“May I see those rail plans?”
Ines knew the layout of the tracks to some extent, especially if they were in Lusonia. She wanted to be of some help to him. Once again, he slightly tilted his head. Women generally didn’t ask to see rail designs.
“Do you know Lusonia’s geography well?”
“Ah, no.”
“Then it won’t be easy to understand just by looking.”
“Can I at least take a quick look?”
“There’s no reason you can’t.”
Carson offered a rare, passionate gaze and briefly smiled.
“I just don’t like the idea of you straining yourself.”
Ines remained contemplative, giving away no particular emotion.
The more she was like this, the more Carson wanted to reveal his thoughts to her. It was the same when he had expressed a desire to meet Lena Marier. He simply didn’t like her when he knew little about her.
To think that a woman as pure as driven snow would meet a murderer.
“Let’s go, then. Noah should have it.”
Yet, Carson couldn’t deter Ines. The design wasn’t that of a murderer either.
Ines returned home and met Noah. As Carson had said, Noah had the Drofinnoa railway plans.
The file was thick, filled with paper much thicker than ordinary paper. It was marked with hard-to-find blue ink indicating the chosen route for the rail.
It was difficult to comprehend at a glance, as Carson had warned. Moreover, it was in individual sheets. Ines had never learned map reading, and this was not a user-friendly map.
“May I take this to my room to spread it out?”
“Your room?”
“Yes, I’d like to spread it out on the floor and look at it.”
When Carson looked at Noah, he quickly took the file from Ines.
“Go ahead.”
As Noah started to lead the way, Carson blocked him.
“Where are you going?”
“To the lady’s room, of course…”
“Wait here.”
“Yes? Oh, alright.”
Even during this conversation, Ines tried to recall the places she had seen, straining her memory. She had been there with Charlotte, but could not ask her anything.
For quite some time, she had been involved in the removal of poorly installed long tracks. The removal began in Landhill and continued all the way to Lusonia. It began in the summer and had not yet ended by fall.
It had rendered the tunnels going through the mountain useless as well.
If she could only remember the name of that mountain…
Ines’s room had an atmosphere that didn’t suit her.
A typical young aristocrat’s room? That’s why the woman sitting on the floor, spreading out the design, also did not fit in. Ines had no reservations about this as she unfolded the design in sequence.
Meanwhile, Carson looked around her room.
There was a bed that could easily accommodate him in just three large steps. A touch of pink was on the sheets, and Carson slightly squinted one eye.
It felt strange to think she’d sleep there barefoot. To the right of the bed was a window that let in ample sunlight. The room’s balcony was notably large compared to its size.
‘Is this her taste?’
He thought he’d refer to this when decorating her room in the castle.
Her bedroom didn’t have an adjoining sitting area. To the left where Ines sat, there was a table and a long sofa.
He moved closer to the sofa and found something out of place. When he picked it up, a jingling noise filled the quiet room. Ines, who had been busy arranging the papers, was startled by the noise, and Carson quickly examined the chain.
“Gi, give that to me.”
“Why is my name engraved on this?”
Of course, it wasn’t his full name. He could only make out Carson von and part of Rey.
“Did you make this for me? It doesn’t seem like something Her Highness would need.”
He couldn’t say no at this point. Just like he had said, last night he had fallen asleep while engraving his name on the string intended as a gift for him.
“I made it just because you said you were leaving.”
He looked at the object once again.
“It’s something you attach to chainmail.”
“Chainmail?”
“It means chain armor. Probably used more than 500 years ago.”
“……”
“I heard foldruns were used during the great war with the kingdom across the sea 100 years ago.”
Ines had also heard of foldruns. They were armors that protected the shoulders, armpits, and even more areas like the heart.
“And this… wasn’t actually used to connect a sword and armor. It was used like a chain in awkward areas.”
“Is that so…”
“At the end of this chain, there used to be a dagger for making holes in the armor. It’s a kind of attack armor that can defend a man’s vulnerable spots and prepare for a surprise attack.”
Ines became more and more intrigued by these new and interesting facts.
“But over time, its meaning has somewhat changed. There are stories that even the ancestral emperors used it to connect their swords and armors.”
He got up from the sofa and walked around the table to approach her.
“And that changed meaning might be… a token given for the safe return of a husband or lover from war.”
Whenever Carson approached like this, all the thoughts that had been floating in Ines’s head instantly froze. It seemed like she shouldn’t move until he gave her permission.
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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