Villains Are Destined to Die

Penelope is the adopted daughter of Duke Eckhart. The Duke adopted her after his biological daughter, Yvonne, went missing. Penelope essentially took the missing girl's place. She was originally a commoner, and her mother was a poor merchant who died when Penelope was 12 years old. Afterward, the Duke took her into his family. In the game world, Penelope is the main villain in the "Love: Love of the Young Duchess!" project. In normal mode, she dies in all endings. However, her body is inhabited by the soul of an ordinary Korean girl, Sienna Cha, who remembers her past life and the game itself. Penelope is a beautiful woman with dark pink hair reaching her hips and turquoise eyes (with a blue gradient at the top and green at the bottom). She wears clothes befitting a noblewoman, but many nobles consider her style too extravagant for her age.
When her anger reached its limit, she closed her mouth to suppress her emotions. According to the Duke, at such moments, her eyes became lifeless, "like a dead corpse." Sienna Cha suspected that Penelope suppressed both her hunger and her rage because she didn't want to lose the chance to see her "family." Initially, Penelope desperately sought love in her new family, but due to the general disdain (she was considered an impostor who had taken Yvonne's place, as well as her commoner origins), she faced discrimination. Most of all, she feared losing this illusion of family. Despite her complex personality, Penelope is more than just a capricious villain. When the soul of an ordinary girl from our world enters her body, the heroine displays a keen intellect, an ability to analyze situations, and find a way out of even hopeless situations. Her main goal is to survive, and to do this she has to constantly change: she learns to control her emotions, be more diplomatic and build strategies rather than act impulsively.

Callisto Regulus is the Crown Prince of the Erok Empire. Height: 188 cm (6 ft 2 in). Birthday: August 1st. He first appears in the main storyline as an uninvited guest at his younger brother's birthday banquet. He is carrying a wounded, near-death man. It is implied, and later confirmed, that the Queen sent an assassin after Callisto before the party. While Callisto was away at war, the Second Prince and the Queen took control of nearly half the Royal Palace. He has no real support within the Empire, other than being a war hero and his age playing into his hands. At this point in the story, it is still unclear whether he will become the next Emperor, despite his current title.
Appearance: He has the typical blond hair of royalty, but it's lighter than the rest, and he has ruby-red eyes. He's most often seen wearing a formal white military uniform with gold embellishments and a red cloak with black fur trim. Magic makes the cloak waterproof and warm.
Personality: As a child, Callisto was a kind and caring boy, genuinely eager to impress his younger half-brother. Despite the Empress Consort's attempts to separate them and the inevitable rivalry for the throne, he wanted to get along with his brother. However, after an assassination attempt orchestrated by his stepmother's relatives, he became suspicious of everyone around him. Callisto, the crown prince of the Eorc Empire, has many enemies both within and without the empire. He is constantly on guard, drawing his sword whenever he senses danger or suspects he is being followed. He is extremely hostile toward those he perceives as harming him or those who support his brother's faction. To survive constant assassination attempts by his stepmother and her family, he tries never to show weakness.

When not on guard, Callisto is quite relaxed. He is carefree, mischievous, sarcastic, and arrogant, often teasing those he cares about, such as Penelope and Cedric. Penelope also notes his childlike innocence. When he trusts someone, he reveals a more vulnerable side to them. To reassure Penelope, who is still frightened after her failed attempt to kill a bear and narrowly survived an assassination attempt, Callisto shares a memory of a past hunting tournament and praises her for her hunting skills and composure.
Childhood: Callisto's mother died when he was young. After his mother's death, Callisto became the target of assassins sent by the empress. His mother, having fallen out of favor with the emperor, told Callisto that he must become the perfect emperor. One day, when he was still a child, his younger half-brother's birthday coincided with a hunting tournament. He wanted to give him a gift and went hunting for a small game. But during the hunt, he encountered a bear. Trying to escape the bear, he encountered assassins sent either by the empress consort or someone from her entourage. The assassins and the bear clashed, and both sides were killed. He took the bear's head, won the hunting tournament that year, and threw it into a pile of gifts for his half-brother.

Winter Verdandi is the Marquis of Verdandi and secretly a sorcerer who owns the White Rabbit Guild. He secretly owns one of the most famous and largest information networks in the empire—the White Rabbit Guild. He secretly trains other young sorcerers captured by the anti-magic faction. They all also wear animal masks. His father died early, forcing him to become the head of his house at a young age, despite having proven himself more capable of the role.
Appearance: Winter has snow-white hair and lapis lazuli eyes. He is often seen wearing white, purple, and lilac clothing. He wears several rings on each hand. As a sorcerer, he wears a rabbit mask to conceal his identity.
Personality: Winter Verdandy is a kind and polite man. His gentle nature makes him popular among the nobility, especially women. Winter, the leader of the White Rabbit Guild, is a savvy businessman, adept at gathering information and understanding people. He is completely confident in his abilities as a sorcerer, and claims his magical skills are unmatched in the entire Eorkan Empire. Outside of work, he frequently volunteers for charity, distributing food to the poor, and appears to have a particular fondness for children. Despite his kindness, Winter is extremely distrustful. As the White Rabbit, he strives to create a safer world for sorcerers and stop the Sacred Nation of Layla. For this reason, he carefully guards his apprentice sorcerers and will not hesitate to point his magical staff at anyone he deems suspicious or dangerous. Winter has a strong sense of justice and genuinely desires to protect both sorcerers and people born with mana, who face discrimination throughout the empire.
Birthday: September 13
Height: 186 cm (6 ft 1 in).

