The Villainess Is a Marionette

Description

I woke up as Kayena Hill, the novel’s villainess, praised as the greatest beauty in the empire. Who knew that her story would catch my attention because I was her in my past life? Destined for terrible ends, I’ve died twice—but I refuse to die a third time as a pawn in someone else’s scheme. I’m no longer the vain and naïve princess. Now that I know how the story will unfold, I’ll turn the tables around and have everyone dancing to my tune. This time, I’ll be the one pulling the strings.

Original Webtoon:
Daum, KakaoPage

Official Translations:
English, T.Chinese, Japanese, Thai, German

Type

Manhwa

Associated Names

A vilã é uma marionete

Aku Bukan Boneka

Angnyeoneun Marionette

Boneka Marionette

Kötü Kadın Bir Kukla

Kẻ Phản Diện Là Một Con Rối

La Méchante est une marionnette

La villana es una marioneta

Penjahat Wanita Adalah Boneka

Wenn die Marionette zurückschlägt

Ác Nữ Là Con Rối

Лиходійка Маріонетка

Хорон санаат утсан хүүхэлдэй

شرور عروسک خیمهشب بازی است

นางร้ายหุ่นเชิด

恶女不做提线木偶

悪女はマリオネット

惡女是懸絲木偶

악녀는 마리오네트

Groups Scanlating

N/A

Latest Release(s)

N/A

Status in Country of Origin

111 Chapters + Prologue + Review (Discontinued)

S1: 45 Chapters (1-45)
S2: 35 Chapters (46-80)
S3: 31 Chapters (81-111)

Completely Scanlated?

Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter

N/A

User Reviews

N/A

Forum

0 topics, 0 posts

Click here to view the forum

User Rating

Average: 7.3 / 10.0 (288 votes)

Bayesian Average: 7.2 / 10.0

16%

18%

23%

15%

11%

Last Updated

October 5th, 2025 12:19am PDT - 1 week ago

Image [Report Inappropriate Content]

Genre

Drama Fantasy Romance Shoujo
Search for series of same genre(s)

Categories

Log in to vote! Show all (some hidden)

Category Recommendations

I Became the Squirrel That Saves the Villain

Odebu Akujo ni Tensei Shitara, Naze ka Last Boss Ouji-sama ni Shuuchaku sareteimasu

Father, I Don't Want This Marriage

The Villainess Lives Again

Becoming a Family With the Duke and His Dear Son

Recommendations

N/A

Author(s)

Artist(s)

Year

Original Publisher

Serialized In (magazine)

KakaoPage (Kakao)

Kakao Webtoon (Daum)

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

IZE Press (2 Volumes: Ongoing - Print)

Radish (Expired)

Tapas (Webtoon)

Yenpress [Add] (Comic ver.)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #517

(-124)

Monthly Pos #999

(+20)

3 Month Pos #996

(+198)

6 Month Pos #780

(+269)

Year Pos #569

(+31)

List Stats

On 1480 reading lists

On 375 wish lists

On 173 completed lists

On 98 unfinished lists

On 474 custom lists

Note: You must be logged in to update information on this page.

Forum Posts Click to view the forum

User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]

Yes, but only once.

by Tilly
1 month ago

Rating: 9.0 / 10.0

I have not read the novel. Let's judge everything apart from the last 10 chapters. The art is gorgeous. It has like two phases/styles throughout the story but it's all just damn beautiful. The story is intriguing, a nice amount of predictable together with story moves you wouldn't have expected in the setting. It's a bit of a twist on your typical isekai, but it follows the formula quite a bit to not need any story explanations. I really like how Regefs character is drawn (mimic and gestures) and how he is portrayed - i thinks it's actually extremely well done to show how he became what he is and where his character is coming from. Kayena is an amazing character, but I do feel a bit like I'm missing a small part of her character act. The duke is fine but the weakest out of those three. All other characters are well done, apart from the last two handsome boys.

This manhwa got axed around chapter 100. Now, the last 10 chapters are apparently not quite following the novel, the art is subpar compared to the rest of the story (still years above some other manhwas out there to be fair), the story is clearly rushing like there is no tomorrow, the author is trying to explain story points as much as possible and takes liberties in some cases to change the story to not have to explain why that specific scene is important and included. It's annoying but very typical of axed stories so I cant be mad and im just happy we got some kind of closure. I dont think its reread worthy, but i will remember the art fondly because holy shit those outfits and naked chests and god man its so beaut.

