The Princess Wants to Live (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 26
Hometown, you say.
To him, wasn’t that a word enough to make him vomit?
Calling the country where the very people who forcibly resurrected Cryer—a man from an age before the “Kingdom of Norden” even existed—and turned him into a slave, a place whose influence those people wielded more fiercely than anyone else, his “hometown”?
But the two had already agreed on this course of action.
“Whoever is coming from the Kingdom of Norden, I don’t know, but let’s get one thing straight before they arrive. You’ll be sitting with us anyway, right?”
“Probably. So what of it?”
“I’ll pretend I don’t even know who you are, let alone anything about the Ancient God.”
At Olivia’s words, Cryer gave a light nod, then hesitated.
“Then how will you explain why I’m by your side? Surely you won’t—”
Olivia didn’t need to hear the rest of his unfinished sentence; she shook her head vigorously.
“Of course I won’t say anything ridiculous like ‘I fell for you at first sight.’ And I won’t explain why I’ve kept you close either.”
“Will they really let it slide that easily?”
“They will. I am the Imperial Princess, and unless the one coming from Norden is the Crown Prince himself, no one dares question me outright. Even if it were the Crown Prince, whether or not I choose to answer is entirely up to me.”
As she spoke, Olivia wore an expression more befitting the Imperial Princess than ever before.
But an agreement was an agreement, and the instinctive disgust he felt toward it was beyond his control.
Thus, though Olivia’s tongue nearly sprouted thorns as she spoke, Cryer calmly accepted her words.
“I see. It’s been a long time since I’ve met someone from my homeland.”
With this, the “true” relationship between Olivia and Cryer would remain hidden.
Had Greta herself been present in this room, she might have sensed the subtle tension between Olivia and Cryer.
But only her puppet stood here now.
And even that puppet occasionally couldn’t hear well, its vision blurred and hazy……
“But since we’re strangers, I’ll forgo formal greetings.”
With those few words, Cryer subtly informed Olivia that the man before them had nothing to do with the “Ancient God” or the “Mage,” though Olivia thought otherwise.
“Is that so? What a shame, then.”
Olivia lightly tapped Cryer’s hand and mouthed silently:
Look at his eyes.
Though her remark came without context or explanation, Cryer asked no questions and immediately examined the eyes of the man from Norden.
For the first time since entering the reception room, Cryer’s lips twisted into a grimace as he met the man’s dead-fish-like, cloudy gaze.
The moment he sensed that familiar look beyond the hazy pupils,
a low, guttural sound escaped from between Cryer’s tightly pressed lips.
“Greta.”
As if he’d been waiting precisely for that call, the man’s dull eyes flooded with a nauseating, ecstatic joy.
He recognized her.
As though it were fate.
No—perhaps it truly was fate. They could be nothing less than destined for each other.
Only she could find him, resurrect him, and survive with him in the world the Ancient God would soon purify.
Of course, Olivia had also heard Cryer’s low growl.
Though she hadn’t known until now that the Magician’s Daughter was Greta, she instantly realized it the moment she saw Cryer’s reaction.
And she also knew that Cryer wasn’t looking at her—but through her, at something beyond.
“Cryer.”
Greta’s voice flowed from the man’s mouth.
At that instant, his dead-fish eyes shone with uncanny, vivid brightness.
And Cryer understood.
He knew exactly how Greta looked at him, the tone of her voice when she whispered to him, and the manner in which she treated him.
After all, though he’d lost his past memories, he wasn’t lacking in perception.
And Greta’s love meant absolutely nothing to him.
Had he instead hated and despised her—loathed the woman who’d forcibly shackled him as a slave and forced him onto a path drenched in blood—
then, at least, Greta might have held onto a sliver of hope.
After all, there’s an old saying: love and hate are two sides of the same coin.
But to Cryer, Greta was truly nothing at all.
He didn’t hate the person named Greta; he hated the very situation in which he found himself.
And as long as he could gain his freedom, the Mage or Greta would mean nothing to him.
Of course, if he wanted to break free from that damned Ancient God, he’d have to use the Mage and Greta, just as Olivia had said.
“There’s a saying: ‘Know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll win every battle.’”
Instinctively, he recalled Olivia’s words.
And if he wanted to extract information about the Mage as Olivia wished, seeing once would be worth a hundred hearings.
That cunning Mage wouldn’t move himself, but Greta—there was surely a way to summon her to the Empire.
Cryer instantly calculated the best angle for the man—that is, for Greta—to see clearly.
Without hesitation, he reached his hand toward Olivia, and she, without hesitation, took it.
Cryer’s eyes crinkled into a smile as he deeply, very deeply, pressed his lips to the back of Olivia’s hand.
As he did so, he concealed his feral, savage teeth perfectly.
“My Princess.”
Though his sudden action lacked any clear context, Olivia matched Cryer’s movements flawlessly, without a trace of hesitation.
Smiling like a blooming rose, she replied,
“My Knight.”
