Inside Empress Lisandro’s reception room, a loud cry from the First Prince erupted along with the sound of a teacup hitting the floor and shattering. The fierce gaze of the First Prince, sharp as fragments, was directed at a young maid who happened to be present.
“Did you offer me such hot tea to drink?”
“I-I apologize, Your Highness, the First Prince. I will bring another cup right away.”
“Wait… You also attended the ball yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Yes? Oh, yes… that’s correct.”
“Then you must have been one of those foolish ones who gazed at the Duke!”
The First Prince fiercely accused the maid with a face full of hostility. Uncertain of what reprimand might follow, the maid bowed deeply, trembling.
“What are you all standing around for? Quickly clean up the broken cup and leave.”
Empress Lisandro, who had been observing the situation, commanded with an imposing voice. The maids, stiffened by the Empress’s order, hastily cleared the floor and swiftly exited the reception room.
With the maids gone, only the Empress, the First Prince, and the Second Prince remained in the reception room. At that moment, the Empress, whose expression softened, gently tried to console the First Prince.
“Is your anger still not subsiding? It is not proper to express anger towards inexperienced ones.”
“Mother should have seen it! The disgraceful scenes of those women flocking to the Duke at the ball! Isn’t it fitting to reprimand such pathetic ladies?”
“What my brother says is correct. Even though the Duke has now married, he shamelessly continues to flirt shamelessly at his side.”
As the First Prince complained to the Empress, the Second Prince nodded in agreement with a disdainful gaze. Despite being one to openly acknowledge and display affection regardless of marital status, the Duke adopted an attitude that suggested, ‘Romance when I do it, scandal when others do it.’
Observing her two sons, the Empress rubbed her temples with a pained expression. Letting out a small sigh, she forcibly composed her expression and addressed the First Prince.
“Is what the Prince saw the only thing? Was the Duke’s close companion none other than the beloved daughters of Lisandro?”
“That… he seemed to ignore those who approached him, those maids of Lisandro’s. He seemed to deliberately ignore them, looking very annoyed.”
“It was rumored that the one who caught the Duke’s attention was the Third Prince, who was studying at Upterus.”
“That’s right! Rainian, that brat…!”
After hearing the Empress’s subtle remark, the First Prince, filled with excitement, slammed the table with his fist. The memories of the diplomatic envoy meeting and even yesterday’s ball, where the two exchanged glances, flooded his mind.
“That wretched child…! Daring to…!”
Following the First Prince, the Second Prince also shook visibly as if something had come to mind.
“He even danced with Duchess Elyos!”
Thinking of Rainian embracing the enchanting figure of the Duchess in the middle of the Grand Hall, the Second Prince burst into tears with a face full of resentment.
For different reasons, the hostility of the First and Second Princes towards Rainian was the same. Watching the satisfying appearance of the two who had now properly identified their target, the Empress lifted the corners of her mouth as if pleased.
“When the Third Prince mentioned going to Upterus for study, I found it strange, but… It seems there was a hidden puppeteer behind that distant facade.”
“That devious child…! He has undoubtedly formed an alliance with the Duke already. During the last diplomatic envoy meeting, he actively sided with the Duke!”
“Moreover, he attended the same university as the Duke… and even formed an intimate relationship with the Duchess, Ophelia, recently!”
“Yes. Allowing the servants of that Star Palace to maintain a close relationship with Duke Elyos and his wife is problematic.”
Empress Lisandro sharply stated, her eyes gleaming with determination.
“If we continue supporting the Third Prince with Duke Elyos’s favor, he might be tempted to enter the imperial competition…”
“That’s absurd! How dare anyone from the humble lower court dream of the imperial throne?”
In response to the Empress’s murmur, the First Prince leaped from his seat. Though he vehemently declared it was impossible, his face turned ashen as if acknowledging the truth that Rainian was indeed venturing into the imperial competition.
Moreover, the Duke supporting Rainian… The frightened First Prince, his face pale with fear, involuntarily asked the Empress.
“W-What should we do about this, then?”
“Don’t worry. Mother has everything under control.”
Empress Lisandro recalled the man who had secretly visited her this morning. The man introduced himself as Repenser Marquis, a noble of the Upterus Empire, and he had made a very interesting proposal to her.
“It happens that the Friendship Hunt Tournament is about to take place.”
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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