(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.

The moment we stepped onto the academy grounds, now turned battlefield.


We didn't even get a second of rest before the first fight broke out.


A professor was already waiting for us on the rooftop walkway that connected the two five-story buildings overlooking our assigned location.


"Rule one of being a good mage: expect the unexpected."


The professor laughed, arms crossed as his eyes began to glow bright gold.


The entire sky from our direction was immediately blotted out, dozens of portals opening, and from it, thin, sharp strands of light began to emerge.


Kevin and I immediately took cover using another building.


He was a light mage just like Julius and Marcellus... but he sure as hell wasn't like them when it came to firepower.


That professor was like five of them combined into one!


Chapter 94 - The Hunt (2)