With a thud.
The blond prince fell helplessly to the ground.
He had just taken a big bite without suspicion of the Sangue Nocchio Dolce made from veal, which Ariadne had handed over.
It was the result of trusting her.
Ariadne handed over Prince Alfonso’s new recruit to the soldiers who were waiting with their heads bowed.
That’s how the kingdom’s master changed so pathetically.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, the Prince.”
Ariadne bowed her head softly. She knew it was wrong. But she had someone to protect.
Ariadne walked around the palace like a madwoman and entered the king’s bedroom. No one stopped her while she was parading around the palace.
Inside the king’s bedroom, he was there. Her blind love and object of worship, her perfect fiancé.
Cesare de Como.
The king’s illegitimate child. The king’s son who could not become a prince. He shouted in his parched voice.
“What happened?!”
“…I have secured the new recruit of Prince Alfonso. I handed it over to the soldiers of Pisa.”
The sensitivity disappeared from Cesare’s sculpturelike face upon hearing those words, and a bright smile spread across his face.
It felt like all the candles in the room were lit at once, the world’s brightness increased, and the temperature warmed.
That’s right. This is it.
Cesare jumped down from his father’s throne where he was sitting and grabbed Ariadne’s hand. Ariadne shivered as his joy and affection seemed to spread from the heat transmitted to her.
“You did well. Once I take that bastard’s life, I will make you the most noble woman in the kingdom.”
“Cesare…”
“Father won’t last today or tomorrow. It wouldn’t be strange if he passed away anytime.”
Now that the old king is lying in bed sick and even Prince Alfonso has been deposed, there was no one left to stop Cesare de Como.
“This is the beginning of our era.”
She was not interested in the new era. It was enough if she could just be by his side, who was so happy.
[This is the time separator]Cesare de Como, the Duke of Etruscan and the ‘cousin’ of Prince Alfonso, immediately seized the castle as soon as King Leo III was bedridden. The excuse was that Prince Alfonso was trying to poison King Leo III.
No one believed that, but no one voiced their dissatisfaction in front of Cesare’s soldiers who filled the castle. And then, as fast as lightning, Prince Alfonso’s body was hung on the walls of San Carlo City. Cesare’s side claimed that he had been captured at the border while trying to flee to the enemy kingdom, Gallico.
“Behold! Prince Alfonso was a treacherous traitor who conspired with the enemy kingdom to poison King Leo and ascend to the throne! I, Cesare de Como, no, Cesare de Carlo will protect the Etruscan kingdom and keep the King, rise to the throne. Citizens, trust and follow me!”
[This is the time separator]Even after the coup succeeded and he became the regent of the Etruscan Kingdom, Cesare spent 9 years solidifying his position.
During that time, Cesare needed a woman to govern the palace by his side. Since King Leo III’s queen had long passed away, the woman with the highest status in the kingdom was Cesare’s fiancée, Ariadne.
When she first entered the palace, Ariadne’s social reputation was miserable.
“Is she only twentytwo years old?”
“I heard she grew up on a farm when she was young. They say she has no education.”
“I saw her at a party, and she couldn’t even dress properly. It’s probably because she grew up out of nowhere.”
Ariadne was a symbol of all that was unjust. The woman of the king’s illegitimate son who drove out the legitimate prince. The illegitimate child of the clergy, the cardinal. She was not yet officially married to Cesare the regent, and her education was not outstanding.
She had given Cesare all of her heart, but she was treated like a joke, as a woman with nothing to show for herself, hanging onto a man. Naturally, the laughter at the regent only grew.
On a day when the disrespectful atmosphere reached its peak, an incident occurred at the regular tea party she hosted.
An aged countess from the prestigious capital loudly blurted out the secret of Cesare de Como’s birth. It was a story wellknown among the central aristocrats, but not among the newlyestablished provincial nobles.
“Is it true that Cesare is not a cousin of the prince, but a bastard of Leo III?”
The central aristocrats had never been fond of Ariadne and Cesare.
However, it was over the line to loudly discuss Cesare’s story in the presence of Ariadne.
Her hand, holding a fan, clenched tightly.
“Is it true?”
“I’ve heard that story too.”
“A bastard is a product of an unholy union, without the blessing of the gods…”
They completely distanced themselves from the tea table where Ariadne, the spinster, sat. From Ariadne’s position, only the backs of the ladies were visible. It was a large circle treating Ariadne as invisible, centered around the countess.
Their attitudes were screaming.
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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