with people arriving to catch the carriage. The noise buzzed in Olivia’s head, making her dizzy.
“Are you okay? …Miss?”
Anne, who had been watching for the carriage, rushed over in alarm upon seeing Olivia turn pale. Following Olivia’s gaze, Anne covered her mouth in shock.
Miss…
Anne looked at Olivia worriedly. Her face was distressingly pale.
Of course, Olivia was shocked for another reason, but Anne couldn’t know that. To her, it seemed Olivia was crumbling from the news of her beloved husband’s engagement.
How deeply she must have loved him.
A love that was insignificant to the Duke was everything to Olivia, no matter how painful or cruel. Such a feeling couldn’t vanish in an instant with a signature on paper.
“Shall we rest a bit somewhere? How about there?”
Anne pointed to a coffeehouse across the street.
“…That won’t be necessary. I’m fine.”
Olivia managed a faint smile.
Just then, the carriage arrived. People swarmed in as the door opened, and Olivia boarded, carried by the crowd.
As the carriage started, the newspaper stand faded into the distance, but the vivid image of Princess Krantz of Krantz, smiling like the bright spring sun, remained in Olivia’s mind.
Unbelievable.
「The Duke of Edinburgh, Johann Leopold, Shockingly Engaged to Princess Krantz」
It was unthinkable.
Diane’s eyes, icy and deep, fixed on the photograph in the morning newspaper. Her hands trembled as she gripped the paper. The sudden development without any forewarning made her feel a strong sense of betrayal.
Wasn’t this just doing a favor for others?
Journalists unanimously expressed joy and excitement in their articles. They proclaimed that the Duke of Edinburgh had finally found a duchess worthy of his noble bloodline.
Irene de Krantz.
A high princess of another nation, incomparable to Olivia Blanchett. She instantly shattered Diane’s desire to be a duchess. A rival so formidable it extinguished any will to fight.
Diane bit her lip in frustration.
Diane, needing time to win over Johann’s heart, had stayed in Greathill under the pretext of cleaning up the mess left by the former Duchess.
A month after the divorce, someone was still needed to handle the onslaught of bills and orders.
‘I should have had a child with him by any means…’
If the Grand Duchess were to become the new lady of the house, Diane would have no reason to stay. With secretaries and advisors for the Tanician, there was no place for a former duchess’s secretary.
‘Irritating!’
Frustrated, Diane stood up and flung the newspaper onto the table. Her angry steps paced by the window.
The unbearable anger surged within her.
All the efforts to eliminate Olivia Blanchett…
A throbbing pain hit her temples.
‘Irritating! So irritating!’
Instead of screaming, Diane grabbed a vase from the sideboard and hurled it onto the wool carpet. The glass shattered into pieces, glinting sharply in the morning sun.
Now that all her efforts were in vain, she needed something equivalent to a duchess’s position.
There was no way she could leave without it.
Swiftly changing her approach, Diane walked to her dresser and opened the top drawer. A green velvet box with a gold trim emerged, revealing a lily-patterned amethyst key.
She couldn’t just leave like this.
Diane looked down at the golden key, biting her lower lip. Her lips, flushed with blood, slowly curled into a smile.
Greathill was originally built in the architectural style of the young queen’s homeland, a palace for her, homesick in a foreign land.
The king filled a large room with jewels for his beloved queen, and the lily key was for the room displaying and storing those treasures.
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
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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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