Green with Envy

The Empress has suffered alot.

She's been in love with Otto, a handsome Emperor beyond reproach, for most of her life.

Why did he choose her? She's is...or was a nobody. She was just barely high born enough to be his SECOND political wife, after the first one was tragically executed for betraying her beloved.

That death totally wasn't because of her excessive planning. No way.

He chose her because she looks alot like his first love, Isabella. It's not any deeper than that. She is nothing but a replacement.

She is confident she will be his last love, and their son Cosimo will be the next Emperor.

She cheats on her love, of course. Her body is just one of many tools, used to secure her position as the highest woman in the land. Marquis Klien is a toady. A cruel man willing to do anything for some flattery from a powerful lady. Being "her lover" means alot to his egotistical brain.

He does incredibly evil things on her behalf.

He torments and abuses his sick wife, until she finally dies.

His only daughter, Eleanora, is a pretty woman with plain features. Brown eyes and brown hair.

The Empress wants her to marry Cosimo, to permanently solidify the marquis family as her loyal attack dogs.

She thinks the violence will scare Eleanora into submission. She will be the perfect puppet, just like the Marquis.

Eleanora stays next to her mother until the end. She is no puppet. She adored her frail mother, and she feels nothing for her father. Not even fear. When her mother coughs up blood, and its all over, she vows to spend the rest of her life searching for revenge. Searching for anyone that had anything to do with the disrespect her mother experienced in her own home. The Marquis was once of lower rank. He tricked that frail beauty into loving him, and he turned a once gentle household into an imperial chessboard.

She is not a forgiving, plain victim.

The first prince is still alive. The Empress only managed to get rid of the unloved wife, not the ignored son. That son is more handsome and skilled than Cosimo, but the Emperor does not love or care for him. It is his most glaring weakness. The Empress may be insane, but she is effective. She became the perfect second wife, and she has an affectionate relationship with Otto. This leaves the first son with alot of bitter pills to swallow. Everything should be his by right, but the Emperor is too obsessed with red hair and memories to ever look at him.

He wants vengeance too.

Even Cosimo agrees with them. Both brothers are tired of dealing with their parents madness.

So, what happens next?

Eleanora seeks out the rightful prince, and they sleep together out of pure ambition. They make it obvious. They pretend they were in love before. It was just a secret, because poor Eleanora wasn't sure if she wanted to become a princess. Their love story only sped up because she was offered to Cosimo. Obviously between the two princes she wss bound to pick her lover. It's a grand story. Not too much of a scandal either, because her first engagement was never official.

Eleanora uses her new influence to spread rumors about father.

The prince begins to secure the position he was born with.

Eleanora is very helpful.

She takes it all in stride.

She will be a great queen.

Love comes out of nowhere.

She starts getting along with her fiance, and none of the drama matters.

Together, they strive towards comfort and happiness. They dream of being nothing like their parents, and that's a pretty darn strong motivation.

Eleanora would never cry over stupid nonsense like a ripped dress.

She is embarrassed that the imperial palace has become such a petty and childish place.

They want to do better.

It's all calculated.

Eleanora dresses like a sweet pink flower in public. The new royals become somewhat irresponsible lovebirds to all. It's mostly true, besides the cut throat politics behind the scenes.

Soon, their enemies will never hold power over them again.

Isabella is....disturbing.

You've seen women like her before, but not the reality part.

Eleanora deliberately seeks her out, because she needs to distract the Emperor. While they undermine him you see.

Isabella agrees.

She has already lived another life. Being the Emperors love, as a commoner, was a brief thing for her. When he married a noblewoman she married someone else too...but the plot thickens.

Isabella's husband died, and her daughter Liliana is missing.

She barely remembers the thrill of running about with the Emperor. She is only willing to go to the palace if Eleanora agrees to send knights to look for Lilliana. Her beloved child...

...with brown hair and brown eyes.

Is Eleanora Isabella's child? Probably. Her frail mother wasn't her biological parent. She was found in the woods, and adopted.

That's some very suspicious circumstances right there.

Perhaps the Empress was obsessed with the Marquis household for another reason.

Or...

Hmmm...

The Emperor really hates Eleanor for some reason.

Who knows? Maybe he heard his beloved married and he burned her house down.

Anyways, when Isabella arrives its immediate.

It's over.

The obsession is clear as day, and now the Emperor is old. He has two legitimate sons. No one is going to complain if he gives some commoner a bogus noble title. He's allowed to fool around now. He did his job.

He thanks his first son, Regus, for the first time literally ever when Isabella arrives.