Was this comment useful? Yes

Rushed ending understandable

by misukochan
3 months ago

Rating: N/A

Started out really interesting for me, however, the addition of a new factor far in the story caught me by surprised.

Also while the ending felt rushed and isn't satisfactory, it is kinda understandable since the adaptation was discontinued/axed.

Was this comment useful? Yes

Don't know what to say

by whatever0_0
3 months ago

Rating: 8.0 / 10.0

I found it really interesting at first. I liked how strong the female lead was, and the story seemed to be going well — but the ending turned out kind of strange.

Was this comment useful? Yes

Beautiful art, mediocre plot and characters

by anobletiger
5 months ago

Rating: N/A

The art very much carried this manhua; everything was so, so beautiful. But in the end, that was the only thing that was stellar about this one. Characters were mediocre, plot had many holes and useless elements, and the ending felt rushed.

The magic element in particular was frankly next to useless.

Was this comment useful? Yes

IF Ending can be changed?

by burntubby9
8 months ago

Rating: 1.0 / 10.0

Art is so good but enough to make people give 1 rating (including me) Why : Your rejected by the boy you liked and then you become something that boy taken an interest and now want make you his and you just give in him. even though there are better candidates for ML. Story be like : when your poor you got ignored and rejected and when you become rich the one who ignored and rejected you come to like you and you also like him back again even though there are characters who truly loves you instead you choose that trash as ML. Ending is also trash.

Was this comment useful? Yes

Don't like it

by Xiao Jin
1 year ago

Rating: 5.0 / 10.0

(in previous life) FL keep pushing ML and he dont give damn and marry someone.(in second life) ML keep pushing it and FL give in to him. because of ML and his cringe love so many people droped out. it will be far better story if there is no ML or she just marry some side character. we can't deny that Rezef is more beautiful and handsome than anyone in manhawa including ML. He is more suited for ML if he just not FL brother. Rated 4.7 because of the Art otherwise it's trash.

... Last updated 1 year ago

Was this comment useful? Yes

didn't intrigue me enough to continue

by Ziggyzag
1 year ago

Rating: 8.0 / 10.0

rated 7.5/10 until chap 80, but i couldn't get pass it. art is beautiful, but..

not sure if ill pick this up again.

... Last updated 1 year ago

Was this comment useful? Yes

Gorgeous yet Superficial art and spineless story

by LienHoa
1 year ago

Rating: 6.0 / 10.0

Even though the art is immaculately gorgeous, breathtaking and sparkling with all the details of the gowns, the hair and the architecture, together with endless attractive characters (almost everyone is beautiful or handsome), sadly, most of it are just subtances.

This is one of the few stories i don't skip the politic part, and eventually it doesn't worth it.

The manhwa starts off interesting with a lot of potential. It made me curious Why did Rezef and Kayena's relationship turns mold, while they were so close and precious as kids—like, they only have each other in the cold blooded environment of the palace?

As the story goes, especially when it reaches it peak,

which is about Rezef's real parents , it starts to get dramatic and interesting, and then bOoM, [spoiler] the Chaperon Kayena loves is killed by Rezef, and they're not on the same team anymore.

Read 26/2/2023

... Last updated 1 year ago

Was this comment useful? Yes

Boring puppy ML

by Fidzius
1 year ago

Rating: 6.0 / 10.0

Calculating FL that went through harsh experiences, learned form them and uses cunning tactics to go against the many opposing forces surrounding her.

And then there's this dumbass, that while having a "condition" seems to randomly overcome it and become a bimbo lap-dog.

That caused enough cringe to put the reading on hold.

Was this comment useful? Yes

Expecting the plot and got a typical shoujo romance

by Velrost
2 years ago

Rating: 4.0 / 10.0

Just another case where MC regressed to take another chance in life but stupidly asks why things are different from before when they deliberately took a different route.

Just do a simple skimming for one chapter and you can definitely say that the art is good. But this is the only good thing in this series.

The plot is quite decent. Just like the description said, MC is trying to avoid death by manipulation so she will pull the string herself. Common tropes like kidnapping, assassination, and blackmail were included as they normally would in royal settings.

The story is bad. In one sentence: Things just happened, don't ask how, and let's just talk about the future.
Some things were revealed suddenly that greatly influenced the main story. No clues or leads were shown before the reveal.

The characters are worse overall. MC tries to be manipulative but is always startled when things go slightly different from what she expects. She expects things to stay the same when she never does the same things. Like a typical harem manga, this manhwa has other characters to fall for MC in one scene.

... Last updated 2 years ago

Was this comment useful? Yes

Pages (3) [ 1 2 3 ]