On a dark night, in the outskirts of the sparsely populated capital.
Veronia, wearing a robe pulled low, entered through the door of an old, solitary cabin.
Unlike its shabby exterior, the inside of the cabin was neat.
If there was anything out of place here, it was just one thing: the corpse of a blonde woman lying straight on the bed.
Approaching the bed, Veronia took the corpse’s hand.
The body, already stiff, was cool.
“Thank you.”
Veronia closed her eyes tightly and prayed for the deceased woman’s soul.
If there is a next life, may it be one with half the hardships and twice the happiness.
Soon, Veronia opened her eyes again and began to undress.
It was the elaborate pale pink dress she had received from the Emperor as a 20th birthday gift three months ago.
The sparkling hem of the dress was dazzling, befitting the final attire of Princess Veronia, who stood at the center of affection and attention from all the empire’s people, receiving the favor of the Emperor and the imperial family.
‘Of course, it will soon turn to ashes.’
Veronia undressed the corpse and put the pink dress she had been wearing on the dead woman’s body.
She placed all the jewelry she had been wearing – the necklace, earrings, ring, and bracelet – on the dead woman’s body.
Hoping that those who discover the burned corpse will believe without a doubt that Princess Veronia has died.
After removing the dress, Veronia put on the clothes she had brought.
It wasn’t an expensive dress typically worn by noble ladies, but rather simple attire that common men might wear.
Finally, she took out a piercing with transformation magic cast on it, made of purple mana stone, from her pocket.
As soon as she put on the piercing, her sun-like blonde hair changed to moon-like silver, and her ruby-red eyes turned into peridot-clear green ones.
‘The scar looks quite realistic.’
As Veronia checked her appearance in the mirror, her gaze fixed on the burn mark stretching from below her right cheek across her jaw to her neck, and the tattoo covering it.
The tattoo, meant to hide the scar, was a geometric pattern resembling vines, and she quite liked it.
‘To think I’d get a tattoo like this, something I never did in my previous life.’
Although it wasn’t real, just an illusion.
The fact that she couldn’t help but smile suggested that her heart was light, even at this crucial moment of facing a new life.
“Farewell. Thank you. I’ll surely repay this kindness.”
After bowing her head one last time to the woman who would turn to ashes along with her name, Veronia left the cabin.
A horse was tied to a tree standing by the road.
‘Onyx has already come and gone. As expected, he’s precise.’
Satisfied with the planner’s perfect execution of the task, Veronia’s lips stretched into a long smile.
Mounting the horse, she took out a round box the size of a fist from her pocket and opened the lid.
A purple mana stone button was glowing softly.
Veronia pressed the button firmly. There was no hesitation in her action.
Bang! Boom!
Whoosh!
Fwoosh! Crackle!
The cabin exploded, its roof flying off as the entire house was engulfed in flames.
A bright red pillar of fire painted the black night with fierce intensity.
The horse carrying Veronia galloped away at high speed, leaving the blazing cabin behind.
Her long silver hair, fluttering in the wind, sparkled in the moonlight.
‘Goodbye, Veronia! Goodbye, death! Let’s never meet again!’
This is really the end now. Finally, she has escaped from the original story.
She had been living in hiding for the past three months, waiting only for this day.
Veronia’s face shone brightly.
A smile filled her lips.
“A new life… A new hope… exists, for sure!”
The future that has broken free from the predetermined misfortunes of the original story is not ‘death’ but ‘life’, not ‘unhappiness’ but ‘happiness’.
Veronia’s heart swelled with bright hope and all sorts of possibilities.
Hope and possibility.
Things she couldn’t even dare to imagine three months ago.
[This is the timeline separator]Befitting the birthday of a princess beloved by the goddess, the sky was clear without a single cloud, and the sun shone more brilliantly than ever.
“Congratulations on your birthday, Your Highness!”
“Long live Princess Veronia! Long may she reign!”
The glass carriage carrying Princess Veronia, celebrating her 20th birthday, slowly traveled down Central Street, which cuts through the capital.
The imperial citizens, gathered to see the beautiful princess, filled the sides of the main road.
“Long live Princess Veronia!”
“Wow! The princess waved at me!”
“She’s truly beautiful!”
“She’s like an angel!”
People of all ages, regardless of gender, praised the princess’s beauty and cheered continuously.
The excited voices of the people were like waves, surging in sync with Veronia’s every move.
Every time she moved her head, every time she changed the hand she was waving, every time she frowned at the intense sunlight, the octave of the cheers rose.
The glass carriage arrived at the Golden Square in front of the main gate of the imperial palace.
Crown Prince Jonathan, who had been waiting by the central fountain, personally opened the carriage door.
“Veronia, happy birthday!”
“Thank you, brother.”
Veronia, stepping out of the carriage with Jonathan’s escort, waved to the people again.
