Prologue
New Times Newspaper.
“Want to Prove You’re Handsome? Go to Hildes Street?”
Subtitle: Mysterious Serial Kidnapping of Handsome Men Occurs Again.
On the 2nd, another report of a missing handsome man was filed in the capital’s Hildes Street.
The victim was described by the reporting acquaintance as a man in his early 20s from the Northern Palatinate region, visiting as a tourist, with striking blonde hair and distinct facial features.
(Omitted…)
According to the palace investigator, based on similarities with the “Hildes Street Handsome Men Serial Kidnapping Case”, this incident is suspected to be the work of the same perpetrator.
The “Hildes Street Handsome Men Serial Kidnapping Case” refers to a series of kidnapping incidents that have occurred on Hildes Street since February 17, 714.
A key characteristic is that all victims are acknowledged handsome men over 170cm tall. Unlike typical kidnapping cases, all victims are safely released after 30 days.
This case gained particular attention due to interviews with the released victims.
Below are excerpts from interviews with the third, seventh, and twenty-eighth victims of the handsome men serial kidnapping case.
– At first, I didn’t even realize I was kidnapped. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Naturally, because the lavish feast and bathtub with hot water that were casually laid out were no joke. I wondered if all nobles lived like this.
Truly, I’d have no regrets if I could be kidnapped just one more time. After being there for free, it’s troublesome because I don’t want to work for money anymore.
Dear kidnapper, if you happen to see this, please take me again. Please? I’m begging you.
– Third victim
– I had a dream of becoming a judge. But for someone like me who might starve to death tomorrow, studying was a luxury. Just when I had half given up on my dream, I heard rumors about the handsome men serial kidnapping case.
With the mindset of grasping at the last straw, I deliberately walked down Hildes Street. And I really did get kidnapped.
(Omitted…)
I was happy just to be able to study law books during the 30 days of captivity. But the kidnapper’s kindness didn’t end there.
When I was released and returned home, an unbelievable sight awaited me. There were law books piled up in front of my house.
I knew instinctively. This was the grace of the kidnapper, no, my benefactor.
And today, several months later, I’ve been accepted into the law department of the Academy as the first commoner. With a full scholarship.
All of this is thanks to my benefactor. I too want to grow into an excellent person who gives to others like my benefactor, to repay this grace.
– Seventh victim
– Hotels across the country should reflect on themselves. I’ve stayed at numerous accommodations for hefty prices, but none were as good as that place. How can hotels that charge money provide worse service than a kidnapper?
– Twenty-eighth victim
As can be seen from various cases, the peculiar aspect of the “Hildes Street Handsome Men Serial Kidnapping Case” is that the kidnapping victims were not tortured or threatened, but rather treated with extreme hospitality.
All the victims from the thirty occurrences of the kidnapping case unanimously described the place they were held as ‘paradise’.
Meanwhile, including this latest incident, this marks the thirty-first occurrence of the serial kidnapping case, yet clues about the perpetrator remain elusive.
Although a dedicated investigation team led by Princess Veronica von Agrian has been formed, no progress has been made even 13 months after the first incident.
There is no information on the perpetrator’s gender, age group, or residence, let alone the motive for the crimes.
Particularly, as none of the numerous victims claim to have had contact with the perpetrator, the investigation is expected to continue facing difficulties.
Some argue that since all victims are unanimously handsome, the perpetrator might be an abnormal person who finds satisfaction in making handsome men happy, but nothing has been confirmed.
The problem is that now, with no information about the perpetrator, many people are flocking to Hildes Street. Handsome candidates trying to confirm if they are handsome themselves and incidentally enjoy a free vacation.
However, the palace security office, including the investigation team in charge of this case, urged restraint from such behavior.
Princess Veronica, the head of the investigation team, advised residents to refrain from going outside for the time being, stating, “The unusual behavioral pattern shown by the perpetrator may all be preparation stages for a major crime.”
– Reporter Philip Brandt
Chapter 1: The Appearance of the Serial Handsome Men Kidnapper
Hildes Street, located on the outskirts of the capital.
The street lined with small shops is particularly noisy with chatter today.
“Did you see the newspaper?”
“What, about that kidnapper? Of course I did. This is already the thirty-first time, they say.”
