“What in the world is going on, Viscount?”
Derek Valuwa growled, baring his teeth.
After checking one more time that no one was around, Lloyd let out a small sigh.
You’re not thinking about what I did, and it’s not funny.
From the beginning, it was the Duke of Valuwa’s side that proposed this plan.
It was originally his plan to secretly take Isolde’s Tears from the imperial treasury and spread rumors that the Empire’s divine protection was gone.
And for this, Lloyd and his mother, the former princess, frequented the imperial palace countless times.
It was an opportunity they painstakingly created, knowing that the current emperor and empress didn’t like the mother and son very much.
How angry he was when he heard that not only did they steal it, but they also sold it at an illegal auction.
Perhaps he should have looked into it from the moment he said they could just buy it back since they knew who bought it anyway.
Looking at Derek Valuwa, who was shamelessly angry at him, Lloyd barely suppressed his anger.
“What’s the point of asking me that, Duke Valuwa? Weren’t you the one who clearly said you’d find it again?”
“But wasn’t it you, Viscount, who went to the place where the auction was held! Do you know what I did just trusting your words?”
Duke Valuwa ground his teeth, expressing his anger in a small voice.
Not long ago, he said he secretly sent someone to Waynes, but surely he didn’t actually try to rob Waynes Castle.
Lloyd scoffed at Duke Valuwa, who had tried to break through the iron-clad security of Waynes, a territory as important as the capital.
“I only relayed what people said about Waynes soldiers barging into the auction house. I don’t think I said Isolde’s Tears would be there.”
“Isn’t that what you meant? If all the items at the auction house went to the castle, it’s only natural to think that the jewel would be there too!”
Unable to contain his rising voice, Derek Valuwa stomped his foot.
It was only natural for Lloyd to frown at such a reckless action, like that of a young child.
He stared at the furious Duke Valuwa with cold eyes and muttered softly.
“You know one thing but not two, Duke. If you tried to infiltrate Waynes Castle, the crown prince will surely know about it.”
“I know! Who doesn’t know that? That’s why even yesterday…!”
Duke Valuwa stopped mid-sentence.
It seemed he tried to cause some trouble yesterday as well.
Seeing him shutting his mouth, Lloyd roughly guessed.
With this man’s temperament, he must have tried to provoke Leoprick but got hit back instead.
Anyhow, he was a reckless and foolish man beyond compare.
Lloyd clicked his tongue inwardly and continued.
“Did you not notice anything unusual from the crown prince?”
“For now, I didn’t sense anything particularly strange, but who knows. That man is so inscrutable.”
The duke replied in a much more subdued tone than before.
Still, his constant grumbling was really unpleasant to hear, but for the sake of the future, Lloyd decided to put up with this good-for-nothing a little longer.
“Then for now, it’s best to lay low. We don’t know what Leoprick might do if he gets suspicious.”
“That sounds like you’re just going to watch this situation unfold, Viscount?”
The duke looked at Lloyd with sharp eyes.
Feeling all sorts of curses welling up inside at that sight, Lloyd slowly closed his eyes then opened them.
“Then, are you saying we should get involved together and die together? Leoprick doesn’t know I’m involved in this yet. He especially doesn’t know that the duke and I directly stole Isolde’s Tears.”
“To be precise, it was you and the duchess who stole it, right? I merely siphoned it off in the middle.”
“You were aware that you siphoned it off?”
When Lloyd sharply retorted at the duke’s attempt to slyly shift blame, Duke Valuwa bit his lip with a resentful look.
Well, it would have been better if you had entrusted it to me from the start.
Lloyd sighed, recalling Isolde’s Tears that had smoothly fallen into his hands in his previous life.
Originally, he was going to give it to Amelia when he met her, but he couldn’t entrust such an important task to her when he hadn’t even found the reason she was so hostile to him.
So he personally sought out Isolde’s Tears, but…
‘Could it be that Amelia found it?’
A question suddenly came to mind.
If, like in the previous life, Amelia found Isolde’s Tears and handed them over to Leoprick instead of him?
“For now, let’s return to the banquet hall. If we’re gone too long, people will notice.”
Pondering the question that arose in his mind, he left his spot for the time being.
Not even noticing what kind of expression Derek Valuwa was looking at him with from behind.
[This is the timeline separator]“Thank you, Amelia.”
I received an unexpected embrace when I went to see Her Majesty the Empress with Leoprick.
Her Majesty the Empress hugged me tightly, saying she was extremely grateful.
