As expected, Klaus showed his displeasure as soon as he saw me.
“What took you so long just to fetch a document from the Treasury?”
“I apologize.”
I immediately apologized without making excuses. After all, my delay was a fact, and it’s not right to come up with needless excuses for a boss’s legitimate reprimand.
Klaus looked at me with a scowl.
“Last time, it was because you were talking with Lady Elfriede. Is it the same this time?”
“No, this time it was Lady Evangeline that I…”
I stopped mid-sentence, realizing my mistake.
But it was too late. Klaus’s expression had already changed drastically.
“Evangeline? That name sounds familiar.”
I involuntarily swallowed hard.
Damn it, this blasted original story isn’t trying to entangle the male and female leads just because I accidentally mentioned her name, is it?
It seemed like this cursed world was desperate to forge a connection between the male and female leads, no matter what.
Anyway, my blabbermouth was the problem. If only I could shut up, that would be great.
Klaus, puzzled, eventually got up and started rummaging through the bookshelf.
“Is she listed in the nobility register?”
Trouble was brewing. I could almost smell the disaster.
A decision had to be made. Staying silent would only reinforce Evangeline’s impression in his mind.
I bravely came clean.
“She is the daughter of Count Poyerbah, who works at the Treasury. We met last holiday at the sanctuary.”
“Oh, really?”
Klaus withdrew his hand from the bookshelf and looked at me.
I reluctantly explained in detail.
“I helped the Count’s daughter when her shoe heel broke at the sanctuary. Just earlier, we met and she invited me for dinner this weekend, so I intended to ask your permission.”
“Why would you need my permission for that? It’s you who’s been invited.”
Klaus seemed genuinely puzzled. I answered, a bit sheepishly.
“I was worried that you might think I’m trying to establish connections with nobility too early into my appointment.”
He looked at me quietly. His purple eyes were so beautiful that if I kept looking, I felt my face would turn red.
I quickly lowered my head to avoid his gaze.
“I apologize if my overthinking has caused you any discomfort.”
“No, it’s not that I’m uncomfortable…”
Klaus trailed off.
“I wanted to say that I wouldn’t suspect you just for accepting a dinner invitation. I’m also aware that you often get caught up in conversations with noble ladies.”
“Yes…”
Maybe he was referring to the few times I met Lumi. Let’s leave it at that for now.
Klaus continued as if he was a deeply considerate superior.
“So, you’ve been caught by the daughter of Count Poyerbah this time. Anyway, handle it well enough so as not to offend her. Rejecting might give her a reason to find fault.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Klaus glanced at me and then smiled bitterly.
“It’s troublesome when an aide is too good-looking.”
“!”
I stared at him in shock. Did he just say what I think he said?
Klaus waved his hand and returned to his desk.
“That’s enough, go on. Oh, and leave the documents here.”
“Yes.”
I left, unsure of what just happened.
I definitely heard something extraordinary.
Though leaving work for an aide is almost ceremonial, I somehow managed to get out of the palace. My destination was the post office.
I sent a brief telegram to Lumi.
To save on telegram fees, I made sure to keep it as short as possible.
Despite its brevity, the message was impactful. Sending it like this would surely make Lumi too curious to resist.
True to my expectations, my prediction was right.
It hadn’t even been a full day since I sent the telegram when a palace maid cautiously approached me.
“She asked me to deliver this to you.”
“?”
Without specifying who sent it, the maid quickly disappeared after fulfilling her task. Anyone would think she was secretly delivering a love letter.
I cautiously unfolded the note. It was a reply from Lumi.
“Hmm.”
The content was better than the telegram. It clearly stated a time to meet.
The time Lumi had set for the meeting was after the Empress’s dinner. Presumably, it was her free time.
Moreover, she even included directions to the meeting place. She said she would send the same maid, instructing me to follow her discreetly to avoid attracting attention.
It was a pretty good smokescreen. If anyone saw me, they might think I was having a secret rendezvous with the maid.
Naturally, it was better for me that my meeting with Lumi remained unknown.
But then a problem arose. Klaus showed no signs of leaving his office even as dinner time approached.
Impatient, I asked him.
“Your Highness, aren’t you having dinner?”
Klaus calmly replied to my question.
“I think I’ll just have to make do with something simple. Too many documents have come over from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.”
Even though I had handled a significant amount, there were still plenty of documents requiring the prince’s seal.
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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