The image above is the Duke, her father. (Artist is @ enaa97 on twitter.) I need to find the artist for the other pics, too.
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After realizing… and overthinking, she decided to play the part of Knile Hyll Reiss, the villainess destined to die.
Even though death was inevitable, she didn’t hate it. That’s how the story went.
She’d finished reading the whole manga and knew the villainess wasn’t interested in the male leads. Scratch that—she secretly liked someone.
The story follows a naive, ignorant heroine with a Cinderella tale. Armed with overpowered magic and innocent beauty, she strives to charm the male leads. The villainess didn’t care about the rising diva until her fiancée started to change.
As the prince began to shift, aristocratic power waned. Commoners revolted against the crown, threatening peace. Knile understood the crown prince and the heroine were behind it. They both wanted to end the noble regime, forcing Knile to act—she *was* the crown princess, after all.
As the future Empress, it was her job to stop the revolution and restore peace to the Empire. A heavy task. She hadn’t made any friends, and no one was willing to help—not even the nobles. It felt like fighting the entire nation, including the crown prince, and dismissing those lazy nobles.
The nobles expected and trusted her, yet no one offered aid. The Emperor desperately wanted to retire, and mysteriously died. Now everything rested on her shoulders. The crown prince was useless as usual, and the Empress was sick.
Bringing back peace was a challenge.
Agreeing with greedy nobles was infuriating.
Arguing with the Crown Prince over decisions affecting the Empire was exhausting.
Her family didn’t care about her and offered no support, which fueled her rage.
Peasants ignored the laws.
Knights no longer valued honor or loyalty.
Nobles exploited the chaos.
The imperial family was losing power in her hands.
And the worst part? Even with her sacrifices, she was accused of starting the chaos. Rumor had it she’d killed the Emperor to seize more power—a baseless conspiracy that led to her doom.
The accusation originated with the crown prince, her fiancée. It spread like wildfire, extinguishing her position as the future Empress.
Disappointment was visible in everyone’s expressions. This was the prince’s plan: he wanted the heroine to rule with him. Why go to such lengths? Perhaps the dead Emperor favored the villainess, stirring envy? Who knew.
The heroine’s light magic appeared, and people—especially the nobility—learned what fear was. Light magic was a sign of prosperity, blessed by the goddess they worshipped.
People started comparing the Heroine with her light magic to the Villainess with her unknown magic.
An accident occurred, forcing Knile to reveal her dark magic. Since dark magic was considered the source of all evil, her image worsened. Everything she’d built crumbled after revealing her ugly secret.
This sudden shift broke Knile. The mental damage overwhelmed her, clouding her judgment. She was slowly swallowed by hysteria. She then—
“Knile, are you listening?” Her father’s cold voice interrupted her reverie. She glared at him with hatred hidden within her crimson eyes, refusing to utter a word.
“Knile, is this how you’ll behave as Empress? Do you want our household to collapse? For everyone’s sake, you need to fix your attitude.” He demanded, his grey-blue eyes blazing. He was blessed with long white locks and dominant grey eyes that made people tremble when he lost control.
Knile ignored his tirade, staring at her twin, who smirked. She still couldn’t believe they were sisters. The twin had white hair like her father, an innocent face, and pink eyes. Pink eyes were rare, so her sister was praised and adored. She was nice to everyone, and everyone treated her nicely—ignoring her true colors. She always wore bright colors, attracting attention. She was a common, attention-seeking insect.
Knile, on the other hand, was blessed with black hair with red highlights. Her hair was black, but at the ends, crimson bled into it, reminding her of blood. She inherited her hair from her late mother and intimidation from her father. She didn’t consider the Duke a father figure.
“Are you going to ignore your father again? How much arrogance do you have?” A male teenager sneered. Even though they shared a mother, he didn’t treat her like family. He treated her like an illegitimate child. White locks, blue eyes, and a handsome face—but a terrible attitude. She found him disgusting, especially since he was one of the capture targets. “Honestly, do you even deserve the throne? Celestine should be the one! She’s talented, smart, kind, and a genius. You’re useless.”
Unbeknownst to them, she was blessed and cursed.
Knile wiped her pale lips with a napkin and stood, bowing elegantly while formally holding her dress.
“Father, brother, your words make no sense. Your insults make no sense. Everything in this household makes no sense. Regarding Celestine being better than me, why don’t you arrange her marriage to the prince?”
Silence answered her. Everyone was stunned by her response.
“Well then, goodbye.”
