Greta’s eyes sparkled with interest, causing Raphine to shyly burst into laughter.
“So then, you say I might even become the next great lord?”
“Oh my, heavens!”
Greta laughed heartily, as if she had heard a pleasant tale. On one hand, she seemed to find the child’s frivolous story adorable.
“Really? Is that all? There were no other suspicious signs?”
Greta, having held back her laughter, questioned as if confirming. An important verification process. She had prepared for the outlines of the tail to be revealed for this.
Greta’s eyes, a blend of two colors, shone mysteriously. In contrast, Raphine’s eyes, which had been shyly speaking, lost their light and became cloudy.
“Yes… truly. We were together until I was called here, and we agreed to have dinner right away. The Crown Prince remains in the Imperial City.”
Upon hearing Raphine’s honest confession due to the mind control she had set, Greta’s lips viciously curled up.
“Yes, so you say…”
Greta lightly closed her eyes. The dazed expression on Raphine’s face instantly brightened. Greta exchanged a few more words with her and sent her off.
“There was no need to entice the Crown Prince. He will surely promise to save my mother!”
Raphine maintained her brightness until she left, firmly believing in Benjamin.
“Bring the jewelry box.”
“Yes, Your Highness the Empress.”
The maid, whose gaze had been wandering in mid-air, shifted her steps toward the bedroom at Greta’s command and brought the jewelry box. Greta lifted a magical device from within the box with a rapturous expression.
It was none other than a surveillance magical device that Kendall had placed in Raphine’s sleeve. Precisely, it had been in Kendall’s ear.
“It’s good I had someone follow you, Raphine, when you left looking suspicious. Oh Kendall, would it have killed you to stay still? You didn’t even know that I’d already made moves, and you had Raphine and Benjamin meet…”
Greta’s regretful advice dissipated into thin air. Unfortunately, there was no one left in this world to hear it.
Raphine, who had come out of the Empress’ palace, immediately met Benjamin outside.
“You took your time.”
“Oh, did I take that long? I thought I came out quickly…”
Surprised, Raphine widened her eyes as Benjamin, who had been leaning against the wall, gestured for her to come over. When Raphine approached laughing and took his hand, Benjamin pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
“These were the longest fifteen minutes of my life.”
“What, really~!”
Raphine, amazed, lightly tapped Benjamin’s shoulder.
‘Huh?’
A strange discomfort struck her. It was something only Raphine, who had passionately coveted Benjamin’s body more than anyone else, could notice. The body she had just tapped was not the same firm body she had been rolling around with in the grass moments ago.
‘But…’
Raphine looked up at Benjamin with a nervous expression. The man, chuckling at Raphine’s cute fumbling, was definitely Benjamin. There couldn’t be two men shining so brightly under the afternoon sun in this world.
Raphine stretched out her hand to feel Benjamin’s shoulder bones. It seemed like Benjamin, but also…
“Hm? What?”
Benjamin, feeling the suspicion in Rapine’s gaze and the doubt contained in her touching hands, slightly leaned his upper body toward her and asked. Rapine hurriedly removed her hand as she saw the handsome face pushed right in front of her nose.
“You? Ah, no. Nothing.”
Sure, as if Benjamin’s body doesn’t feel like Benjamin’s. What strange talk is this?
Rapine once again insisted it was nothing and crossed Benjamin’s arms, not forgetting to subtly press against his chest. Benjamin looked down at her with a pleased expression and took a step.
While heading to the restaurant together, Rapine softly chuckled and spoke.
“I really like Your Highness’s consideration.”
“Hmm?”
“Your strides. You deliberately match them to mine.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I heard that the more you love, the more you observe. You really are… a caring person. You’re matching your strides to mine, aren’t you?”
As Rapine spoke, she assumed Benjamin’s object of affection was naturally herself. However, the more Rapine spoke, the stiffer Benjamin’s eyes became.
‘I should be cautious.’
And for a good reason; he wasn’t particularly observing Rapine and adjusting his stride for her. It was just a habit ingrained in his body.
Because the one currently wearing Benjamin’s guise was Mitchell, a woman!
Caught up in her dislike of bodily contact, she hadn’t managed to adjust her gait. Mitchell opened her mouth as she vowed not to be caught by Rapine, who seemed sharper than expected.
“It’s strange not to get used to it. We have walked together.”
“That’s true!”
Rapine cheerfully laughed in response. It seemed she wasn’t taking it seriously. Looking down at Rapine’s bright expression, Mitchell inwardly clicked her tongue.
‘His Highness is indeed amazing. I knew he was potent, but…’
Even with a motive, how did he manage to enchant Rapine to this extent? How much of a loving act did he put on?
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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