Picked Up a Beast, Turns Out He's an Emperor (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
In the deep mountains, cold late-autumn rain fell relentlessly without pause.
Darkness swiftly filled the void left by the setting sun. A small, slender figure nimbly scaled the steep, pathless mountainside like a squirrel.
“Eh-eh-eh-eh…!”
Her legs, sprinting through the muddy trail, tangled together. She flailed her arms desperately to regain balance, but—
“Uwaaaaah! Ouch…!”
She finally slid down and plunged into a puddle.
The girl stood up, wincing in pain, and rubbed her waist and hips with her fists. Her clothes were already soaked through with rain and mud, utterly ruined—her sleeves and hem torn in every direction, not a single spot left unscathed.
“Still, it’s a relief I didn’t break the medicine bottle.”
She held a small glass vial close to her chest and sighed in relief. White puffs of breath escaped through her parted lips, dissolving into the cold air. Wiping the rain from her eyes with the back of her hand, she hurriedly resumed climbing the mountain.
After a while, the dense forest—so thick the sky was barely visible—cleared away, revealing a waterfall atop a cliff. Arabella stepped onto the slick, mossy stones, gasping for breath.
She began hopping from stone to stone to cross the river. When she reached behind the waterfall, her soft round eyes, the color of light brown, fell upon the entrance of a cave blanketed in moss.
Arabella pushed aside the curtain of hanging moss and entered the cave. Faint, dying firelight eerily illuminated the interior. Her eyes landed on a mound of dry leaves and branches piled high like a little hill beside the firewood.
The leafy mound… was slowly rising and falling. A pair of sharp, crimson eyes gleamed from within the leaves, tracking Arabella’s every step.
Arabella spoke toward the tall, leaf-covered shape—her voice gentle and clear, utterly out of place in the dark, damp cave.
“I’m sorry I made you wait so long. Just a little longer—I’ll warm you up.”
Before the words even finished leaving her lips, she crouched before the fire and pulled a tiny vial from her inner pocket. It was no bigger than the span of her two fingers.
As she poured the clear liquid from the bottle onto the dying embers, the firewood instantly reignited into bright, crackling flames. Soon, a comforting warmth enveloped her soaked body, and only then did Arabella’s thin shoulders finally relax from their cold, tense stiffness.
The beast’s watchful eyes never left the approaching girl. It felt her careful hands gently brushing away the leaves covering its massive form.
With a soft rustle, countless leaves tumbled down from the beast’s crouched body. Revealed was a huge, jet-black panther—at least five times larger than Arabella—lying prostrate with a grievous wound on its belly. Even in its near-death state, its overwhelming presence dominated the entire space.
“Grrrrr….”
From its enormous jaws—big enough to swallow Arabella’s slender neck in one bite—came a low, chilling growl.
“You must be hungry. I’m sorry all I have to give you is this.”
Arabella sat before the panther and unwrapped her rolled-up apron. Wild blackberries and mountain strawberries spilled onto the leaves from within.
“I thought about sneaking out some salted mutton from the kitchen, but Master once told me seasoning meat with human hands could seriously harm an injured wild animal. He said forest berries would be better.”
The beast, too weak even to chew the wild fruits before it, kept its drooping mouth tightly shut. Arabella’s eyes wavered with helpless concern as she waited for it to eat.
Finally deciding something had to be done, Arabella scooped up a handful of berries from the ground. She stuffed blackberries and mountain strawberries into her mouth until her cheeks bulged, chewing diligently despite their sour, overripe taste.
Soon, she spat the deep purple juice into her palm. Without hesitation, she reached into the panther’s gaping maw—armed with fangs sharp and thick enough to pierce a knight’s steel armor—and placed her juice-filled hand inside.
“Grrrrr….”
The parched beast gulped down the fruit juice from Arabella’s hand, its thick throat bobbing with each swallow.
Still unsatisfied, its rough, broad tongue pressed insistently against her palm, licking away every last drop of juice clinging to her skin.
“Alright, alright—I get it! Let go of my hand already.”
Arabella gently stroked the beast’s ear with her other hand, soothing it with tender affection.
After repeating this several times, by the moment the black panther finally released her hand… not a single berry remained on the ground, and Arabella’s pink lips—and everything around them—were stained deep purple.
Although its thirst had somewhat subsided, the poison seeping into its stomach now spread even faster throughout its body. Wracked by excruciating pain, the beast’s massive frame shuddered violently.
Arabella quickly pulled out the medicine bottle she’d kept close to her chest and carefully dripped the contents onto the wound, saying,
“This is from Father’s workshop—it’s meant to treat wild animals injured while hunting. But… he’s never treated an animal as large as you before…”
As the sticky, yellowish liquid touched the wound, white smoke rose from the panther’s belly with a foul hiss.
“Grrrrr….”
The beast’s pained growl echoed through the cave floor.
“The medicine should’ve worked right away…”
Arabella’s voice trembled as she watched the burning wound. Her large, kind eyes quickly welled with tears.
Instead of healing, the wound on its belly gaped even wider—and thick, dark-red blood began gushing out anew. Beneath the injury, which she’d barely managed to stop bleeding earlier that morning, fresh blood pooled heavily.
“I’m so sorry… sniff… I must’ve made your wound worse. Sniff, sniff…”
Large tears rolled down her scratched cheeks as she climbed the mountain.
“If only I had healing powers like our family, I could’ve fixed you by now.”
Her thin hands moved frantically to stanch the bleeding, but it was no use. Her father—whose healing gift had been passed down through generations—Camille, her older sister, or even little Roxy would surely have been able to heal the wounded panther.
‘I should go back to the manor right now and ask for help.’
