Whoosh.
It was a chilly dawn under the moonlit sky.
The platinum palace was engulfed in flames, burning red.
‘The Kingdom of Krianet.’
The historic palace blazed like a torch in the dark night.
It was the price paid for losing the war against the Empire of Nuiton.
“Save… save me, please…”
Amidst the raging inferno, there was a single living girl.
[You’re called Charti, right? Sixteen years old. Listen carefully.]Unable to move, the girl named Charti huddled up.
[I am Princess Arisbyan of the Kingdom of Krianet. And you, we are half-sisters.]Charti, sitting in the midst of the untouched palace, was a mess.
Her hair was disheveled, wrists and ankles bound in chains like a criminal. The hallucinations echoed in Charti’s ears.
[It may surprise you, but though we’ve never met, the same royal blood of Krianet flows in you.]Charti was dressed in a costly yet loose dress, her shoes mismatched and discarded somewhere, leaving her barefoot. Her light wheat-colored hair was dirtied with flying ash.
[As royalty, we are born with duties. You too, Charti.]The roaring flames, devouring everything around, blended eerily with the hallucinations.
Her dark red eyes became stained with moisture.
“Uh, uh…!”
It was dangerous as the fire spread further.
Charti tried to stand up, but her legs buckled easily.
“Haah, hah…”
Her throat felt scorched. The heat twisted her dark red eyes in agony.
[Your lowly-born mother dared seduce the king of Krianet, so you too must bear the responsibilities of royalty, Charti. It’s necessary. That’s why I found you. So, it’s better to follow my words quietly.]Click. Charti’s fingernails, scraping against the chains, became stained red.
She tried to break the shackles on her wrists with all her might, but it was futile.
‘The flames will soon, soon…’
Corpses and blood-soaked carpets around her disappeared into the flames.
[Krianet may have fallen, but I cannot let the royal bloodline end as a princess. However, the barbaric Empire of Nuiton demands retribution from the defeated. No choice, right?]“Please, save me… save me, cough, cough…!”
Charti’s frail body crawled on the floor.
Soon, the fire would engulf her too.
[Fortunately, you and I don’t differ much in age, and you, my half-sister, resemble me… Today, you’ll be me, Princess Arisbyan of Krianet, and face the warlord of Nuiton.]Tears made her eyes sting.
Her throat parched with thirst and choked with anxiety and fear.
[Don’t be too scared. If the warlord of the empire is compassionate enough to pity the princess of a defeated nation, you might save your life tonight. Beg or plead, do whatever it takes. I permit it for my stand-in.]A spark fell on the young girl’s foot.
“Ah!”
More sparks began clinging to Charti’s dress, turning it into rags.
“Please, save me… save, cough, cough…!”
Why must she face such a situation, in such a place?
It was unjust and despairing.
[Krianet’s princess.]Another hallucination. This time, a cold, low voice.
Her small body involuntarily shivered.
[The proud Krianet royalty, who proclaimed war so arrogantly, now grovels at my feet for life. Quite a different mindset from the Nuiton imperial family.]The owner of the voice in the hallucination met her at midnight, when only the cool night air circled the platinum palace. Alone in the palace, Charti was brought before the man, lying prostrate, trembling.
All she remembered was someone’s military boots.
The man who exuded an overwhelming aura stood in front of her, making it impossible for her to even raise her head.
Abruptly dragged and forced to kneel, the Grand Duke’s subordinate was deceived by just a teardrop mark.
That teardrop mark could easily be imitated with ink.
But Charti couldn’t protest.
[What should we do, Your Excellency?]The man in front of her was too distant and vast to dare look up to.
Charti silently shed tears, realizing a harsh truth.
Everyone had fled. Only she, the sacrificial lamb, was left imprisoned in the palace.
A chilling premonition of death crawled up her spine.
[Let’s make sure. Tell me, are you truly the princess of Krianet?]The man, known as the Grand Duke, asked again.
The frail and thin figure of Princess Arisbyan, who was supposed to be eighteen, was too small.
The girl knew this was her last chance.
However, the foolish girl couldn’t lie.
[I, I have the blood of… the Krianet royal family…]She couldn’t start with a lie when asked for the truth.
Before the soldiers of Nuiton Empire burst in, her newly met half-sister, the princess, had repeatedly told her.
Even if it was just half, the blood of Krianet’s royal family flowed in her.
[My name is…]There was one fact she needed to correct.
She didn’t want to die a lie.
Charti, trembling, somehow managed to push herself up from the floor.
[Arisbyan…] [So be it.]The Grand Duke didn’t hear her last word as Charti gathered her courage to face death.
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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