Villains Are Destined to Die (novel), Vol. 2

Surviving a deadly game is hard enough — surviving it while falling for the crown prince might be downright impossible.

Penelope Eckart knows exactly what she is in this world: the villain, written off long before the story ends. But knowing your fate and accepting it are two very different things, and Penelope has never been the accepting type. Armed with a crossbow, razor-sharp instincts, and a willingness to rewrite the rules, she throws herself headfirst into the Hunt — a royal tournament that promises danger at every turn.

She just didn't expect the danger to come with a crown.

When the system deploys assassins targeting Prince Callisto, Penelope finds herself caught squarely in the crossfire, tangled up in a conspiracy far more treacherous than any tournament challenge. Staying close to the cold, calculating crown prince might be the smartest move she can make — every stolen moment chips away at the icy hostility between them and earns the precious affection points she desperately needs to survive. But proximity to royalty is its own kind of peril, especially when the line between enemy and ally grows dangerously blurred.

One wrong step and she's not just a villain anymore — she's a would-be regicide.

Gwon Gyeoeul's second volume of this gripping dark romantasy ratchets up the tension, the political intrigue, and the slow-burn pull between two people who