A sheet of paper written by Karina was placed in front of Jeremiah.
It was a divorce pledge letter that she had exchanged for the seal, saying she would definitely keep her word.
“Hoo.”
A deep sigh escaped from Jeremiah’s lips.
As the title at the top said “Divorce Pledge”, it contained the content that she would definitely divorce.
It was even more absurd because the possible situations that could occur after the divorce were written quite specifically.
The more he looked at the document, the more depressed he felt.
He had no idea what Karina was thinking.
‘Is she really serious?’
The more he looked at the document, the more her claim that it wasn’t just something she said casually seemed sincere.
But Jeremiah couldn’t trust Karina.
‘What was she looking for in my office when I wasn’t there?’
Karina said she was looking for the head of household’s seal, but he couldn’t believe it.
When he asked what she was actually looking for, she didn’t say a word and kept her mouth shut tight, as if she was hiding something.
She even said the reason for looking for the head of household’s seal was to use the couple’s seal.
Jeremiah scoffed.
‘Talking about divorce while mentioning the couple’s seal, how ridiculous.’
Jeremiah’s eyes sank deeply.
‘What on earth is she scheming?’
Karina was surprisingly well aware of the reality that divorce is not easy.
‘Maybe she’s talking about divorce more because she knows it’s impossible anyway.’
A cold sneer appeared on Jeremiah’s face.
‘What on earth is she plotting that she’s trying so hard to divert my attention like this?’
His chest felt tight.
Jeremiah frowned and stared intently at the pledge.
Knock knock.
“Your Highness, I’m coming in.”
Ron, the head of the knights, entered the office.
“Your Highness, here is the list of knights who will go out to subjugate the monsters as you requested. Please review it.”
“……”
Jeremiah showed no reaction to his words, as if he hadn’t heard them at all.
“Your Highness?”
Jeremiah’s cold, sinking voice reached the puzzled Ron.
“Ron.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Do you remember what you said last time?”
“Huh? Ah… yes.”
Ron sensed the chilly atmosphere and immediately realized that what Jeremiah was asking about was related to the Grand Duchess.
“You clearly said that if I give her a gift, it would draw her attention and prevent her from doing foolish things.”
“……Pardon?”
Ron made a dumbfounded expression and was flustered upon hearing Jeremiah’s words.
Ron hurriedly recalled what he had said last time.
‘Aren’t you worried about the Grand Duchess?’
‘If you know where she is and what she’s doing, you’d feel a bit more at ease.’
‘Or it might not be bad to give her a small gift to turn her interest this way. Things she likes or needs usually.’
Where on earth did his words go wrong?
“No…?”
“Then did you lie to me?”
Jeremiah’s eyes were sharp as he asked that.
“No… that’s not it……”
Ron swallowed a groan inside, unable to show his feelings at Jeremiah’s serious expression.
“You clearly said to give her jewelry or accessories.”
“……”
Ron could only move his lips without being able to correct that that wasn’t what he meant.
‘This is why I shouldn’t have interfered carelessly!’
Ron lamented inside.
He wished he could take back everything he had said that day.
But now it was all just meaningless regret.
“She said she’s going to hold a charity event soon, so this is perfect timing. Would a necklace do?”
Jeremiah asked in a low, grating voice.
“……”
‘It’s a misunderstanding! That’s not what I meant!’
Ron swallowed the words he truly wanted to say and answered.
“Yes… that would be good.”
[This is the timeline separator]“I’m back.”
“Welcome back. How did it go?”
Karina asked Mikhail who had returned.
“I delivered the letter to the ‘flower shop’ safely. I also went to the orphanage. They said it should be able to proceed without any major issues.”
“Is that so?”
Karina let out a sigh of relief.
“What about the matter you were worrying about earlier?”
“……”
Karina hesitated and glanced at the table.
On the table was the head of household’s seal she had received from Jeremiah.
“It went well for me too. Since I took the easy path, everything worked out.”
Her voice sounded somewhat bitter as she said that.
“……Did something happen while I was gone?”
Mikhail asked, noticing that Karina seemed troubled.
“……”
Karina couldn’t find the right words to Mikhail’s question.
Karina recalled what had happened earlier in front of Jeremiah’s bedroom.
‘That was just an accident. An unavoidable accident.’
Karina firmly dismissed that situation.
‘How could I have known that Jeremiah would come out after bathing and be undressing at that time?’
“Hoo.”
Karina closed her eyes and slowly exhaled.
‘It’s okay. I didn’t show any foolish behavior out of surprise.’
Karina shook her head, trying to erase the scene that appeared before her eyes.
“Grand Duchess?”
Karina calmly responded to Mikhail’s call.
“Not at all. Nothing happened. What could possibly happen inside the Grand Duke’s mansion?”
‘That’s right. I secured the necessary seal and even wrote a divorce pledge to Jeremiah to firmly nail it down, so everything went well.’
Karina repeated to herself as she picked up the seal.
‘Now I just need to follow the plan.’
Karina, who had steeled her resolve, began to stamp the seal on the invitations.
“……”
Mikhail, who had been watching silently from the side, said,
“Grand Duchess? I think you stamped the seal incorrectly.”
