The sound of cannons resonated one after another on the top floor of the prisoner’s tower.
Neris was the only prisoner there. Forgotten by all, she was trapped in a dirty and dark corner of a cell.
Just a short time ago, she was sitting in a position where she had no further place to rise, being the crown princess of this country, the Empire of Bisto, and the next Empress.
A symbol of the eternal alliance of the Elandria Ducal House, the most prestigious and oldest noble family of not only the Empire but also this continent.
The owner of the mysterious Purple Eye, said to have been possessed by the ancient warrior Elandria.
Although Neris’s husband, the Crown Prince, treated her like trash, burying her on his throne by bringing up that she was originally not a ducal daughter but a foster daughter of a lower noble family, she still endured it.
She thought it was for the sake of her family.
But about a year ago… when the Elandria family finally revealed its longheld ambition and declared independence from the Empire, calling itself a royal family.
And when the Bisto royal family, having failed to stop this, officially recognized the independence of the Elandria kingdom to heal old conflicts.
Her existence was treated as if it had never been there from the beginning.
The Crown Prince, who had already been married to Neris for several years, suddenly imprisoned her and announced he would marry her stepsister, Princess Valentine of the current Elandria kingdom.
So how did the Elandria family respond?
The splendid sound of the parade outside at this moment was the answer. According to the guards’ conversation a few days ago, a delegation from the Elandria family had arrived, bringing the “new bride.”
“They’ve abandoned me.”
Neris murmured to herself. It was already the thousandth time.
Twelve years ago, when she was still a student at the academy, she lost her distant mother from the Elandria family and became an orphan in distress. Her father, a lowranking knight, had died much earlier, and she didn’t even remember his face.
It was the Elandria family who adopted her and gave her a home and family.
Although the Duke and Duchess, along with Valentine, were never kind to her, Neris felt she had to repay their favor. So she did anything for the family.
Really anything.
She stayed up all night learning the etiquette of the upper social circles, sometimes played the villain, lying to the family’s enemies, and finally… married a man she didn’t love and silently endured his abuse.
Even after marriage, she did not lack in representing the family in alliances, and even in eliminating those for the family.
Had she not done something for the royal family?
Though her husband, the Crown Prince, was engrossed in the government and mindless, it was Neris who had worked her body to breaking for several years to ensure that the entire royal family, including him, was comfortable.
What she received in return was the attitude of the two families, as if she never existed from the beginning.
Suddenly, her left leg, immobilized due to brutal torture, ached.
“…What will become of me?”
A speck of sunlight entered through the crack in the wall, where the wind and noise constantly leaked through.
Neris’s unfocused eyes caught the sunlight and emitted thousands of colors simultaneously.
The legendary quality, the Jewel Eye, known to be the sole possession of the royal family but surprisingly found in Neris, helped her to be adopted by the ducal family and eventually reach the position of Crown Princess.
The Jewel Eye, so valuable, had not helped her since she entered this place. The royal family’s torture on her frail body was long and dreadful, for she was certainly brought in as the family’s spy from the beginning.
But after leaving the prison…
After leaving? Neris laughed at herself. Neris, do you think you can leave?
By welcoming the delegation with a festival while keeping her, a person of the same family, imprisoned, the message from the royal house was clear.
There was no relation between their alliance and Neris’s treatment.
“Does Nell know about this situation…”
The other family members might not have cared about Neris at all. Though they adopted her because of the symbolism of the purple gem in the duke’s house, they only pretended to be family in public. Especially, Valentin almost despised Neris.
But one person was different.
Only one person, Nellusion, the heir to the duke’s house and Neris’s stepbrother.
If there was a single hope for Neris in this situation, it was only Nellusion. He, who had always been affectionate and recognized her worth, would have requested Neris’s release from the royal family. Yes, surely he would have…….
Neris blankly stared at the prison floor.
That was the moment. The iron door of the solitary cell opened.
Neris reflexively looked up with surprise, but the person who entered with the knight holding a torch was not the torturer.
Valentin, with a brilliant glow around her, was sneering as she entered the cell.
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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