Not long ago, hadn’t Zed done the same?
“Did the smell we breathe contribute to your hatred of people, my lord? Only you can smell it, and the scent seems rather unpleasant. Of course, the young lady will smell nothing but flowers.”
Riche felt as though the world had split in two upon hearing this story.
During their first meeting, in the forest of monsters, and at various times at the duke’s mansion and with Deon.
It was said that Deon was smelling his own breath, and it was disgusting.
‘He must have thought it was filthy.’
He had heard this countless times in his previous life. Thus, Riche was accustomed to the word “filthy” and had never denied it.
But he did not want to appear so to the people of the Ludwick family.
“Ugh, the smell. To bring something like this.”
“It is the Duke of Gerwer’s order, so we will call you ‘Miss,’ but you must not forget your place. You are from filthy slave origins, after all.”
Precisely, Riche did not want to hear those words from their mouths, words he had heard in the past.
He felt a fresh wind.
‘I had no intention of getting attached…….’
Three weeks had passed since he had entered the Ludwick family.
At first, he thought it was just a fence where he could live until he was old enough to live on his own.
Even after receiving his name, the thought lingered in his mind. He thought it would not be strange if they abandoned him at any time.
So don’t give them too much of your heart. Riche sometimes warned himself, waking up in the middle of the night and looking out into the dark window.
But.
Unfounded affection for the first time, the goodwill of the people.
It was too warm a warmth to ignore. He couldn’t even imagine when this warmth would be gone.
He didn’t want to let go. When he realized this feeling, his heart had already opened to the Duke of Ludwick’s family.
‘So I wanted to get along with Deon as well…….’
The smell. Ruined.
Deon looked at the frustrated Riche with a dumbfounded face.
“You don’t smell.”
“……?”
“When did I say you smelled? In the first place, the smell of breath isn’t that strong.”
Although it was true that Deon could smell the breath of living creatures due to his enormous potential, unlike Blake, the breath’s smell he detected was not as disgusting as the rumor that had spread in the Ludwick family.
The knights kept annoying him, so he made up an excuse like, “The smell is terrible every time you breathe, so don’t come close.” That had spread like the truth.
“Come to think of it, it’s strange.”
“What is?”
Riche asked, lowering his hands that had cautiously covered his nose and mouth.
Deon stared at him, lost in thought.
‘Why doesn’t he smell?’
It wasn’t just humans. Deon smelled the breath of all living beings that could control their breathing, even from Blake, who had the same ability.
So why doesn’t Riche smell?
The disappearance of his shadow in the monster’s forest was also like that. Something was strange when connected to this little one.
‘……Should I test it?’
Deon raised his hand.
The naive silver eyes met Deon’s emotionless red eyes.
“Why?”
That stupid face, not even knowing what I am about to do.
Deon flicked Riche’s forehead, who was looking up at him, and said curtly.
“You’re weird.”
“Ouch.”
“Don’t dodge from now on.”
With that, he left Riche and left the room.
(This is a time delimiter.)
“My lord, what’s the matter?”
Deon’s attending physician asked him, who had come to his office.
The door was wide open, and the office was empty, but Deon did not seem to want to come in.
He leaned awkwardly against the door frame, facing the physician.
“Father?”
It was a vague question, but it was always the same question.
“How is Father’s condition?” had been repeated, and now just the subject was enough.
The physician gave Deon a kind smile and said,
“He’s fighting hard. His condition hasn’t worsened either.”
“Then that’s fine.”
Deon turned his back without any lingering, detached himself from the door frame, and walked away.
Although she acted stoically, the physician knew that Blake was worried and came to visit often.
‘Tsk tsk……. How pitiful our young master is.’
Although not intended by the previous family heads, the Ludwick Ducal family had mostly been succeeded by only children.
And the Lady of Ludwick, who was the precious jewel of a noble family.
Currently, the only close blood relative to Deon was his father Blake.
‘How fortunate that Miss Riche became a part of Ludwick.’
Outside, there were nobles who opposed the adoption of a commoner into the ducal family.
But most of the people within the Ludwick Ducal House welcomed Riche’s adoption.
Not only was the child very lovable, but they all were worried about Deon being left alone after Blake’s death.
‘Even though he seems to dislike people, he must be someone with deep wounds…….’
The physician recalled an event from 6 years ago.
A mere threeyearold child had used his ability with the sole desire to revive his deceased mother.
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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