Her voluminous blonde hair, fluttering in the breeze, shone dazzlingly in the sunlight.
Her snow-white face, without a speck of blemish, was filled with a lovely and bright smile.
The orchestra’s performance echoed throughout the square, and colorful confetti fluttered in the wind.
The eyes of the imperial citizens, filled with love and wishes, couldn’t leave Veronia.
“Long live the princess!”
“Long live the princess!”
“Long live the princess!”
People started to chant in unison.
Veronia gracefully walked up to the platform set up in front of the central fountain.
Those who saw her were reminded of a butterfly fluttering through a flower garden.
Reaching the highest point of the platform, Veronia addressed the crowd gathered for her.
“Citizens of the Aesnerdum Empire, thank you for gathering to celebrate my birthday!”
Her gentle, soft voice echoed throughout the square.
It was the effect of the small ball-shaped sound amplification magic tool she was holding.
“May the blessing of abundance from Goddess Arteon be with your households!”
Wow! The people cheered.
“May the blessing of love from Goddess Selena be with your hearts!”
Wow! The people continued to cheer with each of Veronia’s words.
“May the blessing of… um…”
Veronia stumbled, unable to continue her next words.
Although she thought she had memorized everything after practicing several times last night, it seemed she had forgotten the last part due to nervousness.
Veronia’s wavering eyes turned to Jonathan standing beside her.
He let out a shallow sigh and approached her, whispering in her ear.
“The blessing of victory.”
A deep smile was on Jonathan’s lips, but his eyes clearly showed contempt and reproach for his clumsy sister.
Can’t you even do that properly?
You really are hopeless, aren’t you?
If looks could speak, they would surely have formed sentences like these.
The delicate hand holding the magic tool trembled, and her hunched shoulders stiffened.
Veronia, smile! Start speaking now! People are watching! Jonathan commanded again with his eyes.
Following his order, she forced her lips into a smile.
“May the blessing of victory from Goddess Tess be with your country, our Aesnerdum Empire!”
Wow! Wow! The people were ecstatic.
The air of the entire square stirred with cheers.
“Long live Princess Veronia!”
“Long, long live Princess Veronia!”
Although all the affectionate gazes and voices of the imperial citizens were directed at Veronia, she herself couldn’t enjoy them.
She was still stiff due to the nervousness from her earlier mistake.
It was then.
The white-haired head chamberlain brought a tray with two glasses of champagne.
It was unfamiliar to see the chamberlain’s face, known for never losing his smile, so stiff.
‘I guess the chamberlain is nervous too.’
Veronia felt somewhat comforted by the fact that she wasn’t the only one nervous.
And with a lighter heart, she took the champagne glass offered by Jonathan.
Amidst the surging cheers, the crown prince and the princess raised their champagne glasses high towards the crowd and clinked them together.
Clink! A clear sound rang from the colliding glasses.
Veronia drank her champagne glass in one gulp first.
Although she didn’t particularly like alcohol, she had been taught to empty the glass in one go at special events like today.
It was Jonathan’s turn next.
Just as Jonathan was about to bring the glass to his lips after confirming that Veronia had emptied hers:
“Ugh!”
With a deep groan, Veronia’s body swayed greatly.
She felt a pain twisting her entire internal organs, and that terrible pain soon took away her consciousness.
Crash!
The glass she was holding fell to the floor, and soon Veronia collapsed onto the broken champagne glass.
“Veronia!”
Jonathan shouted loudly in surprise and confusion, but there was no answer.
Jonathan quickly picked up Veronia.
The small, delicate body in his arms went limp.
People fell into a state of panic at the sight of Veronia losing consciousness and collapsing.
“Oh my! Your Highness! Your Highness!”
“What happened to Her Highness? Why is she like that?”
“What should we do!”
“Could it be… poison?”
At first, people were just confused, not knowing what was going on, but gradually they began to grasp the situation.
“Poison? It’s poison! There was poison in the champagne!”
“The princess drank poison! It’s poison! It’s a conspiracy!”
The faces of the people gathered in the square turned red with anger, and tears welled up in their eyes.
Some sobbed, while others wailed and thrashed about.
The atmosphere of celebration and excitement that had filled the air until just moments ago had completely disappeared, replaced by an air of chaos and confusion that shook the entire square.
As soon as Jonathan, carrying Veronia, hurriedly boarded the carriage, it immediately started racing towards the imperial palace.
People poured out words of prayer towards the carriage disappearing into the palace.
“Your Highness, please be safe!”
“Oh! Goddesses! Please look after our beautiful princess!”
“Please save our princess!”
However, the eyes brimming with hot tears couldn’t see it.
The eyes fixed on the sky, murmuring words of wish, couldn’t see it.
The faint smile on the lips of the crown prince holding his limp sister.
That eerie smile.
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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