Reynold Eckhart is the second son of Duke Eckhart and the brother of Penelope Eckhart, the late Yvonne Eckhart, and Derrick Eckhart.
Past: Six years ago, on the day of the estate's founding celebration, Derrick, Yvonne, and Reynold sneaked out of the house. Reynold had gone in search of a necklace for his younger sister. After finding what he was looking for, he saw that Derrick was motionless and realized he had lost Yvonne. The brothers searched for hours but never found her. Reynold blamed himself for Yvonne's disappearance, as it was he who had suggested sneaking out of the estate. On the eve of the coming-of-age ceremony, Reynold fell out of a tree and pretended to be dead. Penelope, believing he was truly dead, cried profusely.
Appearance: Reynold is tall, slightly shorter than Derrick, with pink hair and blue eyes. He usually wears white, casual shirts worn open, as well as vests and tan blazers.
Personality: As a child, Reynolds was cheerful and outgoing, but after Yvonne's disappearance, he felt guilty about it and became less cheerful. When Penelope was adopted into the Eckhart family, he initially tried to get along with her, but after overhearing her wish for Yvonne to never return, he became hostile. He framed her for stealing Yvonne's necklace and influenced the staff to treat her poorly. For years, Reynolds treated Penelope with hostility, harassing her at every opportunity. This continued even after Siyeon Cha took over Penelope's body. However, when the present-day Penelope tells him in the attic about her predecessor's heartfelt wish, Reynolds realizes how difficult her life was before her adoption. From that moment on, his attitude towards her begins to change. Reynolds genuinely begins to regard Penelope as a sister. Although he continues to bicker with her, their quarrels are more like playful squabbles between brother and sister.
Birthday: February 14.
Height: 183 cm (6 ft).

Derrick Eckhart is the eldest son of Duke Eckhart and the adoptive older brother of Penelope Eckhart.
Appearance: Derrick is a tall and handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes, characteristic of the Eckhart family. He is most often seen wearing elegant and expensive clothing, usually black, blue, and gold, although he occasionally wears armor when patrolling with the Eckhart knights, and an all-black hunting suit during the hunting tournament.
Personality: As a nobleman, he is very proud and can look down on others. For example, when Derrick learns of Iklis's origins, he mocks the slave and the fallen kingdom of Delman. As the heir to the Eckhart Dukedom, he is always concerned about his family's reputation. Despite his outward calm, he is very emotional. After losing Yvonne at the festival, he became less cheerful and developed a controlling streak. After Penelope was officially adopted into the Eckhart family, he is the one who punishes her whenever she gets into trouble. However, he constantly blames both the past and present Penelope whenever something threatens the family's reputation. This shows that Derrick is prone to cruelty, both verbal and emotional, and constantly torments her.
Birthday: December 21
Height: 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)

Iclis, formerly known as Iclis Khan Delman, is Penelope Regulus's knight escort. Iclis is the illegitimate son of the former king of Delman, a now-destroyed country completely wiped off the map. His father and brothers erased his name from all documents and passed him off as a slave to protect him when the Eorc Empire destroyed Delman. The Duke was Iclis's true master in the otome game, and the real Penelope Eckhart was the one he was obligated to protect as an escort.
Appearance: Iklis has gray-brown hair and gray eyes. As a slave, he wears a black necklace with a yellow stone enchanted to inflict paralysis.
Personality: Iklis is almost never emotional and generally taciturn. He only shows his feelings on the rare occasions when the subject of his homeland, Delman, comes up. He bitterly hates the Eorc Empire and its people, including Penelope herself, for destroying his country. Knowing that Penelope has a reason for buying him and caring for him, he initially feigns submissiveness and devotion, waiting for the opportune moment to kill her and flee the empire. Iklis's behavior changes after Penelope gives him a magical sword and offers to become her knight. From that moment on, he becomes obsessed with Penelope. He constantly oversteps his bounds, and when called upon, he begs for forgiveness, but his apologies are manipulative and insincere. He quickly learns to exploit Penelope's willingness to forgive, believing she will always forgive him, no matter how serious his offense.
Birthday: June 30
Height: 186 cm.

Cedric Porter is Callisto's only assistant and Marianne Terossi's husband.
Appearance: Cedric has short, wavy dark hair and green eyes. He wears a black and red uniform with a white cape. He also has large, round glasses.
Personality: A devoted aide to the Crown Prince of the Eorc Empire. He respects his master unconditionally and is willing to follow him into battle. However, his remarks sometimes hint at irritation—for example, he can openly express dislike for the prince.

