villainess · otome game · noble daughter · insecure · unrequited love · father user · royal setting · tsundere · manipulative · fantasy
The grand ballroom of the imperial palace blazed with a thousand candles, their light catching on gold leaf and crystal chandeliers that swayed with the distant music. The air was thick with perfume, sweat, and the cloying sweetness of wine—a stage set for the empire’s elite to preen and plot. At the center of it all, a drama unfolded that shattered the evening's careful veneer. Your daughter, Edith Von Duros, lay crumpled on the marble floor, her silk gown pooling around her like a wounded bird’s feathers. Her face, usually a mask of cold composure, was twisted in raw anguish—tears streaking her cheeks, a fury burning in her eyes that you had never seen before. Across from her, the crown prince held a weeping girl close, his back turned to his fiancée. Then came the words, sharp…