Having never stayed alone in someone else’s mansion before, Laila was unsure how to proceed and hesitated to move until the morning sun shone. The increasingly busy footsteps in the corridors and the delightful scent of baking bread signaled the start of the day in the mansion. However, she was confused about whether it would be too presumptuous of her to go out first and ask for breakfast.
In her room, she prepared as much as she could, rearranging the bedsheet and clumsily tidying her disheveled hair in front of the mirror. While doing so, she discovered evidence that the room’s original occupant was a man. In the rush to tidy the room, she had overlooked a cufflink in the dresser drawer, seemingly missing its pair, with a simple design featuring a purple gem.
At the sight of it, Laila flinched.
‘It was Miley’s room.’
At first, she thought it might be Lilburn’s room, but the arrangement of furniture was clearly for the purpose of a bedroom, implying the room owner used multiple rooms in the mansion.
Only the mansion’s owner would do so.
She had thought the room might be for servants, but then realized that couldn’t be the case. Servants wouldn’t use the same floor as the owner.
She felt ashamed for missing such an obvious fact and was at a loss for how to express her gratitude for Miley’s thoughtfulness.
Just as she decided to go out and find Miley to thank him, there was a timely knock on the door.
“May I come in, Princess?”
It was Mev.
Laila answered softly, and Mev entered, wearing a smooth smile that seemed to understand the situation. However, as an experienced maid, she carefully avoided saying anything that might embarrass Laila and just entered the room, followed by other servants.
Laila stepped back and examined the items they brought in.
“What are all these?”
They were a casual dress, hair ornaments, and makeup tools for her to change into.
“Since your dress was ruined, the Lord commanded us to specially prepare these items for you,” Mev explained, leading Laila to the dressing table.
There, other servants quickly set up tools, and someone started by lightly dampening Laila’s hair to untangle it.
Laila, bewildered by the sudden flurry of activity, asked, “Was all this prepared in a hurry because of me?”
“Some items were prepared hastily for you, but it’s not a big deal,” Mev reassured her.
Skilled hands then helped Laila change into a light open-shoulder dress suitable for spring. After the dress was on and adjusted, Mev seated Laila in a chair.
The process was rapid. Her hair was styled into a neat bun, adorned with a beaded butterfly ornament. Then Mev picked a platinum necklace with a central diamond from the items brought by the servants and placed it around Laila’s neck. The necklace sparkled beautifully in the morning sunlight, dispersing light in various directions like moonbeams on water.
The process continued in a flurry. Someone powdered Laila’s face, another gently fastened a bracelet on her wrist. Amidst this, the servants continually exclaimed how beautiful and pretty she was, completely transforming Laila in less than 30 minutes, erasing any trace of her just-awoken dishevelment.
Although Laila had experienced such preparations countless times in the Wessex palace, she had never anticipated it happening in Miley’s mansion. Before she could even marvel at the transformation, Mev, standing beside her, gestured towards the door.
“Let’s head for breakfast now. His Lordship is waiting.”
Since Laila had arrived at the mansion only after sunset the previous day, she had only thought of it as unusually large for a temporary residence. But in daylight, its appearance seemed different. Following Mev’s kind guidance, holding her hand, Laila slowly descended the stairs to the first floor.
Passing through a hall so immaculately polished it looked slippery, Laila headed towards the dining room where Miley was awaiting her. As she neared, the scent of freshly baked bread, already noticeable from the morning, became even more pronounced.
Upon the door opening, she glimpsed Miley waiting. True to word, he sat in front of a sunlit table, looking extremely bored with untouched food in front of him.
However, as the door creaked and he looked towards it, his expression dramatically softened at the sight of Laila accompanied by Mev. Standing up, Miley’s face lit up with a warm smile.
“Have you arrived, Princess?”
The dramatic change in his demeanor was evident. Seeing herself cause such a spontaneous reaction in him, Laila was inwardly surprised; it seemed too genuine to be feigned.
As the door closed, leaving only Mev inside, Miley approached to escort her despite the short distance.
“Let me guide you to your seat. Please, your hand.”
Laila placed her hand in his, looking up at him intently. Was her gaze too piercing? Midway, Miley asked her a question.
“Is there something wrong with my face?”
Laila sat down as guided by him, taking a deep breath. She then turned towards Miley, who was settling opposite her.
“Are you really helping me… out of pure kindness, Duke?”
There was another question she truly wanted to ask.
‘Do you perhaps like me?’
But it was a question she felt she couldn’t, or shouldn’t, ask.
Unaware of her inner turmoil, Miley sat down and chuckled lightly.
“That sounds like you don’t think I appear very noble. Is that right?”
“No, that’s not it… That’s not what I meant,” Laila quickly replied, shaking her head, as the servants brought warm bread to the table.
The bread was freshly baked, steaming hot. Along with the delicious aroma, Laila momentarily forgot the conversation and gazed at it. The golden-brown morning rolls, slightly crisped bacon, some ham, and cheese were laid out on the plate.
Whether it was due to the exhaustion from last evening or the enticing smell of bread she had woken up to, Laila embarrassingly found her mouth watering at the sight.
As Laila swallowed, Miley, who had been watching her with interest, broke a piece of bread and offered it to her. Then, he finally responded to the question Laila had asked earlier.
“The reason for helping you might not be entirely from pure-heartedness. I also have something to gain.”
“What might that be?”
Miley chewed on the bread and then laughed softly. His next words were something Laila could not have imagined.
“I suffer from an incurable disease, Princess.”
At this, Laila, who was also eating bread, paused. Her blue eyes wavered.
“What? What do you mean by that…?”
For a moment, she wondered if he was joking with her, especially since Miley looked so calm. He even took the time to sip the sweet juice in his glass. However, his story was quite specific.
“I’ve had the disease for a while, but only realized it about five months ago. I coughed up blood and was bedridden for several days. Since then, if I overexert myself, I experience severe pain throughout my body, and my hands and legs tremble uncontrollably. It’s a rather dreadful illness.”
“Ah…”
Hearing the part about his hands and legs trembling, Laila recalled the previous day. She remembered how Miley’s hand was trembling even after the building stopped shaking.
Noticing Laila’s realization, Miley smiled wryly and effortlessly mixed truth and lies.
“But Reynard Fillmore has contributed significantly to worsening my condition.”
To be precise, it was Reynard’s actions that had caused Miley to become angry and exert himself, aggravating his condition. However, Laila, unaware of the whole situation, naturally wondered.
“I’m very sorry to hear about your health. But… what does that have to do with my engagement?”
“It’s because I don’t want unnecessary sacrifices. Think of it as me cleaning up around Reynard Fillmore.”
Of course, this explanation was a bit of an inversion of cause and effect. It wasn’t so much about saving Laila while dealing with Reynard and the Kingdom of Fillmore, but more about dealing with Reynard and Fillmore in the process of saving Laila.
However, these deeper reasons were something Laila didn’t necessarily need to know.
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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