Why Are You Becoming a Villainess Again?
The children, didn’t I rehabilitate all of you?
Hey kids, didn’t I rehabilitate you?
I died.
That was the first thought that came to mind the moment I opened my eyes again. The stale air of the academy infirmary, the faint scent of herbs, and the crisp white sheets beneath me all felt sickeningly familiar. My head throbbed as fragmented memories that didn’t belong to me flooded in, merging with my own until I couldn’t tell which were real.
I had been Caiden, the worthless third son of the Helia Duchy. A supporting character destined to be discarded. Yet somehow, after my death, I had returned to the past. To the very beginning of the tragedy.
And the ones who had driven me to my end were standing right outside the infirmary door.
“Is he awake yet?”
The voice was cold, laced with irritation. Asena. The eldest daughter of the Kandel Duchy and the one who would become the empire’s most infamous villainess. In my previous life, her obsession had been my undoing. Now she was here again, already watching me like a predator sizing up prey.
I clenched the sheets. This time will be different. I had spent my last life trying to save them all—Asena, Kirsi, Daisy—from their dark fates. I had poured everything into reforming them, believing that if I could just pull them back from the edge, the story would change. That they wouldn’t become the monsters who eventually destroyed everything, including me.
But as the door creaked open and three pairs of eyes locked onto me with unsettling intensity, a horrifying realization settled in my chest.
They weren’t cured at all.
If anything, they looked even more dangerous than before.
Asena’s silver hair caught the light as she stepped inside, her crimson eyes narrowing with unmistakable possession. Behind her, Kirsi clutched the hem of her sister’s uniform, but the innocent mask she usually wore had already begun to crack, revealing the yandere beneath. And Daisy—sweet, gentle Daisy—stood at the back with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, fingers twitching as though she wanted to reach out and never let go.
“Caiden,” Asena said, voice deceptively soft. “You collapsed during the entrance ceremony. We were worried.”
Worried. The word tasted like a lie. In my last life, that same “worry” had slowly tightened into chains until I could no longer breathe.
I forced a smile, the same one I had used countless times to calm them before. “I’m fine. Just a little dizzy. You don’t have to hover over me like this.”
Kirsi tilted her head, her twin tails swaying. “But we want to hover, Brother Caiden. You’re always pushing us away. It makes us sad.” Her voice was sweet, yet the undercurrent of threat sent ice down my spine.
They weren’t supposed to call me brother anymore. That was something I had gently corrected in my previous life, trying to establish proper boundaries. Yet here they were, already ignoring every lesson I thought I had taught them.
Daisy stepped forward, her maid uniform perfectly pressed even though she was a student here on scholarship. “Young Master, please don’t push yourself. If you’re unwell, I’ll stay by your side. Day and night, if necessary.” Her eyes gleamed with something far too obsessive for a simple maid.
I swallowed hard. The memories of my death were still fresh—Asena’s final breakdown, Kirsi’s tears turning into blades, Daisy’s quiet betrayal that hurt most of all. I had given everything to change their futures. I had sacrificed my own happiness, my own future, to make sure they became the strong, righteous women they were meant to be instead of the villains the original story demanded.
So why were they looking at me like that again?
Like I belonged to them.
Like they would rather burn the world down than let me go a second time.
Asena reached out and brushed a strand of hair from my forehead, her touch lingering far too long. “You keep trying to run away from us, Caiden. But we won’t let you. Not this time. Never again.”
Her whisper was soft, almost tender.
But I heard the obsession screaming beneath it.
I closed my eyes, fighting the wave of exhaustion and dread. I had returned to prevent them from becoming villainesses.
Yet it seemed they had no intention of letting me succeed.
Why are you becoming villainesses again?