“…Latifa! Hold on. Grr!”
Hades tightly grasped the polearm and swiftly pulled it out with a strong force.
[Dash]Whoosh!“Aghuh! Oof!”
[Dash]Clang!The sharp blade was removed from her shoulder, immediately hitting the floor of the hall with a loud metallic noise.
“Councilors!”
“Grr, now’s the time. Quickly treat her! Hurry!”
Both Hades and Ruhan urged the councilors to attend to Latifa.
“Yes!”
“Huuh….”
Although Latifa’s breathing had improved, Hades continued to let her bite on his arm during the treatment, while Ruhan wiped her sweat and didn’t stop.
Thus, the two men silently did what they had to for the same woman.
[Star Icon][Star Icon]After the commotion settled, Hades, sitting on the windowsill of the now quiet hall, gazed at the moon while rubbing his arm.
The moon was out but was just a crescent, barely a nail’s length in size and not very bright.
The hall looked as if a sandstorm had swept through, a complete mess.
Golden trays full of muscat grapes, freshly plucked raspberries, flatbreads, and sugar candies were strewn about the floor. Goblets filled with tea or fruit wine had toppled over.
Scimitars and polearms were scattered here and there, cushions and large pillows people had lain on were thrown about.
And Latifa’s dark red blood stain was distinctly visible on the long carpet.
Everything was a mess.
As Hades silently surveyed the area, a desert fox that had hidden somewhere during the chaos sprung up beside him.
“You hid well.”
[Dash]Screech!“Your master is…”
Hades stroked the head of the desert fox, trailing off his sentence.
“Hades.”
Suddenly hearing his name called…
Luhan, Sultan, and Rashid were slowly approaching him through the dark virtual world.
Hades bowed his head emotionlessly and knelt before the Sultan.
“Sultan, Hades Caleb Ignite is prepared for any punishment.”
“Is your wrist alright?”
Rashid spoke with a stern voice, placing his hand over Hades’s head, gesturing for him to rise.
Hades stood up but did not lift his head for a while.
“Latifa is being taken care of by the palace medical team. She’s past the dangerous phase, but that’s not the issue.”
Luhan, who was standing next to Rashid, spoke to Hades. His voice also seemed a bit angry towards Hades.
“Hades, you’ve gone too far this time. You know that, right?”
Hades remained silent, his voice carrying more of the prince’s majesty than usual.
“Look at me when I’m speaking to you, Hades.”
Upon hearing Rashid’s words, Hades slowly lifted his head.
Though it was generally hard to read his expression, this time even Rashid could.
“Your face looks like a puppy that’s caused a big accident. Yes, you’ve made quite a mess.”
Hades’s thick black eyebrows twitched at those words.
“I await punishment.”
At Hades’s emotionless request for punishment, Rashid sighed deeply, assuming a solemn demeanor.
“Then, I shall proceed to judge you for this crime of royal assassination.”
“Your loyal servant, Hades Caleb, is prepared to listen.”
Hades responded with his usual emotionless voice.
Rashid extended one hand, showing the back of his hand to Hades and spoke solemnly.
“I don’t believe your Familiar attacked Tarek with malicious intent, but you are guilty for not preventing the accident. Therefore, I find you guilty.”
Hades’s expression remained unchanged upon hearing the verdict of guilt.
Rashid cleared his throat and continued speaking.
“However.”
“……”
“However, considering that the Familiar sacrificed herself to save Iota, I shall pardon your crime. An eye for an eye; Tarek hurt his shoulder, and she did too. This is fair justice.”
“Your wise and fair judgment, I accept.”
At Rashid’s judgment, Hades knelt again and respectfully showed his gratitude.
“But for causing a commotion in the virtual world and daring to spill blood in the Basil royal palace, there shall be another punishment.”
“Anything.”
Luhan looked at his father with somewhat worried eyes.
“Life is happiness. You, who tried to take life, also tried to rob someone of their happiness. Therefore, you don’t deserve to enjoy your happiness.”
“……Sultan!”
For the first time, a hint of panic crept into Hades’s previously emotionless voice.
“As punishment, Hades Caleb, I command you to dedicate your happiness, your Familiar, to the royal palace.”
Despair washed over Hades’s face, and Luhan also grabbed Rashid’s arm that had delivered such a verdict.
“Father! Latifa is Hades’s happiness!”
“We’re not beasts. One should consider consequences before robbing others of their happiness. Hopefully, this will temper your fiery temperament, Hades.”
Rashid firmly shook off Luhan’s grasp.
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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