(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.

A thin beam of absolute darkness shot from my mouth as I unleashed the spell, grazing the High Inquisitor's cheek and drawing blood.


But that wasn't all, and Marcellus and Valtor knew it.


The two of them teleported away before the beam could devour everything within its radius and erupt in a violent explosion.


Valtor faltered as he teleported to the edge of the circular arena, raising both palms while two spell circles beside his head swirled, ready to unleash the formulas he had prepared.


I answered with a smile, wiping away a drop of spit that had flown from my mouth when I unleashed the spell.


Marcellus nodded, then stepped back out of the arena. Before leaving, he gave one final warning, and it was clear he meant it.


Chapter 254 - An Actual Fight