The first thing Aria Noctis felt was pain.
Not the dull, distant ache of memory but the sharp, intimate kind that clung to skin and bone, reminding her she was still alive.
Her head throbbed as if someone had driven a nail through her skull, and when she tried to breathe, the air burned her lungs.
Voices echoed around her.
Cold. Mocking. Familiar.
"So this is how the proud Lady Noctis ends."
Aria's eyelashes trembled. She didn't open her eyes yet. She didn't need to.
She remembered this scene.
She remembered it too well.
Chains bit into her wrists. Her body was pressed against a marble pillar, magic restraints glowing faintly around her ankles. The ceremonial hall smelled of incense and blood—hers. She had been dragged here after being publicly accused of poisoning the Saintess.
Accused.
No—framed.
The crown prince stood before her, his golden hair immaculate, eyes filled not with doubt, but relief. Relief that he could finally discard her.
"You were useful," he said calmly. "But you grew greedy."
A familiar line.
The knight she had loved looked away, shame written across his face, yet he never stepped forward. The mage she had trusted stood silently, already calculating how her death would stabilize the empire.
And Aria?
In her first life, she had begged.
She had cried.
She had screamed that she was innocent.
It hadn't mattered.
Because she was the villainess.
The woman the story needed to destroy so the heroine could shine.
A blade pierced her abdomen. Pain exploded. Her vision went white.
And then—
Darkness.
Aria gasped.
Her eyes snapped open as she sucked in air, fingers clawing at silk sheets instead of chains. Her body arched involuntarily as sensation flooded her—warmth, softness, life.
She was in a bed.
A very familiar bed.
Dark velvet curtains framed the canopy above her, embroidered with the crest of House Noctis. Moonlight spilled through tall arched windows, casting silver shadows across expensive furniture and spell-engraved walls.
Her room.
Her childhood room.
Her breathing slowed.
"No…" she whispered hoarsely.
She sat up, ignoring the way her heart pounded, and looked down at her hands. Pale. Smooth. Untrembling. No blood. No scars.
Alive.
Young.
Her chest tightened as memories rushed in—not her own, but the story's.
This world was a romance fantasy novel she had read in her past life. A popular one. One she had dropped halfway through because she couldn't stand the injustice.
She was inside it now.
And not as the heroine.
But as Aria Noctis, the villainess who would be humiliated, used, and executed to push the plot forward.
Her lips curled slowly.
"So I really came back," she murmured.
Then a cold, mechanical voice echoed inside her mind.
[Carnal Dominion System Activated]
Host confirmed: Aria Noctis
Status: Villainess (High Risk of Ruination)
Aria froze.
A system?
Before she could react, translucent text appeared before her eyes.
Objective: Survive Ruination Route
Primary Method: Accumulate Desire, Obsession, and Control
Warning: Purity-Based Choices Will Result in Penalty
Her brows lifted slightly.
"…How interesting."
In the novel, Aria Noctis was doomed because she tried to be dignified. Proud. Proper. She played by noble rules while the heroine weaponized innocence.
And lost.
Slowly, Aria leaned back against the pillows, a soft laugh escaping her lips.
"So this time," she said quietly, eyes glinting, "you want me to be shameless."
[Correct.]
Desire is power in this world.
Those who crave you will protect you.
Those who obsess over you will destroy others for you.
A strange warmth coiled low in her abdomen—not arousal, but awareness. An understanding of the rules beneath the rules.
In this world, emotions shaped fate.
Love empowered the heroine.
But desire?
Desire was far more dangerous.
Aria stood and walked toward the mirror. The girl reflected there was devastatingly beautiful—long obsidian hair, pale skin, sharp violet eyes that made people uneasy.
The villainess face.
She reached up and touched her lips.
In the original story, these lips would tremble in fear.
Not this time.
"I won't run from them," she said softly. "I'll let them come."
[New Quest Unlocked]
First Contact: The Crown Prince
Reward: Initial Authority Boost
Failure: Public Disgrace Event
The crown prince.
Her former fiancé.
The man who would one day order her execution without hesitation.
A slow, dangerous smile spread across her face.
"Perfect."
The imperial academy buzzed with anticipation the next morning.
Nobles gathered in elaborate uniforms, whispers filling the air as carriages arrived one by one. When Aria stepped out of hers, the atmosphere shifted.
Conversations faltered.
Eyes turned.
She felt it instantly—the weight of attention sliding over her skin, lingering too long, sharp with curiosity and something darker.
Aria walked calmly, every step measured. Her dress hugged her figure elegantly, not vulgar, but undeniably intentional. She didn't lower her gaze. She never did.
"Is that Lady Noctis?"
"She looks… different."
"Didn't she break off her engagement?"
Whispers followed her like a trail of smoke.
Good.
She entered the grand hall just as a familiar presence brushed against her senses.
"Aria."
She turned.
The crown prince stood before her, tall and radiant in his ceremonial uniform. In the novel, this was the moment she would stiffen. Grow cold. Remind him of dignity.
This time?
She smiled.
Not sweet.
Not shy.
But slow. Intimate. Knowing.
"Your Highness," she said, voice smooth as silk. "It's been a while."
His eyes flickered.
Just for a second.
But the system noticed.
[Desire Fluctuation Detected]
Interesting.
"You seem… well," he said carefully.
"I am," Aria replied, stepping closer—just close enough that he could smell her perfume. "Ending things was enlightening."
Her gaze dipped briefly—to his lips, then back to his eyes.
A deliberate mistake.
The crown prince's jaw tightened.
Around them, the hall seemed to fade. For the first time since meeting her, he felt something unsettling.
Not control.
But curiosity.
Aria leaned in slightly, lowering her voice.
"Do try not to miss me too much," she whispered.
Then she stepped past him.
Leaving behind silence.
And a man who, for the first time, watched her walk away instead of the other way around.
[First Contact Successful]
Obsession Seed Planted]
Aria's smile returned.
Fate had already begun to crack.
And this time
She would enjoy every step of breaking it.