(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 High Inquisitor's shout came a heartbeat too late.


"Huh. Didn't think something this low-tier would kill two of you."


Evelina smirked. A spear of pure darkness flowed into her hand, its shaft stretching down into the shadows pooling at her feet and crawling up around her like smoke. This wasn't how she usually fought.


But after training under Cael once, she figured it wouldn't hurt to try his style. Besides, she wanted to be ready the next time he pushed her to her limits.


Steel crashed against her spear as she spun it in a tight arc, knocking aside a blade on her left and a thrust from her right. She was just about to counter when the High Inquisitor blurred forward, his robes whipping in the air.


Chapter 246 - Dark Dominance