“Will you lift your face?”
Those were the first words spoken by the man I saw for the first time today.
If I were to refer to him as my husband, he would be Rinel Gideon Edipa.
The Emperor of the Raphion Empire, the most powerful country in the Northern Continent.
The moment I confirmed the face of Emperor Rinel for the first time in the grand hall where the wedding ceremony was held today, I wanted to flip my wedding dress hem and run away.
In fact, we met in a secret place outside the imperial palace last night.
But fortunately, he seemed not to remember me.
Please, he should continue to not remember…
But during the wedding ceremony, I could relax a little.
Thanks to the makeup close to disguise, it was hard to recognize me, and the gorgeous wedding dress.
But soon it became night and my heart began to fret again over the cleanly removed makeup.
It was not because the marble floor of the bedroom was fascinating that I bowed my head.
As time passed, my heart shrank more and more.
In fact, there was a bigger problem than meeting him last night.
A really important problem that my life depends on.
I am not the real wife of the Emperor.
In other words, I’m the substitute Empress.
What if this fact is discovered?
Ah, it’s dreadful even just thinking about it.
Definitely, that man, sitting in front of me like a beautiful portrait, would mercilessly cut off my head and send it flying towards my home country, the Kingdom of ChâteauNeuf.
His cold, icy pupils looked even more sublime.
But unfortunately, even when the Emperor does such a cruel act, he has a beautiful appearance that looks beautiful.
“Did you commit a sin?”
“!”
Following the piercing question.
“Your face looks like you’re hiding something from me?”
Even a question that pricks my conscience.
I, sitting precariously at the end of the bed in a thin slip dress, almost fell to the floor in surprise at his words.
Yes!
Inside, I admitted immediately, but my lips closed tighter.
My bowed head was the only thing telling the truth.
Substitute Empress. My very existence is a sin.
How did I get involved in such a huge matter?
Until a few days ago, I was just a bathmaid in the Royal Family of ChâteauNeuf.
Damn, it’s all because of Princess Resilia, who ran away with a mercenary knight before the state wedding!
As the tension closed my eyes tightly, I remembered the day I left the Kingdom of ChâteauNeuf.
.
.
.
.
5 days ago, in the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of ChâteauNeuf.
“You want me to be the substitute Empress?”
What am I hearing right now.
At first, I burst into laughter at the absurd words of Prince Tesler.
I laughed for a while, but the atmosphere wasn’t right, so I closed my mouth again.
“Are you… serious?”
“Zelda von Trova. I have no one to trust but you!”
If the only person you can trust in this situation is me, wouldn’t it be better to give up?
Prince Tesler spoke as if I was the most trusted person in the world.
And then he grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips.
I quickly pulled my hand back in embarrassment.
“Zelda, please.”
His tone wasn’t a request, it was more like a command.
“Just stay in the Empress’s position in the Raphion Empire for a while.”
“Isn’t that the country that Princess Resilia is about to have a state wedding with?”
“Yes. But that damn woman… No, Resilia disappeared a week ago.”
… Huh, how did that happen?
I knew it. The palace has been unusually quiet lately.
Normally, Princess Resilia’s hightoned complaints should be heard everywhere in the palace every other day.
“What do we do? It’s almost time to leave for the Raphion Empire, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean almost. We should have already left.”
So, you’re telling me to go instead?
I was speechless.
Three months ago, the young Emperor of the Raphion Empire requested a state wedding with the Kingdom of ChâteauNeuf to solidify a firm alliance.
In the letter sent by Emperor Rinel, it was specified that the person to become the Empress did not necessarily have to be a princess of ChâteauNeuf.
From the perspective of the Royal Family of ChâteauNeuf, there was no reason to pass the position of the Empress of the Raphion Empire to another noble family when they had a princess.
But, the only princess, Resilia, disappeared after hearing that the state wedding was brought forward than scheduled.
“Where on earth did the princess go alone?”
“What do you mean alone! She ran away with the mercenary knight in the palace.”
“Oh my goodness…”
“Damn! From the beginning, we shouldn’t have invited the mercenary knights into the palace.”
Since a year ago, monsters have been appearing frequently in the diamond mines, the largest national treasury of the Kingdom of ChâteauNeuf. Because of this, the palace employed professional mercenary knights who hunt monsters, and let them stay in the palace.
That was the root of the problem.
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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