The Dark Lord Obsesses Over His Fake Wife (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 176
An ominous tension hung over the entire village.
Before anyone realized it, Johan had revealed his true identity and even rallied the lord’s own knights into his growing force.
“Four days. My knights will arrive in this village in four days. Just hold on until then.”
Johan’s appearance became a beacon of immense hope for the people drowning in despair. After all, it was only natural—when one is utterly lost, the sudden arrival of someone who points the way feels like salvation.
‘I thought there’d be absolute chaos the moment his identity was exposed.’
Surprisingly, no major issues arose.
With the unprecedented threat of the demon beasts looming, and given how distant this village was from the Empire, a duke felt even less real to the villagers than their local lord.
Of course, Johan’s handling of the situation had also been exceptionally skillful.
‘How can he possibly manage that?’
From the villagers’ perspective, they now had to treat as their superior someone who, just yesterday, had been mingling with them as an equal.
One might expect them to unconsciously refuse to acknowledge Johan’s authority, treat him lightly, or even feel betrayed—but not a single person reacted that way.
“He never really seemed like an ordinary person.”
“That unease we occasionally felt—that must’ve been it. How could someone so noble mingle so casually with us? Even our own lord couldn’t manage that.”
“He must be such an extraordinary figure—the Empire’s high-ranking duke, no less! If we just trust him, he’ll surely deal with those demon beasts for us.”
Not much had changed around me either.
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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The man was never yours and you lost everything else on your own, stupid. Remember brainwashing those parents of yours?
Satisfying. I was hoping she would suffer horribly.
I have long felt that gods in manhwa trend towards irresponsible idiots