🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 01
The soldiers seized Olabia and dragged her toward the execution grounds.
“No! I’m not Karinne!”
She was in a pitiful state.
Her once-lustrous crimson hair, which had swayed so enchantingly, had become dry and tangled. Her face was grimy from not having been washed.
Dried blood clung to her cracked, split lips. Her amethyst-like eyes, once brilliant with life, had gone dull and lifeless.
The dazzling beauty who had once been the star of high society was thrown before the crowd in the most wretched condition imaginable.
“Please, listen to me! Our bodies were switched! I’m Olabia!”
Tears streamed down her face as she cried out desperately.
But not a single person was willing to hear her.
“That vicious woman is spouting nonsense.”
“She tried to kill both her younger sister and His Highness the Crown Prince, and she still has the nerve to lie!”
Instead, stones and spit were hurled at her.
Olabia desperately insisted on her innocence, but it was useless.
She was silenced with a gag for making too much noise despite being a condemned criminal. She struggled with all her strength to avoid being dragged away, but it didn’t take long before she reached the guillotine.
The executioner began reading her crimes.
Each time one of Karinne’s countless misdeeds was recited, the crowd’s curses and fury only grew louder.
“…Furthermore, for the crime of attempting to poison the Crown Prince, Karinne Brienne is hereby sentenced to death.”
Attempted assassination of royalty.
It was the decisive charge that had condemned Karinne to death.
For years, she had envied and tormented her younger sister, Olabia.
Then, when Olabia became engaged to the Crown Prince, Karinne’s jealousy drove her to attempt to poison her.
But through an unfortunate twist of fate, their teacups had been switched, and the Crown Prince ended up drinking the poison instead.
The Imperial Palace was thrown into chaos.
As the investigation proceeded, every one of Karinne’s past crimes and misdeeds came to light.
The trial moved swiftly, ending with a unanimous death sentence.
Thus, it seemed the case would conclude with the death of Karinne Brienne, the century’s greatest villainess.
Until Olabia and Karinne’s bodies were switched.
“Mmph! Mmgh!”
Bound tightly with ropes, Olabia struggled helplessly.
Something had gone horribly wrong.
She couldn’t believe what had happened to her. It was so shocking that it hardly felt real.
This has to be a dream. No… it must be.
The previous night, Olabia had fallen asleep in her chambers at the Imperial Palace.
When she awoke to an unnatural chill creeping into her skin, the scenery around her had completely changed.
Damp stone walls covered in moss.
The metallic scent of blood lingering in the air.
A freezing atmosphere devoid of even the slightest warmth.
It was a prison.
At the same time, a horrifying realization struck her with overwhelming force.
Our bodies have switched…!
She had become Karinne.
More precisely, her soul had entered Karinne’s body.
Then… my body…
The obvious conclusion wiped her mind completely blank, as though someone had splashed it with white paint.
At that moment, soldiers burst into the prison to escort her to the execution grounds.
Everything happened so quickly that she couldn’t even begin to make sense of it.
“That wicked woman who tried to assassinate His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“Execute her!”
In the midst of the overwhelming chaos, Olabia barely managed to raise her head.
Her neck creaked stiffly, like the head of a broken wooden puppet.
Soon, she spotted Crown Prince Edwin seated in the place of honor.
And beside him, clinging affectionately to his arm while whispering something into his ear…
Karinne!
Olabia’s eyes widened in utter horror as she screamed silently.
It was Karinne…
Wearing Olabia’s face.
At first, the Crown Prince looked troubled, but eventually he gave a reluctant nod.
Karinne rose from her seat.
Olabia stared blankly as she approached.
“I’d like a moment alone to speak with my sister. Would you mind stepping back for a moment?”
“But…”
“It’s alright. His Highness the Crown Prince has already given his permission.”
After a brief hesitation, the soldiers stepped away.
Stopping directly before Olabia, Karinne bent down and gently embraced her.
To anyone unaware of the truth, it looked as though she were forgiving her sister moments before her execution.
But to Olabia, the touch was nothing short of horrifying.
She wanted to shove her away, but bound tightly by ropes, she couldn’t move an inch.
“Olabia… how does it feel?”
Karinne whispered softly, her voice low enough that only Olabia could hear.
“To have everything stolen from you without understanding why… and then die bearing someone else’s sins?”
Olabia wanted to scream.
But all that escaped her gagged mouth was a muffled whimper.
Watching her struggle helplessly, Karinne slowly curled her lips into a smile.
“How foolish.”
Wearing Olabia’s body, she spoke to Olabia in Olabia’s own voice.
“You drank poison laced with a curse every single day… and never suspected a thing.”
Poison?
A curse?
Why…?
Because I became engaged to His Highness the Crown Prince? Were you really that jealous?
Reading the question in Olabia’s eyes, Karinne let out a quiet laugh.
It was a bitter, self-mocking smile.
Then she spoke softly.
“Yes… I’ll admit it. You were extraordinarily unlucky.”
For a fleeting instant, pity seemed to flicker across Karinne’s face.
But it lasted only a moment.
Her expression quickly returned to one of cold indifference.
“If there’s an obstacle in your path, you remove it. Even if it never intended to stand in your way.”
Olabia couldn’t understand what Karinne meant.
She wanted to ask.
But no words could leave her mouth.
“You’ll never know the truth. Just as you never have.”
Taking in the shock and agony on Olabia’s face as though savoring every moment, Karinne finally delivered her verdict.
“So accept it. It’s the only thing you can do.”
She was smiling now.
A warm, gentle smile.
A peaceful smile that no one would ever associate with someone who had just condemned another person to death.
Olabia’s entire body began trembling uncontrollably.
Whether from despair crushing her spirit…
Or from overwhelming rage toward Karinne…
Even she couldn’t tell.
Watching Olabia shudder in horror, Karinne smiled brightly.
“So… for my sake…”
“Would you die now?”
The Lady of Reversal
The moment I read the final sentence, I doubted my own eyes.
“Don’t tell me… that’s the end?”
The word Completed felt surreal.
Unable to believe it, I scrolled down, only to find an author’s note for the very first time.
It was only a single sentence.
[The true protagonist of The Lady of Reversal was Karinne.]
“What kind of ending is this?!”
I nearly threw my phone.
The heroine, Olabia, had been my favorite character.
I had cheered for her as she endured endless hardship without ever losing her kind heart.
The novel had become infamous as one of the most frustrating stories ever written because the heroine suffered nonstop, yet I had forced myself through every infuriating chapter.
Because I believed that one day, just like the “reversal” in the title, Olabia would finally turn the tables and deliver the most satisfying revenge imaginable.
But this was the twist?
That the greatest villain in the entire story—Karinne—had been the real protagonist all along?
As expected, the comment section was already overflowing with outraged readers who had finished the final chapter.
Half the comments were furious rants.
The other half were desperate pleas.
[Author, this is only the end of Part 1, right? There’s going to be a Part 2… right? Please don’t tell me this is really the ending.]
[Please write a sequel where Olabia regresses and gets her revenge! Please! I’m begging you!]
[There’s no way you can end the story like this.]
Only then did the author’s pen name catch my attention.
Sweet Potato Villain.
At last, I realized who the true villain of this novel had been all along.
Unable to suppress my anger any longer, I furiously typed a comment.
[I wasn’t planning on leaving a comment, but isn’t this ending way too cruel to Olabia? At this point, it makes me wish I could transmigrate into the story myself and get revenge on her behalf.]
Of course…
I never imagined those words would actually come true.
Just as Olabia and Karinne had once switched bodies…
While I slept, I woke up inside Olabia’s body.
