Review

Death Is the Only Ending For The Villainess | Web Novel Review

Rating: 4.7/5

Introduction

If you’re into otome games and reading, you’ll love Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess. As a person who has been playing otome games since 2016, I’ve always enjoyed choosing my choices to have my own ending. I like meeting new characters and knowing each other’s paths. From mobile otome games like Mystic Messenger and LoveUnholyc to otome games on consoles like Piofiore or Collar x Malice, you can find lots of stories that will suit your taste. But what happens if these are combined? Surely it’s chaos and nerve-wracking. Since the manhwa isn’t finished yet, I decided to give the web novel a shot.

This is my first time reading a web novel, and it reminds me of the stories from the reading platform I used to read because of its plot. I’m really surprised by the plot because it’s historical and because of the game system itself. The game system itself is even greedy because of some features appearing in the middle of the story. Anyhow, that is why I understand Penelope’s anxiety and desperation.

Story

When Siyeon Cha wakes up, she finds herself in the otome game she played last night. It shouldn’t be a problem as long as you’re a female lead, right? Except she became the female lead in hard mode, a mode she wasn’t able to finish, Penelope Eckhart. Penelope Eckhart is a villainess in the game on Normal mode. So during hard mode, she kept dying from how hard the choices were.

Penelope and Yvonne

Penelope and Yvonne’s appearances were similar when they were young. This is the reason why, when Yvonne disappeared, the duke adopted Penelope. Although it didn’t turn out quite well. She may be the princess of Duke Eckharts, but it only seemed to be a title. She is living in a hellish environment. She always receives mistreatment from her adoptive brothers and even from the servants. Siyeon Cha, who became Penelope, has no choice but to live in a game where she has to gain the male leads’ affection. She sees the progress of each affection through the main feature of the game system. Unfortunately, one of the male leads are her two adoptive brothers, Derrick and Reynald Eckhart. Alongside the crown prince Callisto Regulus, the marquis Vinter Verdandi, and the slave who became a knight in Eckhart’s manor, Eckles.

Every single day, Penelope lives in uncertainty because of her situation. She did everything she could to gain their affection, even risking her life. Good thing her actions paid off, gaining their affection little by little.

Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess is quite long, but it doesn’t only revolve around Penelope gaining affection. It also focuses on Yvonne’s character and other stuff, like the struggles of wizards. I enjoyed this because the female lead is well-written. Her character gives depth to how she acknowledges her emotions. She doesn’t forget how she received mistreatment from people around her. Some of Penelope’s choices were quite questionable to me, but I can’t question her that much due to her situation. I’m just glad that she was able to break free from the game and was able to live her life at ease in the end.

Characters

Here are the lists of characters that I would like to give my thoughts on:

Penelope Eckhart

She’s one of the female leads whom I’ve thought have been well-written. I like how the author portrayed her as a strong character but also how desperate she was. In the start of the novel, it was seen how bad the mistreatment Penelope received in Eckhart’s manor. She wasn’t even given proper food and her personal maid seems to be hurting her. When Siyeon Cha took Penelope’s body, she tried to stop the abuse and neglect from the Eckhart’s by standing up for herself. She slowly earned her way up to high society with the help of the system and even gained the male leads’ affection little by little. She was tough and didn’t have many choices but to survive. She was smart and I really like her desperation and how she lost her will when Yvonne appeared in the story.

It was normal for her to act like that considering all the efforts she did seem to be in vain. The author did a great job on how Penelope expressed her emotion well. From showing her tough character to resignation in her life, to accepting and trying to make boundaries with the Eckharts after all the happenings.

Callisto Regulus

Callisto is the craziest character and, at the same time, the sanest and most suitable male lead for Penelope. Imagine you fell in love with the person you almost killed by cutting their neck. I know there is more to it, and they’ve had countless interactions, but it’s funny when it comes to it. He was sorry for what he did back then, and he was always there for Penelope when she was in danger. I know Penelope is incredible and can handle herself, but when Penelope almost died, he was there by her side. I’ve seen how he wasn’t able to function. He is the crown prince, but he was helpless. He may have all the things, but he didn’t know how to save her. And I cried for him while reading that part.

So when Penelope woke up, he was anxious all the time and wanted to lock Penelope in the palace. Good thing he learned the hard way and listened to Penelope. No doubt, Callisto is suitable for MC because of their personalities and beliefs. They compliment each other, and both of them can tolerate one another’s attitude. Callisto may be arrogant, but he communicates his feelings with Penelope. He also acknowledges Penelope’s feelings. He is not insensitive and is aware of what Penelope feels.

Derrick Eckhart

Derrick is one of the characters I dislike the most in Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess. He stayed with his character until the end, and I just hated how self-righteous he is. He always ostracized Penelope as a villain from his point of view and never tried to understand or believe her. Even when his affection increased during the hunt, his treatment of Penelope was still harsher than I expected. He always accuses Penelope of something, even when Penelope didn’t do anything at all. I guess he is like that because he is the heir of Eckhart and always has to be mindful of Eckhart’s reputation. In addition to that, he may still be blaming himself for Yvonne’s disappearance. I understand he harbors feelings for Penelope and that he cannot express himself well, but still, of all the things he has done to Penelope, he is beyond redemption. I must say he reaps what he sows.

