The Villainess's Replacement

"How much more despicable can this wretch possibly be?!" Su muttered, nearly losing her mind right where she sat! She had rushed through her dinner just to dive straight into her favorite hobby: reading books. The novel had reached such an intensely thrilling point that she completely lost track of food. She ate her meal in a flash so she could immediately resume reading right from where she left off... With every single line she read, she shifted from one emotion to another; sometimes furious, sometimes teary-eyed. This was precisely what she loved most about reading—books were the primary catalyst making her race through a spectrum of emotions.

While wandering through the shopping mall with her friends, the book she was now reading with such enthusiasm had caught her attention. Its cover was so alluring that, as a true book lover, she immediately fell for its beauty. And how fortunate she was to have bought it, for it was an exceptionally fluid and thrilling book. She had breezed through half of the thick novel in just a few hours. As for the author's name, she had heard it for the very first time—quite a strange thing for a seasoned bookworm not to know. When she searched for it online, she couldn't find much information about it either.

The novel recounted the years following one of the major wars. Although it contained historical backdrops, it was not strictly a history book; rather, it was a romance novel at its core. It felt as though the author touched upon history merely because she wanted the story to take place in ancient times; apart from a few details, historical specifics were hardly dwelled upon.

The novel told the story of Yusuf, who led a quiet and simple life in a coastal town. He had spent the spring of his youth on battlefields, and after the war, he followed in his father's footsteps as a carpenter, growing into a courageous young man. He was the town's dashing, handsome, and mischievous young lad—the youth who managed to catch the eye of every single girl around. He had followed in the footsteps of his martyred older brother while still practically a child, joining the war secretly from his mother to become a true hero!

When the war finally ended and he returned home, a great deal had changed. Scarcely any of his heroic peers whom he called brothers-in-arms remained; most had either fallen as martyrs or left the town. But he hadn't left! As soon as the war ended, he stepped onto his native soil and returned to his old life. Hadn't the blood of thousands of heroes been shed on this very earth precisely for this reason?

No sooner had Yusuf returned from the war than he lost his heart to a foreign girl; Lisa, with whom he had lived in the same neighborhood for long years and shared his childhood. Before leaving for war, Lisa was much younger; she was too naive to understand the meaning of war, quarrels, or rebellion, but she learned in time... and in a painful way...

Upon his return, he found she had become a nurse. She and her family were among the rare ones whose status remained unaffected by the war. As for Lisa's father, he belonged to an extremely prestigious and wealthy family. He had displayed neutrality during the war and provided financial support to the locals. Their established companies possessed immense heritage and high value.

Yusuf had fallen in love with Lisa, the soft and delicate young girl of that supportive family. With her blonde hair and blue eyes, Lisa looked just like a fairy. She was so beautiful and charming that the moment Yusuf first laid eyes on her, his heart could not keep pace with its own beats. It was the first time he witnessed his heart hammering with such madness from excitement. Love had slipped into his heart unannounced and uninvited.

Naturally, the love was mutual. How could it not be? How could Lisa remain indifferent to a man whose valor and chivalry were on everyone's lips? She too couldn't bridle her heart, suddenly finding herself cradled in the arms of passion. They represented the most innocent and subtle details of love. They loved one another with such exquisite tenderness that Su's heart flowed along with them.

Yet, like a sudden black lightning bolt, a crisis struck to challenge the romance Su was reading with such passion and envy; Maria, Lisa's older sister, had fallen in love with Yusuf as well. And how could she not fall for him? Who wouldn't be captivated by a tall stature, fair skin, and blue eyes? Maria had fallen for him too—with a wild, raging passion.

Maria's affection was not as innocent as Lisa's. When she saw the man she loved infatuated with her sister, she nearly went mad. She vented all her malice and spite on poor Lisa, turning the young girl's life into a living hell and subjecting her to endless cruelty.

No matter what Maria did, she never succeeded in driving a wedge between the two lovers. The more she tried to separate them, the more passionately they clung to each other. This drove her even further off the edge, leading her to inflict the greatest possible cruelty upon Yusuf. Taking advantage of the young man's drunkenness, she engineered a trap to ensure they were caught together, branding him as a predator of honor. From that day onward, neither Yusuf's honor nor his valor remained intact.

Of course, Maria felt no remorse for what she did. Even though the trap she laid dealt severe damage to the man she loved, it secured her position as his wife and, on top of that, made her pregnant with the child of the man she desired. Yusuf was forced to marry a woman he would never have wed were it not for that child.

Whenever Su read of Maria's actions, she wept tears and hurled curses at her. When she read the painful parting scene between Lisa and Yusuf and their passionate final kiss, she had no tears left to shed. She felt their pain deep within her heart, her sole soul writhing in agony.

With her sister entering the room, she sniffled bitterly. Her sister, Yildiz, smiled at her state and stretched out on the bed, resting her head on her arm and turning toward her sibling.

"Is it really that tragic?" she asked with curiosity. Su hadn't budged from that book for hours. Su quickly wiped a tear from her eye, lifted her head from the book, and looked at her sister.

"Don't even ask, my heart is torn out! Because of that vile Maria, the lovers were torn apart. You have to read Yusuf's farewell to Lisa, big sister. Every time he wept, I practically wept with him."

Yildiz grew even more curious. Su had talked extensively about the plot, and after finishing each chapter, she had overheard her running self-evaluations. She was becoming progressively intrigued. Su didn't easily like books, so if she liked this one, it truly had to be a great read.