Revenge Served Cold & Seven-Fold — A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even Light Novel Review

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. A capable young noblewoman accused of villainy, an idiotic prince annulling their engagement due to aforementioned crimes, only for the truth to come out too little too late for the prince to make amends. What’s that? You’ve never seen that setup before? Yeah, me neither.

All jokes aside, A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even, is the story of Elizabeth Leiston, a duke’s daughter who’s spent her entire life working to become a queen who could support her king, and ensure their kingdom flourishes. Her capabilities unmatched, she has been trusted with comprehensive knowledge of the inner workings of the kingdom, and consistently tackles work meant for royalty. Despite this heavy workload, she is able to run a successful firm that gives back to the people, creating jobs and further bolstering the economy of the kingdom. She is loved by the people, and boasts magical power that she’s yet to fully reveal to even her closet confidants.

Why anyone in their right mind would choose to cast them aside is beyond me. But, that’s exactly what Crown Prince Friede of the Kingdom of Haldoria does in front of countless other nobles during a celebration of the kingdom’s founding. Par for the course, he’s become infatuated with Sylvia, a woman who’s spun a tale of abuse suffered at the hands of the titular livid lady. You would think princes don’t receive training to become a king like their fiancés do to become queens. They’re left unchecked, able to grow into immature man children with the inability to see past their immediate circumstances.

And so, we are treated to a scene we’ve seen play out countless times before: Elizabeth is accused of abusing Sylvia, the prince and his entourage believes it with no proof and numerous people turn their backs on her and she’s thrown in jail after her engagement is broken off. Where A Livid Lady’s Guide differs from so many of the other villainess stories we’ve gotten recently, is that Elizabeth vows to get revenge. And from everything we know about her, she’s more than able to.

Talented in academics, etiquette, martial arts and magic, it’d be difficult to refute claims that Elizabeth was a prodigious existence. To not take that into account when Prince Friede decided to end his engagement, embarrassing and locking up one of the most powerful and integral women in his kingdom while both of their fathers are away, just goes to show how short-sighted and infantile his thinking is.

Fed up with the treatment received by the prince, his retinue and even citizens she’s helped, she decides to defect to the neighboring Yutear Empire. After earning the trust of Viscount Lucas Lebrick, the ambassador of the Yutear Empire and setting herself up in his lands on the border between the Empire and her homeland, she sets into motion the beginnings of her quest for revenge.

Seeing her utilize her business acumen and magical power to gain allies is a sight to behold. She doesn’t let the fact that she has to start over in a new land deter her. She’s able to get a new business, aptly named The Traitre Commercial Firm, up and running so she’d have the funds to bankroll her revenge. Amassing allies who boast power that can be called on if need be is another skill in and of itself, one’s that she’s also honed. I’ve seen that some consider her thirst for revenge psychotic and petty. I wholeheartedly disagree. Too many times we’ve seen characters just take the humiliation and abuse and do nothing but leave. It’s a breath of fresh air when you get women like Elizabeth or 2025’s Scarlet from May I Ask for One Final Thing? who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.

Not taking slander and/or defamation lying down is something we don’t see enough of. I for one am glad to see a character who has the mind to get revenge, and the wherewithal to follow through with it, despite what others may think. She was wronged by her homeland, her image and reputation dragged through the mud by those who represent the kingdom as a whole, and she refuses to allow them to trample over her and get away scot-free.

To some, her auctions can be seen as going too far, but when the heads of an entire kingdom brand you a traitor, it’s difficult to not root for her to take revenge. The people at the top should always move with the well-being of all those under them. In the event that they don’t, all those under them will suffer the consequences of their actions. Down with the Kingdom of Haldoria!

I am looking forward to continuing the series, and eager to watch the upcoming anime adaptation so we can see Elizabeth in all her glory as she sets out to bring her former kingdom to ruin.

A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires

Genre: Drama, Fantasy

Total Number of Available Volumes in English: 6

Volumes Read For Review: 1

Things To Look Out For: Betrayal, Murder, Violence

Rating: Five livid ladies out of five

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