“Aster.
It snowed again today. When I opened my eyes in the morning, I noticed it was dark around me.
The glass ceiling of the Aster Palace bedroom becomes dark with a snow curtain when it snows. The snow falling before the snow from two days ago has even melted seems to paint the whole world white without gaps.
In my mother’s homeland, Tane, snow melts before it touches the ground. It’s just mysterious how snow piles up, freezes, and piles up again here.
The snow stopped in the afternoon, and I went for a walk with Harchen to the northern forest. Harchen shouldered a white sack and held my hand with his large hand.
As we entered the deep forest, stepping on the white snow like a blank paper without any trace of people, we discovered pointed bird footprints and young animal footprints.
Not far in, we encountered three small rabbits as white as snow in the snow field.
The rabbits with their two ears perked up ran away when they saw us, but after running for a while, they would look back again. As if checking if we were following them properly.
Harchen smiled calmly and walked slowly, matching my pace.
Not long after, we saw a cave. Harchen took down the sack from his shoulder and placed acorns, chestnuts, almonds, and dried fruits in various places around the cave.
Even before emptying all the nuts from the sack, rabbits and squirrels that had been sneaking away with food boldly approached us, slightly touching Harchen’s ankle before running away.
Harchen said that since he was a boy, which he can’t even remember, he would ride a horse two or three times a month in winter to leave winter food for small animals.
I love many aspects of Harchen, but imagining the boy riding a horse towards the winter cave, I fell in love again.
My precious baby, Aster.
I hope you grow up to be someone who considers the hunger of small and weak animals. Above all, let’s meet in good health.
Waiting for you, Mom Patricia.
Karsik Imperial Calendar, December 27, 989.”
Among the many things Harchen was jealous of between Patrick and Patricia, the letters they exchanged through the eagle Brie were at the top.
They still exchanged letters, and on nights when Patricia slept early, Harchen would sit at the couple’s shared desk in the reception room, reading letters detailing trivial daily life, consumed by slight jealousy.
He chuckled reading a letter about how Emperor Kazan, even bedridden, demanded and obsessed over the care of young maids, leading Patrick to replace all of Kazan’s attendants with male servants.
Although he couldn’t see the letters Patricia sent to Patrick, he could guess from his replies.
For example:
So Julia Princess’s love was one-sided after all. Well, the imperial ducal family couldn’t imprison a princess. It’s sad that she’s confined to the duke’s residence.
Harchen could brush off such content, but other letters infuriated him.
Ah, Otto still only has eyes for Patricia.
I want to see that statue he sculpted of you too. But what kind of pose was it to cause such shock and emotion, perhaps nude?
But aren’t most statues semi-nude anyway? Haha.
That platinum-haired brat, so lewd indeed.
Harchen, imagining the former Eden instead of the now black-haired Otto, glared at the letter as if about to tear it, when a good idea struck him.
He asked Philip to bind a notebook for him. He suggested to Patricia that they write letters together to their unborn baby.
“Harchen, I love it. Let’s give the baby a temporary name too.”
“How about Aster? It means star.”
Patricia was rather moved by the suggestion and wrote two or three times the amount and frequency of Harchen’s writings, pressing down hard with her pen.
Harchen, absorbed in writing letters in the leather-bound notebook, sometimes whispered lowly to Patricia’s protruding belly after writing, when his emotions hadn’t settled.
Patrick, who had said he would come to Riswan for a honeymoon during the winter hunting season, sent a letter saying he had to postpone the visit to spring due to being too busy with reorganizing the Tane imperial finances.
Then when spring came, he sent another letter explaining why he had to postpone it to summer.
Moreover, as Isabella’s delivery date approached, she showed signs of depression and became more attached to Patricia.
Prince Henry didn’t visit, saying they would see the baby after the birth, and Isabella still refused visits from the Empress Dowager, clinging only to Patricia.
Harchen was getting irritated by Patricia’s efforts to have at least one meal a day with Isabella at Boras Palace.
If Patrick was busy, couldn’t Carolina at least visit to take care of her sister Isabella?
Since when did they become so inseparable that they couldn’t be apart?
Meanwhile, Harchen went to the Notos Palace library to find books on pregnancy and childbirth, and ended up laughing while holding onto the library wall.
Hahaha, how adorably cute.
I’ve found an excuse to bring Crow 2 to Riswan.
He immediately went to his office and wrote a letter to Carolina.
He accidentally opened a book in the Notos Palace library and read an embarrassing confession about Patrick.
But it wasn’t just one book, he had found nine so far, and before making them public, she should come to Riswan to take care of the severely depressed Isabella.
Three days later, Patricia chirped like a sparrow, delighted to receive a letter saying Carolina would come to Riswan first.
On the day they received a letter saying Carolina had departed by train from Tane Central Station and arrived at the border city of Luken, Isabella’s screams shook Boras Palace.
Empress Dowager Diana, struck by Isabella’s agonized cries, beat her own chest before pushing past the midwife to the bed and grabbing Isabella’s hand.
