The second prince’s welcome party ended without a hitch, and life returned to its normal rhythm.

Though the princes were still in the capital, they too had their own duties to attend to, so it seemed likely that life could be leisurely for a while, at least until a new gold mine was discovered.

Finishing her duties for the day and on her way back to her room, Velia was lost in thought.

‘No matter how much I think about it, this won’t do.’

Something was missing.

The plan to bring down Raul using Khaled was progressing smoothly, but this way, she would end up solely relying on him.

“Princess, are you troubled?”

Ben, her escort knight, quietly asked while standing by Velia’s side.

As she was about to respond with gratitude to his concern, Velia’s eyes fell on the large sword hanging from Ben’s hip.

What if she learned swordsmanship? It would certainly help.

Velia stopped walking and quietly opened her mouth.

“……Sir Ben.”

“Yes.”

“May I try holding that sword?”

At Velia’s sudden request, Ben refused instantly.

“It’s not possible.”

“It’s not?”

Despite the swift response and Velia’s pleading gaze, Ben’s stance didn’t change.

“Yes, it’s not possible. It’s dangerous.”

“I’ll only hold it. You’ll be watching by my side, and I won’t swing it around.”

“……Princess.”

Ben called Velia with a greatly troubled expression, but her eyes were already sparkling towards the sword.

There was no one who could stop Velia once she had set her mind on something. And being her escort knight, Ben had no chance to resist his princess’s request.

“……Sigh. You must only hold it. It’s really dangerous.”

Unable to win against her, Ben unsheathed his sword from his hip and handed it to Velia.

Velia, who got to hold the sword with Ben’s help, was very excited.

However, when she tightly gripped the sword’s hilt, she stiffened momentarily at the cold touch of the metal and its oddly hard and cold sensation. But soon after, she put strength into her hands and lifted the sword.

“Is it heavier than you thought?”

Her arm, holding the sword, trembled.

If Ben hadn’t helped, she would have dropped it immediately.

Realizing how much she had insisted, Velia’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry. It would have been dangerous if you hadn’t helped.”

After carefully reclaiming the sword and securely placing it in its sheath, Ben casually smiled and said.

“No problem. Has your curiosity been satisfied now?”

“Um, do you perhaps have a lighter sword that you carry around?”

“There are lighter ones, but even those would be too heavy for you, Princess.”

“Is that so?”

Velia pouted, seemingly disappointed.

She thought that learning swordsmanship might be of some help.

But it seems that swordsmanship was too much for someone who had spent her entire life reading books in the library and whose only exercise was strolling in the garden.

“It’s a shame.”

Velia expressed her sincere regret.

Looking at her, Ben asked with a tender smile.

“May I ask why you suddenly became interested in swords?”

“……I just thought I might need a way to protect myself.”

At her words, Ben fell silent in thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

“First of all, you don’t have much physical activity, Princess, so it would be hard for you to handle a sword.”

It was a simple statement of fact, but just as she was about to feel downcast,

Ben, with a grin, asked.

“How about horse riding? I’ve heard that many women these days enjoy it as a hobby.”

“Horse riding?”

“Yes. In any case, you can run away on a horse. It seems more beneficial than learning swordsmanship now.”

Ben was well aware of the situation where Velia had received marriage proposals from the princes of the empire.

If she married a prince, she would have to leave for the empire alone. That would certainly be a tremendous fear.

That’s why Ben could fully understand where Velia’s desire to protect herself was coming from.

“Horse riding…….”
At Ben’s suggestion, Velia fell silent in thought.

If she could ride a horse, it would undoubtedly be useful someday.

Horseback riding was a very useful skill, just as learning swordsmanship was.

A smile brightened Velia’s face as she arrived at this conclusion.

“That sounds good, Sir Ben. Could you teach me how to ride a horse?”

“It might be better to learn from a professional.”

“Hmm. I don’t particularly want to advertise that I’m learning something.”

Ben was competent enough to teach her how to ride a horse.

“Are you saying not to tell anyone?”

Ben asked cautiously, wondering if she meant even the king or the prince shouldn’t know.

To that, Velia responded with a chuckling smile.

“It’s not a big secret, but I know it’ll cause unnecessary worry. Plus, I figured it would be nice to learn from someone as amicable as Sir Ben.”

After all, Velia wasn’t fond of interacting with strangers. Ben, who knew her well, nodded understandingly.

“I understand. I’ll do my best, even if it’s not perfect.”

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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