“Execute the traitor!”
In the season when the trees were green, on a day that was utterly bright and beautiful, the Emperor had finally gone mad.
“What is this! Call the Imperial Guard immediately! It’s an instant execution!”
“My goodness.”
Those who hung their heads whispered in shock.
The charge was treason, but no one agreed.
They simply thought that the Emperor, who had jealously watched Duke Barlock all his life, had gone mad with envy.
But madness has its limits.
The opponent was Duke Barlock.
Strength, power, wealth; Barlock was not suppressed by anyone or anything.
The only one capable of dealing with the monsters beyond the ice wall in the far north.
And because he boasted of strange obedience, this empire, this throne was able to remain intact. Had they really forgotten that?
“Imperial Guard! Imperial Guard! Bring me a sword!”
The appearance of Duke Barlock indulging the raging Emperor’s madness was the same as always, but today something was strange.
The Emperor had crossed the line, and the Duke was crossing it too.
An incomprehensible onesided relationship was nearly breaking.
“Your Majesty, please reconsider.”
Unable to watch any longer, Duke Woron finally stepped forward.
“Woron, are you defending a traitor in front of me?”
“Your Majesty, if not him, who will guard the ice wall… Urk!”
Duke Woron fell without finishing his words, struck by the sword swung by the Emperor.
“Anyone who sympathizes with the rebellion, step forward now, and I will execute you along with Duke Barlock.”
Drip. Drip.
The Emperor, swinging his bloodstained sword and shouting, was consumed by madness.
This really was a catastrophe.
People appealed to the Duke instead of the incomprehensible Emperor.
“Your Grace, if you could avoid this for a moment until His Majesty calms down….”
But neither side was getting through.
Duke Barlock, looking down at those pleading with cold eyes, raised his finger to his lips.
“…Hush.”
Duke Barlock silenced those who worried about him and finally surrendered his neck to the Emperor.
It was a day gone mad.
But the strangest thing was the words the Duke left before his execution.
“Finally.”
Duke Barlock was smiling even as he was ‘murdered’ without a proper trial!
Nowhere in his faintly smiling face was there any sign of resentment, anger, or betrayal.
Rather, he looked fresh and even seemed a bit happy.
Because of that, the smile worn by Duke Barlock as he faced death was not miserable but beautiful.
The smile that spread across his already beautiful face was intensely striking.
So much so that even the Emperor, who had jealously watched Barlock his whole life, was captivated.
But the smile evaporated like a midsummer snowflake, and the Emperor, regaining his senses, executed Duke Barlock ‘unconditionally,’ who had always been loyal to the royal family.
[Star Icon] [Star Icon] [Star Icon]“He’s gone mad. He was mad, I tell you!”
Tearing his hair and screaming wildly, the Emperor suddenly lifted his head and found Bianca.
“Bianca!”
“Yes.”
“Is this even possible?”
Instead of answering, Bianca lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze.
“Come on, there’s no way I could have done it.”
She, who had been born by consuming the beloved Empress, had never been permitted to answer.
“I couldn’t have been in my right mind. Come on. Huh? Someone must have bewitched me. Who could have done it?”
Now, as he became increasingly anxious and looked for a place to vent his anger.
“Ah, what to do about this? The harvest festival is soon. When the harvest is over, winter will come!”
Even more so.
After the execution of Duke Barlock, the Emperor had been in this state ever since.
When winter comes, the frightening things that had been crouching come over the ice wall.
People called them monsters, and the only one who could deal with them was Barlock, known as the Dragon of Termina.
“Termina Empire is finished!”
The crazed Emperor had finally come to his senses.
Only now, when it was too late.
As the Emperor raged on, unheard, it was time for Bianca to let out a soft sigh.
After being summoned, the Crown Prince, who had been silent just like Bianca, opened his mouth.
“It should be enough at this point; calm down now.”
“Calm down! How is this a common matter!”
The Crown Prince did not even blink an eye at the Emperor’s fury.
“There’s a solution, so calm down.”
He even leaned back lazily in his chair and laughed, breaking his formal posture.
“The current Duke Barlock is said to have no fiancée yet.”
“…What?”
“And that thing is called the empire’s greatest beauty.”
The Crown Prince’s finger pointed at Bianca.
“How about giving that thing a chance to wash away its sin?”
It will pay back the sin of eating its mother and being born this way. Father.
His soft afterthought was colder than a cold breeze, and Bianca’s eyes narrowed.
The Emperor said nothing.
[Star icon] [Star icon] [Star icon]The next day, a messenger carrying the royal proposal departed by the duke’s command.
A month later.
“It’s, it’s a big problem!”
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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