I feel ‘disgusting’ isn’t the correct term for how I feel, but I’m more at a loss for how he feels towards Penelope. He was possessive, and I just couldn’t accept his feelings for Penelope because I didn’t like the way he treated her. He gets jealous when Penelope is surrounded by the male lead, and I feel that Derrick thinks of Penelope as a property instead of a person. He was controlling and a douchebag through and all, yet he even had the audacity to plead for Penelope at the end of the story.

Reynard Eckhart

I guess Reynard’s character is similar to a tsundere. His attitude is hot and cold, which caused problems in Eckhart’s mansion. Because of how he treated Penelope when they were young, it caused the servants to not treat Penelope properly as well. So, when Reynard realized how bad Penelope’s situation was, he didn’t know, as he only thought it was nothing big. That being said, Reynard is not exempt from being considered an asshole as well. He is one of the reasons why Penelope had to live like that. I know it doesn’t get better despite apologizing, but him saying sorry and trying to make up for it is quite satisfying. He deserved Penelope’s hostility. He is not as awful as his brother, Derrick.

Vinter Verdandi

Vinter is one of the characters I like the most. He showed so much potential at the beginning of the story. He was kind to Penelope and showed concern whenever she was sad. I even expected he would be the main lead, but not until what he did to test Penelope. He had so much potential, but it didn’t stand the chance of how many things were going on. He is not only a Marquess but also a sorcerer and even the head of the White Rabbit Guild. He’s involved with a lot of things, and assuming that if this were really an otome game, I would assume his route would be included in the Secret Ending(?) instead, with lots of secrets hidden. Vinter has to consider a lot of things. I didn’t have many negative opinions about him, but he was a wasted love interest in my opinion.

Eckles

Eckles is a walking red flag, but I like his character, and I feel bad for him. He came from an empire that had been erased from a map, and he has been a slave for a while. When Penelope bought him at an auction, he knew Penelope had an ulterior motive but went along with her. She has become his savior, and I get why Eckles has been clinging to her even at the end of the story. Penelope also clung to him out of desperation, wanting to live. Desperate Penelope had no time to think of others’ feelings, and that’s why when Eckless became obsessed with her and did something thinking Penelope would be happy, she felt betrayed by his actions.

For all the actions he took, it’d be best for him to forget his past and live a new life. Eckles is too broken to live a life where he can remember his past. He not only ran away from his banished hometown, but he also betrayed his people and sided with Yvonne. His character is far from having redemption, so for him to forget his past would make him live peacefully.

Reading Experience

I enjoyed Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess very much. It’s much different from the manhwa I usually read because I get to know the characters more through their inner thoughts and words. Whereas in manhwa or manga, we try to know them through illustrations in their expressions. The only problem I’ve had is that it’s because it’s from another country and English is not their first language. I’ve had a hard time reading it because the translation was not good. There are some passages that are incoherent, so I get confused about what they want to say. One example would be Reynald and Penelope’s conversation. Oftentimes they bicker, and there are lines I couldn’t understand, so it didn’t make sense to me. I just try to grasp what kind of situation they’re in.

Another one would be the choice of words. I was taken aback by the web novel’s use of offensive language. There was no censorship, thus emphasizing the mistreatment of the OG Penelope. I find it difficult to like all the male leads throughout the beginning of the story. They were all trash, especially Derrick and Reynald. This is why I understand Penelope’s decision on Eckhart. I can’t blame her for drawing a line and giving justice to the OG Penelope. The Duke Eckhart was a bystander watching his foolish sons mistreat the OG Penelope. While the Eckharts may try to make up for their past actions, but the trauma and hardships Penelope endured can’t be forgotten.

Conclusion

Overall, Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess is pretty long. It took me a while to finish because it has 1,500+ pages, but I didn’t have any problem with that. The length of the story was understandable because of the twists and turns as well. I just wish there were some illustrations sometimes. Unfortunately, the copy I have doesn’t include any illustrations (if it does). I wanted to see a Penelope web novel version more. I love her appearance there. Considering that this novel follows a plot like playing an otome game, I won’t mind playing it if this were to be literally developed as a game. Definitely, I will read the manhwa once it’s finished.

What are your thoughts on “Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess”? Have you encountered similar translation challenges in other works? Do you usually play otome games, as well? Who do you think is the most ‘decent’ among them? Share your insights in the comments below!

“Is there no commander in this country other than me? You could’ve made it into soup and fed it to them right up to their nose, do I have to clean up every piece of shit? For nearly a decade I’ve rolled like a dog on the battlefield. But why should I play a fucking war game when I don’t know when the woman I love is going to die?” — Callisto Regulus, Death Is the Only Ending For The Villainess

About Me

I’m Sirius, a book blogger. I focus on manhwas, mangas, and web novels that can’t be seen much in book reviews. I like cats and stuff. And I’m currently in the process of becoming a self-proclaimed polyglot.