Regus and Eleanor are both furious obviously. The Emperor has been cruel and aloof with both of his sons, purely because he was so bitter about doing his duty.

How many lives have been ruined due to the Emperor's love?

Ophelia Regen is the most beautiful woman in the land. She married her gorgeous husband, Duke Silvester Regen, for political reasons. Despite her beauty she is not a great bride. She is a bitter woman who obsesses over a handsome prince, who hates her. Even worse she does so while she shits on and abuses other women. All while using her powerful new last name to protect herself of course.

But wait...there's more? Gorgeous and selfish Ophelia Regen has mental issues. She's all alone in this world. She knows her demon husband is scarier than her (the Duke is a half demon that can beguile people. It's a somewhat open secret) so the marriage was always doomed to be a sham. She can never trust him. How could she, when he could decide to use his powers on her at any time? Her father died shortly before she got married, and she did not take it well. She has unaddressed mental health issues, because nobody is willing to help the terrifying duchess.

Wait...a triple bonus?

Ophelia Regen used a special item in order to become a powerful dark witch. Magic is dying in this land, so she's basically more rare monster than woman.

So, what did she do with her great power? Is she going to threaten the handsome prince? Kill his lover? No. The first thing she does is beyond sanity. She uses necromancy to bring her father back. A suffering blob, containing his soul, does return. Only to end up back in the ground days later.

Silvester is horrified, and that is when he truly begins to pity his wife.

He has big plans though. He's actually backing the second prince.

This is not the prince Ophelia Regen loves, but he did give her that evil magic item. How juicy! Silvester Regen wants to speak to his evil demon mother one last time, but she's trapped in the other realm. The second prince has a way in, and nobody else is crazy enough to grant such a dangerous royal favor.

There is no senario where Silvester choses Ophelia over his grudge against his mother. He does respect her painful past, but its too late. She is beyond sadistic and she can't stop treating humans like animals. Including the innocent ones who don't deserve it.

Also as a bonus he can't beguile Ophelia. She's too powerful, and he's curious about that too. Too bad. He is resigned to use her as a weapon, while he plans to separate his northern nation from the empire.

Their future could have been....something but their emotional issues made it impossible.

So, what kind of silly isekai protagonist are we stuck with?

Well, she was ill in her previous life. So, she happily accepts her new life as a villain. Anything is better than life in bed. She also wants to divorce, but the Duke still needs his distracting hot mad wench.

He tells her she can leave him only if she seduces the first prince.

The Miracle Prince.

You almost feel bad for them at first. The classic missing heir who doesn't REALLY want power. He's too kind for that. He just wouldn't be complete without his innocent lover. A Countress who saved him when he was injured. Without her he would never have reclaimed his place as the heir. He wants to do good. He owes the young Countess everything. He has never once looked anywhere else. She is his hero.

Crack.

What was that?

Oh, that was their glass house cracking.

The newly found missing Crown Prince isn't very good at politics. He might owe the Countress everything but um....she's from a fallen family. Her political strength is zero.

Uh oh.

The shining heroine is also married, and cheating on her Count husband in order to wed into royalty.

So her presence weakens the one true prince in every way.

Ophelia Regen's mad obsession is actually helping both of them by getting them pity points.

New isekai Ophelia Regen foolishly wants to be friends with everyone....for about five minutes.

She must adapt and let go of alot of her morals from her previous life to survive.

This is a good thing. Without stakes at least that high characters as kind as new Ophelia Regen become annoying.

New Ophelia is even smart enough to realize that people who want to befriend her desire power.

Emotions come second often in this story.

Until they dont.

New Ophelia cracks Silvester like an egg. I mean, he was already longing for a partner that could not be beguiled. The original Ophelia Regen was just too far gone, and obsessed with a man who looked perfect on the surface. The new one doesn't mind his flaws or cunning, and when she stops playing nice she shocks him. She knows how to be ruthless without slapping people.

He falls for her because his life is more fun and full with her in it. A surprisingly pure reason. Their banter is a tad cringe but you've seen worse.

She loves him.

More than money.

More than life.

Our protagonist was born a regular human, with great fortune. Her luck with money was basically magic, so she dominated modern day Korea. She never found love. No, she found Euclid. A fictional man. Money isn't everything, and even though she was happy she felt lonely. Somewhat disillusioned with the people around her. Who only saw her as "successful" and not much else.

Now she gets to be Yvgenia! A rock bottom woman. A spoiled rich girl who was blessed with wealth....thanks to her capable father and brothers. She's the unstable sidenote. The jobless one. All of the men of the family are high tier politicians, but after her mother died she lost it. All she feels now is an unhealthy attraction to the crown prince, who would rather marry her cousin Melissa instead of her.