She left with a slight smile as her family gritted their teeth in annoyance. It was the first time they’d received a proper answer from her—or an insult. The Duke was surprised by the sudden change.
Entering her Victorian-style room, followed by her maid, she immediately went towards the bookshelves to gather more information.
She started reading about witchcraft and spells. Ever since her soul entered Knile’s body, she couldn’t control her mana perfectly. The magic didn’t recognize her soul. She knew in the manga that Knile was the strongest female wizard, but she couldn’t achieve that title anymore. She looked at her maid, her face emotionless, and watched her tremble—it irritated her. She needed to intimidate her pawns, not coddle them.
“You’re fired,” Knile stated, her voice flat.
“W-wait, Miss! I haven’t done anything to anger you!”
Of course, she hadn’t. According to the manga, she’d become a spy for her twin. The maid agreed, knowing Knile treated her like nothing. Knile didn’t care about her—she’d use her, then discard her. How pathetic.
Her mind wandered, remembering stories she’d previously read. Some villains trusted their maids more than their families. It seemed funny, but she knew she’d do the same. She just needed to find a trustworthy, obedient one.
“I don’t care. You’re fired.” Knile’s icy voice echoed through the room.
Now that the small fry was gone, she mentally prepared for a trauma-inducing scene.
Tomorrow is the Crown Prince’s birthday. The beginning of Chaos.
She sighed, grabbing a mask she’d previously bought and hiding it beneath her black cloak. She proceeded to leave the house, leaving no traces.
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A marvelous carriage with dark themes and golden designs arrived in town. Knile exited the carriage and ordered the guards to protect the carriage instead of her. Since the guards didn’t consider her their lady, it was a job suited for them.
She walked towards a merchant guild, wearing the mask, and stood in front of the guard. The guard stared at her for a moment before pointing to the door. She nodded with satisfaction—everything was too easy. She opened the door and entered a hallway lit by torches, preventing the darkness from invading. She continued walking until she arrived at a room for illegal auctions.
She made herself comfortable and waited for the slave auction to begin. Everyone hyped up the items—jewelry and special artifacts—but Knile found them boring. They couldn’t save herself with these trinkets.
After waiting for an eternity, the slave auction began. She waited a little longer until her pawn came into view.
In front of her was a girl in her teenage years with white hair and purple eyes. She was beautiful and radiated a strong aura. Her lips were pressed into a line as she glared at everyone with murderous intent. Knile’s lips curled into a smile—she was entertaining, and maybe the most useful pawn she’d ever possess.
The villainess in the manga never knew she was an ace, but the villainess right now already knew her identity. Was it unfair she knew what was coming?
The nobles started shouting prices, fighting over the girl. Knile raised her hand, covered with black gloves, and smirked.
“1,000,000 gold.” She stated in an average tone, shocking everyone. She knew her voice was almost a whisper, but she was glad she hadn’t shouted.
“Sold to the lady!”
The girl behind the bars stared at her, her murderous intent disappearing. Knile dropped her smirk. She thought the price was low for a lady like her. Everyone started leaving while Knile stayed, waiting for them to disappear.
After waiting too long, she received a key and a ring from the seller. The ring prevented the slave—or rather, the lady—from running away. She unlocked the cage and raised her hand for the pawn to grab. The pawn, looking confused, grabbed her hand and pulled herself out. Knile noticed she was poorly dressed and skinny.
“Who are you?” The pawn asked, trying to appear confident.
“Knile Hyll Reiss,” she answered. There was no point in hiding anything—she’d die in the future. If she died early, even better. She then started walking towards the exit while the pawn followed.
“I’m Celestia.”
Knile already knew why she couldn’t say her last name.
“I’ll be blunt: starting now, you will serve me. You will become my maid. Don’t even think of betraying me.”
“Oh, so you were betrayed? And what would you do if I betrayed you?” Celestia mocked, catching Knile’s full attention. She still had her fangs—she needed to train her.
“You won’t do that. If you betray me, you’ll die immediately. I cast a spell during the auction.” Her tone remained firm as they exited the building. What she said was a lie.
Knile took off her cloak and gave it to Celestia. Celestia wrapped the cloak around her, and she noticed Knile’s black and crimson hair. She was mesmerized by the sight. Knile revealed herself, mask in hand, causing Celestia’s eyes to widen.
She couldn’t believe it. She saw darkness and chaos within her red glowing eyes.
She felt hope.
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So, just a reminder not to pity the villainess because her story and past were told from someone else’s perspective.
This fanfic might be strange and weird since I’m going to make the characters a little insane. ////////////////////////////