“I don’t know how they can kidnap only handsome men so precisely without getting caught, with so many people around. Is the culprit actually a ghost?”
“Ghost my foot. It’s probably just that the investigators aren’t working hard enough. What’s the point of working every day and paying taxes? They can’t even catch one criminal.”
“Hey, watch your mouth. Don’t you know Princess Veronica is in charge of this case? You might get dragged away for contempt if you’re not careful.”
The fruit shop merchants started bickering, forgetting even to attend to their customers.
I eavesdropped on their conversation while pretending to look at the fruits.
“Come on, contempt for something like this? If anything, walking around with a face like that is closer to contempt.”
“Now look here! Anyone who hears you might think you consider yourself handsome. Acting all high and mighty when you haven’t even been kidnapped!”
“Bah, the culprit probably didn’t take me because they haven’t seen my face. Just wait and see, my name will be in the newspaper as the thirty-second kidnapping victim.”
Are they actually hoping to get kidnapped?
I got a headache from their abnormal statements.
There were rumors about being confined in an unimaginably luxurious environment, but this was too much regardless.
‘Is kidnapping a joke!’
The merchant who had been listening silently seemed to share my thoughts as he suddenly burst out.
“There you go again, spouting nonsense. Ah, forget it! Just get back to work.”
Shaking his head as if further conversation was meaningless, he then made eye contact with me.
“Oh, we have a customer. Yes, miss. What can I get for you?”
Come to think of it, did Ren like oranges?
Remembering my subordinate waiting for me at the hideout, I pointed.
“Six of these, please.”
The merchant quickly packed the fruit and handed it to me.
“Thank you, oh? There’s one extra here.”
“Service, to make you come again. It’s a turbulent time these days, so be careful and come again next time.”
The merchant from the neighboring shop who had been arguing earlier chimed in.
“That’s right, you should be careful. Who knows what that kidnapper might do next.”
Although it was a concerned statement, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurd sentence.
‘Me? Get kidnapped? By that handsome men kidnapper?’
I waved my hand as if there was absolutely no way that could happen.
“Oh, but I’m not handsome, you know? Why would they kidnap me?”
However, the merchant was taken aback by my insensitive words.
“Hmm, what are you saying? There’s no guarantee the kidnapper will only target handsome men forever. Beautiful young ladies like you should certainly be careful too!”
“No, no. But I’ll be careful. Thank you for your concern.”
“That’s good thinking. How could you possibly know what’s in the kidnapper’s mind?”
How could I know? There’s probably no one who knows better than me.
Swallowing words that shouldn’t be spoken aloud, I flashed a smile instead of answering.
Unlike the fruit shop merchant’s worry, I will not become the thirty-second victim of the serial kidnapping case.
Because the culprit who has been consistently kidnapping only handsome men won’t suddenly change their target to beautiful women.
How do I know that so certainly?
It’s because I am the notorious serial handsome men kidnapper.
[This is the timeline separator]How did an unremarkable person like me end up becoming the culprit of a case splashed across the headlines?
The story begins like this.
Twenty years ago, I was born as the illegitimate child of Viscount Schmidt.
And as is often the case with most illegitimate children, I too grew up in unfortunate circumstances.
My mother passed away when I was too young to remember, and I was registered into the family as the eldest daughter.
Naturally, my existence was a thorn in the side of Viscountess Schmidt, the legal wife.
Young and weak, I grew up enduring emotional abuse from the Viscountess and my half-sister, Leonie.
To make matters worse, even the Viscount, my biological father, viewed me unfavorably.
I had to live like that, unprotected by anyone.
I wasn’t resentful.
After all, to the Viscountess, I was just the daughter of the other woman.
Honestly, I was grateful they didn’t starve me to death.
Of course, that didn’t mean I planned to stay in that wretched family forever.
Time passed, and after a long wait, I finally became an adult.
‘That was already a year and a half ago.’
When I expressed my intention to be independent, my biological father thankfully threw me out with a fairly substantial amount of money.
The feeling of being thrown out on a rainy day wasn’t particularly pleasant, but it was what I wanted too.
I pocketed the check he handed over as if throwing it and was about to climb into the carriage in front of the main gate.
However, my sister, who had bullied me regularly, wasn’t going to stay quiet on the day of my departure.
Without any suspicion, I vigorously stepped onto the carriage, but the footboard collapsed without resistance.
