The colossal fountain made of marble, the weedfree grass square, the garden trees cut as with a knife couldn’t erase the eerie shadow cast upon the palace.
Nikolai left behind the servant with a lantern and the escort knights.
He had a reason to walk alone.
“What do you want?”
It was not a soliloquy.
The Goddess’s wolf was just waiting for Nikolai to speak.
「Let’s go to the harem, Nicky.」
“You like those foulsmelling women that much?”
「Going to that fragrant woman would be better.」
“Elizabeth is not the Empress.”
「But she’s yours, isn’t she?」
“She’s not mine either.”
「Don’t try to fool a friend you’ve been with for six years, Nicky.」
“Don’t call me that, wolf.”
Nikolai spat out the words.
But the wolf just chuckled, a low laugh.
「Be more honest. You want that woman. More than me.」
“Shut your mouth and do your job.”
「You should also do your duty. Don’t forget to sacrifice to me.」
“…….”
「Who do you think sniffs around because they like to? I want to eat a fresh different scent too.」
“…….”
「But what can I do? This is how it’s made. You have to coexist with me like this.」
The wolf was the only being Nikolai could not control.
To the starving wolf, the Emperor’s authority was trivial.
「Can I give you some advice? That woman’s sweet scent may numb your sense of smell. It might hinder finding the underworld flower.」
“Keep your advice to yourself, wolf.”
Nikolai changed the subject, barely restraining his anger.
“A message came from the temple. There’s suspicious movement in the south.”
「The signs are not good. It’s really strange that only young women are getting sick. The plague is not that sophisticated a species.」
“We have to find and isolate it quickly.”
「If the rumor spreads that the underworld flower is rampant, the nobles will start fleeing. They will spread the disease all over the country without realizing it. The ones who can’t escape will crowd together, howling, screaming, and praying to the gods? It’s a tedious foolishness.」
When the underworld flower first appeared, healers and apothecaries were powerless.
The people confronted their fear in various ways.
Folk remedies, faith, nothing was of use.
The plague spread like wildfire.
As those who denied the danger itself appeared one by one, the underworld flower spread uncontrollably.
Nikolai could never repeat the painful past.
“We have to hurry. The south. The Inted Archipelago border.”
“Nikolai. You’re ordering me around without even feeding me? Head to the harem immediately.”
“…….”
“What are you hesitating for? I am merely taking in the scent.”
“Remember. Anything more is absolutely forbidden.”
“I don’t care, but the women waiting for your touch aren’t pitiable?”
“Today, the stench is especially strong.”
“Then indulge in something fragrant. If it’s not yours, make it yours.”
“I am not a beast like you.”
There were times when that fact was unbearably painful.
Reason and selfcontrol were shackles binding his limbs.
It was even more so when he was with Elizabeth.
Sometimes, if he wished to be a beast, was he insane?
“Living is no fun, and there’s no purpose to live. More pitiful than a dog dragged around by its leash, my dear Niki.”
“Shut up, wolf.”
“I feel like I’m going mad from hunger. I don’t even know what I might do.”
“……We’re almost there.”
“Good, my friend. I can already feel it.”
Nikolai dragged his long, dark shadow towards the harem.
It was a duty that would never end as long as the underworld flower existed, and the goddess’s wolf accompanied him.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]What are the knights doing? Unable to block even a single dog hole.
He sighed towards the rattling thornbush fence.
“Haah…… You again?”
The boy who crawled out of the dog hole pouted his mouth.
His cheeky tone was unchanged today.
“An illmannered woman. Don’t you know to greet when you see someone?”
“You take care of yourself. Don’t bother me.”
She replied without taking her eyes off the book.
She wanted to finish reading the history of the empire’s founding before lunch.
The boy who had been coming and going from the garden like a puppy with a bowel movement suddenly shot a question.
“Hey, girl. Aren’t you the Emperor’s concubine?”
“Don’t be interested in others’ affairs. I’m not interested in yours either.”
“How was it last night? Was His Majesty satisfied?”
“You little brat, there’s nothing you can’t say?”
She frowned without realizing.
The boy seemed quite pleased with his elicited reaction.
“At best, you’re just a toy. How could His Majesty really like a woman like you?”
The temple throbbed.
There was no intention to graciously understand the overstepping child.
But pinching his cheek would be too bland, right?
“You, what a pitiful child you are.”
She chanted with a deadpan face.
The boy who had been showing off frowned.
“I know kids like you. Weak ones who mimic adults and act tough.”
“I’m pitiful and weak?”
“Whatever. You have no friends, no caring family.”
“!”
“You may think you’re great, but let me tell you something. You’re nothing but a twisted little kid, desperately picking fights for attention because you can’t bear the loneliness.”
Is it because he hit the mark?
The boy’s light green eyes flipped over.
It wasn’t without excess, but facts are usually painful.
The boy had to know.
That the center of the world is not himself, and someday he must endure alone, naked.
What he will need then is not stubbornness or bravado, but the courage to admit inadequacy.
“Lonely, look at me, please love me. Stop whining.”
“I never did that!”
“You might get sympathy if you were honest, but you don’t even have the courage. Why? Because no one cares about what you say.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions!”
“You noticed too, didn’t you? The more you cling, the more people hate you. But you don’t know any other way. You never learned.”
“!”
“That’s why you’re pitiful and weak.”
By the time she said that, a tear dropped from the boy’s big eyes.
“HHow dare you……”
Unable to hold back, the boy shed tears.
He looked like such a small child.
Barre’s shoulders seemed to be less than two fists wide.
“Who are you to teach me?”
“I also hate meddling in other people’s lives. You should have watched your words.”
“Shut up! What do you know about me…!”
The boy roughly wiped his tears with his sleeve.
Crying in front of me seemed to hurt his pride.
There was a wound on the boy’s hand that no one had tended to.
So far, the boy had barely protected himself with violent behavior and harsh words.
‘He might have cried every night. I did too.’
There were abandoned children in every world.
If they didn’t act strong, they were ignored. If they didn’t attack first, they were trampled.
That didn’t justify the boy’s actions, though.
Being lonely didn’t give him the right to torment someone.
I bent my knees to meet the boy’s eyes.
The midday sun sparkled on the highquality shoes that didn’t match his dirty servant’s uniform.
“I know a little too. At least that you’re Crown Prince Franz.”
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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