Although she thought Isabella would push away the Empress Dowager’s hand, when extreme pain hit, Isabella clung to her mother Diana’s arm.
Harchen heard the news that Isabella had gone into labor while at the Kaosan mining site. He immediately returned to the palace and went to Boras Palace.
Even after he entered Boras Palace, the imperial couple, who had been listening to Isabella’s screams for quite a while, were terrified by the agony they witnessed and predicted the immense pain.
Finally, after a full day of labor pains, Isabella gave birth to a baby girl.
When the baby’s cry was heard, the imperial couple hugged each other, their embrace damp with sweat and tears.
Isabella named the baby Daisy. Daisy, symbolizing peace and hope, was the flower Patricia had given Isabella, saying it reminded her of her.
Daisy inherited red hair from Prince Henry of the Rubelin Kingdom and black eyes from Isabella.
With deep double eyelids and large eyes, a slightly left-leaning nose bridge, one could tell at a glance that she was Henry’s daughter even before her soft bones had hardened.
Isabella, who had suffered from depression during her last month of pregnancy, regained her strength and became stronger after giving birth. Carolina, who had just entered the palace, stayed at Boras Palace and took care of Isabella along with the Empress Dowager.
Harchen focused on Patricia and Aster in her womb. Every evening, he held Patricia’s hand and combined walks with exercise.
When Daisy was over a month old, Isabella cut off some of her red hair and sent it to Rubelin along with the agreement she had written with Henry in front of Diana.
She proved that the child was Henry’s daughter by giving birth to a red-haired child. She enclosed the agreement stating that Isabella would have custody if it was a girl.
Upon receiving this, Henry came to visit, held Daisy who looked exactly like him, and asked Isabella for forgiveness, but Isabella handed him the divorce papers she had prepared in advance.
*
“Good heavens, Patricia.”
“Don’t, don’t say anything more.”
Patricia thought Patrick would tease her about her protruding belly.
“It’s mysterious and beautiful. You look like a goddess, Risha.”
Patrick had arrived while Harchen was at the railway construction site.
So it was Carolina’s turn to be jealous of them, with Patrick hugging the pregnant Patricia and kissing her cheek, instead of Harchen. Carolina glared at Patrick, who had hugged Patricia before his wife.
“Where on earth did Harchen go at such a difficult time?”
“Lady Rina, it’s not that difficult.”
Harchen tried not to create reasons to leave the palace as the birth approached.
However, there was an accident where part of the excavated mountain collapsed during tunnel work at the Hederin train station construction site between Pana Castle and Beryl Estate. Fortunately, the site workers had followed safety rules well, so there were no casualties.
The emperor went in person, even though Calip and his assistant Philip offered to go. It was his iron rule to go to accident sites personally.
The emperor had trained Condor류 with Patricia in advance, so they communicated with each other every morning and evening.
Still anxious, he asked Bark to stay at the palace until he returned. It was what Bark had wanted. It was an opportunity to monopolize his sister.
So there was one more person besides Carolina who glared at Patrick touching Patricia’s belly. Bark disliked and hated Patrick doubly, triply, layer upon layer.
That fox-like bastard.
Bark whistled sharply. A white bird flew around Patrick’s face.
Patrick stopped at a distance where the edge of Bark’s shadow reached his feet and looked at Bark.
Poor Heun woman Hairin.
After Patricia left for Karsik for the national marriage, Patrick felt like he could die in the West Tower. At that time, people sent by Harchen came to the West Tower.
Knight Lean, Claudine from the imperial palace, and the Heun woman Hairin.
Through her antidote and Claudine’s toxin removal needles, Patrick recovered quickly at every moment. And then came her confession.
“I made the poison that Empress Aldisha drank under the threat of Empress Pamila.”
Patrick couldn’t help but ask what kind of threat it was.
“It was a threat to tell Kazan about the existence of my son and kill my child raised as a barbarian.”
The shocking, cruel behavior of Kazan. And after arriving at Karsik Palace, she earnestly requested:
“Kazan is a devil, he must die by my hand.”
Patrick had visited Hairin in Nyx Prison.
He offered to send her anywhere freely. If she wanted, he would give her gold or people.
“It’s alright, I’m fine. My son will come to take me soon.”
Patrick heard her words purely as language itself and understood. Bark came to his wedding venue and scattered flowers with white birds. And he took away his mother’s death.
Patrick took a couple more steps towards Bark and smiled gently.
“Bark, I’m your brother Patrick. I missed you.”
Patrick held out his hand for a handshake. Cold blue eyes glared at Patrick.
Brother, what nonsense.
“Annoying bastard.”
Bark walked right past Patrick. The white bird that had been fluttering around Patrick’s blonde hair immediately flew towards Bark’s face.
Bastard, you don’t even smell good.
Patrick, who had been watching Bark’s back, turned around with a fresh smile.
“Hello, my love, Carolina.”
Patrick greeted Carolina, who was glaring at him with a pale face.
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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