_saintrose

Beatrice Da Ville was meant to be the villainess. Arrogant, cruel, and doomed to die. But when a 21st-century woman wakes up in her body, she refuses to meet that fate.

Avoiding execution should have been simple: keep her head down, stay out of trouble, and let the story run its course. But the world refuses to let her disappear. The nobles are always whispering about her, the royal family won’t leave her alone, and worst of all—the cold, calculating Crown Prince keeps watching her like he knows she’s up to something.

But the deeper she gets entangled in the kingdom’s growing tensions, the more she realizes something terrifying. This story was never just about the heroine and villainess. And if she’s not careful, she won’t just die. She’ll play right into the ending that was always meant for her.

If the script won’t let her live, then she’ll just have to rewrite it herself.

The Villainess Refuses to Follow the Script

Their blades clashed with a satisfying rhythm. Metal on metal, footwork skimming over gravel, breath sharp in the morning air.

Beatrice kept her stance tight. Her wrists firm, shoulders relaxed. Her mind didn't wander, didn't spin in circles around the palace or the novel or the sinking sense of unraveling.

There was only this: Lila's fast pivot, the sting in her palms, the curve of the sun just beginning to cut through the courtyard haze.

Lila grinned mid-turn, ducking under Beatrice's slash.

Beatrice shifted her weight and lunged again. Lila twisted out of range, laughing.

There was something infuriating about the way she moved, reckless and elegant all at once. Like she wasn't trying to win. Just trying to feel something.

Chapter 62