Hades answered stiffly.
“Demons don’t starve to death.”
“Have you tried?”
“…….”
“I may not know much about demons, but the traces of death appear the same in all creatures.”
The doctor explained, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
“All the characteristics point to starvation, then freezing, and finally, penetration by a sharp weapon.”
“How do I know you’re not deceiving me?”
“Call other doctors. They will tell you the same thing.”
He was right.
He had Tobias summon all the doctors staying at the castle, and they all shared the same opinion.
His head ached.
Someone starved a demon to death, froze the corpse, and then impaled it on a tower that ordinary people couldn’t climb.
The method was one thing, but the motive was the problem.
‘…I need to keep it for now.’
Hades raised his hand, and the demon’s corpse froze solid.
He ordered the corpse to be stored in the underground dungeon and then left the tower.
‘Hopefully, nothing happened in the meantime.’
With knights and maids all around, an accident was unlikely.
However, it was equally unimaginable that Angelica would be waiting obediently for him.
‘Or she might be dead…’
At that sudden thought, Hades was momentarily startled.
Whether Angelica was dead or not, what did it have to do with him?
Of course, he had recently shown a great deal of affection for her in front of others.
But it was all an act.
He had no intention of giving his heart to a woman who would die in a few years.
Only because she was helping him despite her feeble lifeline did he feel morally obliged to treat her well.
So he indulged her ridiculous stubbornness and ignored her blatant lies.
“Welcome back, Your Highness!”
As soon as he opened the door to his office, the knights’ robust voices burst out.
Hades prepared to take the stage, clearing his throat.
“Have you taken good care of my lovely canary, knights?”
“Yes!”
Leisurely stepping in, Hades first checked Angelica’s complexion.
Fortunately, she looked no different from when he left.
“You all did well. Go back and rest now.”
As soon as the knights and maids scurried out, Angelica opened her mouth with a curious face.
“How was it?”
A smile crept to the corner of his mouth. Apparently, Angelica had continued thinking about the demon even after he had left.
“It was strange.”
“What was?”
“If the doctors didn’t all misjudge, someone starved a demon to death, then froze the corpse and impaled it on the tower.”
Angelica blinked her eyes quickly.
“Why… why?”
“How would I know.”
Hades sighed.
“Do you have any ideas?”
Angelica often showed good insight from unexpected places.
Had she not outsmarted the demons with the underground lake before?
Considering that initially, they couldn’t even gauge the extent of the demons’ power, it was a remarkable development.
“No.”
Angelica shook her head with a baffled face.
“It’s the first I’ve heard of this. May I see it too… Ah!”
As Angelica was leaning and getting up from her seat, she screamed.
“The Holy Maiden!”
Hades quickly approached her, his heart sinking at her pale face.
“It’s, it’s nothing. I just got pricked by a thorn… but.”
Bending down to take a closer look, there was a red blood drop on Angelica’s white finger.
“It’s not nothing.”
Hades quickly took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and tied up the injured finger.
Angelica did not stop his actions, but she looked a bit surprised.
“It’s just a prick from a thorn.”
“Have you ever heard of tetanus, saint?”
As always, Angelica was unfazed.
“Have you heard of a saint dying from tetanus?”
“I’ve heard of a saint with an incurable disease.”
Angelica chuckled.
“I can’t beat Your Majesty. Anyway, look at this.”
Hades’s eyes narrowed. It was because he saw a small folded note near the armrest of the comfortable chair where she had been sitting just moments ago.
He gently stopped Angelica from picking up the note.
“I’ll look at it.”
He carefully touched it and found that the material was ordinary paper, but the contents were the exact opposite.
The deadline is tomorrow.
There was no signature, but the sender was clear.
The meaning was clear as well.
“Huh.”
Hades let out a hollow laugh.
There was no anger at the threat itself. The threat was so shallow that even reacting to it felt excessive.
However, the fact that his heavily guarded office had been breached was an entirely different matter.
“When has this been here?”
“I don’t know.”
Angelica answered with a puzzled face.
“It might have been here since yesterday.”
“That can’t be.”
Hades shook his head.
“Even if it was a thorn, the cleaning staff wouldn’t have missed the note. It was certainly left today. Of course, it wasn’t done by Shujechin himself.”
“……Then.”
Angelica slowly spoke.
“After Your Majesty left earlier……”
She could not finish her sentence, but the implication was clear.
There was a collaborator of Shujechin among those who had entered the room without suspicion today. Perhaps her own personal maid was included in the candidates as well.
“It’s too early to jump to conclusions.”
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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