“Where are you going?”
To the question from the Second Prince, Rudvi, the aide repeated the same report.
“His Highness the Crown Prince is leading a group of heirs from several families to Duke Supraher’s domain.”
“Always out and about, but this time he seems to be planning a longer stay.”
Rudvi commented mockingly.
“They discovered Mitril and want to check it out personally.”
“That’s just an excuse. A plausible one, though.”
Rudvi pondered briefly before issuing an order.
“While the Crown Prince is out, find out what he’s up to. Ideally, plant someone who can move at my command among them.”
“But the selected heirs are personally chosen by His Highness.”
“And?”
Rudvi looked at the aide with dissatisfaction.
“One of them could be swayed.”
“To do that, we would need to approach their parents first to win them over, but we’re short on time.”
“Who said anything about touching the whole family? Just target one of the heirs, find a weakness.”
Following Rudvi’s instruction, the aide bowed.
“I’ll find a suitable candidate.”
After the aide left, Rudvi tapped the armrest with his fingers.
“Time to remove some annoying obstacles.”
The Crown Prince’s outings suited Rudvi well.
“A fall from a horse would be cleanest, wouldn’t it?”
Killing the obstacle by snapping its neck seemed both aesthetically pleasing and effective.
“Lady, all your necessary luggage has been moved to the carriage.”
“Come here.”
Hana signaled her maid to come closer. When the maid approached cautiously, Hana pointed to the dress she was just looking at.
“Pack this too.”
“Yes.”
The maid reached for the dress, but Hana pointed to another one.
“And that one too.”
“Lady, I’m sorry, but there’s limited space in the carriage.”
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Move it.”
“Yes.”
With no choice but to comply with her mistress’s insistence, the maid struggled to fit the two dresses into the carriage. Once the maid left with the dresses, Hana opened her jewelry box.
She had already packed more than half of her jewelry, but still seemed to find something lacking as she examined each piece.
“Should I buy more?”
“Who are you trying to impress by packing so much?”
Hana turned around upon recognizing the voice in the mirror.
“Mother.”
“I saw the dresses earlier. Aren’t they too cumbersome for travel?”
“They’re just in case.”
“That ‘just in case’ means for a time to impress someone, right?”
Hana stood up without denying it.
“Do you have someone in mind? Is that it?”
“Um…”
Hana’s eyes twinkled momentarily.
“Yes, there’s someone I want to look at only me and cherish…”
“Who might that be? The Crown Prince? Or Prince Fernando? Those two seem most suitable. Or is there someone else?”
“There’s nothing definite yet.”
Hana replied while trying on earrings, not taking her eyes off the mirror.
“I’ll show you when I return.”
Until the morning of the trip, Etienne couldn’t recall anything related to the Mitril tree. Because of this, her steps felt heavy, and she lacked energy.
“Eat plenty of delicious food and see all the beautiful sights.”
The butler’s farewell made Etienne shake her head.
“You’re wrong. I won’t see anything.”
“If you feel it’s too hard, call me through the trade guild. I’ll come running.”
Comforted by the butler’s words, Etienne’s expression softened.
“You must come.”
“I’ll wait every day for the lady’s call.”
After the butler helped her with her coat, Etienne’s parents approached.
“When His Highness the Crown Prince said he wanted to take you, I wanted to stop it but couldn’t.”
‘I wish you had.’
Etienne sent a resentful look, but Duke Claire seemed oblivious and continued speaking.
“His Highness assured that he will ensure your safety, so we are choosing to trust that.”
Etienne just nodded. At the moment, the carriage had a coachman and a servant attending her, and there were guards riding alongside on horses, but the Crown Prince protecting her seemed like a different matter.
“I will return safely.”
After hugging her parents, Etienne boarded the carriage. Although it was within the same empire, Duke and Duchess Claire looked as if they were sending a child off to the waters.
So, Etienne smiled even brighter to assuage their worries.
As Etienne’s carriage departed, Sera sighed anxiously.
“What is His Highness thinking, taking such a young child with him?”
“She will be treated the same as everyone else, as His Highness doesn’t distinguish,” reassured Duke Claire.
“We have to trust him.”
Sera sighed again at the Duke’s words. Etienne must be thinking it’s just a simple carriage ride.
But regardless of her worries, the event had been set in motion.
Nobles’ children, including Etienne, began to gather at the designated place. The area became quite noisy due to each arriving with their carriage and accompanying knights.
Etienne, resting her hand on the window sill, looked outside. Everyone had come in carriages. She couldn’t tell exactly how many people each had brought, but at a glance, it seemed more than thirty had gathered.
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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