“So, be careful not to show any unnecessary behavior such as fighting in front of the guests at Thanksgiving.”
Sophia rose from her seat as if to chide them as the meal was about to end. Intending to go straight to the office to handle related documents, she naturally sent a glance to Edith.
‘Follow me.’
However, Isabel quickly opened her mouth, having seen Sophia’s behavior.
“Oh my, Sophia. You’re treating Edith like a maid.”
“When did I ever do that?”
“You were glaring as if to say ‘follow me.’ If you don’t intend to manipulate Edith with other thoughts, why don’t you leave her alone?”
“……”
Sophia left her seat as is. She didn’t have the energy to argue with her, who had a powerful backing called the Carcassus merchant group.
Next, when Elizabeth also left her seat, Edith asked Isabel as if she had been waiting.
“Isabel, do you know where the entrance to the central garden is? I heard that the Count treasured that garden.”
In fact, Edith mentioned the central garden because she had heard something from Vivian.
“Whenever Lord Isabel goes to the central part of the mansion, she always admires the central garden. She really likes it there.”
As expected, Isabel looked happy to have someone to look around the garden with her for once.
“You can go this way. I’m free now, so I’ll guide you.”
Leading the way, Isabel showed Edith the beautiful central garden.
‘Sophia said that Edith was a connection treasured enough for the Count to seek out.’
She thought of asking what the story was between the Count and her once she got a little closer to Edith.
Although she had been depressed since hearing the news of the Count’s accident, Isabel was basically cheerful and missed conversation with others.
“You won’t know how colorful the garden was last spring, Edith. The Count allowed me to plant a lot of flowers with rare colors.”
Isabel said, looking a bit gloomy.
“Of course, I don’t know if I can plant the same flowers next year. Sophia is so reluctant to spend money unnecessarily…”
Edith learned a surprising fact.
Isabel subtly trusted Sophia.
‘If Sophia had spoken as if taking care of Fortrion every time, it would be easy to mistake her for being meticulous in her accounting.’
Having already seen the books and noticed something suspicious, Edith thought that the annoying meticulousness might be Sophia’s intelligent behavior to avoid suspicion of embezzlement.
“Shall we rest here for a moment? The fountain and garden blend into one view from here.”
“Sure. It was feeling a bit chilly, anyway.”
Edith replied. After having the maid who was following them wait outside, Isabel led Edith into the greenhouse at the center of the garden.
“I felt like having tea here today. I had the water prepared in advance, but I didn’t know I’d be with you.”
Thanks to the magical tool that kept the warmth, Isabel skillfully handled the stillhot teapot and made two steaming cups of black tea.
“Here you are.”
“Thank you, Isabel.”
Edith, who found Isabel’s bright smile and affability quite lovely, took the tea.
“You seem to cherish this greenhouse.”
“Yes. Actually, this greenhouse was given to me as a wedding gift by the Count. To be precise, he told Sophia to ask for whatever I wanted as a wedding gift.”
Although Sophia’s voice when calling the Count did not contain a shred of affection, Isabel was different.
“Isabel. You seem to love the Count very much.”
At those words, Isabel fiddled with the handle of her tea cup and gave a somewhat shy smile.
“Love… I’m not sure. The fact that the Count buys his wives with money is already a famous story. I am just grateful to the Count for helping my father’s merchant group grow.”
Isabel laughed, seeing Edith’s stern face, then stopped talking.
“But if you ask if the Count has no feelings for me, that’s not true. The Count was the first person who told me my song was pleasant to hear.”
“Song, you say…….”
“I like singing, Edith. My father wished for me to devote myself quietly to the household, but the Count promised to make me a singer. That’s why I accepted his proposal.”
“…….”
Edith was at a loss for words.
It was not something that could be dismissed as the words of an ignorant child; the sparkle in Ijazelle’s eyes was one that could only be possessed by someone who knew exactly who they were and what they wanted to do.
‘So what if I was naive and fell for an obvious lie. On the other side of the mansion, there is a person pretending to have an heir by exploiting a woman who was dragged there.’
Edith, after all, did not dislike Ijazelle.
However, Ijazelle deeply sighed, hating the foolish decision of her past self.
“In the end, the Count did not keep his promise but returned as a vegetable. Since he considered my father’s support from the beginning, and not me, it must have been inevitable…….”
Ijazelle said, letting out a selfmocking laugh. Edith hesitated for a moment and then told her.
“But keep singing, Ijazelle. Last time, while wandering in the western garden of the mansion, I happened to hear your song.”
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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