She had told her that if she ever felt threatened by her family, she could come to the palace anytime.
Nia hadn’t said a word yet, but seeing Baroness Bannetza guess her concerns and ask first made her eyes slightly moisten with tears.
“There’s something I’d like to ask Baroness for a favor. It may be a shameless request, but… I hope you’ll consider making me your maid.”
Aesha’s eyes widened.
Nia, that day, was the least likely among those gathered there to be chosen as a maid.
Unless she intended to harm Baroness and take her place, she seemed unlikely to become Baroness’s maid, especially until the demons attacked the tea party.
But she had come to be a maid first, so something must have happened afterward.
When Aesha looked at her face calmly to read her intention, Nia, with her eyes downcast, confessed first.
“… It’s true that I came to seek Baroness’s protection. I felt that the only way to meet the expectations of my family and ensure my safety was to do so while satisfying their expectations.”
Aesha closed her mouth for a moment and then asked seriously.
“Was it the Count’s will for you to become my maid, or was it the young lady’s will?”
At the piercing question, Nia looked up at her with embarrassment.
With warm, mysterious, yet occasionally strong-willed and reassuring violet eyes staring directly at her, she felt unable to lie in front of those truthful eyes.
“It was my father’s will, but it was also my will. I’ve invested several years in it, and since I couldn’t become a butterfly, he told me to play the role of a concubine in the family.”
Aesha was surprised by her words, but what followed surprised her even more.
“But I didn’t come here to be a detriment to Baroness. On the contrary, that’s not the case at all. I will become your concubine.”
“Is this really sincere…?”
“Yes. I’ve decided not to live according to my father’s will anymore. From the day I met Baroness and risked my life, I made up my mind.”
Since she was very young, she followed her father’s orders like a deity, never even thinking of refusing.
Ki’am Delphinium always whispered to her like brainwashing.
‘Just endure this. Originally, for a butterfly to hatch from a pupa, a greater trial than this is inevitable. Every butterfly in history has gone through such trials and become empress. To have great power requires equally great effort and sacrifice. If you endure for 20 years, you can gain more than twice the happiness in the future. Is it worth giving up the current hardship?’
Ki’am swung the whip menacingly on the ground while shouting fiercely at Nia, who was crying with a burn on her hand.
‘Stop crying, quickly! You shouldn’t be in pain and act spoiled over something like this! Never show your weak side to others. Your pain will disappear the moment you become a butterfly. So endure and bear it until then, for the glory of the family!’
Nia, recalling the past, spoke with bitterness.
“When I first heard the news that Baroness Bannetza had appeared in the Empire, it felt like the sky was falling. The efforts and hardships I had endured so far were ultimately useless, and I thought my life was over.”
Nia said, closing her eyes tightly.
“But after I actually met Baroness last time, I realized that all my father’s teachings and what he said to me were wrong. Butterflies are never passive beings… In the end, I was just a wildflower raised in a greenhouse.”
When Aesha shot arrows to defeat the demons, she was truly shocked.
She had never fought for someone else, risking her precious life.
She hadn’t even thought of confronting her father.
She had only thought of standing against Baroness, thinking that she had taken away her position.
But, in reality, Baroness fought against the demons instead of her.
Moreover, it was to save those who tormented and harassed her…
Nia stared blankly at that scene for a moment, then left the place later than the other ladies, exposing herself to the danger of being killed by demons.
At that moment, seeing the arrow flying to her side with the golden wind, she felt as if light was pouring down in front of her.
And she was sure.
Even after enduring such hardships, if she still hadn’t hatched, it meant that she wasn’t the material to become a butterfly from the beginning.
The real butterfly was a being that, even now, willingly suffered hardships for others, fought alone, and was currently flying for someone else…
And when that real butterfly reached out its hand to her first, when it soothed the wounds she had hidden deep inside, she felt the emotions that had been tightly suppressed breaking and bursting out in an instant.
It was like a flower blooming alone in a cave, isolated and without light, welcoming the first golden butterfly flying in the sky.
She wanted to rely on Baroness.
She wanted to dedicate herself to Baroness, who discovered her, saved her life, and sincerely made her love butterflies.
Nia looked at Aesha with eyes full of earnest longing and said.
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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