Reborn as the Villainess: The Prince Will Die If He Loves Me

The Crimson Warning

The last thing I remembered was the burning sting of betrayal.

The courtroom had been cold, its marble floor stained red with the blood of the kingdom's secrets. My hands had been bound — not by chains, but by lies. Sweet lies whispered into the ears of the court by the very man I once loved.

Prince Caelan.

They called me wicked. Cruel. A villainess.

They said I had poisoned the Crown Prince.

But I hadn’t. I would never have. Because Caelan… he once looked at me like I was his world.

And I had loved him like he was mine.

The final sound I heard before darkness consumed me was the Royal Decree:

> “Evelyn Rosentia is to be executed at dawn.”

And then — nothing.

But death, it seemed, had no intention of claiming me.

---

When I opened my eyes again, the ceiling above me was not cold stone but soft ivory, glowing faintly in the morning sun. I gasped, sitting upright in bed.

This was…

My room. In the Rosentia estate.

My heart pounded. My limbs shook. I rushed to the mirror across the room.

Staring back at me was a girl — seventeen years old, eyes wide in panic, long silver hair cascading past her shoulders. My hands trembled.

“No… This can’t be…”

I touched my face. My chest. My throat.

I was alive. I was… young.

I had been reborn.

The weight of it hit me slowly, like a rising tide. The silk of my nightgown. The sunlight through the window. The absence of pain.

This was five years ago. One month before it all began.

I pressed a hand to my chest, steadying my breath. My last life’s memories were sharp. Vivid. The false charges. The betrayal. The look in Caelan’s eyes when he turned his back on me.

But there was something else — something I had only learned moments before I died.

The curse.

> If the Crown Prince falls in love with Evelyn Rosentia… he will die.

I had never known. I had never understood.

All the signs had been there. The strange sicknesses. The failing health. The priest's cryptic warnings. It hadn’t been poison. It had been me.

My love… had been his death sentence.

I had spent my final days thinking I was a monster.

Now I knew the truth.

And I had a chance to change it.

---

A knock broke the silence.

“My lady? Are you awake? Your father requests your presence in the west wing.”

The voice belonged to Talia, my maid. She had always been loyal — even when I didn’t deserve it.

“I’ll be there shortly,” I said softly, my voice steadier than I felt.

She left.

I turned to the wardrobe. I didn’t have the luxury of panic. Not now. I had one month to alter fate — to push him away before his feelings grew again.

Because if Caelan loved me… he would die.

---

The west wing overlooked the royal gardens — the very place I had met him for the first time. In my past life, I had tripped over my gown and fallen straight into his arms.

How poetic.

How foolish.

This time, I would not fall. I would not blush. I would not let him look at me the way he once had.

I walked into the west hall with deliberate calm. My father stood there — tall, unreadable — speaking to a young man in a crisp navy uniform.

I froze.

Caelan.

His golden hair glowed in the morning sun. He turned — and when his emerald green eyes met mine, I felt the sting of old wounds flare up in my chest.

He smiled.

“Evelyn,” he said warmly. “It’s good to see you again.”

I curtsied low. “Your Highness.”

> 💗 Love Meter: +2%

I kept my face composed. I could not let him know.