“How could that be possible? If it were, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you right now.”
“That’s true. It would have been difficult to survive if your heart had been stabbed to this extent.”
Cassel kissed the forehead of Riena, who was pondering with a serious expression.
“This has been here since I was born. Everyone is surprised when they first see it, but it’s not painful or problematic, so you don’t have to worry.”
“If it’s been there since birth, that means it was there even when you were staying at the Dyke mansion, right?”
“… That’s right.”
However, there was no way to verify the truth. No matter how young she was, Riena had no reason to see Cassel’s body. Moreover, Cassel extremely disliked showing his body to others, so he bathed alone without the help of his attendants.
‘If Cassel says so, then it must be true.’
Why would he lie about such a thing?
Nevertheless, Riena tapped his wound, unable to feel reassured.
“Does it really not hurt?”
“No.”
He truly didn’t seem to be in pain. Only then did Riena let out a sigh of relief.
“Then that’s a relief. I was so worried earlier. You didn’t even answer when I asked. If it was like that, you could have told me earlier.”
“How could I have time for that when you were right in front of me?”
For once, Riena couldn’t tell if his words were true or false.
Based on the atmosphere, it seemed like he was just saying it, but when she saw his passionate gaze, it also seemed genuine.
“It seemed like you didn’t want to stop either.”
Cassel’s large, firm hand gently grasped Riena’s soft mound. Riena unknowingly moaned.
“No, that’s…”
“Was it not?”
Cassel’s voice was still plain. However, his gaze and touch were not plain.
Riena closed her eyes, feeling his unusual, impolite touch.
“I’m going to sleep now.”
Only then did Cassel remove his hand from her. He was disappointed when he could no longer see her purple eyes, but soon whispered softly.
“May you have sweet dreams.”
[This is the timeline separator]When Riena, who had fallen asleep, opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was a hazy sky. No, it wasn’t the sky that was hazy, but her vision.
‘Where am I?’
As she was thinking in a dazed state, she suddenly felt an indescribable pain throughout her body. It was a pain she had never experienced before in her life.
It felt like all the bones in her body were broken. Her ribs were pressing against her lungs, making it difficult to breathe properly, and it was hard to even move a finger.
In reality, when she coughed dryly, as if her ribs were broken and piercing her lungs, droplets of blood splattered.
At that moment, something fell on her face, drip by drip. It seemed like rainwater or tears. Come to think of it, she felt like someone was holding her body.
Riena struggled to lift her heavy eyelids to see who was holding her.
The person she saw in front of her was Cassel.
He, who always held back his tears, was crying pitifully like a child.
His voice sounded like he was resenting her, and at the same time, it sounded like he was heartbroken for her. And above his head, she saw a large tower.
A red tower entwined with ivy. Riena could instinctively tell. That she had fallen from the top of that tower. That was why she was dying now.
And that she would really die soon.
Was Cassel grieving over her death? She hoped he wouldn’t grieve too much.
She wanted to raise her hand and wipe away his tears, but her body wouldn’t move. The words telling him not to cry also wouldn’t come out. She simply closed her eyes, wishing for his happiness.
Just before her consciousness completely faded away, she thought she heard Cassel’s sorrowful voice.
[This is the timeline separator]“Ah…”
Riena woke up crying. Unlike in her dream, the surroundings were still dark.
Startled by the unfamiliar room layout, Riena looked around and soon recalled that this was Cassel’s bedroom.
Only then did she see Cassel’s face lying next to her. She blankly stared at his deeply sleeping face and belatedly realized.
‘It was a dream.’
Cassel holding her, who had fallen from the tower, and crying. That situation was definitely a dream. However, it felt like various parts of her body were in pain, as if she had actually experienced it. Her body, nestled in Cassel’s arms, trembled slightly.
“Ria?”
Perhaps sensing something strange in his sleep, Cassel opened his eyes. He carefully examined her complexion.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Riena tightly hugged Cassel’s neck.
“If it was a nightmare, then it was a nightmare, but…”
Riena couldn’t continue her words.
Last time when she talked about her dream, Cassel had asked her to tell him right away if she dreamed about him again.
So she had to tell him about the dream she just had, but her lips wouldn’t part.
It was a dream that felt so ominous that even uttering it out loud would be unpleasant, and above all, she didn’t want to cause any worry to Cassel.
Because if it were Cassel, he would be distressed to hear that Riena had died like that, even if it was just a dream.
‘But this time, it’s a bit strange too.’
Until now, she had been getting the feeling that her dreams were constantly connected to reality.
What happened with Noah and what happened with Raoul, they all occurred similarly to her dreams.
And this dream also felt like déjà vu.
When she first came to the Winkler mansion, Cassel said Riena could do everything as she pleased, but he asked her not to go to the bell tower.
Also,
When Riena went up to the watchtower for a moment, leaving him behind, Cassel showed a sensitive reaction. As if Riena was a child left alone by the water.
At that time, she had brushed it off, thinking that someone nearby might have gotten hurt like that. But after having this dream following those two incidents, she felt uneasy for no reason.
Riena spoke, organizing her thoughts.
“You know, before, when I first came here, you mentioned the bell tower in the western forest.”
“… Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”
As expected, Cassel reacted a bit sensitively, unlike his usual self. It was different from how he acted last night, like the happiest man in the world after hearing Riena’s love confession.
Riena swallowed dryly and asked persistently.
“What color is that bell tower?”
“…”
“Is it by any chance red?”
“…!”
Cassel maintained his silence, but from his slightly widened pupils, Riena realized that her intuition was correct.
“And there’s ivy on the walls…?”
“How do you even know that…?”
Cassel abruptly sat up and washed his face with an anxious expression.
“Did you have another dream?”
“No.”
Riena quickly denied it.
“I just felt like I heard something like that somewhere before.”
But Cassel probably didn’t believe her. She could read his mind from his still rough, unsettled breathing.
‘But why is Cassel talking as if I shouldn’t have such dreams?’
Could it be that Cassel really knows something about the dreams Riena has?
Could it be that this dream isn’t just a random dream, but a prophetic dream that shows something?
So is Cassel trying to prevent such misfortune by stopping her from going to the western bell tower?
‘But then, the dream about Marquis Belliard doesn’t make sense. Me marrying him and even being abused…’
Then Riena suddenly recalled her first meeting with Cassel. That night, Cassel came through the harsh rain with only one knight accompanying him.
At the time, she only felt gratitude towards Cassel, who had come at the right time, and even afterwards, she didn’t think it was particularly strange, but now that she thought about it, there were more than one or two suspicious aspects.
Cassel was a man who unconditionally followed etiquette unless there was a special reason, and according to Princess Anais, he was a stubborn man.
And yet, he came to propose to Riena at that time, in that attire, without prior contact?
Cassel even said with his own mouth that he came in a hurry.
At that time, it had already been two months since Count Dyke’s death. Even considering the time it would take for the letter sent by the Count to Cassel to arrive from the southern end to the northern end, Cassel had plenty of time to formally contact and visit the Dyke mansion.
Nevertheless, he ignored all those procedures and came.
Why? For what purpose?
Was he in such a hurry to get married?
If not that, then,
‘Did he want to prevent something?’
If so, what did he want to prevent?
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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