Yvgenia is a stereotypical loser villainess, so our protagonist actually has to use her brain for once. It's exhilarating...or it would have been if he family didn't love her unconditionally. Including Melissa...sigh...wait who exactly is the loser here?

Melissa is supposed to be the unfortunate protagonist. The target of obsession, from all sides. From multiple men. From priests to assassins her beauty conquered all. Even the Crown Prince.

So how did Yvgenia, the loser, manage to become the protagonist with her side character ideal husband? Euclid, some guy up north who also isn't relevant.

We learn the truth pretty early on. Meek, mild, pretty Euclid was actually special all along. The original Yvgenia was actually a really interesting failed traitor who tried to overthrow the royal family who killed her mom and stuff. She was never a loser, but she got replaced by our lucky protagonist anyways. Isn't that great?

I think stories like this are niche on purpose, but man its just not for me.

Whenever a flawed protagonist gets replaced by a perfect transmigrator isekai situation I gag.

It's not like I'm asking for much either. Just make the characters actual losers who actually have to work hard. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is when an Isekai Villainess WANTS to migrate to the modern world, and the protagonist we get fits the bill and is someone who always dreamed of magic or whatever. In this situation we get a smart Villainess who failed, and a fangirl who benefits from her previous hard work and connections. Who only wins because of those connections.

The romance is a total dud as well.

I am not kidding when I say Euclid and Yvgenia barely interact in the webtoon. Perhaps the original novel has better pacing, but Euclid absolutely gets treated like a prize instead of a man. New Yvgenia takes great care of him and his niece and nephew. She is beyond his perfect wife. The servants refer to her as his savior. She's living the fantasy. Her bias is indebted to her and insecure around her greatness. He even assumes their marriage is part of some power struggle plot. After all, why would the wealthy and beautiful Yvgenia want him? He tries to divorce her sure, but only because he is so afraid of being left behind by the perfect being he worships.

New Yvgenia has her good luck from her previous life and I think it's supposed to be funny, but its kind of sad. The original Yvgenia was not driven by romance at all. She was willing to debase herself and look evil to protect her family BEHIND THE SCENES. No glory. No constant worship. No hot submissive Euclid. She was fully focused on her political plans, and I think it's really yucky when female characters who don't focus on romance....get tossed aside and replaced with perfect wives.

Idk am I overreacting to this trope?

I feel like I keep seeing it but maybe it's not that serious???

Yvgenia does save Euclid from a toxic forced marriage situation. His dead brother left a big mess and debts behind, and two children, when he passed. A woman decided to lie to and threaten the children in order to get closer to Euclid. I'm not saying this isn't a pretty good plot point. I love it when men get saved and little kid characters aren't just window dressing. Yvgenia protects them loyally, and eventually a man who was supposed to obsess over Melissa becomes their bodyguard. He lives happily ever after as their babysitter, instead of suffering as an obsessed yandere.

That was very cute. Sometimes its nice to see a character avoid their obsessive fate, but of course Yvgenia is his master and he kneels before her a bunch.

Is it really so wrong for me to want a little more of this?

The Crown Prince doesn't know he's a pawn, and he starts going crazy when Yvgenia marries Euclid. Her previous obsession was entertaining for him, and his engagement with Melissa was all a plot to make her jealous. He's an immature brat of a villain, who will be a pleasure to put down.

Isn't it a classic now?

An abusive but obsessive prince.

Maybe our protagonist could use one of those. I mean, anything is better than his current life. Since he was born of a noble father and a commoner he must live at the family grave. His only duty is to guard it...and stay out of sight forever.

Maybe the worst part about it is his little brother. The son of his noble sire and a noble woman. The little boy has promised to save him. The little boy claims to love him, but he'll never understand.

It won't happen.

That boy won't grow up and change the rules.

It's a sweet lie and it's been keeping our unwanted protagonist alive, but thats all.

He gets a chance. To live. To be free of the gravesite. To live in luxury. Father, who has now claimed him, wants him to marry an unwanted prince.

He accepts, so grateful to have something.

Sadly his groom is a mad prince known for killing people. Our protagonist is uneducated and tired and lonely, but hardworking. He gets a bit of pity from the servants, and instead of a bride he lives like a servant.

Which is a huge upgrade!

He's very happy.

The handsome prince is a great man. Giving to a fault and understanding too. He quickly figures out our protagonist isn't an assassin. Merely a victim sent to die to further tarnish the royal name. After all nothing stirs up gossip like a dead wife.

The prince decides to put his wife to work and protect him instead.

