Sinclair remained silent for a moment at Elaina’s question.
His golden eyes, which she thought resembled the brightly shining sun, had somehow lost their light and flickered like darkness. His beautiful face, which was always full of confidence, was now tainted with the deepest gloom, like that of a defeated soldier.
Thus, even without hearing an answer, she could tell.
No matter what she asked, Sinclair would not be able to tell her the truth…
It wasn’t that Elaina hadn’t anticipated Sinclair’s reaction to be like this. But perhaps, using the excuse that this might be the last time, she had held onto a sliver of hope.
Still, she thought Sinclair, the man she loved, would not betray her trust…
But what good was any of that now? Elaina let out an empty laugh without realizing it as her lips quivered.
“I see.”
“……”
“I understand, Sinclair.”
However, Sinclair did not back down. As soon as Elaina finished her response, he embraced her from behind as if trapping her.
“Anything…”
Then, in a pathetically cracking voice, he began to whisper in Elaina’s ear.
“You can do whatever you want. You can invite people to my palace, or you can go out if you want to.”
“……”
“I know I’ve been too selfish these past few days. I’m well aware of that. I was just… anxious…”
Sinclair’s pleading voice continued, but Elaina did not warmly embrace him like before, nor did she caress his cheek.
Instead, with a face mixed with disappointment, betrayal, resentment, and fear of what Sinclair was trying so hard to hide, she simply stared at the floor.
Sinclair’s embrace, holding her tightly, was as warm as ever, but strangely, today he felt distant.
As if they had never truly reached each other in the first place. Like complete strangers.
So Elaina did not utter a single word. The more she remained silent, the more strength Sinclair unknowingly put into his arms wrapped around her, but she simply watched without a word.
* * *
As the days passed, Sinclair became busier.
Heswin, Walter, and Frederick. The three families, keeping the Runderberg and Rockford families, who had joined hands with Hister, in check, reported to Sinclair almost every day. They also frequently visited the Crown Prince’s Palace to spend time with him in the audience chamber.
In contrast, Anelli’s gatherings no longer took place. It was impossible to know what she was thinking, but after the last meeting, she made no significant moves.
According to Schuler, she was having a series of serious meetings with members of the cadet branches, but that was strictly limited to the cadet branches.
Sinclair apologized, saying Elaina could do whatever she wanted, but Elaina did not desire anything.
After all, the only thing she had wanted was the one truth she hoped Sinclair would tell her.
Elaina did not meet with Lady Legus or Perin Ilane either, and simply remained holed up in the Crown Prince’s Palace, lost in thought.
Chaz, worried about her, visited Elaina whenever he had the chance and often told her how the imperial family was faring these days.
Today was no different.
“They say the Emperor continues to recover, but I’m not sure if that’s true.”
In the audience chamber inside the Crown Prince’s Palace, which Sinclair had given to Elaina.
Chaz, sitting across from Elaina, continued with a serious expression.
“If that were really the case, I don’t think he would remain this quiet.”
“……”
“Even the five families of Edenbell have split for their own reasons. Don’t you think so, Lady Elaina?”
“What about you, Sir Chaz…?”
Elaina, who had been quietly listening to Chaz’s words, slowly parted her lips in a low voice.
“How has your life been in the Imperial Palace lately?”
“My life in the Imperial Palace?”
Chaz hesitated for a moment at the sudden question, then continued with a slight blush on his cheeks.
“To be honest… I’m happy. Now I have both Elder Brother Sinclair and you, Lady Elaina. And most of all…”
“Most of all?”
“…I’m most glad that I no longer feel greatly intimidated by Elder Brother Hister, like I used to. Of course, Elder Brother Hister will still think I’m filthy and unpleasant, but…”
“Sir Chaz.”
Putting down her teacup, Elaina looked at Chaz intently, then slowly reached out her hand.
Then, firmly grasping Chaz’s hand that was resting on the table, she spoke.
“No one, absolutely no one, can say such things to you so casually.”
