The air was thick with smoke and screams.
Ash drifted like snowflakes over the grand courtyard of the Obsidian Palace, once a place of beauty and splendor—now a theater of death.
Aurelia Valemont stood at the center, bound to a wooden stake. Her once-regal gown of gold silk was torn and scorched, her pale skin bruised, her lips cracked from days without water.
All around her, the people cheered for her execution.
> "Burn the traitor!"
"Witch! Murderer!"
"She bewitched the prince!"
And there he was. Prince Kaelren, the man she had loved—the man who had sentenced her to death.
His silver hair gleamed under the torchlight, and his piercing eyes, once so warm when they looked at her, were now cold as ice. He stood beside her best friend—Seraphina Elowen, the "true heroine" of the kingdom.
Aurelia's throat ached, but she found the strength to speak.
> "Kaelren… Why?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "You said you loved me."
The prince's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
Aurelia laughed, broken and bitter.
> "So I was just a stepping stone for your precious Seraphina..."
The executioner lit the pyre.
Flames surged upward, licking her feet. Pain exploded across her body. She screamed—but not from fear. From rage.
She had given her heart, her loyalty, her life—and they had repaid her with fire.
As the flames devoured her, her vision blurred into darkness.
And then… nothing.
---
[System Booting...]
[Initializing User Profile: Aurelia Valemont...]
[WARNING: Host death detected. Rewinding timeline…]
[Mission Objective: Steal the heroine's fate. Prevent repeat death.]
[Villainess System Successfully Activated.]
---
Aurelia gasped.
Cold air filled her lungs.
She sat bolt upright, clutching her chest. No smoke. No pain. No fire.
She was lying in a silk-draped canopy bed, sunlight pouring through tall stained-glass windows. She knew this room.
The green velvet drapes, the marble floor, the perfume of spring blossoms…
> "This is… my academy dormitory. Obsidian Academy…"
She scrambled to the mirror.
Staring back at her was a younger version of herself—flawless skin, untamed curls of golden hair, wide green eyes untainted by betrayal.
> "I'm… sixteen again."
Suddenly, glowing letters shimmered in the air before her:
---
[Welcome, Host.]
[Your mission is simple: DESTROY the heroine's path.]
[Gain points by: breaking the heroine's heart, stealing her allies, altering her destiny.]
[Failure to succeed in 730 days will result in permanent erasure.]
[Let the game begin.]
---
Aurelia stared, heart pounding.
> "A system? Like some magical game…?"
Her lips slowly curled into a smirk.
> "Very well, S
eraphina. If fate wants me to be the villain… I'll give them a villain they'll never forget."