(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.

"It's the best description I have for you."


Vivianne rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed, but Kevin wasn't exactly wrong either; she was probably one of the strongest women he had ever met. And it was all thanks to some sadistic master's training...


Vivianne circled around it, its figure standing as still as a statue. And while everything else about it was an anomaly, one thing was clear: magic was definitely the reason it could move.


Blue lines etched across its skin, the magic within them looking stable, almost as if it wasn't flowing at all. But the moment Vivianne got too close, she could already sense it.


The slightest fluctuation in the stream.


The guardian moved, its spear swinging down at her, but Vivianne wasn't slow enough to get caught by an attack that basic.


Chapter 263 - A Brutal Brawl