When Kai was young, Verdura Castle was small and quaint, yet it was an incredibly beautiful place. Designed by the emperor, Kai’s father, for his mother who loved simplicity, the castle became her favorite spot.
However, at some point, it transformed from a warm, beautiful, and joyful place into a gloomy, sad, and dreaded one.
Why?
The emotional gap for the same place widened, but memories that could bridge the gap were like a large hole punctured through. It felt as if the only bridge connecting the two places had been severed. The memories of Verdura Castle, which suddenly resurfaced with uncomfortable emotions, made Kai’s mind complicated.
Why were the intermediate memories erased, and why was the place imbued with memories of his mother left neglected?
“What is it?”
Kai tried to focus on the hazy memories, but the more he tried, the more the memories he held onto faded like mist. As he concentrated on the fading memories, the headache started again.
Kai grimaced and let out a short groan.
“Why? Where does it hurt? Or maybe you skipped dinner?”
Esta examined Kai as if he were an older brother. Kai suddenly wondered why the earth fairy appeared at this time.
“Why do you keep coming here?”
Perhaps Princess Stella has different intentions, and Kai couldn’t help but suspect that she might be monitoring him because she can command earth fairies.
“Well, you’re one of Stella’s few human friends.”
The guy who unexpectedly appeared last time said Kai was pitiful, and now he claims to be the friend of that woman. Kai tried to think if there was any connection between him and Stella that could be considered a friendship, but nothing came to mind.
Just a few carrots obtained, receiving a handkerchief, and working in the field together? And the commonality of being tiny beings.
“Why are there so many of them?”
As Kai thought of Stella, his eyebrows furrowed at the memories of these annoying and bothersome creatures following him like byproducts. The woman was subtly irritating and unsettling.
“I’m not her girlfriend.”
“Stella, why do you call her that even though you know her name? Oh! Did you forget it by any chance?”
Esta, who was looking at Kai with confusion, suddenly blocked his mouth and muttered with an expression suggesting, ‘Could it be?’
“Arc called her a fool, and he really is a fool. Oh well, he looked fine, but it didn’t work out.”
Kai was bewildered by these creatures that he once pitied and now found ridiculous.
And behind these creatures was Stella, that woman. No matter how much he pretended not to care, everything bothered him – Verdura Castle, these creatures, and the carrots that woman raised.
When suspicion arose, everything began to feel suspicious. It seemed necessary to learn more about Princess Stella.
Stella, who came out to inspect Zihicho and spinach, discovered a strange shadow lingering in the garden. It was an ambitious time, even the guards outside the castle were dozing off.
“Who’s there!”
Stella intentionally shouted loudly, as if urging people to hear. However, the shadow remained undisturbed, standing plump, until Stella turned her head in its direction.
Stella felt a chill all over her body as the shadow, without fleeing, continued to stand and gaze at her.
“Why are you like that? What’s going on?”
The earth fairies who followed along also asked, guarding against the unexpected.
“Is it a human?”
“Why are you standing there? Are you a spinach thief?”
As Stella’s voice was heard, faint lights came through the windows of Verdura Castle. Stella hoped that the person lighting the candle was Darun.
If something happened to her, the guards standing outside the castle gate would probably just watch, as if it were none of their business.
“Do you live here?”
Contrary to the tension she felt, the voice coming from the darkness surprisingly did not convey any malice.
However, that didn’t mean she could let her guard down. Maintaining distance, Stella asked again.
“What are you doing in my garden?”
I tried to ask as calmly as possible, but it was inevitable that my voice trembled and my breath became rapid.
“Did you remove the stone wall that was here, Princess?”
Instead of answering the question, another question came back. Stella’s eyes became sharp at the sudden mention of the stone wall. A different tension crept around her throat compared to when she was scared.
“Who are you? If you want to ask a question, reveal your identity. I won’t answer a single word before that.”
Somehow finding the courage, Stella shouted toward the man whose face wasn’t clearly visible.
Although Stella shouted in a fairly threatening voice, the man didn’t flinch. Instead, he circled around the place that had now become a field, searching for traces of the removed stone wall.
Perplexed by the man’s seemingly leisurely actions, Stella couldn’t understand. The man, as if forgetting that Stella was watching him, circled around for a while, then turned to Stella and asked again.
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
