Contract Marriage with the Devil Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
“Ugh!”
Her husband, wearing a white bauta mask, let out a groan filled with pain.
It was a kind of rampage. The whites of his eyes turned blood-red, and his back twitched violently, as if something were about to burst forth.
It was Orentia, sharing the same bed, who discovered her husband in this frenzied state.
Orentia abruptly threw off the cumbersome blanket and grasped his hand.
Contact.
She wanted to transmit her divine power through touch to relieve his suffering.
Yet, merely holding his hand seemed insufficient—he let out a bestial growl.
“This isn’t enough. Right now, right now!”
He was on the verge of suffocation. She could feel his desperate, urgent need.
Orentia knew better than anyone what he required.
She swiftly removed his mask and plunged straight for his lips, convinced that contact between their most delicate skin—lip to lip—would surely halt his rampage.
The moment their lips met, his ragged breath flooded into Orentia—a breath laden with sorrow and regret. He surely hadn’t wanted to lose control like this.
Soon, he whispered earnestly between their lips,
“You’re all I have.”
And then came a deep, lingering kiss. Their heads turned, blending sweet and bitter emotions.
He bit her lips, then wildly explored her mouth, as if craving something, then craving it again. Orentia felt her mind growing hazy.
Just then—
“Miss Orentia!”
A very familiar voice pierced into Orentia’s mind—shrill and grating. It was Bobby, her personal maid.
She snapped fully awake. Opening her eyes, she saw the white canopy above swaying gently.
“Oh, dear… It was just a dream? I should’ve known.”
Of course—such a heartbreakingly handsome man couldn’t possibly exist in this world. When she personally removed his mask in the dream, her husband’s face had been strikingly handsome. Moreover, the fact that she possessed divine power and was married to a man prone to rampages… what a uniquely imaginative dream it had been. No matter how she thought about it, it was pure fantasy.
“What if you oversleep, Miss? Do you even remember what today is?”
At Bobby’s question, Orentia immediately sat up and replied firmly,
“I’ve never once forgotten today. It’s high time Sokor finally returned my inheritance.”
“It’s already been three years since you came of age, Miss. Of course you should get it back.”
“Exactly. He clearly doesn’t want to return it outright, which is why he keeps saying he’ll give it when I marry, as part of my dowry. But I have no intention of marrying anytime soon.”
“Yes, yes, of course. I know better than anyone just how many suitors you send away every single day.”
Though Orentia was extremely popular among marriageable men, she was famous for turning away every man who came to propose.
Dipping her hands into the washbasin Bobby had prepared, Orentia spoke sharply,
“There’s not a single decent man out there. I won’t marry for money or political advantage. I really wish Sokor would come to his senses.”
After washing her face clean, with Bobby’s help, Orentia put on a dress once favored by her late mother, Malisa. It was a deep green silk gown—not quite fitting for Orentia’s vibrant twenty-three years—but since she shared her mother’s exact figure, at least it didn’t look ridiculous.
Orentia let her honey-gold, platinum-blonde hair hang as calmly as possible, then gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
“Cousin Sokor has acted as my guardian in place of my late parents for quite some time now. But I’m an adult—I must stand on my own. I have to.”
She deeply distrusted Sokor’s motives for continually withholding her inheritance. Even if she wanted to trust him, she couldn’t possibly trust Countess Kikozelia at his side.
Steel resolved in her heart, Orentia headed toward the grand council chamber of the count’s manor, where the elders’ meeting was already underway. Her steps, treading on the carpet, swayed slightly with nervous tension. She kept swallowing hard internally.
“Don’t be nervous. I am the rightful heir of House Armenuaka.”
Soldiers stood guard before the grand council chamber.
“Step aside.”
At Orentia’s firm command, the soldiers exchanged bewildered glances.
“M-Miss Orentia, this is a crucial meeting right now…”
One soldier bravely spoke up, causing Orentia to widen her eyes in disbelief.
“Isn’t it already wrong that I’m excluded from a gathering of the head and the elders? Don’t you think?”
‘They’re treating me as if I know nothing. Isn’t that exactly it?’
Her voice was clear and resolute—just like her mother Malisa’s. The soldiers couldn’t defy Orentia, who now stood before them wearing the late Countess Malisa’s revered dress.
