The reception room left with only two was silent.
Steam curled from the afternoon tea pot placed on the table. A hand, holding the handle of the teacup gracefully, moved soundlessly. As he placed the teacup he was holding down onto the saucer, the man murmured softly.
“It shouldn’t be a difficult choice.”
Reclining leisurely, the man’s expression, his fingers intertwined and adorned with rings, looked relaxed. His gaze was that of a predator driving its prey into a corner, as if the prey was an easy meal.
“To become the sixth prey of the perverted duke… or to become the wife of a duke, free in three years.”
Idel’s body flinched. Even a threeyearold child would know it’s an easy decision to make, but for some reason, her words couldn’t flow out easily.
His eyes, clearly different from the lustful gaze of the Duke he mentioned, stared at her intensively. His deep blue pupils seemed dangerous in a different sense.
“Do you need more time to think? It doesn’t seem like you have that luxury.”
She couldn’t hide her anxiety and bit her lip slightly. Like spreading paint, her soft pink lips became a deeper red.
The man’s relaxed gaze disappeared for a moment at the sight of her slightly swollen lips moistening and parting. As the urge to covet those petallike lips arose instantly, he clenched his teeth hard.
“…I will do it. The contract that Your Grace proposed.”
Finally, the awaited answer came out. The man, adept at controlling his emotions, returned to his unaffected expression as if nothing happened.
“It’s a wise choice.”
His face, adorned with a languid smile that seemed satisfied, was breathtakingly captivating. The thumping heartbeat echoed like a warning in her ears.
‘Is it really a wise choice…?’
It felt like she had fallen into an unavoidable trap.
[This is the time separator]Idel decided to run away… no, to be independent.
This was the decision of a lifetime she made after living as a decorative flower of the Fleur family for twenty years.
Although she had prepared for it long ago, her decision at this moment became even more resolute. Her slender hand, gripping the cutlery, was strained to the point of showing the veins.
“Are you happy too, sister?”
Roselin, with a smile as fresh as the rose fragrance filling the dining room, brushed her tempting auburn hair behind her ears and examined her complexion.
Her seemingly innocent expression cleverly shimmered as she looked at Idel’s emotionless face. Like a spectator enjoying the impending misfortune from the front row.
“Well, for your sister, it’s nothing less than a fortune. She’s going to be a duchess, after all.”
“You’re right. Even though there’s a ‘flaw’ in my sister… but she’s so beautiful that the Duke will like her too.”
The countess drank wine in lieu of Idel’s answer, and Roselin emphasized the ‘flaw’ her favorite topic in tune.
The compliment of beauty wasn’t a sincere appreciation of Idel’s appearance. It was just a fuse for the words that would follow.
“What’s the use of being beautiful. She’s just a scentless artificial flower anyway…”
“But a flower is still a flower. After all, you’re a Fleur too.”
“Humph! We’ll see…”
The countess’s gaze, full of disdain, fell upon Idel as if speaking for her, suggesting she wasn’t a legitimate Fleur.
And Roselin’s face, looking satisfied like a cat that just had a full meal…
This scene, ongoing since her childhood, repeated over the past decades like an endless play.
‘It’s starting again.’
Idel swallowed down the alltoofamiliar humiliation along with the food in her mouth. After finishing her meal, she picked up the napkin on her lap and wiped her mouth with an indifferent expression.
The countess, who had been watching her disapprovingly, completely changed her expression as she looked at Roselin. The countess, with a tender smile and a face filled with infinite kindness, was the epitome of motherly affection.
“Anyway, our Roselin is blooming more day by day. The lovely scent of roses is getting stronger, and the young gentlemen can’t keep their minds straight, can they? Noble ladies who have charming suitors are begging me to bring you to tea time.”
“Oh, Mother, please! You’re embarrassing me. I am not yet ready to be in a relationship.”
“You are now eighteen, it’s time to find a good marriage prospect. I don’t want to send you off to any Tom, Dick or Harry. The Empire’s finest flower must rise to its highest position.”
Being sold off like a possession to an old duke who had been married five times was a stark contrast to her own circumstances. Countess and Roselin, smiling at each other, seemed to be in different worlds.
As always, she felt like a stranger in this house, unable to belong anywhere. Perhaps it was her fate determined at birth.
The secret of the family was not known to the outside, but the descendants of Count Fleur, who was said to have received the protection of the fairy of flowers by a distant ancestor, were born with the scent of their birth flowers.
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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