The Moon Palace’s Room Cafe.
I was sitting across from Kashar.
The whole second floor seemed rented, as the interior was eerily quiet.
‘I’m going crazy.’
I impulsively followed him here, but my head still ached with unquenched anger.
‘I really thought we were going to kiss.’
We hadn’t actually touched, but I felt as though my heart was going to burst from my mouth.
‘Where else would you find such a compassionate man?’
He was smooth and skillful, even without experience.
Before I knew what was happening, I became rigid, totally different from him.
‘It’s unfair.’
I should have just embraced his neck and kissed him.
Kashar and my romantic experiences were similar, if they could be called that.
But if you compared us side by side, it felt like watching a beginner versus a master.
‘Is it different for a handsome man from birth?’
It was a somewhat serious concern.
Kashar was wiping tears from his eyes, still looking at me in shock.
“You’re really skilled. I was sincerely surprised.”
Kashar had been laughing crazily since we arrived at the reception room and only just stopped.
For some reason, I felt annoyed and responded with a heavy sigh.
“……It’s because Emma is good with her hands.”
The makeover was all Emma’s work.
After it was done, I looked in the mirror and found a completely different person.
“It’s not just your appearance. You acted quite well too.”
Despite looking like this, I was in the drama club in middle school.
Though I did play a tree.
“So, have you decided to accept?”
He asked leisurely.
I didn’t like his calmness, but I couldn’t say no.
‘I started this.’
Earlier, I realized that woman was the Empress’s person and acted accordingly.
Two days ago, I went to the palace to collect my salary.
There were lots of rumors in a place where everyone gathered.
Jeianna’s maid was there.
‘My lady will meet the Duke in the rose garden! She will become the Duchess!’
Whether she was careless or something, Jeianna’s maid was blabbing her master’s story to her close friends.
A maid’s status is determined by her master’s status.
Jeianna’s maid was already puffed up as if her master had become a Duchess.
‘Tomorrow then.’
That was the day Kashar was supposed to come to see me.
If what she said was true, it would mean he had doublebooked.
‘Making plans with two women?’
It felt disgusting.
I glared at the maid, eyes ablaze.
‘Sorry, but it won’t go that way.’
There was no place better to attract attention than the rose garden.
In other words, what happened there would spread not only throughout the palace but throughout the entire capital.
I clenched my fist.
Finally, I made up my mind.
‘I’ll make it impossible for you to escape.’
If you want to be my lover, you’ll have to comply.
I decided to use Kashar in return.
‘Well, I’m sorry to Jeianna.’
Somehow the name was familiar, and then I realized Jeianna was the ‘Villainess1’ in the original.
‘She pushed the heroine into the lake and had her family ruined by Kashar’s hands, probably.’
It was a cute act for a villainess, but the male leads would never let it go.
‘Better to have me as an enemy.’
At least I wouldn’t have to sit in the streets.
“There’s a condition, though.”
It was time to get to the point.
I tried to speak as haughtily as possible, and Kashar, as if valuing my effort, asked generously.
“Tell me.”
“Please become the guardian of Louis and Evan.”
What I wanted was for Kashar to become the guardian of Louis and Evan.
‘The guardian system.’
A system where children without background received protection from high nobles or mature royal family members until they became adults. It wasn’t exactly unprecedented for the royal family.
‘I can’t protect the children by myself.’
To protect Louis and Evan, immense power and strength were required.
‘But it’s different with Kashar.’
He was a mad dog that no one dared to mess with.
The reason I interfered in Jiana’s and Kashar’s promise and caused all that trouble was to nail him down so that he couldn’t refuse.
“Hmm.”
Soon, Kashar, who was listening to me, sat up and spoke.
“It’s because of the empress.”
“……How did you know?”
As I asked with surprised eyes, Kashar laughed.
“That woman wants to kill all the royal family except my first son. Besides, her suspicion is at the level of a disease. Quite a neurotic woman.”
As much as Empress Wyeno was investigating Kashar, he knew her actions well.
“Fine. I’ll become the guardian of your princes.”
I nearly let out a sigh of relief at those words but barely held it back.
The deal wasn’t over yet.
“Then I’ll set a condition.”
“A condition?”
A condition for pretending to be a fake lover.
Caught off guard by the unexpected words, he proposed the condition.
“Cook for me.”
I was afraid it might be an absurd request, but it was surprisingly not a difficult proposal.
‘Did he like the Northern Soup that much?’
The face proposing the condition looked utterly serious.
Pretending to be lovers and cooking was not a big deal, but I had to make sure of this.
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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