Shall I Save You, Duke? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
Behind the mansion where a lavish party was underway, a woman quietly strolled through the garden.
Silver hair shimmering brilliantly under the moonlight.
Unrealistically delicate features and violet eyes glowing with an enigmatic light.
The woman’s elegant figure seemed almost mystical at first glance.
“I should catch my breath here for a moment before heading back.”
She muttered as she wandered through the garden, exhaling with a mix of mild annoyance and irritation.
Lina’s earlier excitement over the long-awaited celebration had already vanished without a trace.
Not only had she been unable to properly enjoy the party due to the persistent stares and lewd advances from men the moment she arrived, but the cheap shoes she’d hastily bought had only made her body feel more exhausted.
No longer in the mood—or physical condition—to enjoy the festivities, Lina wandered in search of somewhere to ease her swollen legs.
“Is there anywhere to sit…?”
As Lina scanned her surroundings, she suddenly perked up at a sound coming from not far away.
‘Water? Is there a fountain nearby?’
Hoping to rest briefly on the fountain’s edge, she hurried toward the source of the sound.
Soon enough, an ivory-colored fountain with flowing water came into view.
And then—
‘Who’s that?’
Her eyes fell upon a man with black hair so deep it seemed to swallow even the moonlight.
‘Could he be a knight…?’
Tonight’s victory celebration was primarily attended by knights—either commoners by birth or nobles holding only a single hereditary title.
Assuming he was a knight, Lina stared at him blankly.
Yet the man seemed unaware of her presence, standing silently before the fountain with his eyes closed and brows furrowed.
‘I wanted to sit there and rest for a bit… Guess not.’
Lina, who had intended to sit alone by the fountain for a short while, decided to turn back upon seeing the stranger.
‘I’ll just go somewhere else.’
Just as she began to reluctantly turn away—
Her eyes met his as he turned his head toward her.
Golden eyes as warm and intense as the midday sun.
Thump thump thump.
‘What is this…?’
The moment their eyes met, her previously quiet heart began pounding loudly in her chest.
‘Why is my heart…?’
Startled by the sudden, drum-like clamor in her chest, Lina placed a hand over it.
‘Is this really how it beats…?’
After a few moments of silence, the man began stepping forward, as if offering her the space.
One step.
Another step.
The closer he came, the more fiercely her heart raced.
‘I’m certain I’ve never seen this man before…’
Had she been intoxicated by the hazy moonlight? Her body moved as if bewitched, no longer obeying her will.
Thud.
As though controlled by someone else, her hand had already reached out and grasped his fingers.
The man, too, halted abruptly at the feel of her soft skin encircling his fingers.
He looked down at their awkwardly entwined hands, then raised his head to meet Lina’s gaze.
Lina’s trembling violet eyes collided midair with his golden ones.
In the dimness lit only by sparse moonlight, the man’s yellow eyes flashed with the fierce intensity of a predator hunting its prey.
And just as her hand had moved on its own, words contrary to her will spilled from her lips.
“Would you… like to take a walk with me?”
On a summer night when the scent of grass swayed gently in the breeze,
She spent the night with him.
In the early dawn, before the sun had fully awakened.
Clothes scattered around the bed bore witness to the passionate night before.
Rustle.
Beneath the heavily crumpled sheets, something began to stir with a rustling sound, then suddenly a long limb shot out beside the bed.
An arm as slender as a bare winter branch waved briskly over the face of the sleeping man.
But when he showed no reaction despite her vigorous waving, she cautiously peeked her round face out from under the covers and scanned her surroundings.
‘Surely not…’
Still gazing at the man with her head tilted, she suddenly felt a dreadful thought creep in and gently brought her hand to his nose—but soon sighed unconsciously as she felt his faint breath against her fingertips.
“Phew… Hup!”
Startled by her own breath breaking the silence, she flinched, quickly clapped both hands over her mouth, and nervously looked back down.
Yet the man remained utterly still, eyes closed, as if her cautious behavior were laughable.
‘That was pretty loud… Is he really sleeping like the dead?’
A proper knight should be sensitive to the slightest presence of another person.
Yet this man hadn’t stirred even once, despite her rustling beside him, waving her hand over his face, and even making a fairly loud noise.
“…Ha.”
An exasperated sigh escaped her before she could stop it.
‘I was so sure he was a knight. Was I mistaken?’
A reasonable doubt about the man flickered through her mind.
She tapped her fingers lightly against the bed as she pondered, then finally pulled her hand away.
‘But… well, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll never see him again, so whether he’s a knight or not has nothing to do with me.’
In an instant, she cast aside her tension and looked down at the man’s face.
