There are a ton of stories out there like this one - where a villain is given a second chance to go back to the past and relive their earlier days before the downfall.
They tend to all be kind of common/ generic - they know of future events, they strive to undo their wrongdoings, they earn their bread and make unexpected allies.
I wasn't expecting much when I started reading this one honestly, but the art was pretty and I'm a sucker for this trope (damn, you Bakarina) so I gave it a shot. And I was pleasantly surprised.
I like this story more than others of its kind, because the main character, Aria, doesn't change into this out of character goody-two-shoes after her death. She is the same kind of person as she was in her previous life, just more cunning and manipulative.
With her future foresight in play, she can construct a somewhat idealistic future for herself or at least try to.
She is out for revenge.
In her previous life, due to various events, Aria was seen as a wicked woman that was extravagant, would cause chaos, harass her gentle stepsister Mielle, and was thought of as a joke because of her upbringing and her behaviour in high society. Because of this, when Aria is about to be executed she is utterly shocked by Mielle's confession that she tricked Aria into building the bad reputation that eventually brought her to her end. So when by chance in her death she finds a magical hourglass that takes her back to the past she is determined to use Mielles own tactics against her as a true villainess.
I can feel her hate and her fear that drives her to take action even against someone that technically(after time-travel) is a child.
The world and side characters have life in them, their private greed and motives, that are depicted and seen through Aria's cynical, logical eyes.
It's fun to follow how she spots people's desires and wants, and how she manipulates them to her benefit:
Aria, having gone through a lot, has matured. She has some nice scenes of self-reflection on her actions in her previous life and how others must have seen her and how she has seen them in return.
Child antagonist - Mielle: this is probably the weak part of the story, it can sometimes be a disappointment because Aria is going up against a child, granted it's a child with a lot of adult backing from her family and outside it. The comebacks Mielle gives Aria are weak as hell, maybe that's because she isn't yet the woman she will grow up to be, but it makes you wonder how dumb was the past Aria to fall for these traps.
There will probably be another antagonist added to the story, there already has been some glimpses of them and this one will be superior to Aria, and someone she has not interacted with in her previous life, I'm hoping this will be good.
So far (ch.30) whenever it feels like she will truly befriend someone or her personality would change because of another character's actions, it comes right back around to her one and true goal to take revenge and how will this benefit her in the long run.
There's a bit of magic here and there connected to her time-travelling, but so far it's pretty balanced, nothing world-breaking.
The story is still in its early stages and a lot can change, but so far it's been fun. Give it a read.
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