“No, no, it can’t be.”
Killing Lucrezia. Last night, after pondering over and over, he reluctantly fell asleep, resigning to the fact that there was no other exit strategy but to kill Lucrezia. However, when he woke up in the morning, he realized he couldn’t do it.
That woman had been by his bedside for over 20 years. It was now more of a habit than love.
“The local cooperative people don’t know Lucrezia’s face well.”
There must be a similar woman in the house. She could be killed in place of Lucrezia. If Lucrezia’s identity was laundered and she was sent to the Bergamo farm for a long time, and then brought back to San Carlo after about 10 years…
“Look here. Where are the things to send to Lady Lucrezia?”
The servant who was guarding the door of the Archbishop de Mare’s bedroom called for the butler, Nicolo.
“That thing. Where is it? Delay it for a while.”
Nicolo apologized profusely.
“Your Eminence. If you are talking about that item, it has already gone down. Everything… it’s over.”
“What did you say?”
He opened the curtain on the window and looked at the outside sky where the sun was at its zenith.
“What do you mean! What time is it now!”
“It’s been three hours since the first rooster crowed. The item has already gone down… and the body has been completely cleaned up.”
Thud.
Archbishop de Mare sank onto the bed.
“Oh, Lucrezia, this can’t be.”
He covered his face with both hands.
“Lucrezia……”
The butler, Niccolo, signaled to the servant with his eyes and backed out of the room, quietly closing the door. The bishop wept long in the empty bedroom.
[This is the time separator]Lucrezia’s funeral was held simply. It was announced that she had died of disease. Visits were declined using the excuse of contagion.
Sancha cursed the bishop’s capriciousness, and ran out to buy sugar pastries for her lady.
Ariadne did not relay to Epolito Lucrezia’s last will bring the flower she loved most to her grave, your roots are there it was Ariadne’s means of reprimanding and restraining Epolito.
Lucrezia’s last will seemed to hint at who Epolito’s father was.
Ariadne decided to find out slowly on her own, without telling Epolito. And Epolito did not deserve to hear her mother’s will.
She did briefly consider telling Epolito ‘Your mother acknowledged that you are of different seed and died’. However, she soon decided against it due to her uncertainty about Epolito’s reaction.
If Epolito heard this story from Ariadne, it could lead to a good result of him being intimidated and making continuous mistakes due to losing face. Conversely, it could also allow him to anticipate and counteract a coup d’etat.
Although Ariadne did not highly regard Epolito, she was fundamentally very cautious. She preferred to eliminate risks with certainty, even if it took time, rather than taking on danger and adventures.
Epolito would learn about the secret of his birth later, in a far more lethal way.
“Oh, my mother! Boo hoo!”
During the funeral mass, Epolito cried louder than anyone from the front row. He was actually shedding real tears. However, none of his family members gave him a warm gaze.
The Scampa family and the local cooperative representatives officially announced that the suspicion of Paola Scampa’s death being related to Lucrezia de Rossi was merely a misunderstanding. They received a generous consolation prize and an even more generous regional development fund.
Mr. Scampa gave a hollow laugh at the sight of stacks of ducato gold coins on his clean but modest living room table. It was a huge amount that he would have had difficulty touching in his lifetime. But his daughter will not return.
He disposed of all his properties and packed his belongings. He intended to leave far away. He left enough retirement money for his old mother. He would not return to San Carlo.
During the short winter, the De Mare bishop’s mansion held two funerals. And finally, spring arrived.
From Taranto, the San Carlo royal court returns.
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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