“But then… what on earth was that fluttering feeling last night…?”
Lina murmured, staring blankly at his jet-black hair and sharp features.
Had she been enchanted by his looks? Her body had moved on its own, ending up seducing him.
“I only meant to enjoy the party and slip away quietly…”
After staring intently at his face for a long while, her gaze slowly drifted downward as if admiring a work of art.
Seeing the well-defined muscles peeking through the bed sheets, she suddenly recalled the heated events of last night and felt her cheeks flush.
‘What am I even thinking…! Get a hold of yourself!’
She shook her head vigorously and slapped her reddened cheeks firmly.
Though she briefly considered lazing in bed a bit longer, she knew that if he woke up now, it would surely cause a huge commotion.
Reluctantly, she carefully slipped out of bed.
“Ugh.”
The moment she sat up on the edge of the bed, the hangover from last night hit her all at once.
She grimaced from the splitting headache. The strong scent of alcohol with every exhale made her stomach churn.
She pressed her temples firmly with her hands, trying to smooth out her deeply furrowed brow.
“Ughh.”
Though she intended to leave the room quietly, her body screamed in protest with every movement, forcing involuntary groans from her lips.
She felt utterly wrecked from muscle aches and hangover right from the morning.
After finally pulling herself together, she gathered her clothes from the floor, dressed quickly, and approached the mirror near the bed.
But the woman reflected in the mirror looked nothing like the beautiful enchantress from last night.
Frowning, she stared at her own reflection with an unreadable expression.
Her once gracefully curved, shapely body had shrunk to such an emaciated state that it was hard to tell if she was male or female, and her delicate silver hair—once so fine it seemed it might melt at a touch—now looked stiff and ragged, like a dusty broom.
Even her height had shrunk by nearly a handspan, making her appear like a young girl.
“Haa.”
Yet one thing remained unchanged: her violet eyes, steady and unwavering as they gazed back at herself in the mirror.
Only their vivid purple hue remained as the sole link to last night’s beauty.
“If only this cursed eye color would change too, how wonderful that would be.”
She hated this unchanging color staring back at her more than anything.
It felt as though it constantly reminded her that all this misfortune wasn’t a long nightmare—but reality.
The tiresome, painful truth: she was cursed, and this curse would never be lifted.
‘They said I could break this damn curse if I found true love?’
Trusting only in those words, how many men had she courted, only to be foolishly abandoned by countless others?
‘Exactly one hundred and forty times.’
More precisely, it was after being rejected by the one hundred forty-seventh man that she realized—
She would never break this curse.
‘I’ve lived perfectly well alone for hundreds of years—what reason do I have to believe I can’t keep living?’
The faint spark of hope that had once flickered within her had long since burned out.
She’d long since abandoned her eagerness to lift the curse as soon as possible. Now that she’d set down the heavy burden she’d carried for centuries, her heart felt lighter.
After staring fixedly into her own eyes for a while, she inserted her contacts with a slightly impatient gesture.
Instantly, her violet eyes transformed into ordinary brown ones.
Feeling as though someone had rudely dragged her from a pleasant dream into harsh reality, she looked coldly at the still-sleeping man.
“What about you?”
Last night, he had held her with more fervor than anyone else—but it wasn’t the current her who had ignited his passion. It was the other ‘her,’ the beautiful enchantress.
‘What about him…? Of course it would’ve been the same. How foolish.’
Mocking herself for still wondering if his reaction might have been different, she slowly approached the sleeping man.
She sat down beside him, looked down, and traced her finger along the line of his jaw.
[Oblivio.]As she whispered the incantation, a white light began to spread from her fingertips.
Gathering the glow with her fingers, she placed her hand on the sleeping man’s forehead, and the softly shimmering light gradually seeped into him.
She gently stroked his face once, then pressed a brief kiss to his forehead.
Smack.
“Just think of it as a midsummer night’s dream, handsome knight.”
Her voice was soft and sweet, like a mother singing a lullaby to her child.
And so, she erased his memory—hoping they would never meet again by chance.
But that wish would not come true.
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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MANGA DISCUSSION
2 Comments
Chapter Comments (66)
So, both of them were cursed? It’s like beauty and the beast. Find a true love 😂
this looks complicated on both ends,let us see how it goes
As if hearing Loen’s words, Susan curled one corner of her mouth.
“Well, we’ll see about that.”
A strange, sinister glint flickered in her eyes.
There is always character like that ckckck
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Blairwoods
‘I’ve lived perfectly well alone for hundreds of years—what reason do I have to believe I can’t keep living?’
Hm, so which one is her real appearance?
debban23
yeah hopefully he does not remember you at all,140 years old