The way Hezen’s eyes looked that night clearly showed he had lost it. Enough to harm me.

‘For the time being, it’s best to avoid crowded places.’

One of the conditions for clearing Hezen’s awakening quest was [a crowd of more than 100 people].

The only upcoming official event that met this condition was the main celebration on my mother’s birthday.

‘I must attend the main celebration of my mother’s birthday, but…’

It would be hard to find an excuse to skip it like today.

Should I pretend to be sick on that day?

Getting frowned upon for not attending is better than dying…

“Princess, are you worried about something?”

At that moment, Sylvia spoke to me.

Sylvia, who wasn’t young enough to avoid the hunting competition, had come here today, supposedly feeling unwell.

But seeing how she enjoyed the boat ride more than anyone else, her claim of feeling unwell seemed more like an excuse.

“Why would you ask such an obvious question, Lady Winster? Of course, she’s worried. You know what’s going on with Sir Hezen.”

Elizabeth, my sister, scolded Sylvia.

“Indeed, that incident was truly shocking. Sir Hezen…”

Another young lady chimed in, joining the conversation.

I glanced over the heads of the ladies, checking their affection ratings.

Last time at Elizabeth’s tea party, they all boasted affection ratings of 999, but now they were significantly lower.

Well, it made sense. No woman would like a man who had earned the rare title of 【Seedless Watermelon】.

“But, Your Highness, what about him?”

A countess, who had been pondering how to strike up a conversation with me, asked.

“About whom?”

I tilted my head in confusion, and the countess’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed.

“Why, Prince Anselot Luenhart!”

“Uh, huh?”

I blinked, puzzled by why she would ask about Anselot.

‘Why is she asking me about that guy?’

“Yesterday, as soon as Prince Anselot arrived at the ballroom, he looked for you first!”

As if answering my question, the countess clasped her hands together and exclaimed.

“Usually so expressionless and rarely smiling, but in front of Your Highness, he smiled so warmly…”

I remembered the moment they referred to.

‘Why do you keep avoiding me? Like a little mouse.’

He had certainly said that with a gentle voice and a smile, though it was more of a threat than kindness.

“Then you went out for a while and came back together, right? When Your Highness was heartbroken over Sir Hezen…”

“Right, you came back together. Did Prince Anselot comfort you?”

“How sweet.”

The young ladies around me chimed in.

‘No, it wasn’t as romantic as you think.’

I was dumbfounded and speechless as I listened to them…

“Is Prince Anselot really as crazy as the rumors say?”

“What would a romance with such a dangerous and thrilling man feel like?”

And now they were even talking about romance!

“Romance? What romance?”

I exclaimed in shock.

“Romance? It was a life-or-death survival!”

Remembering the fight from last night, a shiver ran down my spine and an involuntary ‘ugh’ sound escaped my lips.

“Oh my! A love affair where even lives are at stake!”

“It’s just like a novel!”

But my horrific truth seemed to be lost on these young ladies.

“So, will you be Prince Anselot’s partner at the Emperor’s birthday celebration?”

“No, wait, I mean…”

I was about to vehemently deny any such relationship with Anselot.

Splash.
A man appeared in the space where only women were gathered.

“Oh my!”

The young ladies who recognized him hurriedly unfolded their fans to cover their faces and turned away.

“Hezen?”

I frowned at him. The person who appeared was none other than the infamous Hezen.

“Lulu.”

Hezen called my name with familiarity.

“I heard you were here.”

Why did he come here instead of attending the Emperor’s hunting contest?

I looked at him with eyes full of suspicion.

Here, there were only about eight young ladies and their attendants. In total, there weren’t even thirty people.

‘So, Hezen won’t try anything here.’

But still, I looked at him with unease, not relaxing my guard.

Hezen glanced at the young ladies around him, then turned back to me.

His neatly smiling appearance looked no different from usual, but…

‘No, he’s gone mad. Especially those bloodshot eyes.’

I clenched my fists and looked at him.

There could only be two reasons Hezen came to find me.

Either to increase his affection to prevent the breakup, or before preventing the breakup…

“Lady Hezen.”

At that moment, my sister Elizabeth stepped forward to shield me.

“What brings you here uninvited?”

Hezen frowned and showed his displeasure openly.

“Extras like you…”

“Ex… What? What did you just mumble?”

“Why do you think I came? I’m worried about Louibel.”

His arrogant tone angered Elizabeth.

“If you weren’t here, there would be nothing to worry about. Leave immediately.”

“…….”

Hezen clenched his lips and glared at Elizabeth.

Then, a system window appeared in front of him.

‘What? A hornpipe?’

I was momentarily startled.

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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