The Villainess

[Born Bad] Black-and-White Gothic Girl vs. Power-Hungry, Scheming Older Daddy

(Note: The romantic storyline and intimate interactions only begin after their family ties are severed.)

The Valentin family is locked in a vicious struggle. The head of the second branch has only two sons: one is incompetent, and the other has no interest in power. To seize control, he has no choice but to hold a contest among his illegitimate children.

Among the seventeen illegitimate children he left scattered outside, he must find one with potential.

The rules: Use any means necessary to survive for one week in the Forbidden Forest.

Si Yu, a madman, slaughtered all his siblings. To survive the week, he even carved flesh from his elder brother and ate it raw.

He was the last one standing, earning the favor of the second branch's head.

He thought Si Yu would become his right-hand man, but the young man was clearly more complicated than he seemed.

For the first few years, the boy pretended to be loyal to win the second branch's trust.

Over the next few years, he brought various factions to his side and built up his own power.

He wanted far more than a title as an illegitimate son recognized by the family.

Si Yu was the most disreputable illegitimate son in all of Philadelphia.

One day, he brought home a girl named Lilith: silver hair, misty blue eyes, and a face as delicate as a doll's.

Lilith was very well-behaved. She could be a little temperamental, but it was nothing serious. After all, who could blame her when she had such a pretty face?

She was obedient, too. Her only flaw was that, starved of affection, she was a little too besotted with love.

So she had lots of boyfriends.

But none of that had anything to do with Si Yu.

All he cared about was how much influence Lilith's pretty face could help him win over.

He never thought he would fall for Lilith. He wasn't interested in her at all.

He left her to her own devices in the castle for five years.

For those five years, Si Yu was busy building alliances, barely speaking to Lilith at all.

That's why he still thought of her as a well-behaved girl.

If Si Yu hadn't appeared at an underground fight club as Damon and seen Lilith passionately throwing herself at his muscular form, she might have fooled him.

Lilith was not well-behaved at all. She was always putting her hands on him.

But she didn't know that Damon was Si Yu.

With a guilty conscience, Si Yu spent a long time with Lilith as Damon, doing all sorts of things unbecoming of his position.

Lilith had been afraid of rainy nights ever since she was little. That night, she hugged her stuffed toy and knocked on Si Yu's bedroom door.

In bed, Si Yu asked Lilith, "You're pretty good at this. After dating so many boyfriends, how many of them have you actually slept with?"

Lilith teased him. "I'm Mr. Si Yu's sweetest little sweetie. Why would I sleep around? If I really have to count, there was one. His eyes were just like yours, his fingers were just like yours, and he was like you down there, too. He sounded just as good panting with his mask on as he did with it off."

(Si Yu's point of view):

My lover is a full ten years younger than me.

I love her youthful appearance and vibrant soul.

I'm much older than my lover. Standing beside her, I can't help feeling inferior.

My lover likes my looks best.

I don't think she's shallow. I'm actually glad I have a handsome face and a good body.

But wrinkles have started appearing at the corners of my eyes. I hate getting old.

I pushed a needle and thread through my skin and pulled my sagging eyelids up.

I couldn't feel any pain. At last, my wrinkles were gone.

I was so happy. Surely I still looked young to my lover.

Love is possessive. Love knows no limits. Love is hysterical insecurity, and it is one mad person recognizing a kindred spirit in another.

Ordinary people don't fall in love with madmen, no matter how beautiful they are.

But mad people can fall in love with each other, and lose themselves completely, willingly sacrificing everything and sinking into madness...

Reader's guide: Both leads are sexually inexperienced, one-on-one romance / dark, mildly horror-inspired tone / alternate universe / heroine grows over time / special abilities / a touch of ensemble cast / ten-year age gap / faux father-daughter, unrelated by blood (briefly)

Content warnings:

1. This is an alternate-universe setting with mild horror elements. Survival in this world follows the law of the jungle: only the fittest survive. Please don't judge the characters by real-world values. Neither lead is a conventionally good person, and both will do whatever it takes to serve their own interests. If that's not for you, please don't read. The story's values do not represent the author's. This book is intended for readers who have already developed sound values.

2. The author is on the heroine's side. The heroine will not be abused. She is intelligent, not a naive, sweet fool, not love-brained, not a saint, and not a submissive wife. If there's a plot point you dislike, criticize the author, not the heroine. Characters do not have an omniscient perspective! Characters do not have an omniscient perspective! Characters do not have an omniscient perspective! That's important enough to say three times. Don't judge a character's choices from a single, limited point of view as if you had an omniscient perspective.

3. The leads have serious character flaws. If you don't like that, please don't attack the author.

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A quick mention of my upcoming novel, How to Kill This Novel's Author. If you're interested in a sinister male ghost and a sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside heroine, please add it to your favorites. It's expected to launch in mid-July ꉂ ᳐˶ᵒ ᵕ ˂˶ ᳐ฅ

Theme: Challenging the injustice of gender division in the most extreme way