“If you find my daughter, I will give you all the wealth I have amassed in my lifetime!”
As the elderly man tried to prostrate himself on the bare ground, his knees and feet scraped, Atia stopped him in surprise.
The old man was seated abruptly by the knights.
“Your offer is appreciated, but it’s not necessary.”
Atia smiled broadly.
There was no need to add the old man’s fortune to the already overflowing coffers of the ducal house.
She had always known that it was the work of the royal family, and had anticipated as much.
However, Atia had other concerns.
Those with snake pattern tattoos were devil worshipers.
They used dark magic, which is practically banned in all nations, without hesitation.
If the old man’s daughter was kidnapped by them…
Atia pondered the best possible outcome in this situation, but 99 percent of what came to mind was bad.
‘Ah… things are going awry.’
She could only hope for a 1 percent chance that nothing would happen.
She needed to find her as soon as possible.
The more time wasted, the worse it became.
(This is a time marker.)
Casus instructed the knights to investigate the old man’s house.
Several traces that seemed to illustrate the situation at the time were discovered in the old man’s house.
The daughter’s clothes and signs of a struggle.
The wellmeaning old man, who had been doing honest business, became an easy target for those in black masks.
The knights asked the nearby residents about the old man.
“Some guy is frantically looking for his kidnapped daughter.”
“Ah, don’t even mention it. That old man was always so quiet. This is a first.”
“It’s really unfortunate, but what on earth has happened, I wonder…”
The nearby residents collectively said that ‘the old man seemed to have gone insane these past few days.’
Though everyone in the village felt sorry for the old man, there were no witnesses since it happened in the middle of the night.
(This is a time marker.)
The knights who finished the investigation reported back to Casus.
Casus received the report with an unfazed face.
Despite a weeklong festival, his face showed no signs of fatigue.
On the other hand, Atia, who was resting in the next room, felt her head spinning.
‘Ah, I feel dizzy.’
A feeling of discomfort washed over her, and she shivered slightly.
Kesha brought her a warm blanket and fragrant tea.
The temperature inside the castle was colder than that of the ducal house.
The tea Kesha made was very tasty, but Atia’s physical state wasn’t cooperating.
“Cough.”
Atia coughed.
“Are you alright, ma’am?”
Anticipating that she was about to vomit blood, Atia spoke to Kesha.
“Kesha, wait a moment, cough… please leave.”
Upon hearing Atia’s hoarse and low voice, Kesha nodded with a worried face.
“Yes, I will be nearby, call me anytime, ma’am.”
“Alright. Cough!”
Reading that Atia wanted to be alone, Kesha quickly turned to leave the room.
At that moment.
“Lo, lord…?”
Kesha opened her mouth with a stiff face at the door.
A person she had never expected was standing in front of her.
Upon hearing the word ‘lord’, Atia shifted her gaze outside the door.
Leo furrowed his brows, looking around before his eyes met Atia’s who was sitting on the bed.
His sharp ashgray eyes glinted.
Ignoring Kesha standing in front of him, Leo entered the room where Atia was.
“What are you doing here?”
Leo spoke in a slightly angry tone.
“I’ve heard about the poison arrows.”
Atia was barely holding back a cough.
But Leo didn’t seem like he would leave.
“…You’re not hurt, are you?”
“…”
Feeling like she was about to cough explosively, Atia pressed her lips tightly.
Her appearance made her seem even more unwell.
Sighing, Leo raked his dark brown hair back and looked around.
“Staying in such a cold place will worsen your condition.”
The castle was much emptier compared to the ducal house.
Although maintained daily, it was noticeably inferior to the ducal residence.
‘Ah… please.’
Atia closed her eyes, wishing Leo would quickly leave.
To stop her trembling body, she silently counted from one to ten.
“Cough!”
Ultimately, her suppressed cough burst out.
Blood splattered on the handkerchief covering her lips.
“Cough, cough! Cough!”
Once the coughing started, it didn’t know how to stop.
Atia kept clutching her handkerchief against her lips.
If she removed the handkerchief from her mouth, Leo would notice immediately.
Moreover, Kesha was still in the room.
“Cough, cough! Cough, cough!”
As Atia continued to cough, Leo approached closer to inspect her complexion.
Her already pale skin looked especially drained.
“Are, are you alright…?”
Leo placed his hand on Atia’s shoulder and asked.
Her fraillooking shoulder was stronger than he had thought.
But what was certain was that her shoulder was trembling slightly.
As Leo moved his face closer, Atia turned her head the other way.
“Cough!”
While examining Atia’s complexion, Leo recalled the last time she had coughed up blood.
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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