His deep emerald eyes briefly looked at them before focusing on her again. Unable to hide her emotions after seeing the affectionate letters, Edith couldn’t hold back.
“Edith, I love you.”
When she was a naive and secretive boy, even when she was the humblest status in the mansion, she was drawn to her. She found it adorable that she fell in love with him several times and allowed everything to him.
Balter went down through her collarbone to her chest, and more slowly down below. The more he behaved rudely, the more her pupils became blurry, and he already knew that.
As he fumbled for her hand, holding the white blanket, and deeply entwined his fingers with hers, a profound sense of satisfaction washed over him.
This night, he wanted to prove to her, who had waited for him patiently for a very long time once again.
What existed between us wasn’t just your one-sided crush. I, too, loved you with all my might, and even now, the affection is unbearable.
“Balter, ah….”
Until the letters that fully contained her affection clung sticky to her body.
The time of proof was much longer than Balter had initially expected.
“Balter, wait a moment….”
The moment his exhausted wife fell into a deep sleep, reading the letter stuck to her thigh became the turning point.
[To the one I miss, Isak.Isak, there was a small festival in the village last night. There were so many couples there, you know?]
Edith wrote more after that, but she crossed out and erased those words with the pen several times. However, Balter, shining the letters here and there in the afternoon sun coming through the curtains, somehow managed to figure out what she wanted to hide.
[If I had gone to that festival with you, would we have kissed?]‘She wrote it like this, which means our pretentious lady imagined kissing the guy she secretly loves.’
Let’s draw Edith, who closed her eyes alone before going to bed and imagined kissing me. My lips unconsciously curled at the thought.
He tried to cover his laughter with his large hands but failed, and after reading several more letters containing lovely content, he woke her up with a gentle voice.
“‘Wait a moment’ is over, Edith.”
“Um….”
“Really, who writes letters so cutely? Huh?”
Balter, making unreasonable excuses, hugged and teased Edith.
Edith, who had messed up her hair only but lost words while looking at the fluffy Balter, was now silent.
“……Balter, aren’t you tired?”
“When the magic is restored, the body condition and stamina improve overall. It’s normal.”
“….”
“I felt my body was in good condition, but I didn’t know it wouldn’t tire me out this much.”
Edith moved to the edge of the bed in surprise. Now, it was her back, not her face, that could be seen.
To Balter, that appearance looked cute and provocative, but to him.
“Is this okay?”
“….!”
Although she seemed to be about to faint, when he approached, she lethargically let out a languid voice, showing that the lady must have liked the way she used her body.
So the next evening arrived.
Knock, knock, knock―
“I’m busy. I still need to rest a lot since I’m not fully recovered.”
As soon as he realized the intruder, without asking who it was, Balter issued a summoning order.
He waited for Edith to wake up like this, planning to leisurely take a bath together and spend some private time with Adrian.
Since becoming the Duke, there were as many official matters to handle as the inherited property, which was quite bothersome. Fortunately, a good excuse emerged that he had been attacked in front of everyone, so he could afford to wait for Edith to wake up.
However, what came back was a voice he couldn’t easily ignore.
“It’s Cassius. I’m relieved to see you’re well.”
“My health was confirmed with the chief physicians. Right now, I’m taking a break for political reasons.”
“You speak cruelly.”
Cassius responded with a faint smile.
Patricia and her companions were already captured by the imperial knights, confined alongside Gilbert in the underground of the capital’s temple.
As Balter feigned illness, claiming he would die, the guilt of touching the sole heir of the imperial family, combined with the increasingly severe accusations against the Turck family, grew heavier.
However…
“The Empress is worried. Now that she’s awake, you should show your face as a son.”
“The Empress is performing the role of a father for the first time in 25 years since the birth of her son. I can start acting as a son a few days later.”
Balter, thinking of delaying a bit more, casually kissed Edith’s closed eyes with the intention of receiving a gentle response. However, the returning reply was stern.
“Moreover, Her Majesty came to Lexion Mansion because she couldn’t wait.”
“…”
“Now, the Duke and Duchess are waiting to receive you. Both of you have important matters to discuss with the Duke.”
Balter’s face instantly hardened. Edith, who had been listening to the conversation in her half-sleep, was surprised by the news that the Emperor himself had come and quickly got up.
“Let’s go quickly, Balter. What if you worry the adults?”
“I can’t help it. Lady Lowell wishes to welcome a well-mannered young man as her son-in-law.”
After affectionately kissing Edith, Balter roughly put on his clothes.
“Lady Lowell is resting.”
The Emperor has arrived, and he’s told to rest. Edith’s mouth was agape, her eyes blinking in surprise.
Whether she was anxious or not, Balter still gently brushed Edith’s cheek that was flushed. In a small and tender voice, he whispered into her ear.
“Our lady shouldn’t reveal everything on her face after doing something naughty.”
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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