Fearlessly (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
Berche, my beloved daughter.
Do you know that you are the most special child in the world?
When you smile, warm sunlight shines even in midwinter, making life bloom and filling fruit flesh with a sweetness like sugar.
Then, the humans out there will scream in overwhelming joy.
But when you cry, rain will fall for a very long time.
The frozen earth will lose all life and rot away.
And then, tears of blood will stream from the eyes of the humans forced to witness it.
Berche, you are a child of the gods—capable of making humans happy or unhappy, even wiping them all out depending on your mood.
So remember this: you must never, ever encounter any human.
For there is not a single person in this world who does not hate our Berche.
Now, look at the Tower of Darkness I built for you.
This is a sacred place where no one may enter or leave—only you exist here.
Look. Isn’t it utterly beautiful?
Whenever the stale bread I bring you tastes unpleasant, imagine the luscious fruit juice you once gifted to humans.
Never entertain bad thoughts.
Because you are a child who must always be happy.
My beloved daughter, Berche.
Even if this mother scolds you, oppresses you, or lays a hand on you, please understand.
All of it happens only because I love you too much.
I have no choice but to protect you from humans who despise you.
Now, smile. My Bercheria.
As long as I draw breath, the Tower of Darkness and dry bread will always be with you.
Let us live happily together, without a single worry.
My daughter, Berche.
Mother loves you so, so very much.
Forever.
The Periat Empire.
In the harsh northern region, where biting winds blew, stood a tall tower shrouded in mist at the very northernmost border.
This tower, said to have once housed Bercheria, the goddess of weather, long ago, had a strange shape with no passages at all.
It was known as the Cursed Tower—no one could enter, and once inside, no one could ever leave.
Just then, the fading sunset slanted across a woman clinging halfway up the tower.
“Hah, hah.”
Hanging from a thin rope, she looked perilously close to falling at any moment.
A dry wind, mixed with dust, blew, causing her abundant golden hair to puff up before settling gently over her small frame.
With fragile hands that seemed ready to snap, the woman clutched the rope tightly and gasped for breath several times.
She lifted her trembling head and looked up—the tower’s peak appeared impossibly distant.
Blinking her golden eyes, the woman moved her arms again and began descending.
Not long after, utter darkness swallowed the forest, leaving not even a hand’s breadth visible.
Much later.
The rope, dangling alone against one side of the tower, swayed like a snake.
Then, at a certain moment.
Whirrr!
The rope snapped from the top and plummeted downward with terrifying speed.
The tall, mist-shrouded tower embraced only silent stillness, as if nothing had ever happened.
Timothy, the steward, crossed the study and placed a steaming teacup onto the large mahogany desk.
“I’m truly beside myself with worry. At this rate, we might all perish.”
“Hmm.”
Lakrahan turned a page with his long fingers, then folded his arms with an indifferent expression.
“These days, going down to the village is so frightening I can hardly bear to look—it breaks my heart. Hah. At times like this, I miss Bercheria’s presence more than ever.”
A dry wind blew past the window, leaving a faint layer of dust on the glass before vanishing.
Timothy’s face, as he watched the scene outside, was filled with worry.
“It’s already been over three months without rain. How many more people must die before this drought ends? If this isn’t Bercheria’s curse, then what could it possibly be?”
Though the North endured winter all year, regular snowfall and rain had once made every crop—sweet potatoes, garlic, and more—exceptionally sweet and firm.
They maintained their prosperity by bartering these bountiful harvests with nearby border regions or periodically supplying them to the capital.
It wasn’t just the North.
Originally, the entire Periat Empire was fertile land blessed by Bercheria, goddess of weather.
But at some point, that divine protection vanished as if evaporating into thin air, leaving only a bone-chilling, brutal winter.
People believed it must be the century-long divine sabbatical, recurring once every hundred years.
Yet year after year passed, and Bercheria’s protection never returned.
Since then, the North had become an unpredictable land plagued by erratic weather.
No one could cultivate crops, not knowing what weather might strike next, and even the animals fled, unable to endure such volatile conditions.
Had Lakrahan not moved his domain here over ten years ago, everyone would have abandoned the North—or starved to death within it.
“Bercheria doesn’t even deserve to be called a god.”
Thud.
The thick book, left open, snapped shut.
“Even abandoned humans no longer wait for gods.”
His unwavering, pitch-black eyes fixed sharply on Timothy.
Disheveled raven-black hair fell over neatly arched brows, sharp eyes, and lips that looked endlessly soft compared to his high, proud nose.
Though the Duke of the North, whom Timothy served, was already twenty-seven, his face still resembled that of an unripe youth.
Of course, his body told a very different story.
“…Do you truly believe that?”
“If she had even a shred of care for humanity, she would have come before those children lost their parents.”
