Reading the hostile atmosphere in the room, Ariana disappeared immediately after the toast, and the nobles simultaneously stood to show respect.
It was clear that Princess Miliyora knew everything that was happening in the room. Her fierce gaze and tense jaw made even me swallow hard.
How could a tea party go this horribly wrong?
Princess Miliyora shot glares at the tea party members one by one, but didn’t even look my way.
“Pathetic fools!”
The princess left just like that, and Misha followed but stopped in front of me.
Misha was probably struggling at the academy, hence her strong desire to escape this place.
And yet, because of me, she was summoned here and humiliated.
Misha couldn’t bear the shock of plummeting from a place where she had wings in the academy to a place where she was pointed at by others. As always, she needed someone to blame.
Like me.
I wasn’t wrong in my assumption. She looked at me as if all her misfortune was my fault and whispered menacingly before leaving.
“I wish you were dead, Lorisha.”
Honestly, I felt chills.
I couldn’t easily describe how I felt at that moment. It wasn’t fear; it was just sad and painful.
As Misha left, Keril laughed triumphantly, but the nobles, without exception, left their seats wordlessly.
I sat down on the sofa in the room that emptied in an instant.
And while chewing on the macarons left on the table, I thought.
It really is as delicious as it looks.
What exactly happened to Misha?
I was angry with Princess Miliyora. I knew she genuinely wanted to torment me, but to even involve family?
But today’s mess wasn’t my fault. It was the princess’s mistake to think that placing Misha in the tea party would resolve everything.
Seeing this, the princess definitely needed a competent maid. And I wished it wasn’t me.
Even though I was used to groundless malice, I genuinely pitied that a member of the royal family was so anxious because they couldn’t catch one illegitimate child.
“Miss, are you okay?”
Ariana, who came in to clean the table, looked at me with frightened eyes.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
I grabbed another macaron and put it whole into my mouth. The sweetness seemed to calm me a bit.
And I picked up two more and went outside.
I went to the pharmacy of Director Loyman and asked him to call Duke Kaidel for me.
“What’s going on?”
Seeing the director’s genuinely worried face, I bowed my head in apology.
“I have something to consult with the duke, and I’m afraid that if I send a message to the second prince’s palace, who knows what will happen. So, I came here. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience.”
“It’s okay. I often communicate with the second prince’s palace. Just wait a moment.”
“Then I’ll go to the herb garden. Have one of these.”
I handed Director Loyman a macaron and went down to the herb garden.
Sitting on a shabby bench for a moment, everything seemed foolish.
What am I doing, caring about Misha’s situation?
Just when I thought it would be better to leave, I felt the heavy presence of someone behind me.
“Duke Kaidel.”
He quietly came over and sat beside me, then spoke coldly.
“It’s an honor to be contacted first.”
“You might not think that after you hear my request?”
I awkwardly extended the last macaron wrapped in a handkerchief to him. He hesitated for a moment but then put it in his mouth.
From Duke Kaidel’s expression, it seemed he found it unexpectedly tasty. However, as he chewed and nodded his head, his eyes were still fixed on me.
After swallowing everything in one gulp, he spoke.
“I was touched. Sweeter than any confession I’ve received. Didn’t you bring tea? I’ve always been curious about what kind of tea Duke Rond drinks.”
I couldn’t muster a smile, drained as I was at the tea party.
Seeing my silence, he quickly wore a worried expression.
“What’s the matter?”
Could it be that Duke Rond knows I drink tea?
“If you know so much, do you also know what’s happening with Misha?”
He shrugged his shoulders, turning towards the garden.
“What doesn’t the Duke know?”
“It’s a question I often hear, but naturally, I can’t answer such questions.”
“Yes, yes! If you knew what you don’t know, then it wouldn’t be unknown!”
I felt frustrated, then awkward. Yet, he remained calm.
I mustered the courage to ask.
“Misha, what’s happening at the academy?”
My question seemed to catch Duke Kaidel off guard. He furrowed one brow before answering.
“You know I can’t answer that question.”
“….”
He was right.
Complex individuals like me wouldn’t find simple beings like Misha interesting. It was natural to be ignorant.
And even if he knew, he wouldn’t be so low as to pry into a lady’s private life.
If he did divulge anything, there would be a price. Like recognizing the copyright of a letter I could never accept, for instance.
Though I already knew the answer, I asked, defeated.
“Would a macaron suffice?”
He pretended to ponder seriously for a moment.
“Hmm. I don’t think so.”
“That wasn’t even a bribe to begin with. I brought it because I was frustrated, and it just didn’t taste good.”
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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