The mercenary group where Helen was located had a building for lodging and administration that required a long walk after getting off a private carriage.
Cassius shrugged his shoulders towards Walter, who was still tight-lipped.
“Walter, human relationships are the hardest things.”
“I remember you being quite busy with women for someone who finds it hard.”
Cassius didn’t deny Walter’s words.
“Well, I had my own strategies.”
“Strategies?”
Cassius looked at Walter’s face with a rather serious expression.
“You might not have been interested or conscious about it, but numerous women have had a crush on you, even going as far as to lurk around your secluded cabin.”
“…….”
“So, what can you do? Your coldness has led these women to give up.”
“So?”
“Whenever they were about to leave disheartened, I’d appear and console them by saying that you’re not really into women.”
Walter frowned as if he didn’t understand what Cassius was saying, but Cassius remained confident.
“In short, your prickly personality and good looks were part of my strategy.”
“…….”
“It’s a shame I can’t apply my foolproof dating strategy to you, the only one who resists it.”
Walter walked ahead, leaving behind Cassius, who was blabbering nonsense.
The chill wind, along with the sunset of a world utterly different from what he had been accustomed to for the past seven years, captivated his attention.
He had dreamed several times of admiring this scenery side by side with Edith.
‘I thought it was a premonition, but it was just a foolish dream.’
Walter continued walking, unsure why he felt the way he did.
Perhaps, as she had said, some guy who could offer better help had approached Edith.
Like Benjamin, the journalist, or Isaac, the clear first love of hers.
The thought that she might have been secretly interacting with these men made his blood boil darkly.
Even though he knew he shouldn’t care who she met or what help she received, his blood still surged backward.
He couldn’t understand why he felt such intense emotions.
Before long, a marble building covered with dried moss appeared. Cassius greeted the guards in front.
“Is Captain Reinhardt in?”
“He’s inside, but……”
The curious eyes of a member landed on Walter.
Cassius had visited the mercenary group more than a hundred times to deliver the mandate from Fortrion to Helen.
He was generally a sociable person, often engaging in small talk, so the mercenaries could tell that he was acting under someone else’s orders.
‘He looks too young to be the one Cassius follows.’
The member thought Cassius had brought someone necessary and led him to the innermost office.
Inside, key members of the mercenary group, including Helen, were gathered.
They varied in age and gender but were united in their noble intention to protect innocent civilians from the tyranny of Nicholas Fortrion and the corruption of local lords.
“Cassius?”
“It’s been a while, Captain. If you’re not too busy, I have a friend I’d like to introduce.”
Reinhardt stroked his trimmed beard and looked at Walter.
‘Did he bring a knight from Fortrion?’
Reinhardt, who had served 40 years in the royal knight brigade of the capital before retiring due to an injury, could recognize any armament with one eye closed.
The man Cassius brought had a better physique than any knight Reinhardt had ever seen. But what intrigued him wasn’t just the man’s exceptional physical condition.
“Your name?”
Reinhardt asked in a voice full of expectation, and Cassius answered.
“His name is Walter. Haven’t I told you before?”
“This young man is Walter?”
Except for Helen and Max, who were already familiar with Walter, everyone widened their eyes and scanned Walter.
“Didn’t you say he was confined in the mansion?”
“The gracious lady has let me out.”
Walter replied in a sarcastic tone. Nevertheless, people couldn’t keep their mouths shut for another reason.
‘I thought he must be at least middle-aged, to be cunning enough to find the Fortrion lineage while locked in a mansion.’
‘He looks young but has such skills.’
Cassius’s trick of deliberately not revealing Walter’s age shone at that moment.
Reinhardt felt his heart race, as he always did when he discovered talent.
“So, you’re Walter. This is the first time we’re meeting face to face, isn’t it?”
Reinhardt gladly extended his hand to Walter, who lightly grasped his calloused hand.
‘As I thought… I wasn’t wrong.’
Through the handshakes, Reinhardt sensed something and wore a meaningful smile. It seemed like Cassius had found someone remarkable.
“Nice to meet you, Walter. You’ve helped us against Fortrion so far; now it’s our turn to help you.”
There was weight in Reinhardt’s words. Walter knew they weren’t empty promises.
Walter briefly imagined the future landscape.
Helen would become the next head of the Fortrion family. She would root out the many wrongs Nicholas Fortrion had committed in the domain as soon as she inherited the title.
How to deal with the fourth lady whom the lord had taken in was also a question that needed deciding.
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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