✦✦✦
The instant Cryer pressed his lips deeply to the back of Olivia’s hand,
deep within the royal palace of the Kingdom of Norden,
—Scritch, scratch.
The chilling sound of a sapphire ring grinding against diamond echoed.
Greta clenched her eyes shut, struggling to calm herself, but the boiling anger within refused to subside.
“My Princess.”
That’s what he’d said.
Mine……
—Scritch, scratch.
The roughly ground sapphire shed blue powder into the air.
He’d clearly recognized her—then why? Why had he shown her that side of himself?
She still believed Cryer must have some plan.
That hadn’t changed.
But……
“Cryer.”
“How dare you.”
Greta chewed her lower lip until it was ragged and torn.
“How dare you, call her ‘Princess.’”
Of course, it was natural for the Imperial Princess to address him by name—after all, he was merely a knight of the Kingdom of Norden, now even nameless, undeserving of any honorific.
But if anyone could sense it, it was Greta.
Through the device, she couldn’t be entirely sure, but she felt a certain “personal” sentiment in the Princess’s voice when she called his name.
At least, the Princess clearly held some deeply personal feeling toward Cryer, whatever its nature.
Well, she’d said she’d fallen for him at first sight and kept him close—so perhaps it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
—Scratch, scritch.
Along with the irritating sound, coarsely ground sapphire dust fell from her fingertips.
After some time, Greta reached a conclusion.
“He’s trapped in the Empire.”
It was a rather peculiar conclusion.
Cryer was the purest of all, the strongest of all.
That was precisely why he was the perfect slave to provide the blood required for the Ancient God’s descent.
At least, that’s how the Mage who resurrected him and Greta, who branded him, had seen it.
Yet Greta claimed that Cryer was imprisoned in the Empire against his will.
“I must take his hand.”
However absurd the conclusion, it suited her just fine.
Cryer needed her.
That alone sent Greta into such overwhelming joy she didn’t know what to do with herself.
“Ahh, ahhh. Ahh!”
Greta clutched her burning, aching heart as she pictured Cryer.
She missed him. She wanted to see him—so desperately.
The first slave chosen by the Ancient God.
The pure knight.
And the one person destined to remain with her in the world the Ancient God would purify.
While Greta groaned, clawing at her chest, the Crown Prince stood just a few paces away, staring blankly into empty space.
It was an utterly grotesque scene—but fortunately, no one was there to witness it.
After thrashing about for a long while, Greta suddenly stilled.
“Hmph.”
Her face, which moments ago had been contorted in anguish, was now utterly expressionless, as if none of it had ever happened.
It was a scene straight out of a psychological drama—but again, there were no spectators.
Greta clicked her tongue as she stared at the Empire on the continent map hanging before her.
Though her heart yearned to rush to Cryer immediately, she couldn’t—not yet.
After all, the altar for the Ancient God’s descent wasn’t ready.
“And we still haven’t caught that meddlesome fool.”
Greta’s focus softened, her gaze settling on a remote, empty field at the Empire’s outskirts.
“He’s moved his location.”
Her eyes swept over the clearing where, just last night, the man had offered a mother and child as sacrifices, and her eyeballs rolled once in their sockets.
Soon, the back of the man’s head came into view at the edge of her sight.
“There you are.”
The instant her crimson lips curled upward, the man whipped around—but Greta’s focus had already snapped back into place.
She ran her tongue over her upper lip and stroked the ruined, jagged sapphire.
Blood welled from her fingertips as they scraped against the rough edges, but she didn’t stop.
When the droplets of blood finally stained the blue sapphire crimson,
Greta slowly rose to her feet.
That meddlesome fool wasn’t her problem—Cryer would handle him.
All that remained was the altar.
Each time her fingertips twitched, the Crown Prince’s body, slumped like a stringless puppet, jerked slightly as well.
Without blinking, he reached out and tugged the curtain cord.
“You summoned me, Your Highness.”
Greta’s voice began to flow from the Crown Prince’s mouth.
“How goes the matter at the secondary palace?”
“It’s temporarily halted due to the director’s issue……”
“Resume it immediately.”
The Palace Steward couldn’t hide his bewilderment, yet he had no choice but to bow.
How could he possibly object when the future king spoke with such firmness?
Moreover, the Palace Steward didn’t even know what exactly was being done at the secondary palace—making it even harder to speak out of turn.
And……
The Palace Steward strained every nerve to avoid looking at Greta, who stood behind the Crown Prince, smiling.
Not long after rumors spread that the one who’d shadowed the late king—namely, the Mage—had vanished, how much blood had stained the palace corridors?
Having served as Palace Steward for many years in an era when the word “war” was unfamiliar beyond minor border skirmishes,
he’d never seen, nor imagined, so much blood that the corridor carpets turned slick and sodden.
To him, that day’s memory was pure terror.
The Crown Prince’s flat, emotionless voice drifted into the ashen-faced Palace Steward’s ears.
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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