Kill The Empress (Reincarnated as the villainess)

Part one

It's genuinely crazy what boredom does to you smh. anyway the story...

Your Hometown 2024:

I woke up that day feeling elated. My friend, Eva, who I admire most in the world had recommended a book to me around a week ago.

I was skeptical at first since I found her particular taste rather strange but, as soon as I read the first page of the book "Beloved By the Emperor", I fell in love. The story could be considered tacky, but I loved the suspense. 

It all revolved around the son of a tyrant of an emperor, Heinry Damarcus, who was forced to marry his childhood companion, Edith Thornwood, at a young age. Although, the word companion was a strong word. You see, her father was a powerful duke, her family name was the highest in the nobility, of course without exceeding the Emperor's prestige. So, their parents were political allies.

Edith was despicable and Heinry had been attempting to get rid of her since they were children, but to no avail. Once they matured, Heinry slain his own father and claimed the throne, stringing Edith along with him in his succession, only for the political prowess she brought him of course.

However, Heinry falls for a commoner, Evalie Valerious, and selects her as his consort. Naturally, Edith grows jealous and becomes even more of a villainess than she was ever before, even going as far as attempting to murder her husbands precious consort. 

In the end, Heinry decides politics don't matter when his beloved is in danger so he cuts off Edith's head and promotes Evalie as his new empress. She goes down in history as the first commoner to ascend the throne and they live happily ever after--Ew.

The story isn't why I love the book so much, but rather the depth of the characters. No one is just good or bad, they all have a backstory and complex thought processes, which I highly admire. I may only be sixteen, but have a keen eye for well-written literature.

So, today, you can imagine my excitement when Eva promised to gift me the second and final installment of the series. This book would be about the life of the emperor and his new bride, which doesn't sound too entertaining, but I am still ever so captivated by the magnificent writing of the first book. How could I pass up this opportunity.

I arrived at her house and received a warm welcome from her. She was always so pretty and fragile. In my eyes, she could do no wrong.

We sat down at her desk in her room and she offered me tea. "Hmmm," I smelled the tea and wafted in its scent. "Earl grey? Fancy." She looked at me and chuckled. "Well, how else will you be immersed in the story?" I nodded my head. "You right." I said and then graciously sipped the fragrant tea. "Well," She leaned forward, her eyes full of anticipation. "Aren't you going to read it?"

"Oh, my bad," I said and rushed to pick up the book. "You know I love tea." She just smiled as if to say it was okay and then gestured for me to open the book. I Flipped open the cover and my eyes landed on the first page. The smell of the thin paper and black ink filled my nose. 

But, despite my excitement, only one sentence graced the entirety of the first page. I was perplexed to say the least when I flipped though the rest of the book and saw that it contained only empty pages.

"Eva.." I started, but my vision suddenly became blurry and my mouth felt numb as I spoke. "I don't feel so..." THUD!

I collapsed on my side, the book landed next to me, the pages flipping wildely from the impact until they finally settled. My chest ached and I coughed up blood all over the open page of the book. 

As I started to fade, I looked up at my friend, and even though my body was nearly lifeless, I still managed to shutter at her terrifying expression. She stared down at me with a wicked smile painted on her face, her eyes wide with happiness and pure adrenaline. She did this to me. But, why? What could I have done to her? My sweet, timid friend, my caring wallflower......I never thought she would use her delicate hands to lace the very tea she served me with poison.

My head slumped to the side and there I could see the open, blood splattered first page of the book. The sentence gracing my eyes yet again, the ink engulfing my vision, ingraining itself in my consciousness.

"Oh, Edith, my favorite toy."