“Why do you say that? I’ve never danced daily. I hardly ever dance.”
The Duke suddenly became serious.
“Yes, well. And be careful on your night walks, Your Highness.”
“?”
“You were unarmed, right? Only defending with your hands. Anyone could target you at any time.”
“This?”
The Duke showed a dagger strapped to his waist.
“You had it!”
“Yes.”
“But why didn’t you use it?”
“Because just in case. The opponent seemed smaller.”
He looked at me.
“It smelled familiar, so I hesitated.”
Scent?
Is he talking about my scent?
‘Do I smell bad? I bathed just before.’
“Do I smell?”
“No, not that.”
The Duke hesitated in his words.
“You have your own scent.”
“!”
The Duke examined my face, then stood up abruptly and took off his outer garment, draping it over my shoulders.
“Do you have spare clothes?”
“Yes, Hans the butler provided several.”
“Good. Wear this until you return to the castle. Ah, you’re barefoot.”
“Yes, I just wanted to walk comfortably. I was on my way to the wild garden.”
“Are you sure? It’s still a bit of a walk.”
“Yes, I like being barefoot sometimes.”
Then he took off his shoes too.
“Let me try that, then.”
He walked ahead.
“Your Highness, the castle is that way.”
“I was on my way to the wild garden too. Would you mind joining me?”
“!”
‘A walk with the Duke.’
“That would be nice.”
He then smiled a refreshing breeze-like smile, gentle and tender.
The Duke kept walking ahead.
Why? Does he have a reason not to show his front?
“Your Highness, please slow down.”
He abruptly stopped, speaking without turning around.
“Walking barefoot is indeed nice. Closer to the earth.”
“Right?”
I finally caught up to him.
“Look over there, Estelle.”
He pointed to a vast field of wildflowers.
“Ah!”
I exclaimed in awe.
The freshly budding flowers shyly peeked out in the night garden.
Under the moonlight, there were silver bellflowers, yellow evening primroses, white baby’s breath, and blue mistflowers. Countless tiny blossoms spread like an ocean.
“It’s beautiful…”
I admired.
Then the Duke said,
“This is my favorite place in the North.”
I quietly looked at him.
His profile, facing the flower field, seemed warm.
I’ve always thought so.
“Your Highness seems to really enjoy nature.”
“Eh?”
“I felt it in the Capital too, you like walking. Even on the way from there to here, you stopped by the forest.”
“Ah… that.”
“?”
“Since I was young, when I needed to think, I went to the forest. It calms my mind.”
“Truly, a man of nature.”
“Is that a sarcastic remark?”
“No! No, it’s just a joke.”
I laughed without realizing it. He smiled too.
“Making jokes with your lord. You’re more playful than I thought.”
“It’s not a joke. It’s serious.”
I tried to hold back my laughter.
Suddenly, I thought.
Perhaps the scent of the dawn forest I sense from the Duke has been with him since his childhood.
Somehow, I felt like I knew a little more about the Duke.
“What do you enjoy, Your Highness?”
“Eh?”
“Please let me know from time to time. It would be helpful for assisting you. I now know you like walking, so I’ll strengthen the guard during those times.”
He seemed a bit perplexed, as if he hadn’t thought about what he likes. After a while, his long blue eyes curved beautifully.
“I don’t have many likes. I don’t easily give my heart, you see.”
“…”
“Ah, I sometimes enjoy teaching someone something.”
“Like what?”
“Dancing, perhaps?”
“Dancing?”
I must have scrunched up my face without realizing it. Seeing my expression, the Duke laughed again.
“Would you step on my feet? I want to teach you the steps.”
“!”
“Excuse me.”
As I hesitated, he gently lifted me up and slowly placed my feet on top of his.
My heart raced.
I stiffened.
His breath felt close enough to touch my cheek.
We looked at each other at that distance.
“You’re too light. You should eat more, Sword Master. You’ll need strength to protect me.”
I couldn’t respond.
“Should I hold your hand? Or your waist?”
For some reason, his voice trembled slightly.
“I’ll just hold onto Your Highness’s collar.”
“That’s right, you like grabbing collars.”
He laughed again.
But I was too tense to laugh.
“Where should I hold you?”
He asked cautiously.
“Just… the shoulder.”
“Alright.”
I grabbed the Duke’s shirt collar. Then, he held my shoulder and slowly moved.
“One, two, three, four, and turn.”
As he spun, my body lifted as if flying. He gently held my waist.
Such careful touch.
“This is the basic step.”
He looked at my expression with tense eyes.
“I won’t have anywhere to use this.”
“You might. You could go to the Capital again, and there…”
He stopped speaking, suddenly looking sad.
“Your Highness?”
Seeing my face, he smiled again and then awkwardly spoke.
“If we go to the Capital, you might… meet Shanglian again. You might have to dance then.”
“Why bring up such a sorrowful topic all of a sudden, Your Highness?”
I was concerned.
‘Is he in pain?’
“Ah, was that awkward?”
“Yes, it doesn’t suit you.”
“Arkadia seemed to enjoy it when he said it.”
“When did I?”
“Didn’t you laugh so hard you fell over?”
“Me? No, Your Highness. I just laughed. Such sorrowful words don’t suit you. Though Knight Nugent speaks them quite well.”
“I see.”
He suddenly looked disheartened.
I asked,
“Is the budget approval period approaching, Your Highness?”
“Yes. It seems I’ll need to go to the Capital soon.”
“May I accompany you?”
He stopped moving.
The silver moonlight poured over his shoulder as I looked up. For a moment, it dazzled my eyes.
His deep blue eyes gazed at me intently, his voice lowered.
“Will you do that for me?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Was it my imagination, or did I feel the heat of his breath on my cheek?
Then it happened.
“Yaaaawn!”
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden loud yawn, I jumped off the Duke’s feet.
In the middle of the flower bed, someone rose up groggily, looking almost like a corpse.
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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