The expressions of the prisoners who jumped from the walls and their cries were vividly etched in his mind.
He felt a heaviness in his shoulders.
But Aidan had no leisure to care about his feelings. He knew what he had to do.
About a hundred steps away, the rest of the soldiers were watching and waiting for the situation.
Aidan boldly cried out from atop his black horse.
“We have won! We’ve reclaimed enough food to avoid starvation, and we have abandoned the cruel and incompetent Liley royal family! We will become complete Northerners and return to the North!”
He spurred his horse to run among the soldiers, shouting again.
“Let’s go back, pulling wagons full of grain, for our mothers, fathers, beloved wives, and children! To the North!”
Then someone picked up the Duke’s words.
“To the North!”
“Let’s go back! To the North!”
“Let’s go back! Home!”
“Waaaaah.”
Finally, the soldiers laughed and cried. The road back to camp, climbing the hill, was filled with songs.
River breathed a sigh of relief and proudly watched the back of his Lord, Northern Duke Aidan.
‘Ah, he’s no longer a Duke. We need to decide on a new country’s name.’
[This is a time separator.]Aidan’s army returned to camp with pride.
It was too close to the Imperial City to celebrate here.
It was too early to relax their vigilance.
After completing the prisoner exchange and receiving the food the next day, they would go up to Ferdan Fortress and celebrate then.
Aidan and River, along with a few soldiers, decided to keep watch on the Imperial City from the hill.
That evening, they received the prisoners first.
They agreed to exchange Duke Jax and the food the next day.
Only then did Aidan let out a sigh.
So, he could look back on why he kept feeling something caught in his solar plexus.
‘She doesn’t come out.’
The camp was so bustling that she couldn’t have missed hearing the news.
‘Wishing that she would be the first to come out and greet me happily. The most challenging thing in front of the Imperial City is her.’
He shook his head, feeling foolish for his thoughts.
‘Is it because of what I heard from Duke Jax?’
‘Did you fail to assassinate her, Brody? I should have stopped you.’
‘That woman is a very precious person to me.’
Bri. And, Brody.
No, don’t make hasty judgments. The information might have leaked to the enemy. It could be a scheme to sow discord.
“River, I will leave my post for just an hour.”
“Wh, what?! Your Highness the Duke?!”
Before River could object, Aidan hastily rode his horse into the camp.
‘I have to hear something directly. No, I’ll be okay even if I don’t hear anything.’
To see her, to look into her eyes, to hold her in my arms.
That seemed enough.
‘I miss you. I want to see you.’
He drove his horse right up to the barracks. Jumping down, he strode forward, hurriedly brushing aside the flag and called out her name.
“Bri!”
The barracks were dark.
As usual, only one lantern dimly illuminated the interior.
Although it seemed like she would have heard him and come out, there was no response.
‘Is she still sleeping?’
Though he thought so, his heart strangely thumped.
“Bri……?”
She was not in the bed.
The barracks were well arranged, and there was no sign of warmth.
Even the fire in the fireplace was dying down.
‘She’s someone who feels cold easily, yet she put out the fire. What’s she trying to do?’
Aidan picked up the poker in confusion, approached the fireplace, added more firewood, and revived the flames.
‘Has she heard the news and gone outside?’
As he brushed his hands and turned to leave, a strange object caught his eye.
‘What’s this?’
He approached the table with a puzzled face.
On the table, a small medicine bottle and a note were placed. The bottle was filled with pills no larger than beans.
He casually picked up the note, thinking it must be instructions for the medicine.
[This is a time separator.]“You can’t! Have you gone mad?”
River blocked Aidan, who was about to rush out of the camp with a look of disbelief, after hastily riding his horse.
River almost got hit by the horse in his haste.
“I’ll be back by morning.”
“This is not the North; do you think ‘that’ will be possible? No, even before that, what if there’s some movement in the royal palace overnight? What if it’s a plot to assassinate the Grand Duke?”
His anger was clear, but his words were valid.
Moreover, for some reason, Aidan was bothered by the Princess’s glance as she turned away after her last words.
‘If you let your guard down, you’ll die.’
“Damn it!”
Aidan screamed and clutched his head. A headache that felt as if it would shatter came rushing in.
Then he remembered the content of the note Brody had left.
Your Highness the Grand Duke.
Since you have given me freedom.
Please, keep your promise.
P.S: The pills in the bottle are a specially prepared medicine with the effects you desire. When the medicine runs low, I’ll make sure a new bottle is delivered to you, no matter what happens. Be happy, then.
[Dash]Brd.The B and r in the signature were connected, and the d after them seemed awkwardly added, as if after some hesitation.
What is this? A last act of conscience? Something like that?
Strength flowed into the hand holding the bottle. His vision was obscured by the headache, but he twisted his mouth into a smile.
“Your Highness!”
He felt his consciousness fading and fell from the horse.
The hand holding the bottle collided with the ground, and the cap opened, scattering the beadlike pills.
Small pills were trampled into the dirt by the footsteps of people rushing in concern.
‘She gave it to me… for the headache… I should take it for the headache…’
He reached out to try, but could do nothing. In intense pain, he closed his eyes.
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
_____
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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