Milady: Memoirs of a Villainess Review: Worth It?

Quick Verdict

This Milady: Memoirs of a Villainess review comes with a verdict up front. Is it worth reading? Yes, if you want a villainess revenge story with real literary bite and don't mind a dark, distrustful heroine. Skip it if you want a soft romance, since the love here is tangled up with manipulation from page one. My score is 7.8 out of 10.

What Milady: Memoirs of a Villainess Is About (Spoiler-Free)

Milady works as a spy while falling for her enemy, D'Artagnan. What looks like his rescue turns out to be another scheme, and she dies betrayed. Granted the power to return to her past with her memories intact, she begins again, determined to avenge herself and rewrite the fate written for her.

It's tagged Historical, Drama, Romance, Action, Regression, and Revenge, with a Dark, Political Scheming mood. It's an ongoing manhwa, rated R15, at 25+ chapters, published by YLAB and serialized on Naver Series. See the full details on the Moonlight Toons title page.

What Works

• Milady owns her own infamy. Instead of a villainess punished by the plot, she's the narrator of a revenge story history denied her. That framing alone gives a familiar regression premise real weight.
• The literary reference pays off. Milady is the classic femme fatale of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers — the notorious woman the story usually condemns. Rewriting her as the protagonist of her own memoir, with D'Artagnan as the one who wronged her, flips a 19th-century archetype on its head, and that's a sharper hook than the average revenge-regression series.
• The art carries the mood. Scored 8.6. The poised, composed art style suits a heroine who has learned to keep her real feelings off her face.
• The court intrigue has teeth. Scheme and deception aren't background noise here; Milady's entire arc runs through political maneuvering, which keeps the revenge plot from feeling like just a grudge.

What Doesn't

• The romance is the weakest link. Scored 6.5, well below Story and Art. The love between Milady and D'Artagnan is inseparable from manipulation and betrayal by design, so if you want a couple to root for early on, this isn't it yet.
• It's still early. At 25+ chapters, this is a young series. The revenge is only getting started, and I can't yet say whether the payoff matches the setup.
• The tone is deliberately bleak. Dark, intense, and morally grey throughout, with a murder content warning. If you need lighter beats to balance the heavy ones, this series doesn't offer many yet.

Milady: Memoirs of a Villainess Characters

Milady. A spy who loved the wrong man and paid for it with her life, then got a second chance with her memory intact. She's written as morally grey and calculating on purpose, not softened for likability. My opinion: that's exactly what makes her work. A villainess who narrates her own downfall instead of accepting it is a stronger lead than a typical wronged-woman regression heroine.

D'Artagnan. The man Milady loved, and the one whose apparent rescue turns out to be the scheme that kills her. He's less a love interest here than the architect of her betrayal. My opinion: he works as an antagonist dressed as a love interest, but that's also why the romance score is low — there isn't much room yet for him to be anything else.

Best character: Milady, easily — this is her memoir, not his story. Most to prove: D'Artagnan, since right now he's defined entirely by the betrayal.

Who Should Read This

• Fans of villainess retellings who want a heroine who schemes back instead of just surviving.
• Readers who like regression and revenge plots with real political stakes, not just a rival to humiliate.
• Anyone who enjoys a literary spin — knowing Milady de Winter from The Three Musketeers adds a layer this Milady: Memoirs of a Villainess review can't fully cover without spoilers.
• Skip it if you want the romance to be the main draw, or you'd rather avoid manipulation and betrayal as the central relationship dynamic.

FAQ

Is Milady: Memoirs of a Villainess finished or ongoing? Ongoing, at 25+ chapters. There's no ending to explain yet — I'll add a proper Milady: Memoirs of a Villainess ending explained section once the story wraps.

How many chapters does it have? 25+ chapters and counting. Check the title page for the current count.

Where can I read it officially? It's published by YLAB and serialized on Naver Series (Korean). I couldn't confirm an official English license as of this review, so check the title page before reading elsewhere.

Is there an anime? Not that I've found. It's a manhwa original, not adapted from an existing novel.

Is Milady worth reading if I want a strong romance? Not yet. The romance scores lowest of the three categories because it's built on manipulation and betrayal rather than trust. Come for the revenge plot, not the love story.

Final Thoughts

That's my Milady: Memoirs of a Villainess review: a dark, well-drawn revenge story with a heroine worth rooting for, even if the romance hasn't caught up yet. At 7.8 out of 10, it's a strong pick for villainess and regression fans who don't need the romance to carry the story.

Want to track it? Add it to your shelf on the Moonlight Toons title page. It saves on your device, no account needed.