“Emma, come quickly.”
“Eileen-nim! How long has it been!”
Today was the day when Emma, the acting manager of the store ‘Jung,’ returned from her vacation to the castle.
Emma, who hugged me lightly, smiled brightly as she looked around the castle.
“The castle has become so beautiful. I love it.”
The memory of fainting at the sight of the original Demon King’s castle had now become a reminiscence.
I patted Emma’s shoulder.
“Rest well. You’ve worked hard all this time.”
The area around Emma’s eyes looked like a panda. It was evidence of prolonged fatigue.
“Yeah, because you told me to keep a work-life balance. Who else would work so hard? Follow the working hours, take vacations regularly, that’s how it should be.”
Someone might point fingers at me, calling me an unethical employer.
‘That’s unfair.’
My store was providing the best welfare for the employees.
‘Connected with an inn, supporting accommodation, a bonus of 300%, seasonal vacation support, taking care of family events, and on top of that, supporting travel expenses once a year?’
Emma, in return for special welfare, received everything in money.
The employee who was obsessed with work looked bright even with tired eyes.
“But the work is so interesting.”
“Even if that’s true, what if you get sick?”
“I’m taking care of my health. Aren’t I taking the nutritional supplements you sent?”
Ah, right. Modern nutritional supplements were included in the welfare for store employees.
Emma’s eyes sparkled as she flexed her muscles, showing off her own muscles.
“For me, it’s the most special experience. Being a boss, I never thought I could do something other than being a maid.”
The reason I entrusted this work to Emma in the first place was that she showed interest in running the store.
‘Not only that. When she went to the market, she used to stare at every store.’
How each store did business, how they treated customers, her chattering about it was cute.
Now, Emma’s dream was to open her own store.
I poured cold water on the excited Emma.
“It seems fortunate that it suits your aptitude, but now it’s prohibited to receive vacation pay.”
“What?!”
It was natural for Emma, who had been accumulating money for her dream, to be surprised.
“Yeah. Otherwise, who will help you when you set up the store?”
“Huh, you were thinking of helping me?!”
“Did you think I would let our boss go independent with nothing?”
If I don’t use the money I’ve earned now, where else will I use it?
‘It’s regrettable that a competent employee is leaving.’
Still, when you need to let go, you need to let go.
“As expected, there’s only one real boss!”
Touched, Emma hugged me tightly and didn’t let go.
“Oh, take a break and make sure to take care of your days off. Understand?”
“I’ll rest diligently from now on!”
Emma nodded vigorously as if she were crazy.
It was good that she listened well, but I was worried that she might collapse at this rate.
“Let go of this because it’s hard to breathe. Let’s go inside.”
“Let’s go quickly!”
While entering, Emma began to elaborate on all the incidents and guests that had happened at the store, explaining in detail.
“But, you know.”
“Yeah?”
Emma, who had paused for a moment, was looking towards the annex.
“I heard a guest came to the castle, claiming to be a saint?”
It seemed that the servants who went to bring her had already heard various things.
“Well, that’s right.”
There was no need to answer questions that weren’t asked.
As I roughly nodded, Emma lowered her voice.
“I heard it’s the real deal.”
She twirled her finger around at the side of my head.
I made a bewildered expression and gestured quietly for her to be quiet.
“What if someone finds out?”
“It’s okay. I don’t believe in any religion anyway. And being a saint or a nun, trapped in the annex? You weren’t invited by Eileen-nim or the Duke, so I don’t know why you came.”
Since I didn’t believe in the goddess, and there were no people around to gossip about me, I didn’t need to be cautious.
‘Is this the Emma I knew?’
She, who had been sent to run the store, had come back with newfound confidence, which felt strangely fascinating.
As I was contemplating whether to call it impressive, Louis’s voice could be heard from afar.
“Emma!”
Louis, who was around the tower, was running towards us.
“Louise-nim!”
Emma called out Louis’s name and hugged the child tightly.
“Our prince, have you been well?”
“Yeah! Emma, I missed you!”
“I missed you so much too, Louis-nim.”
It was a scene of a genuine and joyful reunion.
Afterward, Evan, who was walking towards us, was visible from a distance.
“Why do you forget everything when classes end, after learning manners?”
“It’s okay for kids!”
Louis was an exceptional child who knew how to take full advantage of his strengths.
While Louis and Evan were chatting away, Emma greeted Evan first.
“Hello, Evan-nim!”
Evan had a surprised expression.
Perhaps, he hadn’t thought of greeting me.
“Oh, hello.”
“Mr. Evan, you’ve grown so tall. I almost didn’t recognize you!”
“…I did grow.”
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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