“Are you trying to provoke the South again?”
At the Emperor’s words, I doubted my ears for a moment, but I had heard correctly.
Arcadia, standing in front of me, clenched his fist.
“Since there are many people here, close the door.”
Upon the Emperor’s command, the knight guarding the door asked Arcadia to step outside the hall. We left the Duke inside and stepped out beyond the golden doors.
Through the slowly closing doors, I saw the Duke’s dignified figure remaining inside.
He did not turn to look at us.
As soon as the door closed completely, the old Emperor let out a deep sigh.
Duke Sion Velpast of the North silently watched the Emperor.
“Duke Velpast, the shield of the Empire. I am aware of the numerous battlefields you have traversed for the Empire. But that too is the duty of the North. Recognizing this service, I have thus far sent substantial taxes to the North. Yet, do you feel aggrieved by your duties?”
“Not at all, Your Majesty.”
“If you do not feel aggrieved about the expedition to the South, then why are you making such a big deal of an incident that ended without harm? There’s no evidence that the Duke of the South attempted assassination, is there? Yet, you reported this incident to me, letting all the nobles of the Empire know. You smeared the Duke of the South’s face.”
“There is also no evidence to prove that the Duke of the South didn’t do it.”
“Duke!”
Rahert barked in anger.
Velpast glanced at Rahert briefly before turning his gaze back to the Emperor.
“The person who attempted to assassinate my aide, Arcadia Nugent of the North’s foremost family, used paper only found in the South, and even wrote a fake suicide note to cover up the assassination.”
“…”
“Your Majesty, the Duke of the South has over a thousand guards and servants. Do you believe it’s possible for someone with no connections to the Duke’s estate to infiltrate from the outside without being noticed by them all?”
Silence lingered for a moment.
The Emperor’s golden eyes, sharper than before, glared at Sion Velpast as if wanting to crush him, looking down upon him with dignity.
“Sion Velpast. Are you daring to doubt my judgment, the Emperor?”
Velpast bowed his head and calmly responded.
“Of course not.”
“Duke Velpast. A significant portion of the taxes paid by the Empire’s citizens goes towards the defense of the North. Consequently, the funds that should have gone elsewhere were reduced. The South could not even get the money to defend itself from outside. Can’t you understand that with a generous heart?”
‘Just like what Estel said to me.’
Velpast thought.
‘Did she foresee this situation?’
The Emperor had already been swayed by Rahert’s silver tongue. And he resented me, not just because of Rahert, but because he believed the North was responsible for the loss of his son and granddaughter.
Velpast decided that further provocation of the Emperor would be fruitless.
“I see, Your Majesty. Over the past three years, which I haven’t visited, I’ve had to fight countless battles and wars, incomparable to before. Due to this, Your Majesty had to send so much money to the North.”
“Exactly!”
The Emperor finally seemed to resonate with the Duke’s words.
“You, Duke Velpast, already enjoy much. I hope you develop a corresponding breadth of character.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. But, if I may, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
The Emperor raised an eyebrow.
Velpast glanced at the triumphant-looking Rahert and then respectfully bowed to the Emperor.
“Has the total tax collected by the Empire from the Imperial household been decreasing over the past few years?”
“What do you mean by that?”
The Emperor looked at Velpast with a puzzled expression.
Rahert’s face, wrapped in a sense of victory, suddenly turned pale.
“Your Majesty, hearing your words, I am grateful that a considerable amount of tax has been sent to the North for the protection of the Empire. However, it’s been about four years. The military funding coming to the North has been decreasing every year. Last year, it reduced by about 30 percent compared to the previous year.”
“? That can’t be. What do you mean by this, Duke Rahert?”
The Emperor looked at Rahert.
Rahert was panicked. He felt a cold sweat run down his spine and was enraged at being tense because of the Duke of the North.
‘That arrogant and rude young man from the North…’
Rahert glared at Velpast, who stood motionless, with a smile on his face, while thinking of a retort.
As the Minister of National Defense of the Empire, Rahert.
Finally, he had his reply.
“Your Majesty. Not only the barbarians in the South but also the continuous wars with the Ssangtus Empire bordering the North and the monsters from the East and West. The number of wars the Empire has to handle is increasing every year.”
“That’s true.”
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
