I'm in Love with the Villainess!

"Surprise?"

"I-Is she serious, Master?"

"She’s as serious as always."

Even with both of us confirming it, Kevin was still reeling. No matter how closely he looked at her, he couldn’t find a single feature that resembled Evelina. Even if this girl felt just as dangerous, there was also something softer, safer, about her.

And that alone raised red flags for Kevin. Lady Evelina, soft and safe? Sure, maybe when she was alone with me, but that definitely wasn’t the situation right now.

"I-I can’t believe it..." Kevin said.

Vivianne stirred at the sound of the commotion and the aid of the healing magic. Her wounds and bruises had already begun to fade under Trish’s light magic, and when she opened her eyes, her reaction was far different from Kevin’s.

"A beautiful woman...?"

"That’s the first thing you say when you see me?" Trish laughed.

"Well..."

Vivianne narrowed her eyes to get a better look, but her opinion didn’t change. To her, the person healing her was simply a kind woman. Well, not until she turned and saw me tending to Kevin behind her.

"Wait... Cael? Then...? Who is this?"

"It’s me, Lady Evelina."

But unlike Kevin, she didn’t seem to believe it.

"Huh?" She gave a disbelieving smile. "No way... I can’t sense even a trace of illusion magic on you..."

"Because there is no illusion."

Trish’s voice carried that familiar edge now, the one that cut through argument and disbelief with surgical precision. The softness in her amber eyes hadn’t vanished, but something sharper lurked beneath it. Something that made Vivianne’s hand twitch toward a weapon she wasn’t carrying.

"The woman you know," Trish continued, "the one you call Lady Evelina. She’s still here. I’m just... another part of her."

"That doesn’t make any sense."

"It doesn’t have to. Not yet."

Kevin had finally lowered his hands, though the magic still flickered around his fingers like a barely leashed animal. His eyes kept darting between Trish and me, searching for the lie, the trick, the moment when this would all snap back to something he could understand.

I stood, dusting off my knees, and gestured for everyone to do the same.

"We don’t have time for a full explanation. The short version is that Evelina shares her body with another soul. Someone I trust."

"You trust her," Kevin repeated slowly. "But do we trust her?"

"Yes."

The word came from Vivianne.

She was sitting up now, one hand pressed to her ribs where the worst of her injuries had been. Her eyes were still locked on Trish, but the suspicion in them had faded into something more like curiosity.

"She healed me," Vivianne said simply. "Also, you should watch your mouth. She’s being kind now, but I don’t think she’ll forgive this insolence of yours once she turns back."

"What if she’s being controlled?" Kevin countered.

"Check for yourself. There’s no spell on her, no compulsion, and especially no illusion."

Kevin hesitated. Then, slowly, he reached out with his magic, his attunement to detection spells brushing against Trish’s form like a gentle tide against a seawall.

Nothing.

No foreign magic. No parasitic influence. Just the familiar hum of Evelina’s power, wrapped in a shape he didn’t recognize.

"She’s clean," he admitted, sounding almost disappointed.

"I told you," I said.

"You said a lot of things, Master. You didn’t say Lady Evelina had a split personality."

"It’s not a split personality." Trish stood, brushing dust from her clothes. "It’s more like... a different set of clothes. Same person underneath. Just a different look."

"That’s the worst analogy I’ve ever heard."

"I’m a fighter, not a poet. Work with me."

Vivianne laughed despite herself, then winced, her hand pressing harder against her ribs. The healing had done its work, but it hadn’t been perfect. Nothing ever was in this place.

"How long were you two out?" I asked, helping Vivianne to her feet.

"Not sure," Kevin admitted. "We finished our trial, the body one, and then everything went black. Next thing I knew, you were kneeling over us."

"The archmage," Trish said quietly.

I nodded. "He must have moved you here while we were... talking."

"Archmage?" Vivianne’s eyebrows shot up. "There’s an actual archmage in this library?"

"Long story. We’ll explain on the way."

"On the way where?"

I looked around the circular chamber, searching for any sign of an exit. The faded runes on the floor seemed to pulse faintly now, responding to something I couldn’t sense. The walls had no doors, no windows, no obvious way out.

But the ceiling...

I tilted my head back.

High above, so high it was almost lost in shadow, a circular opening waited. No ladder. No stairs. Just empty air and the faint glimmer of starlight that shouldn’t have existed in a room buried inside a magical library.

"Up," I said.

"Up," Kevin repeated flatly. "You want us to go up. Through the ceiling. With no visible means of support."

"Magic."

"Magic," he echoed again, with even less enthusiasm.

"He’s right."

Vivianne stepped away from where she sat, rolling her shoulders to test her range of motion. Her ruined shirt and Kevin’s borrowed coat hung awkwardly on her frame, but she didn’t seem to care. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling opening with something that looked almost like hunger.

"We can’t stay here. That archmage is watching us, and I’d rather not give him more entertainment than necessary."

"You’re assuming he isn’t watching us right now," Trish said.

"I’m assuming he has better things to do."

"He really doesn’t."

I reached out with [Dark Manipulation], sending a thin tendril of shadow spiraling up toward the opening. The tendril reached the edge, curled around the stone lip, and pulled. It held.

"Follow my shadows," I said. "They’ll hold your weight if you slip."

Kevin stared at the shadow tendril, as it might bite him. "I hate this."

"I know."

"I really, really hate this."

"You mentioned that."

I grabbed the first tendril and began to climb.

"Vivianne, can you help Kevin up? I don’t think he’s strong enough to get up on his own."

"I can use magic to lift myself, Master," Kevin argued.

"Save your energy."

"Wouldn’t helping Kevin up just waste mine?" Vivianne asked.

"Evelina and I can heal you together after we reach our destination. Physical strain isn’t difficult to fix."