In the end, Rukna shook her captured hand.
“Matian, how long are you going to hold on?”
“Ah.”
Matian immediately showed a flustered expression.
He had forgotten that he was still holding the hand he had grabbed while confirming victory.
‘I’m crazy. Why did I hold a man’s hand for so long?’
Since it happened unconsciously, he could have abruptly released Rukna’s hand, but Matian’s movements were cautious.
Strangely, he felt regretful to be moving away from the warmth of that hand.
Was it because he could momentarily forget the devil’s fragment constricting his heart only when he was with Rukna?
Unaware of Matian’s state of mind, Rukna rushed straight to Bolton, who had collapsed, as soon as Matian let go of her hand.
“Hey, Bolton. Are you conscious?”
Did he faint completely? Rukna crouched down and slightly turned Bolton’s face, who was lying face down on the ground. But his head didn’t budge.
‘Is he not unconscious? His cheek is damp?’
It could be bleeding. Hey, Bolton! Rukna forcefully turned Bolton’s head to the side.
Clear water, not blood, was wetting his cheek.
Either it hurt considerably or he was embarrassed, Bolton was crying, tears streaming down.
‘This tough-looking guy like a pirate seems to have a weaker heart than he looks.’
Rukna straightened Bolton’s head again and whispered quietly.
“Hey, Bolton. Remember our promise?”
Bolton nodded. “Sob, damn blockhead!” The curse was heard, but Rukna ignored it.
“My wish is to be selected for the summons to the Isle of Wisdom. Can you put me on the list?”
“……”
“I’m asking if you can keep the promise.”
After staying still for a while, Bolton nodded.
This guy. Even while crying, he’s swearing to keep his promise well, so he doesn’t seem like a completely bad person.
[This is the timeline separator]The lower reaches of the Balt River, which cut through the central plains of the empire, were connected to the Tulan Strait.
Where the two streams met, creating quite strong currents, there was a large island – the ‘Isle of Wisdom’ where alchemists lived.
The students participating in this summons traveled on horseback.
When Rukna, unfamiliar with long-distance horseback riding, fell behind at the end of the line, Matian, who was riding at the front, gestured to Bolton.
“Bolton, switch places with Rukna. If Rukna’s pace slows, help from behind.”
Matian was the leader of this student group.
He maintained his gentle smile like at the military academy, but his voice when giving orders was particularly low and firm, so the students remained tense in front of Matian.
Rukna rode with the student group along the Balt River for 4 hours.
Just as she thought her bottom would split into four pieces, a very brief rest arrived.
‘I’m really dying here.’
If she hadn’t consistently trained with the holy sword and dawn exercises, she would have collapsed in less than an hour.
At the start, her student uniform was crisply ironed and her hair neatly combed, but now, drenched in sweat, she looked no different from a beggar.
Rukna stopped her horse in the riverside grassland and prepared to dismount with trembling legs.
But as she put one foot in the stirrup and tried to place the other on the ground, she lost her balance and her body tilted backward.
Just as she thought she would fall ungracefully, someone supported her neck with their hand, preventing her from falling.
“Oh, oh, thank you.”
Rukna flailed her arms while removing her foot from the stirrup.
Grateful for the support, but was it just her imagination that her neck felt a bit choked… Haha.
Rukna turned her head in that position. The name of that sculpture looking down at her with a gentle smile was Matian.
“Thanks, Matian.”
Rukna greeted him once more, indicating that it was enough.
“Seems like it was quite tough. Are you alright?”
“Ah, yes. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden long distance.”
In truth, it was her first time. But she wanted to pretend she had done it before.
“Um, Matian. Can you let go of my neck now? It’s a bit suffocating. Haha, if you accidentally apply force, my neck might break.”
“…I see.”
While agreeing with Rukna’s words, Matian felt an urge to tighten his grip on the slender neck that fit perfectly in his hand.
Was this jealousy? Something like an inferiority complex towards an opponent who might have obtained the holy sword.
‘Me? Towards that Rukna?’
Matian laughed in disbelief as he slowly removed his hand.
Strangely, a man’s skin was so delicate that a red handprint remained on his neck like a stamp.
For some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off that mark.
“Don’t worry. I won’t do such things where people can see.”
Matian slowly tore his gaze away from Rukna’s nape and returned to the camp to take care of the other students, telling her to rest well.
‘Does that mean he would strangle me where people can’t see?’
Rukna grumbled, wondering what she had just heard, as she plopped down on a nearby low rock.
Then she opened the small pouch attached to her waist and took out a small piece of jerky.
