“Hilton, huh?”
Seeing Luke’s indifferent expression, Oliver hid his inner restlessness.
‘Almost there.’
The only people his brother was interested in were his deceased wife and daughter. Even if that woman brought his daughter here, that should be the only concern. Keeping her by his side was purely because he was a rational person who cared for his child.
“Well, I had a bit of friendship with her. Why, before—”
“Friendship?”
However, an unexpected question came back with a sharp tone.
“Uh, sir?”
“Can there be any friendship between Elodie’s maid and you?”
The red eyes, looking uncomfortable, stared at Oliver.
“As far as I know, there shouldn’t be.”
“Ah…”
When he wondered why he reacted so sensitively, it turned out to be the trigger.
‘Luckily, it seems that woman hasn’t been caught.’
If Luke knew who switched the child, that woman would probably not have her head right now.
Oliver, who had worried that someone might have noticed, sighed with relief inwardly and smiled casually.
“We just chatted occasionally when I visited here a while ago.”
“There’s no ulterior motive, right?”
He asked with the same sharp tone. At this point, Oliver had no choice but to nod.
‘Why is he so sensitive?’
Did he notice something? Or…
‘He wishes for me to be faithful to my family.’
While most high-ranking nobles secretly kept concubines, his brother was a man known for his ardent love affair.
Those who indulged in their own love affairs tended to demand high morality from others.
Oliver didn’t even consider the assumption that Luke might have an interest in Aria. It might be the most reasonable and ordinary reason, but at least for Luke, it wasn’t.
“Haha, my brother is really something. How could I show interest in another woman when I have a wife? I’m just intrigued by her intelligence as a human being.”
“…Intelligent?”
“Well, for a lower-class noble who couldn’t even graduate from the academy.”
It was actually true.
The reason he chose Aria in the past was partly because she was easy to handle, but fundamentally, it was because she was smart.
So, even after daring to do such a bold thing, he could smoothly escape from the Duke’s mansion without being caught.
‘Why didn’t he kill me, ignoring my orders… It’s roughly guessable.’
Oliver recalled the events of seven years ago. The memories of that time were still vivid.
“The moment you give me back my daughter, you damn bastard!”
The twisted face full of anger and the words he said while laughing with a gripping neck were vivid.
“Ah… What should I do?”
“What!”
“In fact, I tried to bring her, but she died in just three days. Maybe she had a defect from birth.”
“…What?”
As soon as he heard those words, the blue eyes shook like a tidal wave.
Golden lines appeared on his neat and tidy face.
Looking at it, Oliver thought it was quite enjoyable.
“Unfortunately, it happened. Still, since you did well with the given task, I won’t report you.”
“That, what are you talking about? You…!”
“Hmm? What’s that, Miss Hilton?”
Seeing the woman falter with her words, he showed a deep smile.
“Switching the Duchess’s baby with a model and killing her, that was your job. Naturally, I’m generously turning a blind eye to your sins.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think you’ll be fine if I confess? Such absurd sophistry…!”
“Then try saying it.”
If she could say it.
With that, he cast a spell on Aria.
To prevent her from revealing the truth.
Not killing her and ending it at that level was his way of showing consideration and remorse.
Using dark magic added a burden to the caster as well. In that sense, he had shown considerable sincerity.
He never imagined that such consideration would come back in the form of a dagger.
Annoyance surged.
Oliver skillfully concealed such feelings and casually said, “Did you think you could return to the Duke’s mansion after seven years? Moreover, with… the Duchess.”
“…”
“But isn’t there something strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“Miss Hilton.”
Oliver turned his head.
“It’s strange. If you’ve been raising Bonita all this time, why didn’t you come back to the Duke’s mansion?”
“…”
“Even if you wanted to become the Duchess’s nanny in the afterlife, it’s weird. It would have been much better to raise her openly in the Duke’s mansion.”
“…”
“Rather than looking for a new nanny, wouldn’t you have considered Miss Hilton, who used to be the Duchess’s maid, first? Isn’t that right?”
Luke still looked at Oliver with an expression that revealed nothing.
The tightly closed lips slowly opened after a long silence.
“Oliver.”
“Yes, brother.”
“Don’t meddle unnecessarily.”
Unexpected words made Oliver flinch.
Although the tone was polite, it was clearly a statement drawing a line.
‘Ugh.’
Oliver, momentarily overwhelmed by the momentum, raised his head. His eyebrows were artificially lowered.
“Don’t meddle unnecessarily. I, too, worry about my niece…”
“Do you think I didn’t think what you thought?”
In the end, Oliver closed his mouth.
Luke’s attitude was so firm that he couldn’t speak.
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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