Leharht felt uneasy and chewed on his words as if something was bothering him. The words of the former emperor, Ganien, kept circulating in his mind.
It seemed strange to make such statements as if he had the ability to see the future. Especially considering that he himself didn’t know he would give up his ability.
Although it was the age of a previous life in the dream, in any case, the version of himself seen in the dream impulsively decided to discard his ability.
Unable to be certain whether the act of letting go included the ability, he couldn’t delve deeper into the matter.
“Wouldn’t it be better to consider it fortunate rather than harboring doubts? Thanks to that, the succession ceremony concluded successfully.”
“Yeah, it did. It certainly helped.”
“In that case, would you like assistance to get dressed for the ceremony?”
Upon Alex’s request to rise, Leharht readily stood up, as if hearing his request for the first time, very casually.
“But what happened to the leaf that seeped into my hand?”
For two years with no response, it seemed as if the eye that resembled a leaf had melted by now. Naturally, there was no snowfall there, and there was no moisture that would form when the snow melted.
“You’ll find out someday.”
Alex replied with a reassuring tone and stepped back. Now, it was time for the seamstress, not him, to come and assist Leharht with his ceremonial attire.
At that moment, a knight who had been outside entered and whispered into Alex’s ear. Having received the report, Alex went straight to Leharht’s side.
“Miss Etienne has arrived. Would you like to see her?”
“Let her in.”
Leharht responded with a visibly brightened expression. Alex dismissed the attendant and soon after, Etienne appeared.
“Greetings to His Majesty, the new sun of the Empire.”
Etienne gave a courteous nod while presenting a slight curtsey. In response, Leharht approached with a nod.
“You don’t have to be so formal. Make yourself comfortable.”
“But you have become His Majesty. How can I be so casual?”
“Are you saying I was easygoing when I was the Crown Prince?”
“Even when you were the Crown Prince, I believe you did offer greetings, didn’t you?”
As Etienne responded naturally, the atmosphere between them softened. Leharht embraced her, inhaling the scent of wind that lingered in her hair.
“Where have you been?”
“To the place where Prince Ludvi, no, the Crown Prince had the accident.”
Now that Leharht has become the Emperor, Ludvi has become the Crown Prince, but the title of Prince stuck and wasn’t easily corrected.
“I expected you would eventually go there. So, how was it?”
Leharht asked casually, but Etienne’s expression became very serious.
“It was the exact spot where Your Majesty fell.”
“Hmm… the place where we shared a kiss, you mean?”
Since he had the same thought, Etienne looked at Leharht without saying a word. She felt her face getting warm but pretended not to notice. It was futile, as he thought mentioning it wouldn’t reveal anything.
“It seems we’re on the same page. Seeing that we had the same thought.”
“Your Majesty can’t be deceived.”
Etienne lightly touched one side of her cheek with the back of her hand. In response, Leharht gently cupped her other cheek, thinking about what she had said.
“If I fell from that place where you mentioned… considering how perfectly the location fits…”
Thinking about how the location aligned so perfectly, Leharht chose the most plausible hypothesis and said,
“If someone made me fall there, it must have been Ludvi. Even if I’m unharmed now, it could have been the intended location if he had a plan originally.”
“So, what that means is…”
“If there was a plan to kill me from a long time ago, they could have made me fall at that place.”
“I don’t quite understand.”
“Then, think about it this way. Let’s say you’re Ludvi. The Emperor is lying in a sickbed, and no one knows when he’ll die. In that case, as the Crown Prince, I need to be removed before the Emperor dies, right?”
Leharht was too casual and calm in his words about getting rid of himself. Even though it meant Ludvi killing him.
“But unless he openly slits my throat, he has to discreetly kill me… to do that, he would need to prepare in advance to execute the plan perfectly.”
“Are you saying… you’ve known about this place for years?”
“That’s right. Of course, it’s just my speculation.”
Leharht said it was okay not to believe him, but Etienne couldn’t ignore the story. Leharht’s words seemed closest to the truth.
If Ludvi had planned to kill Leharht from the beginning, and the means was making him fall, and if the pre-selected location was that place, then everything Etienne found puzzling fell into place.
“That makes sense.”
“We need to confirm what’s certain. I’ll take some time to meet Ludvi. I’ll let you know the details afterward.”
Leharht patted Etienne’s shoulder, adding words of appreciation. Then, Etienne, feeling the belated burden, slouched her shoulders.
Going there, Etienne didn’t just learn about Ludvi’s affairs. The conversation with Fernando came to mind, and Etienne brought up that topic.
“I heard from His Majesty.”
“Me? About what?”
“He told me to see the memories in the water.”
“Ah…”
Leharht, seeming a bit flustered and awkward, trailed off at the end of his words.
“Is that why you apologized to me? If so, I was a bit surprised at first, but now it’s okay.”
To show that she was unaffected, Etienne smiled at Leharht. However, instead of reciprocating with a smile, Leharht looked at Etienne with a serious expression.
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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