Just as she was about to put the salty jerky in her mouth…
“Who do we have here? Isn’t it the chairman of Luibitdong?”
Along with Bolton’s voice, something round entered her mouth, spreading sweetness.
What’s this? As she opened her eyes wide in surprise, Bolton touched his black eye patch and added an explanation.
“It’s not suspicious, it’s a protein candy. Shining Rukna.”
Protein candy? Somehow it sounds like something that would build muscle.
“Th…anks.”
By the way, didn’t Bolton call her by a strange name instead of blockhead?
‘Well, Hans and Zvai teased Bolton a lot for losing to me in the last match.’
The two had become overconfident believing in Rukna and were thoroughly beaten by Bolton.
Still, the teasing must have stuck with him, as Bolton was pettily calling Rukna by a name referencing the club.
“Do you know about alchemists, shining Rukna?”
“…Only a little.”
How long is he going to keep teasing like this? Rukna shook her head and sighed.
“Then let this one explain.”
Bolton mixed some powder into his glass water bottle, cleared his throat while shaking the bottle.
And he began to recite the basic history taught in the first year to Rukna, who had lost her memories.
“In our world, there are light, water, fire, earth, and wind attributes, right?”
And that power was called ether.
When surrounded by that ether and used, it became aura, when amplified by proper calculation it became magic power, when twisted by improper calculation it became dark magic power, and when handled with pure faith it was called holy power.
“Especially priests mainly use light ether. You could say that holy power is the power of light, shining Rukna.”
“Stop teasing me already. I’m about to become a Rukna with too much debt in my heart as it is.”
Although Hans and Zvai were the ones at fault, Rukna felt a bit guilty too.
If she had known this would happen, she should have gone easy during the match. Who knew that big guy would go down in one hit?
Bolton made a mischievous expression saying, ‘I wasn’t teasing though?’
“And those who use water ether are the alchemists. The first alchemist was a mermaid. For a princess of their race who wanted human legs, they created an elixir, which became the origin of alchemy.”
However, it is said that the princess lost her voice as a side effect of the drug, instead of gaining the legs she desired.
The mermaids who followed the princess, obtained legs and came to land became the first alchemists, developing various elixirs and laying the foundation for alchemy.
“It’s similar to the little mermaid fairy tale.”
“Fairy tale? Mermaids can’t be fairy tale protagonists. Those guys have such terrible personalities! Haven’t you seen the school nurse?”
“Teacher Gale?”
Rukna recalled the school nurse who wore black glasses and smiled playfully.
‘So Teacher Gale was a mermaid.’
No wonder her red eyes and long slit pupils seemed out of place.
Come to think of it, before departing for this place, Teacher Gale had quietly approached her with a request.
The leather pouch, about the size of a palm, was bulging as if it contained a large bead.
When asked what it was, she said it was a final gift for her soon-to-be ex-husband.
Throughout that conversation, Teacher Gale’s expression had remained stiff, which was concerning.
While Rukna was recalling these memories, Bolton was complaining about the school nurse’s negligence and unique temperament.
“Red potion for a broken arm, red potion for torn flesh, red potion for headaches too. There’s a reason why students don’t go to the infirmary, I tell you.”
Bolton showed the burn scar on the back of his hand, explaining that the teacher had applied red potion to this as well.
“But isn’t it quite effective? When I applied that medicine, I felt like even forgotten memories were coming back.”
“It just barely avoided making things worse. Shouldn’t a mermaid from the Isle of Wisdom be able to provide better treatment? Even a three-year-old mermaid would do better than that.”
“Are mermaid alchemists that amazing?”
“It’s no exaggeration to say that all elixirs on this land were created by mermaids and those with their blood mixed in. They themselves are alchemy, in a sense. It’s said that if you create the golden elixir, the pinnacle of elixirs, you can become the Great Sage, the leader of alchemists.”
The golden elixir, a panacea that grants eternal life.
Moreover, it’s said that if you soak any object in it, it can turn anything into gold.
Aiming for this, every year various races, including humans, seek out the Isle of Wisdom to become alchemists.
“But most can’t even last half a year before leaving the island. It’s really difficult for other races to catch up to the mermaids’ skills.”
“Well, mermaids naturally handle water ether easily.”
“That doesn’t mean all humans have failed. Some excellent alchemists have been produced.”
“Who?”
“None other than this Bolton Buttke!”
Bolton laughed heartily as he held out the water bottle he had been shaking to Rukna.
The contents, like a milk shake, held creamy foam.
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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