The Villainess Lives Twice

Summary of the The Villainess Lives Twice

**The Villainess Lives Twice**

That was me – the Marquess of Rosan – years ago. A master manipulator in the shadows, orchestrating everything behind the scenes to place my treacherous brother upon the throne. Everyone said, "All your happiness depends on his," and maybe they were right back then… or maybe I just swallowed it hook, line, and sinker to fuel my own obsessive schemes.

So, Artisea (that was *my* name, really) worked tirelessly in the dark, making deals with darkness itself for him. Betrayal? It felt like the only currency left after everyone else had failed me. But then, when everything seemed completely hopeless, standing literally on a cliff edge of despair… it wasn't my precious brother who reached out. Cedric – the Grand Duke, the one person I'd genuinely opposed throughout this whole miserable game – was the lifeline.

He found me broken and offered a hand: "I need a plan," he said, his voice steady but laced with desperation, like someone drowning knew exactly what they needed even when they were gasping for air. He looked at me, saw my wreckage, and somehow believed I could help turn things around… make me Emperor.

Honesty? No. Grand strategy? None existed that grand or clever enough to save us then. And yet... there was always the forbidden path – time magic, undoing history itself. It felt like playing God with ghosts, but saving myself meant sacrificing everything else I thought mattered before.

I sold my soul for a second chance… an agonizing price paid in pain and regret that felt more real than any happiness ever promised by power or lies. When the dust settled, *I* opened my eyes – back to eighteen years old, trapped in the ruins of all those past failures like a character caught in their own tragic web.

And this time? I swear… things are different. This broken version of me won't play nice again if it kills us both. He needed saving, and Cedric still needed that impossible plan. So, I gathered my strength – or maybe just the last shreds of sanity left after all that darkness – and went to find him.

"I'll marry you," I said, looking straight into his eyes now. "And I will make sure *you* become Emperor." No pleading here, just a chilling resolve settling in: If this is how salvation tasted… gritty and stained with my own choices… then so be it. For Cedric? That was the only truth worth clinging to anymore. Forget perfect virtue; this version of Artisea would gladly become the villainess again – ruthless enough that maybe, *just maybe*, securing his crown truly meant protecting what remained of everything else I thought was worth saving.