Lakrahan turned his head to look at the storage sheds lined up beneath the window.
Not long ago, he had brought here the orphans who had been wandering the village.
It was right after he’d heard a young child had starved to death in the streets.
As the drought persisted and food grew scarce, the vulnerable suffered first.
People no longer even had the compassion left to care for abandoned children.
“The gods are gone, Timothy.”
“Ah, yes. I know. It’s been quite some time, yet I still can’t let go of that longing.”
Timothy wore a bitter expression.
As Lakrahan said, this continent was no longer under divine care.
The Empire belonged to Emperor Gerard, and here in the North, they relied solely on Lakrahan to survive.
“Well then, shall we organize our schedule?”
The two sat close together, foreheads nearly touching, discussing how to distribute the remaining food supplies in the castle.
They looked up only when a commotion erupted outside the window.
At the sound of a piercing shout, Lakrahan and Timothy both rushed to the window simultaneously.
A crimson blaze was rising from the direction of the storage shed.
“Fire! Has there been a fire?”
Timothy stared at Lakrahan, his face pale with shock.
It hadn’t rained in over a month.
The piles of dry firewood and straw bales encircling the shed walls sent a chill through Lakrahan’s blood.
“Your Grace!”
Without a moment’s thought, Lakrahan dashed outside.
Clatter.
His cloak swept over a nearby chair, toppling it, and vanished like the wind.
“Oh dear, what are we to do?”
The castle staff stood helplessly, unable to approach, only voicing their despair.
Earlier that day, the servants had followed Lakrahan’s orders and stacked firewood thickly against the shed walls so the children could stay warm.
Now those very stacks had become kindling, and flames engulfed the entire shed in an instant.
“Quickly, bring water! Water!”
“We don’t even have drinking water—where are we supposed to get water?”
When the terrified cries of children echoed from inside the shed, the women burst into helpless tears.
Just then, a large shadow appeared behind them.
“Your Grace!”
The towering silhouette of flames flickered across Lakrahan’s face as he arrived in an instant.
“Bring water.”
He gritted his teeth and muttered.
“Your Grace!”
“I don’t care if it’s drinking water or anything else—just bring it now!”
At Lakrahan’s shout, the stunned men ran toward a nearby rainwater collection spot.
A swift-footed man quickly returned with a full bucket of water, which Lakrahan took without hesitation and poured over his own head.
Then he charged straight into the blazing shed.
“Ugh!”
Intense heat instantly wrapped around his body.
The moisture in his cloak hissed and rose as steam.
The heat was so fierce he could barely keep his eyes open.
“Tatiana! Mark!”
Lakrahan called out the names of the children he’d brought in that afternoon.
The heat was so oppressive that even taking a single step felt arduous.
“Tatiana!”
Somewhere, a child’s crying reached his ears.
Lakrahan’s heart pounded so hard it felt unbearable.
Over ten years ago, he had stood in the midst of the Three-Continent War.
Amid mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, Lakrahan had made a vow.
Never again would he let his people die.
Never again would he be such a powerless ruler.
“Mark!”
Waaaaah!
Lakrahan strode resolutely toward the sound.
His cloak edges crackled as they burned away, and searing heat settled painfully onto his skin.
Crash.
A log supporting the shed’s ceiling collapsed right above him.
Had he taken just one more step, his body would have been crushed beneath it.
Waaah.
His gaze, fixed on the glowing red log, turned icy cold.
Lakrahan leapt cleanly over it and headed straight for the sound.
His heart pounded furiously, pumping blood through his entire body.
The faces of the dozen children he’d brought here that day flashed through his mind one by one.
Could he carry them all out at once?
Could he save every single one?
If not, perhaps it was better to stay here and guard their final moments.
Though thick smoke obscured his vision, he finally saw the children huddled together as one group.
“Is everyone alright?”
As he hurried closer, the air felt slightly more comfortable than before.
His steps halted at the sight now visible through the clearing smoke.
“…….”
There was a stranger.
A woman he’d never seen before was embracing and shielding the children.
All ten children were completely unharmed, not a single hair out of place.
The youngest child was crying in Tatiana’s arms—the eldest among them.
“Waaaaah.”
A single drop of water trickled down the chubby cheek of the crying child.
Lakrahan’s vision gradually widened.
Amidst the flesh-searing heat, the children’s bodies were damp with moisture.
“What on earth…?”
“Your Grace!”
Tatiana wiped the water dripping down her forehead and waved toward Lakrahan.
At the sound, the woman protecting the children slowly turned her head.
Her delicate features, set upon porcelain-white skin, remained expressionless.
When their eyes met—his and hers, her large eyes holding golden irises—Lakrahan froze as if spellbound, unable to move a single inch.
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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I have a inkling that Lione is probably Berche’s ‘Mother’?