The Viscount’s surrender declaration was no different.
Kite spoke to Viscount Gart in a calm voice.
“You won’t be able to enjoy the same prosperity as before. Naturally, maintaining noble status may also be impossible. However, I will ensure you can settle your property before leaving.”
Faced with unexpected leniency, Viscount Gart finally abandoned his last hesitation.
He looked at Kite with a composed expression.
“Please forgive not showing respect in this place. To execute the planned course of action, it must not be known that I betrayed Duke Kurran.”
Kite furrowed his brow at the Viscount’s words.
“What do you mean by ‘planned course of action’?”
“First, let me explain about the ring.”
“Go on.”
Viscount Gart looked at the ring that Kite was holding.
“If Duke Kurran dies while wearing the ring he gave, he will transform into a monster. Our guards were sworn to protect him by taking their own lives and turning into monsters if the Duke was in danger.”
“Were sworn to protect him?”
Kite, looking puzzled, cocked his head, and Viscount Gart answered with a wry smile.
“Until a few days ago, we thought it was only natural to act that way for the Duke’s sake. We were ready to sacrifice our lives without hesitation for the Duke.”
“But why did your thoughts change?”
“It’s complicated to explain… but, in conclusion, I felt disgust towards the Duke, who immediately released the monsters as soon as he felt endangered.”
Startled by Gart’s words, Ruela asked, “The Duke intentionally released them? It wasn’t that he couldn’t control them, right?”
“No, it wasn’t. After the superior monsters protecting him were all killed, and before finding another solution, he removed the barrier around the monster habitat in the border zone, thinking of buying some time.”
“People died, citizens died. Where’s the king without his people…”
“He probably didn’t even consider that far. For him, safeguarding himself immediately was more crucial. If you try to defeat the Duke, his guards will appear. Before they die, you need to cut off the hands wearing the ring.”
Listening to Gart, she recalled the incident of Maria Kurran cutting off her hand yesterday.
“Maria became stronger after cutting her hand, right? You’re not lying, are you?”
To her question, Gart shook his head.
“Duke Kurran’s ring comes in three types: one amplifies magic, one confines it, and the other turns the deceased into a monster.”
“Did he give Maria the ring that confines magic?”
“Yes, and also to Valder. He made the two monsters look like ordinary humans. On the other hand, he gave the ring that amplifies magic to monsters guarding the border zone, like Vinsentina Horina.”
“Is the black ring you were wearing the one that turns dead people into monsters?”
“Yes, that’s correct. So, if you see someone wearing the black ring, don’t sympathize and cut off their hands immediately. Once they turn into monsters, the enemies to deal with will only increase.”
Ruela’s whole body shivered.
She realized that if she hadn’t listened to Count Gart’s words, she might not have been able to defeat Duke Kurran.
“Thank you for changing your mind. If it weren’t for the Count’s words, it could have been a really tough fight.”
“Indeed.”
Kite also couldn’t help but agree with Ruela’s words.
Upon hearing the words of the two, Count Gart wore a bitter expression.
“I am ashamed that I didn’t come to my senses sooner. It seems like I was completely enchanted by something.”
Ruela, upon hearing his words, snatched the ring from Kite’s hand and said, “It could be because of this ring. Anyway, this is also a magical ring. By wearing this, he might have compelled absolute obedience to his words.”
Count Gart’s eyes widened as if he had realized something.
“That could be possible. Now that I think about it, I began unconditionally obeying the Duke’s orders since I started wearing this ring.”
“But how did you come up with the idea to remove this ring? If you were being controlled by magic, it wouldn’t have been easy to take it off, right?”
“The Duke gave me a special order. If a dangerous situation arises, he instructed me to remove the rings of the king, Valder, and Maria to transform into the best monster for self-protection.”
“He told you to turn into a monster who lost his daughter and nephew? Just to protect himself from a perilous situation?”
“The Duke himself is also a monster. He doesn’t have such human emotions.”
“Yeah, right. He was a monster. But what does this story have to do with you removing the ring you were wearing?”
“After cutting off Maria’s wrist, suddenly my ring started bothering me. Looking at her staring blankly at the severed hand, my future seemed to overlap. Since then, when the finger with the ring felt strangely painful and uncomfortable, I thought about taking it off for a moment and hid it.”
“Why did you put it on the finger of the statue’s hand?”
“There’s no particular reason. I went to check on what happened to Maria, and suddenly the statue caught my eye. When I approached, I impulsively wanted to put the ring on the statue’s hand.”
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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