With the manpower support of King Leo III, Levian thoroughly searched every dark corner near the blood pool. Nothing came up, and the only place left to inspect was the buildings.
“The permission to open this…”
The king’s underling expressed his hesitation. Count Levian’s heart was pounding.
“I’ll take the responsibility, open it right now!”
Bang!
The first hut forced open with an iron bar was a bust.
“Damn it!”
Annoyed, Levian pointed to the next barn.
“There!”
Bang!
One of Count Levian’s men who had looked inside shouted.
“There’s nothing here!”
The second barn was also a bust. But Count Levian could not stop here. As Levian was about to tear open the third barn, the king’s underling once again stopped him.
“Didn’t I tell you! This reckless search could cause problems!”
“I told you! I’ll take the responsibility! Tear it down!”
The personnel from the Gallico side rushed in and tore open the door of the third barn.
Crack!
Behind the barn door forced open, a middleaged man with a large build was lying down.
“Gasp!”
Everyone was tense, and Count Levian drew a sharp breath.
One of the Gallico underlings rushed into the barn, checked the middleaged man’s face, and returned.
“It’s indeed Duke Mireiu! ……He’s gone.”
Everyone present was shocked.
[This is the time separator]Upon hearing the news of Duke Mireiu’s death at an ambitious time, King Leo III was initially speechless in shock, then he washed his face roughly.
“How could such a thing happen in my palace…!”
The world seemed to spin around him.
The marriage alliance with the Kingdom of Gallico had been going well. Just a little bit more, just a little bit more push, and even the formula for his longcherished project of gunpowder would have come out. King Leo III didn’t doubt that the negotiations would be successful. Because he would make it happen.
But now, the representative of the other party’s delegation had been found as a cold corpse in his palace.
“Who would do such a horrifying thing!”
I won’t let them live! Tear them apart and hang them on the castle wall!
Unable to contain his anger, King Leo III banged the handle of his throne.
“I will clarify this matter with my utmost effort!”
It was a gesture full of hope that there would be no injustice and the negotiation would not be hindered. However, the death of Duke Mireiu was too big of an event to be covered up so easily.
Count Levian, who had personally delivered the news of Duke Mireiu’s death, carefully shook his head.
To make every effort, that’s not welcome. It may even lead back to Princess Lariessa.
‘That can’t happen.’
Count Levian shook his head.
Thankfully, the only people who knew that Princess Lariessa was outraged to learn that Prince Alfonso and the second daughter of Cardinal de Mare were secretly in love were, well, it would be okay if it were known that she was outraged.
The only people who knew that she demanded the life of Cardinal de Mare’s second daughter were the nowdead Duke Mireiu, Count Levian, Princess Lariessa herself, and perhaps a close confidant of Duke Mireiu.
It was a number of people who could be silenced. As long as we keep our mouths shut.
But what if the cause of Duke Mireiu’s death is not ultimately revealed?
‘The Etruscan royal palace will be in great trouble.’
The Kingdom of Gallico will be in a long and drawnout uproar. The death of the head of the negotiation delegation in the palace means that either the public security is a mess, there are forces that do not want the negotiation to be concluded, or both.
‘It’s a hundred times better for us if the Etruscan royal family appears incompetent than if Princess Lariessa becomes a murder accomplice and Duke Mireiu becomes a despicable criminal.’
But Levian had a task to complete this marriage negotiation.
‘Even if Duke Mireiu has died, will His Majesty Philip IV terminate the negotiation and order a return?’
That would be the logical thing to do. However, Count Levian was skeptical.
‘This negotiation was strange from the beginning.’
It was strange that Princess Lariessa was accompanying us to the site. But the negotiation process itself was also strange.
The Kingdom of Gallico initially acted rationally. On the contrary, from the standpoint of the Etruscan kingdom, they would have looked like conscienceless thieves.
In any case, the Kingdom of Gallico made requests beneficial to national interests and succeeded in implementing a significant part at the working level.
But once the report goes upstairs, the Kingdom of Gallico would back down on very important matters to win concessions on a few unimportant ones.
For example, whether a few Gallican military officers would be dispatched to assist the training of the Etruscan army after providing the cannons was a very sharp issue.
But when the report on the progress of the negotiation was raised, Duke Mireiyu instructed to concede on more sensitive issues to change relatively minor problems like the timing of the wedding, the location, scale, and wedding venue.
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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