Madam and the Stable Keeper (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
Prologue. Secret Rendezvous
“Then… take it off.”
Edith spoke, doing her best to hide her tension, yet her voice trembled faintly.
A cabin, chilled by the cold night air blanketing the viscount’s estate.
The thin dress soon to slip down onto the hard, plain wooden bed below.
The dissonance between what she had imagined since first learning of matters between men and women, and the reality before her now.
And above all, her worry over whether Walter—the savage yet refined man before her, fierce as a beast—would treat her gently.
“If that is your wish.”
In contrast, Walter replied in a low, steady voice, as though he had awaited this very moment. His tone carried a hint of eagerness but not the slightest tremor.
As Walter removed his shirt, his firmly defined pectorals were revealed. Prominent tendons crisscrossed his torso, shaping his body like a meticulously carved statue of a wild beast.
He flung his shirt, draped over his muscular forearms, aside—but still exercised patience, waiting briefly for her.
“…”
In that short span of time, Edith found herself unconsciously holding her breath, drinking in the sight of him.
A man with dark black hair and green eyes gleaming with desire—evoking images of a summer night’s forest.
A man who resembled her first love, to whom she had been promised in childhood.
His feral gaze and handsome features were utterly mismatched with his status as a mere servant in the viscount’s household.
Each time his sinewy hand reached for the leather strap at his waist, she grew more certain this night would be deeply satisfying.
“Edith. If you wish to live, bear a child by any man. Then deceive everyone into believing it is the viscount’s bloodline.”
At first, she had only intended to use him to escape this place, driven by the coercion of the first wife’s threat.
But now…
“Do as you please, Walter.”
She wanted to give him everything she had.
The moment permission was granted, Walter pressed his body close to hers. Heat flared where their skin met, making the cold outside seem nonexistent.
“My lady has granted me everything.”
“Don’t call me ‘my lady.'”
Edith caressed his cheek with her fingertips as if handling the world’s most precious treasure.
“Call me by my name.”
“…”
In that instant, he collapsed over her like a sandcastle before an oncoming wave.
Edith closed her eyes, feeling his hot breath wash over her.
The moment Walter’s fingertips touched her skin, it felt as though being sold as the aging viscount’s fourth wife belonged to a distant past.
At first, when she had begun meeting him secretly merely to survive, she hadn’t known—
that she would come to feel this way toward the man she’d meant to use,
or that he would desire her so fiercely he’d come to truly want her.
Chapter 1. Portrion, the Savage Estate
In the deep predawn hours, four armed knights clung to the exterior of a carriage galloping fiercely westward.
They were there both to guard the nobleman inside and to watch over the woman captured as his prey.
Edith Lowell, the trapped quarry within the carriage, strained her wrists and ankles with desperate resolve.
‘I must escape before we reach the viscount’s estate… please.’
Yet her limbs, tightly bound in cloth, only chafed her skin raw, showing no sign of allowing her to flee.
Even shaking off the knights seated beside her seemed utterly impossible.
Soon, the man seated opposite broke the carriage’s silence.
“Well then, Edith. You must be disappointed—having exhausted yourself struggling in vain, only to be caught.”
“…”
Edith kept her lips tightly shut, glaring at the man before her.
Nicholas Portrion—the man who called her name in a raspy voice and smirked—now ruled House Portrion and its vast trading guild, having unexpectedly inherited both after his elder brother’s sudden death.
Though he had inherited the title and immense wealth, he was famously incompetent, squandering the estate’s affairs day by day, possessing nothing but depraved lust and ineptitude.
“Your expression may be sour now… but once we reach the manor, you’ll understand what an honor it is to become my fourth wife.”
Nicholas chuckled gleefully, clearly enjoying the darkening look on Edith’s face.
“After all, when fathers can’t repay gambling debts, daughters usually end up sold to far worse places. Consider yourself fortunate—you’ve been chosen by me, securing your future.”
Edith could no longer bear to stay silent. For the first time since being captured and thrown into the carriage, she spoke.
“That man isn’t my father—he’s merely a distant uncle I barely knew, and I have no obligation to repay his gambling debts.”
Her voice shook with deep resentment.
Her kind parents had passed away long ago, and this estranged uncle had seized her rightful inheritance to gamble it all away.
And as if that weren’t infuriating enough, when he couldn’t repay his loan sharks and faced imminent death, he sold her to the viscount for money.
He was utterly mad.
“I won’t use the money I earned working as an assistant at the clinic to help him. That money was meant for my journey to the capital.”
“Journey to the capital? Edith, surely you’re not still going on about becoming a physician like your mother?”
