He Is the Villain’s Widow

In novels, there's always a villain, and there's always a villain's surviving lover.

Their endings might see them inherited as spoils of war by the protagonist, willingly turn over a new leaf, or stubbornly keep going down the wrong path...

Now, they've learned the story's plot.

Story One: In a modern wealthy-family novel, the villain and the protagonist are twins. Nobody can tell them apart except the love interest.

After an accident, the villain drowns at sea. That night, the protagonist knocks on his sister-in-law's door, looking grief-stricken. He proposes that, to protect his brother's estate, he'll temporarily impersonate him and keep the company's stock price steady.

As he speaks, greed shines in his eyes, and a wave of exhilaration rises in his heart.

At long last, at long last, it's his turn to take his treasure into his arms...

But the protagonist receives only a strange smile in reply.

The love interest raises a hand, dripping wet from head to toe, and smiles. "He's been back for ages. He even brought me a present. What are you talking about?"

In his pale palm lies a golden pearl, glowing faintly in the dark.

The love interest lowers his head and kisses it tenderly, murmuring to himself, "I told you not to go so far away. Look, you almost got lost..."

The protagonist's heart skips a beat. He can't tell if it's just his imagination, but he sees a deathly pale figure behind the love interest.

The figure gives him a cool glance, then turns away and focuses on his lover.

Later, the protagonist finally realizes that the love interest isn't able to tell him and his brother apart.

He can simply recognize the top, and that's all.

Gentle, eerie ghost top x sickly, possessive human bottom

Story Two: In an ancient court drama, the love interest is the general's new bride. Three months after their wedding, the general sets off on a campaign. The love interest waits three years, only to hear that his beloved has died.

That night, at the funeral hall, the protagonist visits late and tempts him with every word. He should have moved on from a marriage that lasted only three months and fallen into the protagonist's arms.

But the love interest remembers how, three years ago, on this very day, the general smiled and tucked a peach blossom into his hair before leaving.

He said that when he came back, he would take the love interest to the Temple for National Protection to see the peach blossoms in full bloom.

A sharp blade pierces the protagonist. The paper offerings in the bronze basin flare into flame, lighting up the love interest's face.

"My husband gave his life for his country and his people. He died with honor," the love interest says, then gives the protagonist a scornful look.

"And what are you, anyway?"

Story Three: In a vampire novel, the villain is a pureblood noble. Everyone knows he has a human wife whom he treasures like a jewel, hidden deep within his castle.

The vampires whisper among themselves, wondering how sweet the human's blood must be for the villain to cherish him so.

But nobody dares offend the dignity of a pureblood noble. The miserly aristocrat allows no one to glimpse the radiance of his treasure, and anyone who dares trespass has already become fertilizer for the roses in the castle garden.

Until one day, the villain dies in a battle for honor. The protagonist eagerly comes to claim the spoils of war, only to find more than he bargained for.

A figure slowly emerges from the castle's mist.

He isn't beautiful. His face is disfigured and his hair is white, but his green eyes alone still gleam in the darkness.

"He's dead?" the love interest murmurs. "Should I be happy?"

Silence falls over the crowd. Then a vampire cries out, "I know him! Isn't he the greatest vampire hunter, the light of humanity, who rose to fame a century ago?"

The crowd erupts. The protagonist looks astonished as he wonders how to claim this unexpected prize, when a rusty blade is suddenly pressed against his neck.

The love interest shakes his head. "I don't believe he could just die like that."

"He must be plotting something even bigger behind the scenes. You, and all of you, must be his accomplices."

The love interest slaughters all the vampires, leaving only the protagonist alive.

"You must know him." The love interest coughs softly and sits on the stone steps before the castle, beside a cluster of brilliant red roses.

He strokes a rose without looking at the terrified protagonist. "Go tell him I'm waiting here."

He doesn't believe that the vampire who imprisoned him for a hundred years could simply die.

Even though the villain's blood core is right in front of him.

Story Four: In an ancient war-for-the-throne novel, the love interest is the surviving spouse of a tyrant.

While the villain was alive, he treasured the love interest above all else. Despite everyone's objections, he made him empress and sought out treasures with wild abandon, all to win him a smile.

