“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Prince Adenmir was taken aback by the sudden words of the Emperor.
To divorce Elodie Ferdia.
He had no inkling of the reason.
Duke Ferdia was the greatest power to Adenmir, who had virtually no external forces.
It was also the reason why he could easily deal with the second prince, Beltran, who was the son of the Empress.
The engagement proposal from Ferdia was like a welcome rain to the hardpressed Adenmir.
Even the Emperor, who had been lying sick in bed at that time, had no objection to this engagement.
So why was he trying to break this solid engagement?
“I am shortsighted, so it’s hard to keep up with what Your Highness is thinking. Please explain.”
The Emperor, who had been licking his lips, coughed again. Adenmir patiently waited until his father calmed down.
Eventually, the Emperor’s dry lips opened again.
“Don’t look at the tree…… but the forest, the whole forest…… If you are to inherit the throne…… Cough! Do you think that power…… will be entirely yours……?”
“……”
“Son…… Ferdia is…… too big an entity…… to be contained…… by you……”
The Emperor made Adenmir understand what he meant.
In his intermittent coughing, the Emperor talked for a very long time about why they shouldn’t rely on Ferdia’s power.
Ferdia does not compromise.
As rulers of the underworld, they know the dark side of the Empire better than anyone.
So the people of Willentia could never escape their influence. Even royalty was no exception.
A family that could threaten even the royal power, but only looms large in the underworld and does not act.
How much of a threat that was to a ruler, the Emperor had painfully realized while reigning.
Lying in bed, unable to do anything, he tolerated Adenmir borrowing Ferdia’s power for the time being, but it would eventually choke Adenmir’s neck.
Ferdia must not be brought into the imperial city.
They must not be drawn into becoming permanent powerbrokers in the underworld.
If Elodie Ferdia became the Empress, the Empire would be no different from being completely in Ferdia’s grasp.
Adenmir would be nothing but a puppet emperor.
The Emperor foresaw all of this.
“I understand Your Highness’s will. But I need power now.”
“Then, rather…… choose the manageable…… Angelos.”
Among the four great families, those close to Adenmir’s age were only Ferdia and Angelos.
So now, the Emperor was telling Adenmir to engage with Dorothea Angelos.
Thinking of Dorothea, called the flower of social circles, Adenmir calmly objected.
“But Angelos is already the power of the second prince.”
“That youngster will…… do anything if he thinks…… it benefits me. And, it will…… help you……”
Adenmir’s head was swirling.
His head thought the Emperor’s words made sense, but his lips wouldn’t agree.
It felt absurd.
‘Divorce, divorce. Even the party involved talks about divorce, and now even the Emperor insists on divorce.’
As if divorce was the only path prepared before him.
Instead of agreeing, Adenmir left an ambiguous answer.
“I will think about it.”
He was not yet certain what to do.
The Emperor, with his eyes closing constantly in fatigue, urged him to the last.
“I believe you will make…… a wise decision, my son……”
His father did not have many days left.
It was a father’s concern for his only son, the child of the woman he loved.
Then, a servant outside the door announced someone’s visit.
“Your Majesty. The Empress wishes to see you.”
It was the visit of Empress Salvatrice, Adenmir’s political enemy and the Emperor’s second wife.
She entered the bedroom without waiting for the Emperor’s permission, followed by a maid carrying a bowl of medicine.
Upon seeing Adenmir, who had already arrived, the Empress’s eyes widened.
“It’s time for His Majesty to take his medicine, but I did not know the prince would be here.”
Prince Adenmir’s lips curved into a smile.
‘As if he wouldn’t know. He must have known.’
A woman gone mad with desperation to elevate her foolish son to the Emperor’s seat.
No doubt she had hurried over as soon as she heard he was in the Emperor’s chambers.
So anxious, she cannot even leave us to converse for a little time.
Adenmir mocked as he replied to Empress Salvatrice.
“It has been a while, so our conversation grew lengthy.”
“Oh my, I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.”
“……”
“Smile. You’re before His Majesty.”
A blade was hidden in that smile. Adenmir’s expression hardened at her words.
“I cannot smile. Perhaps it’s because I’m before Her Majesty, the Empress.”
“You’ve grown quite mischievous, Prince.”
“Go give His Majesty his medicine. I’ll take my leave now.”
Without listening to the Empress’s reply, Adenmir turned and left the room.
The Empress’s elongated voice followed from behind him.
“Now, Your Majesty. Take it slowly.”
Gulp, gulp!
Adenmir took heavy steps.
The Emperor’s painful groans, as he swallowed the medicine, gradually faded away.
(This is a time separator.)
Estel.
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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