The gaze that was now sharper than before made me flinch involuntarily.

“That’s…”

His voice fell heavily, like a massive boulder rolling down.

“What do you mean?”

“Your kingdom has a mystical power, doesn’t it? Are you aware?”

“I know your kingdom can supposedly call rain at will. Are you saying you can do that?”

I pressed my lips together and nodded.

I couldn’t tell how he interpreted my gaze. But it was clear he was intrigued by what I said.

The question was, ‘How much would he believe me?’

‘If he considers it a trick by a kingdom woman who tried a sham marriage, he won’t believe.’

The prince pointed his weapon at me.

“How am I to believe you?”

“If you can’t trust me, go ahead and stab me with that.”

A crease formed on his forehead.

Of course, it was a bluff.

I came here to survive, not to be stabbed by my own lifeline.

But sometimes, in life, you need to bluff.

‘It’s hard to win against someone loud on the streets.’

Still pointing his weapon at me, I looked at its blade.

Seeing it shine more sharply than the old blade of a guillotine, I felt a sudden fear.

But.

‘If it doesn’t go away, it’s death; if it does, it’s a new opportunity.’

I boldly stepped forward. The sharp end dug deeper into my stomach.

If I moved any further, it would completely pierce my flesh.

Feeling the pain, I immediately thought of another option.

‘Maybe fleeing was the best choice?’

I bit the inside of my lip and stared at him as if challenging. Then, I took a step forward.

The weapon remained still.

‘He didn’t put it away.’

Just as I was forcing my reluctant feet to stand firm, a warm pain spread across my stomach, even though I hadn’t moved.

About seven hours later, dawn arrived at the Lorenst House.

Thud.

Creak.

I slipped my shoe-clad foot through the open door.

Tap, tap, tap.

After a few steps, I stopped.

Exhausted footsteps, a tired expression, and the scrutinizing gaze licking over everything. A look of ‘maybe’ turned into ‘as expected.’

An odd thought crossed my mind. Was this how a poor family’s daughter who returned home at dawn, after being the joy of nobles at a party, felt?

‘But I’m neither a blood daughter of this house nor a proper family member.’

I mumbled to myself. In my previous life, I seemed to have held such a solemn sentiment.

Hubert had said that without me, the house would fall.

Thinking about it now, that was absolutely impossible.

I raised my head a bit more. The faces of the family members became clearly visible.

Emmerun, who was sipping strongly brewed tea to fight off drowsiness.

Aris, who leaned on Hubert’s shoulder, sleeping, then opened her eyes wide upon seeing me.

Hubert, who was flipping through the newspaper with his other hand, which wasn’t occupied by Aris.

It felt like I was transported back in time for
At that moment, Hubert called me. My faded memories vanished into the back of my mind, and I noticed the first floor bathed in the blue light of dawn.

Hubert asked cautiously, “Are you okay?”

I tilted my head as if questioning his concern, “Of course. Everyone’s up early. Did you have a chat this morning?”

I posed the question nonchalantly, like someone returning from a brief walk, causing everyone to exchange glances.

Aris eyed me suspiciously, “We were waiting for you, sister. Are you really okay?”

“You were waiting for me? Did something happen? I might have read a bit long in the library, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

As I smoothly delivered my rehearsed lines, Aris frowned, “Wait, what do you mean?”

Just then:

Heeeeing!

The sound of a horse whinnying came from outside. Georgiana, drenched in sweat, entered hurriedly, immediately bowing her head under everyone’s stern gaze.

Jenny followed, standing rigid. It seemed she had a hard time keeping Georgiana at bay in the library, evident from her exhausted appearance.

Observing both the composed me and the flustered Georgiana, Aris narrowed her eyes.

“Why are you so late?” she demanded, her voice chilly.

“You came after sister, did you get lost?”

It wasn’t a real question but a veiled reprimand.

Georgiana’s face turned pale, “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“What are you talking about? You really got lost?”

Aris laughed coldly, but her laughter stopped as soon as she realized Georgiana’s expression hadn’t changed.

“Where?”

“In the library,” Georgiana replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Getting lost in the library, such a foolish mistake…”

Aris paused, then tilted her head, “Wait, then you must have seen sister there?”

“Uh?” Georgiana looked up suddenly. Emmerun joined in, “Didn’t you ask if she saw Eigrain in the library?”

“I saw her until just before that,” Georgiana replied, almost screaming.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I saw her reading in the library, but she disappeared while I looked away for a moment…”

I couldn’t help but smirk.

Aris gave me a triumphant look, “Really? Disappeared midway? Strange. Sister said she was in the library all night.”

Emmerun chimed in, “Indeed strange.”

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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