On a summer afternoon when the sun blazed fiercely.
A woman was being led to the stake, her wrists tied behind her back by a guard.
With each step she took, the iron shackles gnawing at her ankles made a chilling sound, but she had no time to care.
For she knew that in just a few minutes her body would be tied up there.
‘It’s all over now.’
Her gaze, staring at the stake, was empty. Her parched lips were cracked like a desert, and her once vibrant leafcolored eyes were dead.
Was it because of the intense heat of the sun? Or was it the fear of death?
The woman swayed as if she would collapse at any moment.
“For the crime of causing the death of Count Heidern, the criminal apothecary, Lea, is sentenced to death!”
Bang bang bang!
On the day of her death sentence, the loud sound of the wooden gavel was still clear in her ears.
She cried out that her potion could not have been faulty, but her plea fell on deaf ears.
The nobles were busy cursing that due to the incompetence of the apothecary, the count of the empire was in danger of dying.
‘I should not have come here in the first place.’
No. At least on the day she became the count’s primary physician, she should have run away. But now, such regret was futile.
She let out a hollow laugh. She had been reincarnated into this world, alone, for 22 years.
All these past days of striving to survive in this world flashed past like a movie reel.
“From now on, the execution of the apothecary Lea will proceed. The prisoner, come here and kneel.”
Pushed roughly by the guard, she kneeled, ready to collapse. The crowd stirred as the face of the main character, who had caused a stir throughout the capital, was revealed.
I heard that Count Heidern died after consuming the potion made by that woman.
How pitiful. She’s still so young…
Pitiful? She’s no different from a murderer!
Among them were those who showed sympathy for her and those who blamed her for her immature actions as a young apothecary.
“Does the criminal Lea have any last words?”
At the judge’s words, she bowed her head.
‘Last words? As if I would have such a thing.’
The man had died because of the potion she had made.
The heavy guilt and intense regret crushed her body. She was struggling to breathe.
‘Would things have been different if I hadn’t……’
But Lea, who realized that such thoughts were futile, closed her eyes. Wishing that the pain would end quickly.
As she seemed resigned, the judge raised his hand.
At the signal to execute the sentence, the guard was tying a rope around her neck when…
“Stop.”
A man’s voice quietly echoed through the grounds.
“Who are you?! Do you know where you are……!”
As the man in the black robe slowly revealed his face, the murmurs in the grounds ceased.
‘What?’
Feeling the chilly air around her that had frozen over, Lea slowly opened her eyes.
Before her, under the scorching sun, were the faintly shining red eyes of a man.
“……Count?”
She mumbled, her voice trembling as if she had seen a ghost.
Count Heidern, whom she believed she had killed, had returned alive.
[This is the time separator]‘So warm.’
Was it a warmth she hadn’t felt in a while? She could feel the soft and gentle bedding enveloping her body.
‘Who is it?’
The gentle stroke behind her earlobe made a strange moan escape from Lea’s mouth.
As if disturbed by that touch, she buried her face deeper into the pillow.
‘Is it a dream.’
A sweet dream where someone was caressing her face with tender affection.
The deep breath tickling her nose. And the tickling touch sweeping her hair aside.
‘Why does it feel so real?’
Despite being a dream, the vivid sensation gradually woke Lea up. Upon realizing something was off, she slowly opened her eyes and saw.
A face sculpted like a masterpiece, hair gleaming golden like the sun, and even red pupils like blood.
‘Count?
She blinked as if she had seen a ghost.
Am I still dreaming? Lea cautiously pinched her flesh with her fingers.
‘It’s not a dream…….’
But the place where her finger lingered hurt, proving it was not a dream.
‘So did I…… die?’
With a sense of doubt, Lea slowly felt her own neck. She was destined to be decapitated on the guillotine.
At that moment, she recalled the count she had faced in the execution grounds.
Could it be that her desperate wish had conjured an illusion? Lea, who couldn’t take her eyes off the count even as she fell.
“Are you really alive? What, what on earth…….”
As if she could not believe it, Lea touched the man’s face.
The unfamiliar touch of skin under her fingertips assured her this was not an illusion.
While Lea was feeling the man’s face here and there, he grabbed her wrist and murmured.
“Your face will wear out.”
‘Ah.’
The deep baritone voice lingered in Lea’s ears. It was too familiar……. It was the voice she had longed for so much.
“Are you really the count……?”
Startled, Lea shot up from the bed as if to spring out and scrutinized the man. Yes. There could be no other man with such a face.
“My goodness.”
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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