“Huh…?”
Startled by those words, Karina examined the invitation in front of her.
“Ah……”
The seal at the bottom of the invitation where it should be stamped was upside down.
Karina only then realized that she had been stamping the seal backwards.
‘Sigh. I’ll have to remake the invitations.’
Karina sighed and pressed her forehead.
[This is the timeline separator]That afternoon.
Jeremiah quietly summoned the Paulo jeweler to the Grand Duke’s mansion.
“I want to order a necklace.”
“A necklace? If I may ask, are you thinking of wearing it somewhere?”
The jeweler cautiously asked.
“I need something suitable for a charity event.”
“A charity event? Well, for men, cravats or stuck ties are more common than necklaces, so it might be better to look at stick pins for fastening instead.”
At those words, Jeremiah’s brow furrowed slightly.
“It’s not for me. I’m talking about a necklace for a woman to wear.”
“Pardon?”
The jeweler was startled by those words.
Jeremiah had never once ordered women’s jewelry before.
So he had naturally assumed he would be looking for men’s accessories this time as well.
“Ah, you’re looking for a women’s necklace! Just a moment.”
The jeweler, quick-witted as a merchant, quickly erased his surprised expression and put on a businesslike smile.
“For a women’s necklace, we have quite a nice product. In fact, I was hoping to show it to you, Grand Duke.”
The jeweler gestured to his employee to bring out ‘that item’.
“Our jeweler has created a set of women’s jewelry using emeralds mined from the Rufla region this time.”
Originally, he had brought it thinking he could show it to Caroline, the Grand Duke’s adopted daughter, while coming to the Grand Duke’s mansion.
But if Jeremiah was looking for a women’s necklace, it was much better to present it directly to the Grand Duke.
“The emerald rough stone itself had almost no inclusions or fissures when mined, so it became a talking point as an exceptionally high-quality, top-grade stone that couldn’t be seen before.”
The jeweler went on and on praising the necklace even before bringing it out.
“It received acclaim for bringing out the natural luster of emeralds to the fullest with delicate craftsmanship.”
Meanwhile, the employee brought a luxurious jewelry box made of soft material.
“Among them, especially that necklace received very high appraisal. People said it’s a masterpiece of a lifetime. I think so too when I look at it.”
The jeweler carefully opened the jewelry box with gloved hands.
As the box opened and the necklace was revealed, Jeremiah could see why the jeweler had said such things.
The necklace inside the jewelry box exuded an enchanting and elegant appearance despite its ordinary and modest design.
The main emerald set in the center softly reflected an alluring color that held the green of lush foliage, while giving an overall clean impression.
“What do you think? This hasn’t even been shown to the public yet. The moment this is revealed, people will be rushing in with fire in their eyes to claim this necklace.”
“……”
“But the craftsman who made this said he would prefer if this necklace was found by someone who recognizes its true value, rather than being evaluated solely by its monetary worth. So we specially wanted to show it to people who would suit this jewel before revealing it to the public……”
The jeweler started boasting about the necklace, making a fuss.
But Jeremiah couldn’t hear the merchant’s voice.
As soon as he saw that green color, Jeremiah was reminded of Karina’s eyes.
It was a beautiful green color with a clear and transparent luster, as if it had captured the verdant green of a forest brimming with life.
“I’ll take this one.”
“Indeed! The Grand Duke has a discerning eye!”
The jeweler praised Jeremiah’s taste, extolling it.
The necklace shone brilliantly, reflecting the sunlight coming in through the window.
Jeremiah couldn’t take his eyes off that necklace for a long time.
“Jeremiah called for the Paulo jeweler?”
“Yes, Grand Duchess.”
“Why wasn’t I told about this?”
“The Grand Duke ordered only a few people to be quietly summoned. He commanded them to finish their business and leave without making noise.”
Caroline frowned and grumbled.
“Even so, they should have at least greeted me before leaving. Did they just leave like that?”
Caroline clicked her tongue.
Wasn’t the Paulo jeweler the place that’s been making headlines lately with an item called ‘the craftsman’s once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece’?
She had been thinking of calling the Paulo jeweler to have new jewelry and gems made for the charity event.
She regretted missing the chance to see that masterpiece that was still veiled from the public.
‘Not just see it. I could have had it!’
Caroline stomped her feet in frustration.
‘I heard the emerald necklace is the most amazing one.’
Caroline already knew about the masterpiece from information she had pressured out of the gemstone appraisers.
‘I was getting tired of rubies anyway, so this is perfect timing.’
She had planned to wear it at this charity event to receive the gaze of admiring young men and envious young ladies all at once.
She thought she needed to get that necklace before anyone else could.
Unable to contain her impatience, Caroline got up from her seat and left the room.
‘What should I say to Jeremiah to get that necklace?’
Caroline pondered as she headed to the office.
As the emerald necklace was acclaimed as a masterpiece, its price was also extremely high.
Therefore, it wasn’t something that could be easily bought with just the dignity maintenance allowance given to Caroline.
‘But it’s different with the Grand Duke’s wealth.’
Caroline firmly believed that the Grand Duke’s assets should be used for her as well.
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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