Disguised as a Male Servant in the Duke's House (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
His eyes, gleaming blue amidst the dim darkness, sent a chilling shiver down her spine.
Those eyes—reminiscent of the biting chill of early dawn or the razor edge of a honed blade—evoked the image of a predator eyeing its prey.
“Y-you… Duke Valtezar… sir?”
A warning light flashed in her mind.
Klaus de Valtezar, master of this estate, stood before her—but unlike his usual icy, emotionless demeanor, his piercing sapphire eyes, stripped bare of all reason, raked over her throat.
His massive hand, easily capable of crushing a human head, seemed poised to seize her pale neck at any moment.
Yet contrary to her expectation, Klaus’s hand slowly reached toward her hair instead. Time dragged unbearably as his large, knotted fingers crept closer.
His fingers wound around her unusually short black locks, cut abruptly just below her earlobes—far too short for a lady’s. Rozelia, now pressed against the wall, shrank into herself, staring up at the duke with a bewildered expression.
“Didn’t… didn’t you call me here because you had a task for me?”
At her innocent, flustered look, Klaus let out a hollow, breathy scoff.
“A task…? Ha… Right. Of course.”
With that, the duke slammed his hand against the wall beside her head with a thud, growling as if displeased—or furious—with the present situation.
“I need to verify something.”
Instantly, goosebumps prickled along her spine.
Verify? Verify what…?
Could it be… had he found out?
She’d thought she’d hidden it successfully for three whole months…
Rozelia’s once-long raven tresses were now cropped sharply at her jawline like a boy’s, and her attire consisted of a crisp white ruffled shirt beneath a neat black waistcoat—the standard uniform of a male servant.
Precisely that—a male servant.
“What exactly do you intend to verify…?”
Though her voice remained composed, Rozelia’s eyes refused to meet Klaus’s, drifting instead to the floor.
Displeased, Klaus seized her chin, forcing her to face him. His sapphire eyes, locked onto her emerald-green ones, swirled with confusion and anger.
“Antonio de Hessink.”
Hearing her brother’s name—still unfamiliar no matter how often she heard it—made her racing heart gradually steady.
Stay calm. Right now, I am Antonio. I mustn’t show even a trace of hesitation.
If he discovers I’m a woman, he’ll kill me.
More precisely, he’ll use me up and discard me just like in the original story. She’d been reincarnated into the body of a minor maid fated to be manipulated and killed by the villainous duke—but she was still safe.
As long as he didn’t find out she was a woman.
“Antonio…”
His face descended until it nearly brushed the tip of her nose.
For some reason, his breath felt rougher and quicker than usual.
“Damn it, didn’t I tell you not to wear that perfume?”
At Klaus’s growled warning, indignation surged within Rozelia.
“I told you I wasn’t wearing any perfume.”
“Ha… For someone who entered this household to settle the debts of a fallen baronial house, you sure do talk back with remarkable clarity…”
“…”
That was right.
She was a servant—no, a male servant—brought into House Valtezar in place of repaying debts.
Originally the daughter of Baron Hessink, she’d become a maid in the Valtezar household after her family’s ruin forced her to settle their enormous debts.
And then, foolishly falling in love with the duke, she’d given him both body and heart—only to be used and discarded, meeting her death as a naive woman.
That was the extra character she’d been reincarnated into.
But of course, knowing the novel’s plot by heart, she had no intention of dying as written.
So she’d disguised herself as a man.
She’d assumed it would be enough to stay hidden from the duke’s eyes—but this damned duke had dragged her here himself, cross-dressing and all, something never mentioned in the original story.
Did he truly not care if she was a man? Or was the main plot so immutable that even this couldn’t change it?
Rozelia’s now-calmer eyes stared fixedly into the duke’s face, brimming with questions. Interpreting her gaze as defiance or challenge, Klaus twisted the corner of his mouth and pressed his body even closer, trapping her between his arm and the wall.
Though meant as a threat, an unexpected current formed between them. Klaus seemed instinctively aware of it too—he fell silent for a long moment.
“Duke…?”
It was she who broke the strange silence.
She could feel his hot breath washing over her forehead. Pressed so close, she feared he’d discover the chest tightly bound beneath her clothes—her heart hammered wildly.
“I told you, Antonio. I always find what’s hidden.”
His words felt as if they pierced right through the layers of fabric concealing her chest, and cold sweat beaded along her spine.
Klaus’s scorching lips drew so near her ear they nearly brushed it.
“I need to know what you’re hiding.”
Where his breath touched her ear, and where their thighs pressed together, a burning heat spread like fire. The air around them thickened with warmth, clouding her mind until she could barely think straight.
Rozelia met Klaus’s piercing sapphire gaze with dazed confusion. It felt as if an invisible, taut thread stretched dangerously between them, ready to snap at any moment.
Internally, Rozelia screamed in utter dismay and desperation.
Hey, Your Grace—do you really not care if I’m actually a man?!
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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