“My mark will be you, Sephia.”
These were the words often whispered by the girl’s little wolf, Deimos.
Lady Sephia Arte, the Duke’s daughter.
For Sephia, who was raised in the Huon Imperial Palace since childhood, the palace was a vast prison.
She withered day by day, hated by the Empress.
The only light for her was Deimos, the Crown Prince of the Therian Empire.
The boy who came to the empire to study was said to have the blood of beasts.
At first, it was just curious.
He looked like a very handsome boy on the outside.
But Deimos’s true nature was a wolf, and it was only when he revealed his true form that she realized.
The fact that the boy was different from herself.
A grey wolf licked the girl’s cheek.
Sephia’s eyes widened at the warm, soft touch, so different from her own tongue.
Then, when Deimos returned to his human form, he asked.
“Were you scared?”
“…No.”
Sephia shook her head.
It was a little scary, but more than that, it was thrilling.
The young lovers were getting closer.
Thus, the children met secretly, avoiding the Empress’s eyes.
One of their hobbies was discussing the differences between humans and therians.
“Therians have something called a ‘Name.'”
“Name?”
“Yeah. It’s something rare among therians. Suddenly one day, the name of your destined partner appears engraved on your body.”
“Come on, that’s a lie. Where does that happen?”
She asked back, but Deimos’s expression was very serious.
“Those with a name engraved are bound to search and love that person, regardless of the reason. When therians with each other’s names meet, no one can separate them.”
That’s why they are destined partners.
Sephia’s eyes sparkled at his emphatic words.
It was like a magical story. Deimos smiled and said, seeing the girl’s interest.
“But, I feel like your name will definitely appear on my body.”
“But… I’m human. Even if you get a mark, it won’t be me.”
She felt a sense of loss at a story that did not apply to humans.
But Deimos was confident.
“Then it means nothing. Because my destiny is you.”
Where did he get such confidence?
Even as she thought this, the girl’s heart raced.
Sephia smiled shyly, and Deimos smiled back.
Facing the boy, a question suddenly arose.
“But what if it’s not mutual?”
What if only one has the other’s name, and the other does not, or carries a different name?
Would that be destiny, or misfortune?
Sephia’s heart sank as if it was her own matter.
“That is…”
The boy’s lips moved. Strangely, no sound was heard.
The view darkened. Soon it was pitch black.
“Empress, it’s time for your cough medicine.”
Startled by the clear voice, Sephia’s eyes snapped open.
“Ah, it was a dream.”
It seemed like a dream from her very young days, dreamed after a long time.
The Empress of the Therian Kingdom, dreaming of Deimos’s study abroad days.
She laughed at the old memory, and the maid who was drawing the curtains asked.
“Did you have a nice dream?”
“Um, it ended ambiguously.”
But it was a dream that would have been okay not to continue.
A week after the dream conversation, Deimos returned to his homeland.
“Wait for me. I’ll definitely come to get you.”
Despite those words, Deimos never returned.
Even after Sephia became an adult and heard that he had ascended to the throne.
“Oh my, I should have woken you up 5 minutes later. It’s rare for you to sleep so deeply.”
The voice of the oriole therian maid instantly dispelled the drowsiness.
“It’s okay. Let’s get ready.”
Today was the day she had arranged to have breakfast with Deimos.
How would he react if she told him about the dream?
Sephia faintly smiled as she slid her feet out of bed.
As the Empress began to cough seriously, maids responsible for washing up and combing hair entered in succession.
All the ladies and young ladies serving the Empress were new therians.
They looked human but were essentially closer to animals.
Sephia had been living among them for over five years now.
“I’ll leave my hair long.”
“Just a little decoration, and I’ll use the sapphire pin His Majesty gifted.”
The maids were those Sephia had first brought in when she came to the Therian Empire.
They knew her preferences well and quickly prepared her.
As Sephia looked in the mirror, the toucan therian finishing her hair chuckled.
“You must be in a good mood because of breakfast with His Majesty? Pretending otherwise, you two are intimate. Maybe a Name might appear…”
“Betty.”
“Eek. Sorry, Your Majesty.”
The oriole lady cautioned the toucan young lady.
The youngest maid was cheerful and bright but sometimes crossed the line.
But Sephia wasn’t bothered.
“It’s okay. Although it’s becoming more common… a Name is still rare among therians.”
She just felt a slight distance, being human among therians.
At twenty, Sephia was proposed to by Deimos, who had become Emperor.
It was salvation.
She hadn’t expected the letter sent with her last hope to reach him.
As Sephia grew, the Empress’s hatred only intensified.
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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