The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom (Japanese: 悪役令嬢は隣国の王太子に溺愛される, Hepburn: Akuyaku Reijō wa Ringoku no Ōtaishi ni Dekiai Sareru) is a Japanese light novel series written by Puni-chan and illustrated by Akeno Naruse. It was originally posted as a web novel on the online publishing platform Shōsetsuka ni Narō beginning in March 2016. Enterbrain later began publishing it as a light novel under their B's Log Bunko imprint in October 2016 until June 2026, with all 15 volumes released as of June 2026. A manga adaptation illustrated by Hoshina began serialization on Enterbrain's B's Log Comic service in December 2017 and has been compiled into 17 tankōbon volumes as of February 2026. A visual novel adaptation developed and published by Operahouse was released for Nintendo Switch and Steam in March 2024. An anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Deen aired from January to March 2026.
Contents
Plot
The series follows a Japanese woman who dies in an accident and is reincarnated as Tiararose Lapis Clementille, the antagonist of the otome game Lapis Lazuli Ring. Believing she is about to be exiled after falling out of favor with her fiancé Hartknights Lapis-Lazuli Lacmouth, she is saved when Aquasteed Marineforest, the prince of a neighboring country, takes her to be his fiancée.
Characters
Tiararose Lapis Clementille (ティアラローズ・ラピス・クレメンティール, Tiararōzu Rapisu Kurementīru)
Voiced by: Mai Fuchigami (voice drama, drama CD, PV, anime) (Japanese); Kate Bristol (English)
The villainess of the otome game Lapis Lazuli Ring, who comes from a noble family. In her previous life, she was a Japanese girl who was a fan of otome games. After her death, she finds herself reincarnated in the world of Lapis Lazuli Ring.
Aquasteed Marineforest (アクアスティード・マリンフォレスト, Akuasutīdo Marinforesuto)
Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara (voice drama, drama CD, PV, anime) (Japanese); Aaron Campbell (English)
The crown prince of the Kingdom of Marineforest, who is studying in the Kingdom of Lapis-Lazuli. He rescues Tiararose from her doomed engagement. Aquasteed is the main character of the sequel game that Tiararose never played, leaving his character shrouded in mystery.
Hartknights Lapis-Lazuli Lacmouth (ハルトナイツ・ラピスラズリ・ラクトムート, Harutonaitsu Rapisurazuri Rakutomūto)
Voiced by: Takuya Satō (voice drama, drama CD, PV, anime) (Japanese); Conner Allison (English)
The crown prince of the Kingdom of Lapis-Lazuli and Tiararose's fiancé. Although he was originally interested in her, he eventually became more interested in Akari instead. In the original game, this would culminate in a bad end for Tiararose.
Akari (アカリ)
Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori (voice drama, drama CD, PV, anime) (Japanese); Kara Edwards (English)
Media
Light novel
The series was originally posted as a web novel on the online publishing platform Shōsetsuka ni Narō beginning on March 17, 2016. Enterbrain later began publishing it as a light novel under their B's Log Bunko imprint on October 15, 2016, with 15 volumes released as of June 2025. The series ended at the 15th volume. Kadokawa released promotional videos on YouTube to promote the novels. A drama CD was released in December 2020 as part of the limited edition of the seventh volume.
A two-volume spin-off light novel series, titled Akuyaku Reijō wa Oshi ga Tōto Sugite Kyō mo Shiawase (悪役令嬢は推しが尊すぎて今日も幸せ), was published under the same imprint from January 15, 2021, to March 15, 2022.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Hoshina began serialization on Enterbrain's B's Log Comic service on December 5, 2017, and has been compiled into 17 tankōbon volumes as of February 2026.
A manga adaptation of the Akuyaku Reijō wa Oshi ga Tōto Sugite Kyō mo Shiawase spin-off series illustrated by Ino Mamaru was serialized on the same service from January 5, 2021, to May 5, 2023. Its chapters were compiled into three tankōbon volumes released from July 1, 2021, to June 1, 2023.
Visual novel
A visual novel adaptation developed by Operahouse was released for Nintendo Switch and Steam on March 21, 2024.
Anime
An anime adaptation was announced on July 4, 2025. It was produced by Studio Deen and directed by Takayuki Hamana, with series composition by Yoshimi Narita, characters designed by Majiro, while music was composed by Satoshi Hono and Karin Nakano. It aired from January 11 to March 29, 2026 on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Ai no Fanfare" (愛のファンファーレ; 'Love's Fanfare'), while the ending theme song is "Mahō no Oto" (魔法の音; lit. 'The Magical Sound'), both performed by Ayahi Takagaki and Yu Shirota. Crunchyroll is streaming the series.
Reception
The series ranked seventh in the shōjo/josei category in BookLive's Digital Manga Annual Ranking for 2019. In 2024, it was reported that the series had sold over 5 million copies.