Emily is Penelope Eckhart's personal maid.
Past: Emily began working at the Eckhart Dukedom at the age of nine. She was always given the most unpleasant tasks. At 13, she was assigned to look after Penelope Eckhart. After Penelope threw a tantrum and became aggressive towards Emily, the maid became enraged that no one cared about her circumstances and suffering. She then began torturing Penelope, stabbing her with a needle and feeding her spoiled food for years, until Xiyeon Cha appeared in the otome game world.
Appearance: Emily has brown hair pulled back into a ponytail on the left side and light brown eyes. She has fair skin and freckles across the bridge of her nose. She usually wears a maid uniform.
Personality: At first, Emily mocks and insults the past and present Penelopes, like the rest of the Duchy's inhabitants. Every time she does something that might anger her mistress, the maid smirks. However, she can also be frightened. When Reynold learns that Emily has been giving her mistress rotten food and yelling at her, she panics. After the present Penelope asks Emily to remain her maid, she sincerely regrets not having taken proper care of her mistress. She becomes a very devoted and loyal maid to Penelope. She admits to herself that she doesn't expect forgiveness after all she's done and expects nothing in return. This is why Penelope forgives Emily only out of all the inhabitants of the Eckhart Duchy. Like the other maids, Emily enjoys dressing Penelope up. She also likes to talk about nobles, especially the young, handsome and unmarried ones.
Height: 154 cm (5 ft 1 in).

Duke Eckhart is the biological father of Derrick, Reynold, and Yvonne, and the adoptive father of Penelope.
Appearance: Duke Eckhart is older in appearance than Derrick; he has grey hair, presumably black when he was younger, and blue eyes, a trait common to the Eckhart family.
Personality: Little is known about Duke Eckhart before the death of his wife and the disappearance of his biological daughter. However, after the loss of Yvonne, he became distant from his other children, immersing himself in his work. He is an irresponsible father, who for years neglected to check on the real Penelope and was unaware of her abuse by her half-brothers and the Eckhart employees. Even after Sion—now Penelope—appears in the game, he remains oblivious to Penelope's abuse at the hands of the employees and shows no initiative in interacting with his daughter. This occurs during dinner: while the men are quietly eating, the present-day Penelope is holding toy cutlery, preventing her from eating. Despite sitting at the same table with the men of the Eckhart family, her father doesn't even notice that his daughter isn't eating. The current Penelope, Siyeon Cha, even thinks he resembles her Korean father: just as cold and distant. As soon as the current Penelope begins to interact with the Duke and calls him "father" again, he begins to act like a loving parent. For example, he constantly boasts to everyone about the amulet he received from Penelope. Because of his condescending attitude toward Penelope, there are even rumors that he is protecting his "naughty daughter."
Height: 179 cm (5 ft 9 in).

Yvonne Eckhart was the biological daughter of Duke Eckhart, Derrick Eckhart, and Reynold Eckhart. It was later revealed that Yvonne had been trapped in the Mirror of Truth the entire time, and "Yvonne Eckhart" was the true antagonist of the entire game.
Appearance: Yvonne had long, straight hair that reached her waist. Her hair was light pink, like Reynolds and Evelyn's. She had fair skin and blue eyes. She wore light-colored clothing.
Personality: Yvonne was a kind child. After present-day Penelope encountered young Yvonne trapped in a mirror, she stated that she and Reynolds had similar personalities.
Past: When Yvonne went with her brothers to the festival, she let go of Derrick's hand, and the crowd separated them. Since then, Yvonne has lost her memory and forgotten her former life as a noblewoman. After Yvonne was separated from her brothers, her body was taken over by the goddess Layla. The goddess did not immediately gain full control of Yvonne. Yvonne witnessed Penelope fall into her father's hands. After this, the goddess finally gained full control of her body.
Height: 160 cm (5 ft 2 in)
Birthday: February.

"Yvonne Eckhart" was the main antagonist of the series. She was the main character in the normal mode, but the false protagonist of the entire otome game "Young Duchess Love Love!" She was the leader of the Sacred Nation of Layla (i.e., the goddess Layla herself).
Appearance: The story doesn't clearly describe Layla's appearance, as she constantly transfers her soul into different bodies. However, according to Winter, she and her kind resembled monsters more than humans. But now she's in the body of Yvonne Eckhart.
Personality: Before the main storyline, in past timelines, "Yvonne" was vengeful but loved her loved ones and was willing to do anything to free them. However, after she realized that the freed Laylas—selfish and manipulative by nature—were jealous of her position and wanted to remove her as leader, and after Winter used a forbidden time loop spell, "Yvonne" lost all love for her people. Now she wanted to become the sole ruler of the world and be worshipped by everyone. "Yvonne" was highly intelligent. She quickly realized that the current Penelope, Siyeon Cha, acted differently from the real Penelope, though she didn't fully realize that the Korean girl was from another world. Regardless of whether she used the shards of the Mirror of Truth, she quickly found people's weaknesses and manipulated them. She often lied to her pawns, promising them what they most desired. For example, Layla promised Iklis that she would spare Penelope and her friends if he delivered the mirror shard held by the Duke's daughter. She also promised the Second Prince's faction Layla's power if they brought her the Emperor's head and the Royal Magic Orb.