Later, the army broke through the capital's defenses. The villain laughed heartily, embraced his beautiful empress one last time, and said, "We destroyed this world together, so we should die together and be reviled by all."

The love interest nodded firmly and swallowed the poison that would tear through his guts. He closed his eyes, hiding in the villain's arms and bracing himself for the pain, but when he woke again, he was no longer in the capital.

He was somewhere far from the conflict, with an estate, servants, spring flowers, and butterflies.

The love interest thought this must be the contingency plan the top had left behind. He just needed to wait for the top to come find him as he always had. But he waited and waited, only to hear cheers from far away.

They said the tyrant had been executed in the capital, torn apart by five horses before the eyes of the people.

The love interest refused to believe it. He was sure it had to be a lie.

His Majesty had promised that if he ever died, he would take him along.

He wasn't dead yet, so how could His Majesty be dead?

He ignored the servants' attempts to stop him, struggled through every hardship, and finally returned to the capital in a wretched state.

The love interest staggered onto the execution grounds, but there was nothing there except dried blood.

They said that wild dogs had dragged away the tyrant's body, and what remained had been trampled in disgust, long since crawling with maggots and flies.

He refused to believe it. He went looking, certain that his beloved was still waiting for him.

So a madman appeared in the capital, calling himself the demon empress of the fallen dynasty and asking the new emperor to throw him in the dungeons. He wanted to be with His Majesty.

But nobody believed him. No one thought that this gaunt figure could be the demon empress.

Until one day, the new emperor went out among the people and joined in the festivities himself. The madman suddenly lunged at him.

The love interest clutched the familiar imperial yellow before him. The face above it was different, but he knew this man. He had once seen him kneel before the tyrant and himself at court, in a moment of absurdity.

But the love interest had forgotten all that. He only murmured, "You know me. You know I'm the demon empress. Take me to the dungeons..."

The new emperor merely gave him a pitying glance. Someone pulled the love interest away, and when someone asked what to do with him, the new emperor sighed. "Forget it. He paid with a life for what he took from that man. Isn't that enough?"

In a daze, the love interest understood.

His Majesty had spoken so brazenly, but in the end, he couldn't bear to let him die.

The love interest went mad no longer. He went and quietly bathed in the icy river until he was clean, then made his way to the execution grounds.

The next day, someone found a corpse at the execution grounds, but its blood did not spread. It had joined perfectly with the bloodstains left behind by the tyrant's execution.

People marveled at the strange tale, and it became a legend.

Story Five: In a sentinel-guide novel, the love interest is the villainous Guide's only Sentinel.

In everyone's eyes, he was forced, controlled, and punished. Even after the villain died, he remained trapped in the shadows of his past and chose to become a rare Dark Sentinel.

The protagonist appears before him, trying to warm him with his kindness. Their nearly perfect compatibility makes everyone believe that the protagonist is the love interest's salvation.

When the protagonist offers to perform mental guidance once again, the love interest smiles and, against all expectations, agrees.

The protagonist is overjoyed, but after finally making his way inside, he sees another phantom in the love interest's mental landscape.

The love interest points at the protagonist. In this moment, the usually cool Dark Sentinel speaks in a petulant, cutesy voice. "See him? He's the one who's been pestering me all this time. He's so annoying."

The phantom looks over. Its vacant eyes are enough to make the protagonist writhe in pain, his mind collapsing.

When the protagonist opens his eyes again, he's in a dark basement.

He's lying on an operating table, while the Dark Sentinel examines him, deciding whether this body is worthy of becoming a new vessel for his lover.

In an immortal-cultivation novel, the surviving lover of an immortal...

In a modern novel, the surviving lover of a tycoon...

In a martial-arts novel, the surviving lover of a demon...

In a fantasy novel, the surviving lover of a demon king...

In a mafia novel, the surviving lover of a boss...

He is the villain's surviving lover. He doesn't care how others judge his beloved, or how they judge him.

He will guard his beloved's possessions and wait for him to return.

Of course, those possessions include himself.

1. The blurb is angsty, but everyone gets a happy ending. Trust me!

2. It's an anthology again, and everyone is the one and only. They love deeply!

3. Please add it to your collection, please, please!

Theme: Love is the one and only