(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.

As the academy was being rebuilt, Evelina had me stay at her estate the entire time. I couldn't really refuse—nor did I want to. Still, it felt a little odd.


The servants watched me more like a pet than a person. They weren't entirely wrong, but being seen like that around Evelina definitely felt off. And that's saying something, considering I'd had to play some very degrading roles in previous jobs.


I guess the weeks of normalcy had finally gotten to me.


Our routine was simple. We slept together, woke up together, ate together, and, when her schedule allowed, spent the afternoons and evenings together—at least when Evelina wasn't occupied with other preparations.


So… I did the only thing I could: train my black flames and figure out how they even worked.


Chapter 175 - The Fruits of my Actions