Greian’s biological father, the late Duke Solzberry, took his own life before being completely consumed by the curse.
The last words he left to Arwin just before his death were, “Help and protect Greian, and please break the Solzberry curse.”
To be honest, Arwin Riventium had no reason to fulfill the late Duke’s request. He was only guarding the Solzberry fortress out of necessity, not out of loyalty to Solzberry.
The reason Arwin decided to fulfill the late Duke’s request was because he was his friend—nothing more, nothing less.
Arwin didn’t casually make friends. The number of people who could be his ‘friend’ was extremely small. That had always been the case for over a thousand years.
Johannes Solzberry became his ninth friend.
And now. Arwin faithfully kept his promise to Johannes, who was like a nephew, by watching over Greian.
“You already told her about that?”
“She has the right to know as my mate. Besides, I didn’t want to deceive her any longer.”
Feeling his stomach burn black, Arwin tapped his forehead. Maybe it was too early for the imprint, but he felt uneasy thinking about it in the current situation.
While he agreed that Gloria was (surprisingly) a good person, he didn’t fully trust her. Liking someone and trusting them were entirely different matters.
“Greian, I understand your feelings. But you should have been more careful.”
“After hearing my story, she… got angry. And she was sad. She even suggested looking for a way to break the curse together.”
“…….?”
A smile gradually spread on Greian’s face. His gray eyes seemed to deepen as if lost in memories.
“I trust her, Arwin.”
“…….?”
Arwin let out a deep sigh and wiped his face with his hand. Thinking quietly, it seemed somewhat like a family affair. Johannes Solzberry also found his wife extremely disgusting.
‘In any case, wolves.’
Sipping the cold tea, Arwin sighed while Greian hesitated, looking darker than before for some reason.
“By the way, actually…”
“……?”
“…I couldn’t bring up that story. About when the Solzberry family curse first manifested…”
“Ah…”
Arwin sighed softly. His face, which seemed to have aged a hundred years in just a few minutes, looked weary.
“…So? What are you going to do? Do you want to leave that story buried?”
“I can’t do that.”
Bitterly smiling at Arwin’s question, Greian, pretending to focus on documents meaninglessly, averted his gaze again.
As he was rummaging through the papers without much purpose,
Knock, knock―.
A knocking sound came from outside the door.
“Lady, what’s the matter?”
Greian approached me with a broad smile. His smile seemed carefree, but the air in the office was strangely tense. Arwin’s gaze, looking at me, was also unusually suspicious.
“I baked strawberry jam cookies with April. So, I brought them to share with you. Have one when you feel like it.”
Regardless, I revealed the reason and purpose for coming here. Looking at the package I handed over, Greian’s expression changed dramatically. He smiled gently, like a child receiving a Christmas present, and said,
“I’ll enjoy them. Thank you, Lady.”
Then, April, who had been hiding in my arms, stuck her head out as if asking, ‘Aren’t you grateful to me?’
Seeing April like that, Greian chuckled and added in a kind tone,
“Thank you, April. Enjoy them.”
“Meow.”
April, who responded briefly, nestled in my arms. It seemed embarrassing for Greian to have received a gift from her. Truly a tsundere rabbit.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. I’m sorry for interrupting your work.”
“No interruption at all, Lady.”
Greian, seeing us off, seemed rather disappointed. On the other hand, Arwin, with his chubby face, was watching us intently.
“I’ll finish my work quickly so we can enjoy some family time in the afternoon.”
“That’s all good, but don’t overdo it.”
“Meow~.”
Greian, brimming with enthusiasm, exchanged glances with us as we were about to leave the office. However, someone rushed urgently towards us down the corridor.
“…?”
Perplexed, we exchanged glances with Greian. He seemed equally puzzled.
Finally, the servant who had hurriedly come before us bowed and reported,
“Master, Lady. It’s urgent. It seems the remnants of the Inquisition Committee are causing a disturbance again.”
‘Remnants of the Inquisition Committee… Could it be Olivier again?’
If someone among them caused trouble periodically, it could only be Olivier. Not long ago, he even caused a commotion by self-harming, greatly unsettling people. So, it couldn’t be anything other than a serious problem.
“…Understood. I’ll go check it out.”
Responding with a sinking voice, Greian picked up his sword and coat. Arwin, who had been idly lounging on the sofa, also stood up.
In this way, we headed to the detention facility accommodating regular believers of the Inquisition Committee.
In fact, I had intended to leave April behind, but she stubbornly insisted on coming along. It didn’t seem like a pleasant sight for a twelve-year-old to witness…
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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