Tian’s unexpected answer revealed that the person who hired him was not Charlotte but her stepbrother. Tian met him shortly after being expelled from Repelga due to corruption.
His stepbrother’s name was Vichen.
Vichen sweet-talked Tian with promises of returning to his previous life if he helped him. Consequently, Tian became his subordinate.
“Did you really believe in the promise to bring you back? Charlotte is no fool, and she wouldn’t rehire an accountant who had once engaged in corruption.”
“Vichen thought that if he succeeded in assassinating the princess, it would please Charlotte. He believed it would be considered a merit for Prince Wilhelm. So, he persuaded me with sweet words.”
“So where is Vichen now?”
“I heard that Charlotte, who found out that Vichen sent an assassin to Rose Palace, was greatly angered and hid him somewhere. As people related to this incident started dying one by one, I sneaked into the Dark District alone. That’s all I know.”
The information obtained through Tian wasn’t very extensive.
Firstly, Charlotte had no involvement in the attempt to assassinate me.
Secondly, it was speculated that her stepbrother might be behind this incident or connected to the real mastermind.
“Among the many assassin guilds, why did Tian, with connections to the Turner family, choose to act? Don’t you think there’s a smell of something fishy, Cain?”
“I think the same. If the Turner family is behind this, it might be a ploy to shift the blame towards the Repel family. Since they probably hold the missing ledgers and evidence, it’s likely.”
“That’s exactly it. We should try to use that against them.”
The best defense is offense.
With a sudden good idea in mind, I pointed at Cain and said, “First, have Cain track down Vichen. If we find him, we can secure a lot of evidence. Meanwhile, I’ll be doing something else.”
“Understood. May I ask what you’re planning to do?”
“I have something interesting in mind. It just occurred to me.”
After giving Tian the command to react calmly to Cain’s orders, I turned my back to go up the stairs.
Then, Raven, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke up belatedly.
“Mind control, huh? Vampires seem to have all sorts of abilities. Can you use that on me, too?”
“Well, I’ve never tried it on other demons, so I don’t know. Curious to give it a try right now?”
“…No. Absolutely not.”
Raven repeatedly begged me not to use mind control on her as much as I did on myself.
I didn’t want to use mind control and brainwashing indiscriminately, so I nodded without much thought, accepting her request.
Returning from the Dark District to Rose Palace, I formulated two plans.
First, to establish facilities with my funds to protect the children of the Dark District, providing a place for their protection and basic education.
Second, to spread false rumors about the Repel family throughout the capital.
“Siene, find a suitable location to establish facilities. It should be a place with enough space to protect the children and provide basic education.”
“Understood, Lady Bella. But… what exactly do you mean by spreading false rumors?”
“Just that, spreading false rumors. Untrue rumors not connected to the truth.”
I seated Siene across from me and slowly explained my plan.
Originally, the truth comes with discomfort.
According to the information collected by the Fernan family, if it became known that the Galio family had connections with the assassin guild or that the Repel family had tried to kill me, chaos would undoubtedly ensue.
What I feared the most was that they would realize they were being pursued and hide even more securely.
With already limited information, making enemies more nervous seemed counterproductive.
“Well then, let them fight among themselves.”
My plan was to spread false rumors that the Repel family, not the Turner family, was operating the assassin guild.
If the two families had no relation, it would pass quietly, but if they did, something would surely happen.
If, as Tian’s testimony suggested, Charlotte had no intention of interfering with my assassination from the beginning, she must be under some form of coercion or persuasion from Galio.
In such a situation, suddenly spreading false rumors that my family was connected to the assassin guild would undoubtedly direct the arrows of their anger towards Galio.
“If things go as I think, either Galio or Charlotte will try to contact me. Probably the latter, considering Charlotte urgently needs to resolve the situation.”
“Are you just going to sit still and let the culprits come to you? My goodness, Lady Bella. When did you grow up like this?”
“Right? Even I think I’m quite impressive!”
I enjoyed Siene’s praise to the fullest and chuckled with a hehe.
Now a dignified teenager in front of others, but in front of her, it felt like I was reverting to the time before my growth.
“This should be handled with the utmost confidentiality. I’ll have Roy and Royna involved in practical work after a long time. They both have experience working as intelligence agents, so they’re specialized in this kind of situation.”
No, my maid sisters.
What exactly did you do in the past?
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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