By Kooriame and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Lady Rose wa Heimin ni Naritai” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Caroline W.

Content warning: this book is filled with suicide ideation, and has several attempts near the end, though none are successful.

I know that it’s not economically feasible and would not be popular, but sometimes when you get a light novel series like this I wish that it could have been one 800-page book. Or at least have all three come out on the same day. Because this third and final volume of the Lady Rose series really requires you to remember everything from the first two, and the series rewards going back and checking on certain scenes over and over again. That said, if you did what I did, and read the books as they came out, and tried to recall what was going on, you should still be okay here. Fii’s story is done, and she doesn’t even play a major role in this book till near the end. Unfortunately, that’s just in person. In the background, Fii trying to escape her noble life and become a commoner turns out to drive a heroine to dark, depressing thoughts. And that’s just when she’s five years old.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but our protagonist is hit by a truck (while pushing a girl out of the way of the same truck) and winds up in the world of Savior of Nations: Lady Rose. She is THRILLED. She doesn’t even care that she’s in the body of the villainess, Liliana. This means that she gets to see her favorite character, SETH! Immediately deciding to learn reading, writing, and proper etiquette, despite the reactions of her father and servants, she does succeed in meeting Seth, as well as Melvin, who she declares a “friend of convenience”. Unfortunately, when Liliana turns five, Felicia arrives on the scene, and Liliana gets an immediate lesson in the difference between one who tries her hardest and one who is simply perfect. Unfortunately, over the next ten years or so, this means that Liliana gradually loses her grip on reality.

The first few books already had a tinge of psychological horror. With this third book, it goes beyond tinge and gets into the deep waters. I haven’t seen a light novel get so far down the path of fucked-up narration since I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!. Even when Liliana begins to realize the possible cause for her mindset… grief at her happy, loving life being cut senselessly down by a truck… she rationalizes that it’s too late now. The bulk of this book is Liliana trying to find a way to die. Fortunately, we know how that goes, as we read the second book, but still. This book also has a few surprises in store – notably one of the busiest Truck-kuns I’ve ever seen in an isekai – but for the most part it is best when focusing on Liliana’s desperate attempts to fix things, then fix everyone but herself. The one flaw is the almost total lack of Seth. The author says that having Seth in the book more would have given away the twist, and yeah, I guess, but I still think the impact of the end might have been better if he’d had a larger presence.

This series is now done, though I do wish we’d seen the stories that were only suggested where she apologizes to her maids. Liliana’s inability to really read people at all has affected her maids more than anyone else, and I hope they get some comfort and relief. As for Liliana herself, I think things will be fine now. She’s had magic bread, after all.