After finishing the last documents following a strategic meeting with chief commanders on the Northwestern Allied Nations campaign, Emperor Maxwell spoke. His gaze remained fixed on the papers.
“Anything else to discuss?”
“Well…”
Left alone in the office with the Emperor, Kyle, his advisor, cautiously responded.
“It seems Lady Arabell is being ostracized. This morning, she was reportedly the only one not informed about a cultural lesson beneficial for the competition. The person responsible for scheduling claims to have informed her maid, but the maid denies receiving such a report, leading to an argument.”
Even Kyle’s report didn’t ruffle the Emperor, who continued his busy work with the quill pen. Kyle leaned closer to ensure the Emperor heard him.
“Secret inquiries suggest that in the five days since her arrival, she has been one-sidedly subjected to several incidents. I can plant our people in the annex to help. The competition committee heavily favors Lady Grace and Princess Lillybet, but a little interest from Your Majesty might swiftly turn the tide.”
“Why should I do that?”
Confused by the Emperor’s question, Kyle stuttered in response.
“Well, because… she’s the lady you personally chose, and she’s facing difficulties… right?”
‘Why?’ The Emperor questioning the need to support his chosen empress candidate seemed almost absurd. Did he enjoy others’ suffering as a strange hobby?
As Kyle stood hesitantly, the Emperor spoke sharply.
“Why should I intervene in something where I’m not asked to?”
His expression briefly turned irritable before relaxing as he stood up.
“Isn’t it time for the Imperial Guard inspection? We’ll have a sparring session too, so prepare for it.”
The workaholic Emperor continued his tightly scheduled day, seemingly indifferent to the lady he’d left in the annex.
With long strides, Emperor Maxwell headed to the training grounds, followed quickly by Kyle, who was lost in thought.
The First Imperial Guard Training Ground.
“Pant, pant, pant.”
“Yaah!”
“Grk…”
The sands of the training arena were filled with the heavy breathing of knights.
Despite the late autumn chill, the vigorous sparring session had the young knights drenched in sweat.
Today’s finale was a fiercely realistic bout between Emperor Maxwell and three of the strongest, most spirited young knights in the Imperial Guard.
While Commander Peter was the best in the Guard, that only applied to formal sword and spear fighting. In this bare-handed combat, their own bodies were the weapons.
The Emperor, having discarded his shirt, displayed a bronze torso glistening with sweat droplets that shimmered in the sunlight. His intellectual and dignified face contrasted with his muscular body.
His densely packed, lean muscles formed a perfect triangle, exuding a raw animalistic charm with every movement. The solid muscles of his long legs, barely concealed by his training pants, were intimidating.
‘If you need help, just say it!’ He had subtly hinted to Arabell during their carriage ride back to the palace.
‘If you need my help, don’t hesitate to speak up. Tell Vera, and she will contact me.’
He thought she understood when she just smiled without responding.
“Hyap…!” With a grunt, the Emperor hooked his jaw and flipped a knight, almost twice his weight, onto the sandy ground.
‘Even after several days of hints during the lessons. She didn’t understand a thing. Or even if she did, she’s not using it at all!’
He had painstakingly taught her how to evade direct answers about her family and how to launder her identity, all to no avail.
Now, he thought she might have not considered any of it relevant to herself.
‘How can she be so honest… After being treated like that, does she think everyone is like her? This isn’t naivety, it’s foolishness. She’s practically thrown her neck to the wolves.’
Imagining her round face, tear-stained and reddened, he exclaimed,
“Uaaap!” and grabbed the shoulder of the last knight, striking his abdomen with his knee before flipping him over.
‘Yet, she hasn’t sought my help. I’ve clearly told her how to contact me.’
Emperor Maxwell’s neck veins throbbed with frustration as he threw his final punch at the remaining knight.
In the serene lotus garden at dusk.
While the ten candidates were practicing social dance with a renowned choreographer from Chantel Kingdom at Lady Grace’s annex, Arabell walked alone along the pebbled path, surrounded by tall trees.
As she stepped forward, a yellow ginkgo leaf fell in front of her. Another leaf fell with each step she took, as if guiding her way.
‘Come to think of it, there are no ginkgo trees in this garden…’
Realizing this, Arabell looked up. Among the cherry branches, a yellow ginkgo leaf fluttered down, brushing past her lips before falling to her feet.
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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