“…”
“Don’t waste your time daydreaming about academy entrance exams or nonsense like that. Just make good use of that pretty face of yours. All you need to do is marry well…”
Edith smiled inwardly.
She had passed the Imperial Academy’s medical entrance exam on her first attempt last year—the very exam her uncle had failed repeatedly for seven years despite receiving every support from her maternal family.
Besides, marriage?
Aside from a childhood crush on a boy who once stayed at her home, she had never even imagined getting married.
She well knew that dreaming of a comfortable family life was poison when born into humble circumstances.
‘I’d planned to save enough money by this year and head straight to the capital to begin my studies…’
Out of nowhere, Viscount Portrion—whom she’d never met—arrived at her house minutes later with his knights.
When he examined her thoroughly, as if inspecting the quality of a purchased item, she nearly retched.
Though her parents, the Lowells—a disgraced baronial couple reduced nearly to commoner status—had still taught her the bare minimum of human dignity.
But Nicholas cared nothing for the thoughts or story of a woman he’d bought.
“What a pity. Your resistance won’t change a thing.”
He reached toward her with a sinister smirk. His thick fingers seized the clothes covering her body and began tearing them away.
“Let go of that!”
“Yes, resist me, Edith.”
His eyes flashed as he lunged forward, causing the thin necklace she’d always worn to slip off and hit the floor.
The moment she heard the soft *thud*, Edith’s gaze dropped downward.
Nicholas, who read people’s expressions with uncanny precision, instantly understood.
“Edith. So this cheap trinket is your treasure, is it?”
“…”
“If you truly wish to protect something precious, stop resisting and obey me. After all, I could crush this worthless bauble under my boot right now.”
Edith bit the inside of her lip hard, swallowing her tears. Humiliation made her tremble, yet she refused to show him her submission.
The viscount chuckled at her defiance.
“Good, good. You’ll learn soon enough just how long I’ve searched for you—once I’ve made you my wife.”
“!”
Edith twisted her body violently to prevent his hands from roaming over her.
Each passing second felt like being struck in the head.
Rumors claimed the current viscount avoided women entirely, ever since his predecessor had been murdered by his wife during intimacy. It was said his only interest lay in voyeurism.
Yet the monster before her now gleamed with raw desire—nothing like the rumors she’d heard.
Any decent nobleman would refrain from such vulgar acts in a moving carriage, if only for the sake of dignity. But Nicholas seemed to possess not even that basic decency.
“Let go!”
Infamous across the entire estate as a pervert and sexual deviant—this was precisely why she’d fled so desperately.
Each time his wrinkled hand touched her, goosebumps erupted across her skin as if insects crawled all over her.
She shuddered at the sensation but fought not to cry—knowing he would only revel in her tears.
Oh, Mother. Father. If you’re watching from heaven, please strike down this filthy man.
Just as she glared at Viscount Portrion with tear-reddened eyes, praying fervently—
Boom!
A deafening crash struck the carriage’s roof.
Taken aback, Nicholas flinched and shouted in panic.
“What’s happening?!”
“My lord! You must take cover! Assassins—”
Thwack—
Before the guard could finish, the sound of something sharp slicing through flesh echoed. The carriage’s decorative curtain instantly soaked through with blood.
“Guh…!”
The viscount’s body lurched violently, clearly struck by a mortal wound.
Edith quickly rolled aside, ensuring he crashed headfirst into the hard wooden seat rather than collapsing onto her.
Thud.
Just as she’d hoped, his body crumpled heavily onto the carriage floor.
Chaos erupted after the viscount fell, bleeding.
The horses panicked and reared, shaking the carriage as violently as a ferry caught in a storm.
The two knights restraining her were impaled by swords and killed instantly.
Bound hand and foot, Edith lost consciousness as the carriage tipped halfway over. She remembered nothing after that.
“Ugh…”
Edith let out a faint groan, struggling to sit up. Her mind felt clear, suggesting her head hadn’t been injured.
She cautiously opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the brick walls, indicating considerable time had passed—but sadly, both her ankles remained tightly bound in layers of cloth.
‘Where am I? The viscount couldn’t have ordered me moved—he was in no state to give commands.’
Suffering a fatal wound that caused blood to spurt like a fountain, then hitting his head that hard, he surely had brain damage.
At best, Nicholas Portrion might survive as a vegetable—if he hadn’t died instantly.
‘With the viscount gravely incapacitated, I—purchased by him for his own use—have become utterly useless.’
And that being the case…
Could she possibly escape this absurd situation and return to her normal life?
Just as hope began to bloom within her…
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.
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