At first, I was quite perplexed, but eventually, I resigned myself to whatever might happen. At the Pennel family house, I often took the wrong paths. I thought it was just because I was young, but that wasn’t all there was to it.
I later realized that I had a serious problem with directions. Even finding my way out of a room I had entered was confusing.
Kicking a stone in my path, I murmured again, “Yeah, I’ll find the way eventually.”
The room assigned to me was next to Riccardo’s.
Although they were not exactly side by side, being the only two bedrooms on the second floor, it was hard not to feel watched.
For the past three days, he had left the mansion early in the morning and only returned late at night. The wait was frustrating, but I was too afraid to ask.
When Riccardo and I arrived at the ducal mansion, many people came to greet us, but I did not see the duke and duchess.
“Is he not on good terms with his parents?”
It would be strange if they were on good terms. I understand that a decree is an irrevocable command from the gods, but understanding it doesn’t erase resentment.
Ah, but if he has no memory, perhaps resentment is meaningless.
The sun was still high in the sky, casting short shadows at our feet. Looking around, I noticed a pretty bench and plopped down on it, giving me a full view of the vast ducal garden.
The sun was dazzlingly bright, so I narrowed my eyes. I decided to wait for my shadow to lengthen a bit before attempting to find my way again.
“Ah, cyclamens here too. They look like clothes shed by fairies.”
As I gazed at the sky, something rustled in the flower bed. A woman arose from the blossoms as if she were a cyclamen reborn as a human.
Wearing white gloves and holding a trowel, the woman gazed at me intently.
I quickly stood up. Even the maids of the ducal house were of higher status than I.
“Hello,” I greeted.
“Who are you?”
Her voice was as delicate as a flower’s. With radiant golden hair and eyes tinged with red, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
“I am…”
What should I call myself? While I pondered, the woman observed me briefly and then nodded.
“Ah, Lady Pennel.”
Though I was uncomfortable being addressed as ‘lady’ when I lived like a maid, I lifted my skirt in a noblewoman’s curtsy. It was probably clumsy in her eyes.
Her head tilted slightly with a smile, making it hard to guess her age.
“Why are you here? This isn’t near the secondary residences.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know I shouldn’t be here. Actually, I’m… lost.”
Embarrassment washed over me, and I gave a sheepish smile.
“It’s not off-limits. It’s just that no one else comes here.”
Isn’t that the same thing?
It was impolite to ask her identity without her revealing it first. I bowed slightly to appear as respectful as possible.
A soft chuckle made me look up, and she had returned to sitting among the flowers.
“If you help me with what I’m doing, I’ll help you find your way.”
“Pardon?”
“…”
“Yes, of course.”
Approaching her, she handed me a spare pair of gloves and a trowel. There was even a low stool, suggesting she had been tending to the flowers for a while.
“We’re just replanting some of these overcrowded ones.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard.”
Relieved, I rolled up my sleeves. Doing nothing would only make time drag on.
“Do you take care of all these flowers yourself?”
“Of course not. Just when I have time. Or rather, when time feels too slow. It’s my hobby.”
“Ah…”
As she said, such a beautiful garden was too vast for a single lady to tend alone.
Though she was a stranger, I took a liking to this noblewoman immediately. It’s said that those who love plants and animals can never be evil.
“If you allow me, I would like to come out and help with the flowers too. Though I don’t know how long I will stay here.”
The lady smiled softly at my words. Her grace was captivating.
“Really… beautiful.”
My words, uttered as if in a trance, caused her to look at me with gentle eyes. Her reddish eyes seemed to pierce into one’s soul.
“Oh, the flowers, the flowers.”
At that moment, our conversation was interrupted by a shadow cast over us.
“What are you doing here?”
Riccardo’s low voice made me look up. His gaze was menacing as he looked down at me. His eyes were still ashen, but his breathing seemed a bit uneven. He tilted his chin slightly to one side.
“Duchess.”
Still focusing on me, he addressed the woman beside me. The Duchess… So, the woman who had been gardening with me was…
“Ah!”
I stood up abruptly. The Duchess of Rochester, someone said to be even harder to meet than the Empress of the Dermayer Empire. And I had been casually working in her garden.
“Duchess, I apologize for the intrusion. Please forgive me.”
As her son appeared, her expression changed completely. The Duchess stood up slowly and elegantly, removing her soil-stained gloves. Her previously gentle demeanor was gone.
“Riccardo, you’re here.”
“Duchess, are you assigning tasks to my guest?”
Wasn’t this place supposed to be warm all year round? The chill between them was almost palpable.
“I was just making use of her since she said she was lost.”
“I was not aware that I had given you permission to approach my guest.”
Ah, that insolence. In the past, he kept slaves at a distance, and now, even the Duchess.
“Ha-ha, it’s funny, right? Getting lost inside the house.”
“Speak properly, it wasn’t me who approached, but your lost guest who approached me.”
“Right! I approached the Duchess first. I even offered to help her with work.”
“Then you should have just avoided her.”
Hey, I’m right here. You can see me, right?
“I have never avoided anyone since I was born.”
“That…!”
As Riccardo was about to retort rudely, I impulsively reached out and lightly grasped his sleeve. He flinched, then fell silent. I sighed in relief.
“Lord, could you please show me around the ducal residence? So I don’t get lost again.”
Riccardo glanced down at me, his face shaded by the sun above. Despite the intimidating aura, his breathtaking beauty made it hard to keep my eyes on him.
“If you have the time, that is. Ha-ha.”
I felt foolish, knowing I couldn’t stop despite recognizing my own silliness.
Gently pulling on his sleeve, Riccardo bowed slightly to the Duchess and turned around. As I removed my gloves and followed him, I glanced back but couldn’t read any expression on the Duchess’s face.
Was my first meeting with the Duchess really okay?
As I hurried after him, I couldn’t help but ponder the implications of being a small shrimp caught in a whale fight.
“Don’t go out without permission.”
“Yes, yes, as if you’re my master.”
I followed him, musing over the complexities of my position in this grand ducal household.
While reflecting on the plight of a shrimp caught in a whale fight, I couldn’t help but retort.
Suddenly, Riccardo stopped walking. A distant breeze blew, scattering his black hair. His scent carried by the wind irresistibly caught my attention.
“I didn’t mean it in that way.”
“Then what did you mean by it?”
“What?”
“Well, you said it. Don’t go out without permission. That’s something I would say to my chickens back home. Speaking of which, I wonder if our chickens are doing well.”
“Chickens…”
He exhaled softly, and his jaw tensed. Realizing my mistake, I looked around and saw his entourage frozen like ice.
Are they tense because of me?
As I was about to respond, an older man in the group widened his eyes and slightly shook his head. Ah, so they are indeed tense because of me.
It was only then, seeing how people trembled in Riccardo’s presence, that I truly realized the person I was dealing with was the most powerful individual in the empire.
“I didn’t mean to treat you like a chicken… I just meant, let me know where you’re going.”
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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