Noah rested his elbows on the table and clutched his head. Carson chuckled as he observed him.
“No need to overthink. It’s time to return to Landhill.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yes, we’re heading back to Landhill after visiting the Imperial City. Find someone suitable to take care of things here.”
Considering the experiences so far, there was hardly any doubt about the choices the Empress would offer. Noah responded calmly and stood up. There were many questions, but he couldn’t ask more.
“Understood.”
Soon, winds of change would sweep through Monstera. All Noah could do was follow the Lord’s orders, as always.
The person who brought peace to Monstera appeared to be returning to Landhill. With no war for a while, the territory would remain peaceful even if he didn’t guard it. However, people felt a significant loss.
For several days, a cold atmosphere hung over the Lord’s Castle.
After a letter arrived from the imperial family and six days later, Carson, accompanied by Noah and one knight, set off for the Imperial City.
Although the momentum of the epidemic that had spread through the kingdom had subsided, the southern part of the empire was said to be in the midst of the storm. That’s why Louis stayed behind. Louis, holding Ines’s hand, bid farewell to Oravi.
After Carson disappeared from view, Louis looked up at Ines.
“Are you going to protect me again this time?”
In response, Ines smiled gently.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Now Ines is leaving too?”
“But Charlotte will stay.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. So, Ines, don’t worry about me. I’ve grown up a lot now, not a child like before. So, I can wait as long as needed. Until the day we meet again.”
Ines tightly embraced Louis. Somehow, she felt that it would be too difficult for her, not him, to endure that time.
As always, Louis gently leaned away from her and entered the mansion.
Afterwards, Ines also departed towards the temple. When the time limit expired there, she would return to being Ines Sveden, the noble lady.
Having received forgiveness for all sins, Ines resolved not to look back twice. Somehow, she felt like she had been born again.
The news that Carson von Raymond, the war hero who ended the war that had not been concluded during five regime changes and expanded the territory of the kingdom, was coming to the Imperial City, spread throughout the empire in no time.
His entrance, praised as a war hero who ended the war while the boundary issue of Fuldafin, a thorn in the side of the Kains Empire for hundreds of years, was resolved, and acknowledged as the strongest and most beautiful man in the empire, stirred up the entire empire like a boiling volcano.
The reason was said to be to support Anthony von Raymond, the second son of the Empress. Upon hearing this, people finally decided on a course of action.
“But why is the atmosphere here like this?”
Unlike the aristocratic social circles, the scene inside the capital’s outskirts was strangely quiet.
“Could it be because the civil war is prolonged?”
“What does that have to do with ordinary people?”
Noah didn’t know either. While there was an intense internal struggle for the position of the Crown Prince, it wasn’t characterized by frequent armed conflicts.
Moreover, the fights were mainly between influential nobles, and there was no reason for the market or the commoners’ area to resemble a funeral parlor.
“It could be because many people died due to the plague.”
It was after a violent epidemic had passed. Now the plague had moved entirely south.
Carson locked the gates of Landhill just before the epidemic hit. Only those involved in trade were allowed to come and go, and even they couldn’t trade outside the designated area.
Fortunately, Landhill, located in the southeast, was relatively free from the disease.
The noticeable slowing down of the spread of the epidemic in the capital would be the first thing people felt. It might be possible that some habits of minimal contact remained, but it wasn’t reasonable for things to be this quiet.
The market, once bustling with people, had no people or goods. Even cats were nowhere to be seen.
“No, that’s not it. I heard that the aristocratic circles are showing signs of movement.”
Using the social circles to mobilize the nobles had long been the Empress’s method. As soon as the disease subsided, the Empress instructed the ladies of the noble families supporting her to reopen the social culture.
There was no sign of the ladies making moves that would be visible.
“I’ll find out.”
Instead of answering, Carson took a deep breath, tightened the reins, and held Ines close. There was less than a month left before Ines would be by his side. The thought of getting entangled again in the situation in the capital already made his head hurt.
But Carson tried to think positively.
If he pledged allegiance here and returned to Landhill, Ines would probably have already arrived at the Sweden Mansion.
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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