Gwon Gyeoeul – författare

“Your eyes, my lady, are only filled with sorrow, never joy.”Penelope and Callisto safely escaped the assassins, but the danger is far from over. The crown prince has been left in mortal peril, and Penelope…is standing trial for attempted murder?! Accused of attacking seven nobles during the Hunt, she faces a court proceeding that, in actuality, is nothing more than an elaborate sham to frame her. With false testimonies filling the courtroom, Derrick proving himself untrustworthy, and Callisto being unfit to tak e the stand, will Penelope rise against all odds and prevail…?

Painstaking efforts, near-death experiences, unrequitable feelings—everything Penelope has worked for comes crashing down in an instant upon the return of Ivonne, the “true” daughter of House Eckhart. The one to blame? Eckles, the very man Penelope was betting her survival and escape on. But when she goes to confront him for his betrayal, not only is she hit by a shocking revelation about her relationship with him, but about Ivonne too...And as the clock strikes midnight on the day of Penelope’s coming-of-age ceremony, and thus, the end of Hard Mode, she’s forced to face the music.

“I don’t want to live like this either, only ever being despised.”Life in hard mode for “villain” Penelope Eckhart means with every step forward, she’s shoved five steps back. Just when things seem to be stabilizing between her and the brothers, she finds herself coming to blows with Reynold, who insists on dredging up the past—an affront Penelope refuses to take lying down. To make matters worse, she’s forced to attend the hunting tournament hosted by the crown prince…and Callisto + weapons = a recipe for DANGER!

Penelope’s fate is looking grim, but she’s got a plan: sneak out, rescue Eckles, and secure herself a one-way ticket out of death. The problem with making the seemingly docile boy her “all-in” love interest? He’s a lot more dangerous than she expected! A single bad hand means she’ll go bust, and Penelope quickly realizes she needs a backup plan—that is, a backup man! Winter appears to be the obvious choice, but there’s more to the enigmatic sorcerer than meets the eye…With the odds stacked against her, will Penelope be able to play her cards right?

“When I’m with you, there’s truly never a dull moment.”The Hunt is on! Penelope heads off to the small-game area in hopes of finding a present for Eckles…only to run into a hostile bear! Armed with desperation and a crossbow, Penelope holds it off, until Callisto unexpe ctedly comes to her rescue. Despite his heroism, Penelope wants nothing but to get away from the seemingly obsessed, definitely dangerous crown prince. Fate has other plans, though—someone has sent assassins after Callisto, and Penelope is now caught in the cross fire, tasked by the game system to protect him. Still, this might just be a chance to raise his affection… if they can make it out with their lives, that is!

Villains Are Destined to Die is a fantasy romance that stands out as one of the top series on the webcomic app Tapas.

The moment poison touched her lips, Penelope was destined to fall. But rather than the warm embrace of death she expected, what meets her is a cold limbo. With Penelope unable to awake, the love interests find themselves divided—some accusatory, some protective, and a certain crown prince hell-bent on finding the one who did this to the duke’s daughter and making them pay. Little do the inhabitants of the ducal manor know, the enemy lies among them...As Ivonne continues to spin her web of lies, more and more become victim to her brainwashing, bringing her ever closer to her goal. But will Ivonne's true nature be revealed before it’s too late?

Following the conditions of a contract between herself and Winter, Penelope is once again leaving the duchy! She joins the marquis for volunteer work in a war-stricken nation, and while their time there is hectic, the two are able to grab a moment alone at the seaside. But the couple’s peace is shattered when they learn sorcerer children have been kidnapped! In the face of Penelope’s desperation to save them, Winter’s calm approach to the situation has the duke’s daughter suspecting that everything is not as it seems...

When a college student with a tragic past picks up reverse harem video game Daughter of the Duke’s Super Love Project, she immediately sees herself in one of the characters. Not the adored heroine of easy mode Ivonne, no-but the protagonist of hard mode, misunderstood villain Penelope. Little did she know that she’d go to sleep playing the story...and wake up in Penelope’s body! The only way to escape the game world? Charm one of the love interests and reach his good ending. But with affection meters starting in the negatives and the inability to speak without choosing from pre-selected dialogue, it quickly becomes clear that a single wrong move means her demise-and this villain might just be destined to die!

Playing Daughter of the Duke’s Super Love Project as the easy mode heroine, Ivonne, makes charming the male characters a breeze. But once you switch to hard mode and step into the shoes of Penelope, the misunderstood villain, it’s nearly impossible to even stay alive! So imagine the shock of suddenly waking up in Penelope’s body—you know right away that your life is on the line. With love interests who will kill you if their affection meters drop too low and the inability to speak without choosing from pre-selected dialogue, it quickly becomes clear that Penelope’s chances have been rigged from the start—and this villain might just be destined to die!

Slandered, maimed, poisoned...Penelope has gone to hell and back trying to escape from this damned game world. And just when she thought she finally found her way out through death, the system chews her up and spits her back out onto the hidden route. Affection meters are gone, and all that separates Laila from achieving world destruction is a mirror fragment—if Penelope doesn’t find a way to beat the monster now, there are no more second chances. But all hope is not lost. Ivonne’s innocent charade isn’t fooling everyone, and with Callisto steadfastly fighting beside his future crown princess, Penelope is no longer alone. As the heroine and villain circle each, it’s do-or-die...and a happy ending may just be within reach.

The Hunt is on, and Penelope is joining the fray! With crossbow in hand and devil-may-care attitude on lock, the daughter of the duke struts off to confront anything in her way, be it maniacal love interests, conniving countesses, or game for the tournament. So... why does it feel like she’s the one who’s prey? When fate sends assassins after Callisto and Penelope is caught in the crossfire, she soon finds out just the very real, very deadly consequences of her actions on the plot...

With the love interests’ affection meters now sealed behind ominous locks, Penelope is on high alert for any and every opportunity to maintain her grasp of control over her escape plans. So when Winter reaches out on guild duties, hoping to sign a contract with her, Penelope swoops at the chance. The problem? One of his conditions for their deal is meeting up and getting to know each other! But these “dates” have so much more in store for Penelope than she could have predicted—missing children, evil deities, run-ins with Callisto... The stakes are higher than ever, and if Penelope isn’t careful, death will find her before she can find a way out of this game.