“The princess will be here shortly. Please wait a moment, my lady.”
Following the maid’s guidance, the Duchess of Dürenburg arrived in Princess Solti’s reception room and looked around.
‘So it’s true that Her Majesty treats her guests quite grandly.’
The interior was as lavish as that of most counts. The Duchess of Dürenburg carefully surveyed the room while reviewing the conversation she planned to have with the princess.
‘Firstly…’
She intended to celebrate the successful completion of their first tea party and ask that her own efforts and contributions not be forgotten.
And then they would discuss what would follow.
Just as the Duchess of Dürenburg finished organizing her thoughts, the princess entered the reception room.
“You’ve arrived just in time.”
She was wearing a slightly more casual dress than at the tea party.
The Duchess of Dürenburg rose from her seat and watched as the princess sat on the sofa.
“Please sit. I was actually hoping to speak with you, my lady.”
Only then did the Duchess of Dürenburg sit on the sofa and speak according to her planned sequence.
“I’m relieved. I was a little concerned that I had disturbed you during your rest after handling big matters.”
The Duchess of Dürenburg gave a wry smile.
“It seemed there was a slight unpleasant incident during the tea party… Did you happen to know?”
“Oh, was there? It looked to me like the tea party was quite perfect today.”
Only after emphasizing that the tea party was successful did the Duchess of Dürenburg answer the question.
“Of course, there were moments where things could have become a bit uncomfortable.”
A glint appeared in the eyes of the princess.
“You’re aware that someone tried to ruin the tea party we worked so hard to prepare?”
The Duchess of Dürenburg let out a sigh as if disappointed and said,
“There was no need to create an incident in the expansive palace, especially at that place and time.”
The princess nodded as if agreeing, then opened her mouth again.
“Was it the root cause that we purposely omitted the nobles of Paradium from the invitations?”
At the princess’s pointed question, the Duchess of Dürenburg swallowed hard.
In fact, it was she who had suggested to the princess to put Count Seiren’s invitation on hold.
She quickly realized why the princess had pointed it out.
Presumably, to shift responsibility onto me if Count Seiren were to make an issue of the tea party.
‘Although she seems naive, she is sharp when it counts.’
The Duchess of Dürenburg had already admitted to herself that she was in the same boat as Princess Solti.
“Let’s discuss that matter in due course…”
So she decided to reveal a truth she had so far kept to herself.
“Fortunately, I have found you, Your Highness. I was hoping to discuss something about a guest from Paradium.”
‘Customized, indeed.’
The reception room of the minor Count Belkain was different from Renéve’s space, offering its own charms to observe.
Renéve was looking around the room he was guided to.
Heavy footsteps grew closer, and then a muffled voice rang out.
“Such an honor to be sought out by your grace in my lifetime.”
Though somewhat exaggerated, Renéve responded with a faint smile.
Count Belkain was wearing a white shirt with gold threads embroidered on the sleeves and collar, along with beige pants.
He seemed to be at ease, not dressed in formal attire.
“I hope I’m not disturbing your rest.”
As soon as Renéve finished speaking, Count Belkain hastily shook his head.
“Not at all.”
“Then that’s fortunate.”
Renéve smiled gently, and Count Belkain courteously gestured towards the sofa.
“Would you like to sit?”
“Yes.”
As Renéve took a seat on the sofa, so did Count Belkain.
“This is our first meeting.”
Renéve slowly blinked at the words of Viscount Belkein. Viscount Belkein then spoke with a charming glint in his eyes.
“Your Grace was kind enough to seek me out first.”
“Ah… I was concerned about the bruise on your cheek.”
Renéve briefly glanced at Viscount Belkein’s cheek.
Viscount Belkein chuckled awkwardly, touching his slightly bruised cheek.
The bruise was so faint it would go unnoticed at a casual glance.
“I’ve heard the saying, ‘Cause the disease, provide the cure.’ When I returned to my quarters that day, the Emperor’s personal physician was waiting for me.”
“I see.”
“Thanks to the physician, the mark has faded.”
Renéve gave a small nod.
It was uncommon for nobles to suffer physical injuries, especially on the face of one set to inherit a ducal estate.
The remaining bruise on Viscount Belkein’s cheek was enough to stir the curiosity of the aristocracy.
Naturally, he’d have to explain what happened that day and seemed to be avoiding going out.
In noble society, a ‘no comment’ only fueled needless speculation.
“Your Grace should demand appropriate compensation.”
At Renéve’s words, Viscount Belkein slightly curled one side of his lips.
“Of course. This incident could impact the diplomatic relations between Benistan and Bashuker in the future.”
“You’ve thought well.”
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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