“Ah.”

At William’s request, Eric hesitated and looked at Alicia.

“I’m fine. Take your time to talk, Your Highness. Then, I will take my leave.”

“Sure. Let’s have a relaxed talk separately later.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’ll be there soon. Don’t go too far.”

“Got it.”

Being treated like a child in front of the prince was embarrassing, and Alicia left the spot after making a brief comment.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Jumping right to the point? It’s sudden but fine. I also don’t want to talk about work for too long.”

“Aren’t you listening to my words?”

“Ah, what did you say?”

William, annoyed, spoke to the nonattentive Eric.

Eric responded with a grumpy expression rather than an apologetic one, which was typical of him.

“Do you know it’s a crime to disrespect the royal family?”

“That’s out of nowhere.”

“You brat. It’s because you’re ignoring me. I’m your superior, you know?”

Threatened by William, Eric stared at him for a while, then turned around and started walking.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“It seems like it’s not that important, so I think I should go to my fiancée.”

“Really?”

Behind Eric, William ended up snickering as if giving up.

“Yes. If there’s something you want to protect, you shouldn’t leave it aside.”

Alicia, who had separated from Eric, was tucked away alone in a place where no one else was, planning to truly rest this time.

‘Is there a nice place somewhere? A place where I can rest quietly without being disturbed.’

Noble young ladies who had been eyeing the alone Alicia approached her.

“Hello.”

“Ah, hello.”

Startled by the unexpected greeting, Alicia soon responded with a smile.

“Do you need something from me?”

She asked kindly, but they just stared at her without answering.

Then, a gorgeously dressed beauty appeared behind them.

“?”

“Hello. I’m Kate O’Brien.”

She was dressed beautifully, but her appearance was also stunning, like a fully bloomed flower.

Alicia thought to herself that she might be the most suitable person for this flowerthemed party today.

Although the expression on Kate O’Brien was not particularly happy.

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Kate O’Brien.”

Alicia had also heard of the name ‘O’Brien’.

It was definitely the surname of the minister of foreign affairs that her friend in the foreign ministry often mentioned.

“Did you really get engaged with Earl Russell?”

“Huh? Yes.”

“But you didn’t have an engagement ceremony, right?”

“My father is overseas for research. We plan to have it when he comes back.”

“Why didn’t the Countess of Lancaster come? Didn’t she get the invitation?”

“My mother is weak and hardly goes out. Of course, she did receive the invitation.”

Despite the impolite questions pouring in without a break, Alicia answered kindly, maintaining her polite attitude.

When she made eye contact with Kate standing behind, Kate lowered her fluttering fan and opened her mouth.

“Do you know what kind of person Earl Russell is, and still got engaged?”

“Huh?”

“That man, the rumors about him aren’t good. Haven’t you heard?”

“Rumors?”

At the confused expression of Alicia, who didn’t understand what she was talking about, the corner of Kate’s mouth rose in a sneer.

“You didn’t know. Well, that’s why you got engaged to that man.”

Kate closed her fan and stared into Alicia’s eyes.

“I’ve heard stories about the young lady of the Lancaster Earl’s family. The Earl of Lancaster has been staying overseas for a long period and the countess is weak, so you also hardly participate in social activities.”

“Oh.”

“So you didn’t know. What kind of person Earl Russell is.”

“?”

“But you should know before getting married, shouldn’t you? It’s not too late yet.”

Alicia quietly asked Kate, who was talking as if doing a favor with a relaxed attitude.

“So, what is the rumor I should know?”

“There are various.”

“I see. It would be nice if you told me all about it. As you said, I hardly participate in social activities so there are many things I don’t know.”

“······.”
Alicia’s demeanor and expression were surprisingly calm, which caused Kate to momentarily furrow her brows, but she soon relaxed and smiled again.

“Have you heard about the Earl of Russel, who’s known as the ‘3% of Britannia’?”

“3% of Britannia?”

“It means he has met 3% of the single noble women in the Britannia Empire.”

She could not recall exactly how many noble women there were in the empire, but she was certain that it was a significant number.

‘He acted like he wasn’t interested in women, but apparently, that was not the case. No wonder he was polite.’

Alicia felt displeased.

“Moreover, his personality is horrible, and his speech is even worse. He doesn’t seem to mind hurting others.”

‘He’s not amiable, true. He tends to be blunt when he speaks. But he never said anything that would hurt me.’

While she somewhat agreed, hearing bad things about Eric from people she was meeting for the first time was not enjoyable.

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.]