“She pondered their words carefully.”
When Latil opened her mouth, the surroundings fell as quiet as a mouse.
The golden crown on her head, the majestic red cape draped over her shoulders, the luxurious scepter in her hand… Latil distinctly felt where their gazes landed.
Now she was the Empress. An empress who no one, who used to mock her, could openly defy.
Latil felt a sense of pleasure standing at the highest point. Hyacinth… this bastard. Is this the feeling why you abandoned me?
“Your words are correct. Stability in the royal family comes from solid successors. I understand your words advising me to quickly take on a husband.”
A faint smile appeared on the Duke of Atraxil’s lips. He had secured his place as a meritocrat by supporting Latil early on. He was sure. The name of his son, Ranamun, would come out of Latil’s mouth.
Ranamun was perfect in family, appearance, and ability. Furthermore, his father was a meritocrat, so who else could be the spouse of this young empress?
At that moment when the Duke of Atraxil was smiling victoriously, the duke’s faction was pleased but slightly disappointed, and the hostile forces and middle factions had bitter faces.
“So, I have decided to introduce the harem first.”
Words that destroyed their expectations in an instant sprung out of the empress’ mouth. The smiling duke, the ministers with various expressions, all looked up at Latil with the same dumbfounded faces.
A harem? And more than one?
Everyone could not immediately understand her words.
Latil kindly explained to them again.
“Initially… only about five people.”
The hall, quiet as a mouse, became noisy at her words. Everyone was surprised by the unexpected statement this new empress uttered. She is bringing in five harems?
It was unthinkable. Duke Atraxil was stunned and objected.
“There have been several female empresses so far, but all of them only had one husband. There were many men rumored to be lovers, but no one ever openly introduced a harem. Why……”
“The fifth emperor Trasishu, who was known for his naive romance, had five harems, and the eleventh emperor Aintrah had six harems, Duke Atraxil. The rest, on average, had fifteen harems. Some more frivolous emperors even had more than twenty harems.”
“But……!”
“Why can’t I have a harem that everyone else has. I must have at least five harems, like the former emperors.”
The ministers’ mouths opened wide. They looked panicked at the empress who declared she would set up a harem confidently.
Latil glanced at the nobles whose eyes were filled with astonishment, and slightly curled the corners of her mouth as if ridiculing.
“Weren’t the ministers always arguing that the empress should have other harems to prevent the external power from growing too much for the sake of balance of power?”
Everyone closed their mouths. She was right. Not just them, but all ministers throughout history had made such claims.
Latil added with a playful smile in her eyes.
“You also would prefer me to have several harems, right? Then you can compete for the position of the empress’s soninlaw, right?”
This time, the reactions were divided. The Duke of Atraxil frowned even more, while the opposition’s faces relaxed a bit.
Indeed. If the empress only chose one husband as she is, the national husband was 100% the son of the Duke of Atraxil.
However, if the empress brought in several harems… perhaps they also had the opportunity to seize the reins of power. The day when a successor is born from the relationship with the empress…!
As the ministers’ eyes began to shine with greed, Latil laughed quietly to herself.
‘Hyacinth. Send an envoy to your country to choose my harem. This time, you choose the men who will become mine. It’s your turn to feel the same misery I felt. You too.’
In 517 of the Hyi calendar, the first year of the reign of Emperor Latrasil Tarium.
She declared a harem.
[This is the time separator]511 of the Hyi calendar.
The crown prince of the Tarium Empire was Latil’s brother, Lean. Lean was a crown prince whom all the nobles followed and all the people expected, and his mother was the Empress from a major noble family, so his path was solid.
“If I become an emperor, I will be the current military power, and if I become a scholar, I will be the successor after me!”
There was no one who did not already know about the great scholar’s admiration for Leane and his daring conversations after they had finished.
Conversely, almost no one knew about the great scholar’s disappointing story about Latil, who was throwing various cheeky questions and was dubbed the ‘Title of the defeated king’. To people, Latil was merely Leane’s sister and one of many princesses.
Latil also did not care about the words the great scholar had left to her. She admired and loved her brother, and looked forward to the world her brother would create. A dispute with her brother for the throne. Wasn’t it just a terrible idea to think about it?
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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