(A/N: Their relationship dynamic progresses and doesn't stay exactly like it is at the start (The one-sided love doesn't last long). Pacing is also relatively fast at the start, but slows down in the future in romance arcs.)

In his old life, he was an assassin, invisible, efficient, and utterly alone.
His only escape came from the pages of a fantasy novel, Crown of Thorns, and the character no one else seemed to understand: Lady Evelina D’Arclight, the proud and brilliant villainess fated to lose everything.

After his death, he wakes up inside that very story, not as a hero, but as Cael Arden, a student at Eryndor Royal Academy. The world is just as he remembers it, right down to the woman destined to fall.

But this time, he’s not a bystander.
With a lifetime of deadly skills and the knowledge of what’s to come, Cael sets out to rewrite the story itself, to protect Evelina, rise through the academy’s ruthless hierarchy, and change a fate written in stone.

As alliances form and secrets surface, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur.
And in a world built on power and prophecy, he’ll prove that even a villainess deserves her happy ending.

I turned the corner toward what I thought was Evelina's magical signature, and while I did find her, the scene before me was the last thing I expected.


Evelina and Kevin were both covered in blood, while a High Inquisitor knelt on the ground, his skin and eyes pale as if every trace of vitality had been completely drained from him. 


Evelina turned around in surprise. She had gotten so caught up in the thrill of testing a new fighting style against her opponent that she hadn't even noticed I was closing in on her location.


Before Kevin could step forward and explain the situation to me, Evelina unceremoniously teleported him away—[Dark Step]—making him tumble to the floor the moment he stepped on a shadow. She didn't even watch where he landed.


Chapter 247 - Requesting a Reward?