The culprit was obvious.
‘Leonie, playing pranks again…!’
My body, suspended in mid-air, lost balance and floated…
Thud!
I ended up hitting the back of my head hard on the ground and passed out.
You might wonder what this has to do with becoming a serial handsome men kidnapper, but this was the starting point of everything.
Taken to the hospital, I had a long dream there. A dream of my past life, no less.
And I realized. That this world I’m living and breathing in is actually the world of a depressing novel written by my friend.
Moreover, that I’m nothing more than a supporting character who gets brutally killed after kidnapping the male protagonist at the beginning of the novel!
[This is the timeline separator]So, this was still when I was Korean.
I had a friend who dreamed of becoming a romance fantasy novel writer, and I often read and evaluated her original novels.
That’s how I first read , the novel I would be reincarnated into.
“So, how is it? Is it interesting?”
“It’s really interesting. This one will definitely do well if you submit it.”
My friend’s novel was over 600,000 characters long, but I was captivated by the relentless development that left no room to breathe.
I especially liked the characters.
Ludovica, the princess who lost her parents at the hands of her own brother.
Callys, the prince who was imprisoned in the basement of the empress’s palace for life and abused after his special ability was discovered.
The tragic and sad revenge plot drawn by the two joining forces touched my heartstrings.
It was almost a perfect novel. Except for one fatal flaw.
“But wait, what exactly does the male lead look like?”
『Ludovica looked up at her brother, whom she once loved the most.
His jet-black hair fluttered in the fierce wind. Beneath it, eyes as empty as the void of the universe.
Was this the face he wore when he killed mother and father?
Seeing Dietrich’s face devoid of any emotion, Ludovica bit her lip.
Her eyes, redder and deeper than the blood of beasts, were engulfed in a murderous intent tinged with madness.
At last, the final battle between the demon sword-wielding siblings began.』
– Excerpt from the novel
was truly a unique novel. As you can see if you look closely, the appearances of Dietrich, the main villain, and Ludovica, the female protagonist, are described in detail in most scenes.
It wasn’t just them.
The appearances of everyone, including ‘Merchant 1’, ‘Villain Extra 1’, etc., were described in at least one line.
‘Even I, an extra, was described as having purple hair…’
However, descriptions of Callys Agrian, the male protagonist, were notably hard to find.
『Callys caressed Ludovica’s hair that reached down to her waist.
Her hair, like golden sunlight woven into thread, scattered softly in his hand.』
While Ludovica’s description was never omitted in any scene, there were no clues about Callys’s appearance anywhere.
I even read it again thinking I might have missed something.
When I voiced my question, my friend answered timidly.
“Actually, that’s my concern too. I can’t decide what Callys looks like.”
The author can’t decide the protagonist’s appearance? What kind of story is this?
“How about silver hair and blue eyes? With a sensitive and sharp feel?”
“Ha, I thought about that too! But Callys is so perfect that any color would suit him. Silver hair and blue eyes, black hair and golden eyes, or even gray hair and purple eyes… they all kill it.”
“Hmm… Then how about just black hair and golden eyes? You need to decide soon to submit it anyway.”
My friend, uncharacteristically serious, snorted.
“What? What are you saying? Then black hair and red eyes would feel left out. And what about platinum blonde hair and blue eyes? Ah, I really don’t know how I ended up creating such a perfect male lead to have these worries.”
“Haha…”
My friend ranted for a long time about appearances that would suit Callys, but even after several hours, she couldn’t decide.
Six months after that incident, I finally received good news over the phone.
– I’ve finally decided on Callys’s appearance!
“What, really? Hey, congratulations.”
Excited by the long-awaited good news, I hurriedly asked.
“So what does he look like?”
– What do you mean, what does he look like! You’ll be shocked when you hear. It fits the narrative perfectly.
“What is it, how does he look?”
Seeing the traffic light turn green, I started crossing the street with light steps.
– First of all, he’s incredibly handsome, and his hair is…
Bang!
At that moment, a sudden loud noise drowned out my friend’s voice over the phone.
Turning my head towards the sound, I saw a truck charging towards me.
I thought I should avoid it, but the truck had already hit me.
That’s how I ended my first life so abruptly.
And when I regained consciousness, I had been reborn as Vivian Schmidt, the villain supporting character.
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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