In an instant, without being able to react in any way, I was embraced in an unfamiliar and cozy bosom, much too suddenly.
Will there ever be a moment this awkward for me, who has never even been held in a mother’s arms?
“Uh, um…”
As I couldn’t find any words to say and just rolled my eyes, Leoprick, who was facing me, smiled and sent a look saying it was okay.
As if telling me I could comfortably be held, to just relax a little.
I awkwardly raised my arms and lightly placed them on Her Majesty the Empress’s back.
Then I saw Leoprick nodding his head.
Thinking this must be the right way, I endured that awkward moment alone.
“Truly, I don’t know how to express my gratitude for this…”
After some time of awkwardness passed, Her Majesty pulled away and looked at me with glistening eyes.
The raw gratitude and relief in her gaze were so excessive that I rolled my eyes, even more at a loss.
It was nothing special, I merely did what I could, but I didn’t expect her to be this delighted.
And I could imagine how she would have reacted in my previous life if I had given Isolde’s Tears to Leoprick instead of Lloyd.
Instead of bestowing a simple commendation to Lloyd like in the previous life, Her Majesty the Empress would have held my hands or embraced me tightly like now, continuously expressing her thanks.
It’s only natural for there to be a difference in treatment between family and non-family.
…Family, huh.
I had to make an effort not to flinch at the word that suddenly came to mind.
Family, who?
Me and Leoprick? And His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress?
I was the one who had no connection to something called family all my life.
Even when I lost my mother early and lived with my father, I felt more like I was living with a guardian who protected me rather than the warmth of a family.
Betty was like a sister, but I understood too well that she couldn’t be a real sister, and even when I married Leoprick in my past life, I never felt he was family.
So when I met Lloyd, who treated me more affectionately than ever before, I thought he might really be able to stay by my side.
Of course, that was also a misunderstanding.
“I was just lucky, Your Majesty.”
“You can’t downplay this matter by saying you were lucky. It’s as if you saved me, Amelia. I felt so apologetic to His Majesty for losing this…”
You are my savior.
When Her Majesty said that with sincere eyes, I felt a corner of my heart aching.
Was it because I thought I didn’t deserve to be thanked like this?
Or was it regret for my past fault of not wanting to see her being so happy?
Whichever it was, it certainly wasn’t pleasant, so I smiled awkwardly and faced Her Majesty the Empress.
“I merely did what was proper, Your Majesty. It’s only right to return an item to its owner.”
“I’m grateful that you put it that way. Truly, I’m so glad to have you…”
The empress looked at me with teary eyes and finally started sobbing.
Sobbing while holding my hand, it was even more bewildering.
Not knowing what to do, I alternately looked at Leoprick and the emperor standing like stone statues behind her, pleading for help.
Then the two men, who had been watching me and the empress with pleased eyes without moving an inch, finally stepped forward.
“Now, now, Empress. If you do that too much, it will make Amelia uncomfortable.”
“Ah…, I’m sorry. I let my emotions get ahead of me…”
“I understand your feelings, Empress. Now, don’t feel too sorry and don’t make things more difficult for Amelia, okay?”
“No, Your Majesty. I’m fine.”
As the emperor kept subtly emphasizing with his gaze that I was very burdened and uncomfortable right now, I became even more at a loss.
No, if you’re going to comfort the empress, then just comfort her. Why are you involving me…
“That’s enough, Your Majesty. Amelia is really uncomfortable.”
“Is that so? Amelia, are you really uncomfortable?”
“Pardon? No, no I’m not, Your Majesty.”
Startled by the arrow that suddenly turned back to me, I waved my hands in denial.
And when I turned my head to Leoprick in confusion, I saw a faint mischief in his eyes.
He intended this from the beginning.
“…Your Highness. That’s enough.”
“Hahaha!”
When I quietly spoke to him, feeling suddenly wronged, His Majesty the Emperor, who was comforting the empress, suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“I didn’t know our daughter-in-law was this cute!”
“…Pardon?”
What is this about now?
Finding the situation increasingly uncomfortable and awkward, I alternately looked at His Majesty the Emperor and Leoprick.
Then the two men, different yet so alike, simultaneously burst into laughter they couldn’t hold back.
“Ahahaha!”
“Your Majesty, stop it. You too, Leo. Amelia is getting troubled.”
In the end, Her Majesty the Empress stepped in to mediate, but it had the opposite effect.
With laughter that grew even louder than before, the two men laughed for a long time.
Until Her Majesty the Empress and I looked at each other helplessly and smiled.
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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