Pellio had assisted in preparing the documents needed to establish the orphanage.
Since it was not to be built under the royal seal, the Emperor’s approval was unnecessary, so the paperwork was completed faster than expected.
However, Pellio was suspicious of Ermedillin to the end, even while obediently organizing the documents, and he kept frowning at her.
‘It was better when she was expressionless.’
Annoying, but what can be done? To ensure she doesn’t ask again next time, no matter how much he dislikes her, he has to sit beside her and concentrate on watching her complete the paperwork.
Pellio did not let go of his suspicion towards Ermedillin even at the moment he was leaving to submit the documents to the relevant department.
“Are you really going to submit this?”
“Submit it.”
“If this is passed after submission, the money will really be taken out, right?”
“I know.”
Taking a step, Pellio stopped again to ask the same question.
“Are you really going?”
“Ah! Please just go!!”
Only after a loud outburst from Ermedillin did Pellio stop his barrage of questions.
As cold and reticent as ice, Pellio was uncomfortable, but him suddenly speaking freely wasn’t comfortable either.
“Huff.”
Feeling mentally fatigued, Ermedillin sighed, and she saw Loony and Mago cautiously approaching.
“What’s the matter?”
“Um, is it about Helen?”
Looking at Loony rolling her eyes here and there, it seemed like a difficult topic to talk about.
“Are you curious about Helen’s situation?”
“Yes.”
Although they hadn’t spent much time together, they seemed concerned.
“You heard that Helen was an insider?”
Nods.
Indeed, a legless tale travels faster than one with legs.
“She disappeared somewhere with Count Franshuar.”
The matter of theft was deliberately left out.
“Oh, did the Count…”
“No. That’s not it. I heard she disappeared on her own.”
“Really?”
“We are searching places where Helen’s family is or where she might hide, so she will be found soon.”
“What will happen when she is found?”
Loony asked with a worried face.
“Well, honestly, I don’t know. If Helen hadn’t suddenly followed the Count and disappeared, I would have planned to follow this matter to the end.”
“You knew from the beginning, Your Majesty.”
“Yes. She confessed. By herself.”
Although she was trying her best not to care, she couldn’t stop a bitter expression from appearing on her face.
Ermedillin recalled Helen’s young face covered in freckles and her thin wrists, where the knuckles stood out from being so skinny.
‘She’s not starving somewhere, is she…’
In her pity, Ermedillin silently clicked her tongue, and Loony’s face suddenly appeared in front of her.
“Ah, you surprised me!”
“Your Majesty.”
“What?”
“I will never betray Your Majesty. I was very scared at first, but not now. I like Your Majesty.”
Ermedillin could clearly see Loony’s face turning red, thanks to her pale skin.
Suddenly confessing, the girl seemed embarrassed by her words, as she backed away, twitching her nose.
“Ha, haha, hahaha.”
Ermedillin found her adorable and couldn’t help but laugh.
Ermedillin recalled a large autumn leaf she had held in her hand one fall day.
The red leaf picked by small, fernlike hands for her sister, who had taken care of her all night.
‘My sister is my favorite in the world.’
At that time, too, the child’s face was as red as Loony’s now.
‘Ah, if Eunyoung hadn’t died, she would be about this age… ‘
Suddenly feeling like she might cry, Ermedillin dropped her head.
“Thank you.”
She spoke in as low a voice as possible to hide her trembling voice, but it was unclear whether it was completely concealed.
After lunch, a leisurely afternoon.
For the first time, three court ladies visited Ermedillin at once. Apparently, yesterday’s trial had been quite thrilling.
Countess Ellion, whom she had met before, made a fuss as she appeared first.
“Your Majesty the Empress! I was really surprised yesterday! I never dreamed that the Count would be such a person!”
Yet, having experienced it once, Ermedillin wasn’t greatly taken aback by Countess Ellion’s fuss.
“I made an ugly spectacle of myself.”
“No! My word, to have covered up for such a father until now! Your Majesty, you are truly a filial daughter!”
It was unclear whether it was sarcasm or praise.
Her acting was so extraordinary that, at a glance, her expression and voice seemed sincere.
“I’m grateful you think so.”
Ermedillin, who had nervously responded, saw that the two women who had come with the Countess merely bowed their heads in agreement without saying anything specific.
Ermedillin had already been curious about what had happened to Countess Ellion’s fullterm child and had been thinking about calling on her again, but she became awkward to question her because of the other two court ladies.
“It feels like it’s been a long time since I last saw you. Have you come to congratulate me on the trial result?”
The words didn’t come out politely at first.
Were they not the ones who, although court ladies, hadn’t visited the palace in a while?
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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