Solemn imperial palace corridor.
The heavy footsteps of a woman echoed relentlessly through the endless corridor, far too weighted to be considered merely a woman’s walk.
Long black hair, black uniform.
On her shoulder, a resplendent epaulet that hinted at her rank; her name was Lucia.
The achievements that Lucia, the commander of the Imperial Knights’ Black Knight Brigade, had accomplished before the age of twenty were too numerous to count.
But her methods were so novel and cruel that behind her, known as the black monster, always followed countless untraceable rumors.
After an unexpected fiveyear absence, she suddenly appeared in the imperial palace, and those who recognized her bowed their heads in fright lest their eyes meet hers.
As Lucia reached the end of the corridor where she was headed, a splendid door appeared, fitting for the dwelling place of the owner of the palace.
The imperial guards who were guarding the place, although they had been warned beforehand, were shocked enough that the sound of their startled hearts seemed to pierce through their armored plates.
It was only natural, for despite Lucia’s infamous reputation, she had completed her training to become a Sword Master, a dream for knights.
Standing before them was the continent’s fourth Sword Master.
They could only gaze at Lucia with eyes full of reverence.
The guard, unable to even wipe his flowing sweat, turned and shouted loudly,
“His Majesty the Emperor! The commander of the Black Knight Brigade has arrived!”
Then, as if he had been waiting, the door opened, and the Emperor hurriedly came down from the throne, spreading his arms wide in welcome.
It was a behavior not quite befitting the title of Emperor, since the Empire was not so old.
“Oh, who is this!”
“I am in the presence of the Sun of the Empire. Your Majesty the Emperor. Commander of the Black Knight Brigade. Lucia.”
Lucia, keeping her head bowed briefly in courtesy, responded to the Emperor’s hospitality.
“You, you dare omit your family name in your greeting to His Majesty…?”
“Don’t you know? I severed ties with the Earl’s family as soon as I became an adult.”
“I see. Even so, such consistent behavior despite showing your face after so long… tsk.”
At Lucia’s attitude, the nobles waiting for the Emperor’s decree frowned and whispered.
But the Emperor, as always, didn’t care.
Instead, he gestured to the nobles,
“Come on, let’s do this later. Hurry out.”
At this, the nobles, looking displeased as if they had expected this, left one by one.
And in this vast Great Hall, only the Emperor and Lucia remained.
“You. It’s been five years. Now 25, huh? Heh, you’ve become quite dignified with age.”
The Emperor, a middleaged man with an upturned mustache, stroked his beard as he spoke.
He appeared calm, but his eyes couldn’t hide his desire for her.
He looked at Lucia with eyes shining like a dog waiting for a treat, exhaling breath full of lust.
If someone were to see only this situation, they might think a middleaged man was about to do something he shouldn’t to a beautiful woman, but Lucia, knowing the Emperor’s true intentions, didn’t bat an eye.
“You’ve aged since five years ago, Your Majesty.”
It was her always consistent, honest reaction.
“Hm… Living alone must have done that to you. That mouth of yours hasn’t grown at all. Heh, heh…”
Although the Emperor brushed off her words calmly, he moved the hand that was stroking his beard to the wrinkles near his elbow with a somewhat gloomy face.
“But that’s not the important part. Now, now, tell me quickly. You’ve sent a message since the results of your training came out.”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s commendable to have reached a level unattainable at that age. But it’s absurd that there’s no Sword Master in this Empire.”
The Emperor, filled with emotion, rambled on again.
And the Empire now was, just as the Emperor’s words conveyed.
Interestingly, there was not a single Sword Master in the empire, except for the commanderinchief, who was the best swordsman on the continent.
The continent had a total of three Sword Masters, one each in two alliance nations that could rival the empire, and once the commanderinchief, who had been the pride of the empire, retired, the military power was expected to be no different from the other kingdoms.
Driven to such an impasse, the emperor’s choice was to acquire the title of the youngest Sword Master on the continent.
As soon as he became emperor, he even exempted Lucia, who showed potential as a Sword Master, from duty and instructed her to train for five years, and as a result,
“You have never disappointed me.”
Lucia, who looked at the emperor, who was excited enough to snort at her, quietly opened her mouth.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes. Yes. Ahem. I’m ready. Show it to me.”
What he meant was to show the red sword energy, the proof of a Sword Master.
The emperor smoothed his chastised hand and prepared to fully enjoy the fruition of five years, swelling with anticipation.
“I have to take maternity leave.”
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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