Our protagonist immediately becomes a humble and loyal servant.

That could have been it.

A fair and happy ending.

A lonely man and a disabled man hanging out in a lonely palace, doing chores.

Unfortunately the rumors are true. The kind prince by day is a monster by night. The servants love and respect him, but they put their lives on the line every time the sun sets.

He's too strong. Bones break and faces shatter on a regular basis. It is a cursed palace. What horror! Mere servants have no right to refuse royalty. It's ok. There are worse masters...

The strange tattoo our protagonist received when he was betrayed begins to burn.

For the first time the monstrous prince is distracted.

He's been through hell. He really has. He wanted nothing more than to be a noble and upright prince, but then a strange black wolf bit him. Then, he was controlled by the urge to hurt others every time he began to feel sleepy.

Is it the tattoo or real love? Actually the writing isn't bad and there is decent chemistry. The prince doesn't want to do anything evil to his beloved servant. Which forces him to have more agency. Together they must work out the how and why of their shared curse.

It seems like the schemers around the prince want him to lose himself in both violence and pleasure, until the dynasty falls.

Madness. Mania. Seizures. Secrets. Hidden allies. A stolen throne.

Our glibbering slave protagonist used to be a grand monarch.

He wore the robes. There was a grand ceremony and everything. He was born a true a rightful ruler. No plot twist there, and he was a credit to his name. He planned to use his engineering skill and his vast power to build bridges. Trade routes that would last a thousand years. A true monument to his glory. Not a statue or mere gold, but a way to transform the rugged and isolated mountains into a civilized and connected place.

Yes, he was great.

He was poisoned. He killed his father on purpose. It was an accident. He suddenly started having frequent seizures. The kind that can easily off you with one slam on the wall. His mother died too. Did he do it too? He can't remember. It was an accident. He's only a mad idiot. He doesn't remember. He doesn't recognize. The magical sorcerers and healers that tried to support him? He doesn't remember a single one. All talent has limits. Even the most skilled at magic can't remake what's gone. How tragic.

He cannot even recall his own lover.

Not even a face.

Nor a friend.

Where can we put him? This newly useless oaf? So many people were so loyal to him. We can't kill him off. Let's make him a slave. It will be a mercy. He will get special treatment. Medicine. A small private room. His owner shall be....

The man who would have been one of his most cherished loyal knights. It's downright hard to watch their relationship die and choke. As a once enamored knight delves into twisted possessiveness and a sense of superiority more intoxicating than love.

There is no more stereotypical fetish than having a king at your feet.

The slave fights back, and it's so sickening. All throughout the story he never truly grasps how privileged he is. He's not really a slave. Not really. More of a prisoner. Getting abused sure, but with a private doctor on call.

Can't have him dying, after all.

It doesn't feel like much.

Some barbarian bastard king shows up to flirt. It feels fake at the start, but its tragic and complicated.

The king is a mere knight. Lying in wait, eager to return the throne to its rightful owner.

His one true love.

The true king.

Who happens to be a mad slave.

Our protagonist is a complicated beast. Aware of the fact that he is worth more than others, even now. Even when he can barely hold onto his mind.

He envies his old self.

The true owner of all the glory.

A man who died when his body began to wiggle on the ground at random.

The king who yearns to be a knight again has spilled alot of blood. All on a feeble hope. Maybe if his king gets even better medication. Even more power. Even more magic. Then his health will even out and they can be happy.

The handsome knight of course wears him down.

They become lovers again.

The kindness breaks him.

Remembering what it was like.

Imagining what he could have become.

Facing the allies he failed. The people he promised land and power to, who lost while he drooled on the floor...

It's too much.

He tells his knight to live as a king.

He has no ambition left.

How could he, when his dreams only include simple things like baths and love?

The king who dreamed of building a completely new nation is long gone.

Or....is he?

Two dark knights.

One, promising marriage in a land far away. Free of uncomplicated things. A simple and possessive and stupid attitude. Perhaps this is all a mad slave deserves, but that's not what he is. It's certainly what a borne peasant would settle for, but not him.

It doesn't matter if he is ill for the rest of his days.

That doesn't mean anything.

If he's ashamed of what he is so what?

He can't hold back his disgust.

The fear he feels. The reader can see it, but it changes. It's easy to see the two dark knights are not the same. Both of them eventually push their king beyond what would seem possible. He lays frothing and dying and overmedicated and undermedicated and bleeding so many times.

A man with no ambition would have just died.

It's painful to watch but we can see why he doesn't immediately reclaim his lover.

It doesn't seem too good to be true.

There is no knight in shining armor.

None of this can be fixed by magic.