“Lady Elaina…”
“Not just Crown Prince Hister, but everyone in the world is the same. So you can have more confidence in yourself, Sir Chaz. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes, of course.”
Chaz nodded vigorously in response.
“One of the biggest reasons I was able to change like this was because of you, Lady Elaina.”
“…Me?”
“Even though I was a prince who wasn’t even properly treated, I was still a member of the imperial family. Until I became close with you like this, I heard it countless times every single day. How people gossiped about you, Lady Elaina.”
Elaina flinched slightly.
“So I thought you would be no different from me, Lady Elaina. But…”
“……”
“When I actually met you, you looked so dignified and radiant. People talk nonsense and say hurtful things about your disability, but I knew as soon as I met you. That it could never hurt you, Lady Elaina. I can’t tell you how impressive that was.”
Is that so? Was it like that? Elaina unknowingly looked down at her slightly twisted ankle visible between the long skirt of her dress.
“So I… wanted to become like you, Lady Elaina. You became a really big role model for me…”
“Well.”
“…Lady Elaina?”
“Who knows? Maybe even that trivial light has disappeared by now.”
“……”
“And it’s because of the person who helped me find that light in the first place.”
Chaz couldn’t help but be perplexed by Elaina’s words, which were not easily understood.
‘I did have a feeling that they had grown a bit distant lately, but…’
Did they perhaps have a fight? Chaz looked at Elaina with worried eyes.
Was it because of what he had just heard? The Elaina in front of him somehow seemed a bit different from the way he had seen her all this time.
Instead of the ever-sparkling and radiant appearance, she looked so exhausted and so cold at the same time.
Not like that day when she had first set foot in the Imperial Palace with Sinclair to hold their wedding, rejecting anyone’s welcome.
So Chaz hesitated alone for a considerable time, then very carefully parted his lips.
No, to be precise, he was about to part his lips.
If it weren’t for the commotion that suddenly came from outside.
“Throw her out immediately!”
The owner of that voice echoing through the corridor was someone both Elaina and Chaz knew well.
In other words, Schuler, who had been standing guard in front of them all this time.
“……”
As if sensing that the situation was turning strange, Elaina also quickly rose from her seat. Then, with a limping gait, she began to move towards the closed door.
Chaz was the same. Chasing after Elaina in a hurry, Chaz opened the door for her and stood close by her side as if to protect her if anything happened.
“Ah, Lady Elaina.”
Opening the door, the first thing they saw was Schuler, who for some reason looked extremely flustered.
“What’s the matter, Schuler?”
“Well, that is…”
At that moment, Elaina’s gaze shifted to right next to Schuler.
Beside Schuler stood a woman wearing a cloak.
Holding a large rectangular object in her hand…
“…It’s nothing. Just a woman who came to the Crown Prince’s Palace without permission, insisting on entering. I will expel her right away.”
“Is there a need to say that much about someone who was sent directly by the Crown Prince, Sir Knight?”
As soon as the woman parted her lips, Elaina’s face stiffened.
And the woman slowly raised her head…
“Hello, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Taking off her cloak, she greeted Elaina.
“It’s a fine afternoon, isn’t it?”
“……”
“Meeting like this after such a long time makes it even more so.”
Leila, revealing her identity like that, looked at Elaina with a smirk.
Even though she had become a commoner, her eyes were still full of mockery, as if ridiculing Elaina.
“…Leila.”
“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Leila even grinned as she faced Elaina, and Schuler sighed heavily, covering his head.
Chaz, who had not yet grasped how the situation was unfolding, looked at them with great confusion, and Elaina looked down at Leila with an icy gaze.
“I have come to deliver a gift personally sent by the Crown Prince. It was such a precious item that he told me to entrust it to someone reliable.”
And despite everyone’s attention being directed at her, Leila continued with a relaxed smile.
“Since you haven’t forgotten even my name, you can spare me a moment of your time, can’t you? Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
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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