Eventually, the soldiers themselves opened the grand chamber doors.
Instantly, the voices of Head Sokor and the elders, deeply engrossed in discussion, fell silent. Sokor stared at Orentia with narrow, flounder-like eyes. His hair was slicked entirely backward with pomade, not a strand out of place, and he wore a crisp black three-piece suit.
Orentia strode confidently toward her cousin Sokor—so cold and unfeeling he seemed incapable of bleeding even if pricked with a needle.
Click-clack!
The moment her velvet shoes reached him, he rebuked her first.
“What is this nonsense, Orentia? Interrupting an important meeting?”
Unfazed by his scolding, Orentia declared firmly,
“My inheritance. Do you truly intend to return it or not?”
The elders’ eyes flickered as they quickly assessed the situation.
Orentia had waited for this day, believing that if Sokor was publicly shamed before the elders, he might finally come to his senses. And she wanted to show them clearly:
‘I am the true master of House Armenuaka, Brother. You can’t exclude me like this.’
Only then did Sokor grasp why Orentia had invaded the meeting. He let out a hollow laugh, gripped his waist with one hand, and threw his head back. To Orentia, he looked like a gaping monster—sending a chill down her spine.
“Hah! I already said I’d return it when you marry. Why insist on bringing it up here?”
“Think carefully. Isn’t it precisely because you refuse to give me the money that I’ve resorted to this? The elders deserve to know—what exactly are you doing with my parents’ inheritance?”
At her words, Sokor’s expression shifted instantly. After glancing around briefly, he forced a composed tone.
“I’ve faithfully continued the late count’s enterprises. You know as well as anyone that profits have doubled.”
“But you still won’t explain what happened to the original, substantial funds! Why?”
It was true that profits had doubled. Her father had recognized Sokor’s business acumen long ago and had marked him as successor. She only sought clarity on how the funds had been used.
Yet he’d called her father “the late count”—never “uncle,” not once since becoming count himself. What cold detachment.
Orentia had never imagined her cousin Sokor could be so ruthlessly pragmatic, calculating, and selfish. He’d once been genuinely kind and gentle. Now she even suspected he’d been acting all along just to hold onto the heirship.
As Orentia and Sokor clashed heatedly, the elders’ faces grew as pale as paper. In that moment, they dared not side with either—Orentia still symbolized House Armenuaka, yet Sokor held real authority.
After a pause, Sokor rose from his seat, picked up a thick dossier from the long table, and announced,
“Today’s meeting ends here. A clueless child has ruined it.”
“Child? I’ve been of age for three years already! You’re the only one treating me like a little girl!”
Orentia shouted multiple times at Sokor’s retreating back. He halted briefly in the corridor, then turned to face her.
“When you marry a worthy man, I’ll return it then. Right now, I’m not convinced you can manage such a large sum responsibly.”
It was an utterly unreasonable excuse. Orentia was already an adult—more than capable and prudent.
“You’ve always done whatever you please. Weren’t you the one who claimed it was for my protection? Even you must find that reason laughable now.”
Orentia sneered. Sokor clearly knew she wouldn’t marry easily, yet kept harping on marriage regardless.
If marriage was truly the only solution to this crisis… what should she do?
Orentia sank into deep thought. Suddenly, that absurd dream from this morning returned to mind. Her dream husband had been beautiful—but his rampages were problematic.
Even in dreams, everything was so complicated.
‘There’s no suitable man to marry—how can I possibly marry?’
No matter how she reasoned, marriage right now was out of the question.
[This is the timeline separator]The next morning.
Orentia headed to Shine Street to secretly meet a lawyer, without Sokor’s knowledge. Not wanting him to find out, she brought neither guards nor knights—only her personal maid, Bobby. It was the first time she’d ever stepped out so casually.
“Miss, isn’t this a bit dangerous?”
Despite Bobby’s worried words, Orentia paid no mind. She’d endured enough—now was the time to act, not to keep avoiding family conflict.
‘He must think I’m too sentimental about the past to appoint a lawyer…’
Sokor surely assumed she lacked the courage to even hire legal counsel.
But all this time, Orentia had merely put her cousin Sokor first. She’d believed his words and waited, thinking he’d eventually return her inheritance.
But Sokor was nothing but a hypocrite.
“I can’t endure any longer.”
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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