Arabella rose to her feet with that thought—but immediately sank back down again. Asking for help was out of the question; they’d surely kill it on sight.
The black panther was officially declared a demonic beast by the Imperial Court. Every citizen of the Empire was obligated to report—or slay—it upon sighting. Capturing one granted commoners noble status; sparing it invited the Empire’s harshest punishment.
After a century-long campaign, black panthers had long vanished—not just from the Empire, but from the entire continent. Yet this very morning, Arabella had stumbled upon one in the hills behind her estate.
She hugged the family of rabbits close to her chest as the beast slowly approached. She’d been secretly releasing her father’s lab rabbits into the forest—but now both she and the rabbits had unwittingly become the panther’s prey.
Yet despite its chilling, terrifying gaze, the demon beast moved with unnatural sluggishness and weakness. Arabella’s eyes shifted to its belly, now bleeding onto the moss—where she finally noticed dozens of short javelins embedded in its flesh, which she’d missed in her panic earlier.
After releasing the rabbits in the opposite direction, Arabella approached the panther. Baring its sharp fangs with eyes full of hostility, the beast glared at her.
‘I’ll help you. It must hurt so much… just hang on a little longer.’
Though her voice trembled with fear, Arabella reached both hands toward the panther. Soon enough, the beast passively surrendered its body to her, allowing her to carefully pull out each javelin.
Once the last javelin was removed, the black panther collapsed onto the grass. Watching the sky slowly brighten with dawn, Arabella thought,
‘If I leave you here, you’ll either be discovered and killed by people—or become food for other predators.’
She remembered the cave behind the waterfall where she once met her master—and with great effort, pushed and pulled the beast’s massive body inside.
“You could still walk on all fours just before dawn.”
Now, the beast lay limp, its head drooping heavily to the ground, blinking weakly—too exhausted even to whimper. Arabella realized the poison had spread through its entire body, and there was nothing more she could do.
She wrapped her slender arms tightly around its thick neck, pressing her body close in a desperate attempt to share her warmth. Pressing her wet cheek against the beast’s drooping shoulder, she whispered,
“Every life in nature is precious… so why must humans be so cruel…? I’m sorry… I couldn’t save you.”
She no longer heard a heartbeat in her ears. Thick tears fell drop by drop onto the panther’s wound. Outside the cave, the endless rain and crackling fire lulled the weary eyes of both girl and beast into a slow, shared slumber.
[This is the timeline separator]A cheerful call of a trogon faintly reached Arabella’s ears. Morning sunlight filtered through the mossy vines, tickling her closed eyelids.
Still half-asleep, her small body squirmed, reluctant to part from the warmth it was nestled against. She felt as though she were trapped inside a smooth, solid boulder—from head to toe, tightly enclosed. Though as hard as stone, it was surprisingly comfortable and cozy, even radiating warmth like a heated stone.
Still drifting between dream and reality, Arabella buried her face deeper. Unthinkingly, she spread her palm wide and placed it flat against the warm “boulder.” Eyes still closed, she ran her hand up and down its surface—its texture fine-grained, resilient, and oddly satisfying.
Her tiny fingers kneaded playfully like a child with a toy. Some parts were flawlessly smooth, while others were deeply grooved—as if slashed repeatedly by a scythe.
Arabella’s hand gradually followed the contours downward—until suddenly, a long-fingered hand softly but firmly grasped her wrist.
“I don’t mind you groping—but how about opening your eyes first? You’ll enjoy it more that way.”
A stranger’s voice rang above her head. Arabella’s eyes snapped open as if cold water had been dashed onto her face.
An impossibly broad expanse of bronze blocked her view—so vast it couldn’t fit within her wide, round eyes. She tilted her head sharply upward to finally see the face belonging to the long Adam’s apple before her. It was a face so unrealistically handsome it belonged in a master painter’s imperial portrait.
For a moment, Arabella froze, unable even to exhale the breath she’d just drawn—then squeezed her eyes shut again, clinging to the futile hope that closing them might wake her from this dream.
“Your wandering hands have touched me far too much to pretend you’re still asleep.”
A voice laced with amusement reached Arabella’s ears, already flushed crimson to her hairline. It was a pleasant, slightly husky baritone.
Contrary to her wishes, her mind grew clearer by the second—confirming two undeniable truths: she was nestled in a stranger’s arms… and he wore not a single stitch of clothing.
Before she could properly process what was happening, Arabella timidly wriggled in his embrace, curling the hand that had just been so bold. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as she’d hoped.
The arms encircling her body didn’t budge an inch—no, they tightened even further around her.
Overwhelmed by the vitality of this healthy male form—something she’d never even imagined in dreams—Arabella’s mind began to blur…
Suddenly, from outside the cave—
“…Arabella…!”
“Lady Arabella!”
The distant calls searching for her grew steadily closer.
“The black panther!”
Arabella’s mind jolted fully awake. She lifted her head from the man’s chest and frantically scanned the cave for the dying beast.
She’d clearly fallen asleep last night holding the black panther—but now, upon waking, found herself wrapped in the arms of a total stranger.
Her wide eyes, meeting his golden-tinged crimson ones, wavered helplessly. Her voice trembled as it escaped her violet-stained lips.
“…The black panther…?”
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.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
I’m not yet convinced this is a curse. There are a lot of questionable events. Why would a black panther kidnap a princess?
I’ve been wondering just how he intends to keep her alive and unharmed enough to even attempt lifting the curse. I don’t believe these classes will be enough if she only had four days.
Is she not concerned because the emperor told her she wasn’t going to become the empress regardless? He explicitly stated she only needed to break his curse & that she wouldn’t become the empress as she wasn’t qualified (I don’t recall his precise wording).