Unlike the roof that barely maintained its balance, the cracks in the pillar spread like a spider web.
Whish! At the moment the cracks reached where the pillar met the roof, I found myself already springing into action.
“It’s dangerous!”
As I shouted, the veiled maid looked at me. She was catching her breath, her chest heaving rapidly.
She looked at me, then up at the sky.
Boom!
Just then, the top part of the pillar shattered.
“The pillar is falling!”
Someone yelled out.
‘What am I doing? Even if I run like this, I won’t be able to reach the veiled maid in time.’
Despite questioning myself, I kept running as fast as I could, my breath almost reaching my throat.
I reached out and grabbed the maid’s wrist.
Pulling her hard, she stumbled towards me.
But I couldn’t be sure we were out of the roof’s fall zone.
‘Faster, faster!’
However, the maid was frozen in fear. It was impossible to flee with her in this state.
‘Damn it. I’m going to get caught in this myself.’
This was not typical of me.
But I didn’t want the miracle the maid had performed, the blue water droplet I found on her, to disappear.
I tried to move further away from the spot.
“Be careful!”
Someone screamed. I turned my head and saw the pillar completely detached from the roof, plummeting down.
‘Already?’
Panic set in. Moving further was impossible in the time available.
If splinters from the falling pillar hit our faces, it would be disastrous.
I was about to throw myself over the maid to protect her when suddenly a strong, dry arm wrapped around my waist.
The scent filled my nostrils. I knew who it was without looking.
Giovanni had scooped up both the maid and me, one on each side of his waist, and leaped up.
‘What is he doing?’
But that thought was short-lived.
We were quickly away from our original spot. My eyes widened. It was an inhuman speed.
Boom!
Just as we got clear, a loud crash sounded. I looked over Giovanni’s shoulder.
A thick, blackened pillar lay where we had just been.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
My heart raced frantically.
Had we been just a bit slower, we would have been crushed without even a chance to scream.
“Are you always this reckless?”
I looked up. Giovanni was staring straight at me.
“Hardly.”
To the people of Amtein, the body is the most important asset. How could I be reckless when my body is my most valuable possession? This incident was unusual for me.
I shrugged as I stepped away from Giovanni’s embrace.
“I didn’t expect the pillar to fall that fast.”
He was about to say something.
“Thank you, both of you.”
The veiled maid approached. Giovanni closed his mouth and watched her.
She clasped her hands and bowed her head slightly.
“Thanks to you, I survived.”
Her voice, though clear and dignified, had a noble air about it, even as she recited the incantation.
“I didn’t do much. If the prince hadn’t been there, it would have been serious.”
“But you stepped forward to save me. I’m thankful to the prince of the Empire, but you were very brave, miss.”
Her lips seemed to curve into a smile behind the veil.
I glanced at her elbow involuntarily. The sleeve had fallen down, hiding the water droplet tattoo from view. I felt an unexpected pang of regret.
‘I wish I could see it again. Should I ask what it is?’
Just then, murmurs from the crowd reached my ears.
“Thank goodness everyone is safe.”
“It’s fortunate, indeed. I’m disappointed in the Count of Lorenst, though. Didn’t he just save his own family?”
“He left that delicate lady out there.”
“Changed my opinion about him.”
It seemed that at the time the pillar fell, Hubert had only taken care of Aris.
Given his position, it would have been difficult for him to also look out for the veiled maid.
Due to my involvement, which was unrelated to the veiled maid, Hubert’s action of protecting Aris was perceived by others as favoring his own family.
For Aris, it was a no-win situation; she stepped forward but ended up receiving only scowls from the people, despite her efforts.
Because of her continual sobbing, the journey back to the Count’s mansion was somewhat noisy.
A week later.
The café in the capital was bustling with the chatter of people.
“Really, the reception for the Empire’s delegation was so extravagant.”
“I attended for a day. Barely saw a few of the Empire’s people. The prince, oh my, was so huge it was intimidating just to greet him.”
“You saw that barbarian! How long will he stay here?”
“Seems like he’s not planning to leave soon.”
“There’s talk that he came looking for a marriage partner.”
“Ugh, nonsense! Who would marry that barbarian?”
“I heard high-ranking lords think differently. It’s the Empire, after all.”
“No matter what, that’s just…”
The conversations of people penetrated the thin partitions.
“I’m unbeatable at chess.”
“Marsha, you’ve become so beautiful!”
“Shall I go to the temple to pray this evening?”
Contrasting with the lively atmosphere outside, the room I was in felt like an isolated island of quietness.
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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