I'm in Love with the Villainess!

Chapter 238: Academy’s Shadows

*** Evelina’s Dormitory Room – Third Person POV

SNAP!

Another pen broke—just one more in the growing graveyard of writing tools she’d destroyed trying to study. She’d been at it since last night straight through to morning, and she still hadn’t made any progress.

Restless didn’t even begin to cover it.

"Why can’t I...?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

This curriculum was child’s play. She’d already memorized this topic. She’d even performed it in practice. All she needed to do now was review.

But nothing came to her. Her mind was blank. She couldn’t focus—no matter what she tried, not even with magic. The words on the page refused to stay still.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

[Already lovesick, huh? You might be the first person I’ve ever seen go through lovesickness like it’s an actual addiction.]

[Then again, you are a succubus... I guess Cael’s constant lust basically counts as a drug for you, doesn’t it?]

"Oh, shut up..."

Evelina pushed back from her desk and stood, deciding a change of pace might be the only way to calm her mind. This was a serious weakness; she hadn’t expected that just a few weeks of living with Cael would be enough to make her so used to having him around every hour of the day.

[You really need to learn to be apart from him.]

"That doesn’t feel great coming from a succubus," she muttered, "but you’re right. For now, I should at least try to distract myself."

***

A few minutes later, she was already making her way down the academy corridors.

Students moved out of her path without a word. Not exactly out of fear—more out of instinct. The kind of gut feeling that told them getting too close to her was a terrible idea unless they were actively trying to ruin their own day.

Right now, though, even the usual nervousness people felt around Evelina was drowned out by something worse: exam terror.

After all, unlike the exams, Evelina only tried to kill you if you actually crossed her.

A few students walked past her in the opposite direction, clutching their notes and muttering formulas under their breath like prayers. One of them met her eyes for half a second, then quickly looked away, as if the brief contact had burned.

Evelina barely reacted. She hardly even registered them as her thoughts kept circling back, annoyingly, stubbornly, to the same thing...

Cael.

It wasn’t just that he wasn’t there, or that his side of the dorm was empty. It was the silence he left behind; it was too quiet, too steady.

She slowed her pace. "...This is ridiculous."

[You’re withdrawing.]

"I said shut up."

She couldn’t even bring herself to be properly angry at it anymore. The succubus link had settled into the background of her mind, an inconvenient mirror she couldn’t quite smash.

Evelina let out a slow breath and stopped near one of the academy’s open archways. Sunlight spilled through the glass overhead, casting long, geometric shadows across the floor.

For a moment, she just stood there, letting the stillness press in around her.

Until someone appeared and caught her eye.

Myra Blackheart.

One of her spies.

Maybe she had something that could distract her for a while.

"You. Stop."

Her voice cut through the corridor, and Myra immediately froze, like a gun had been pressed to the back of her head. Honestly, there wasn’t much difference between Evelina and a loaded weapon.

"Y-Yes, mistress?"

"Speak."

Myra didn’t need her to clarify. She already knew what Evelina wanted: a report on her progress.

"Well... I’m not sure how important it is," Myra began carefully, "but there’s this guy, Frian, from the lower classes. He might interest you."

"Explain."

"I heard they’re planning something. I couldn’t get too close without raising suspicion, but if I had to guess... it has something to do with Illinalta."

’Kevin Illinalta? Cael’s student? What would they want with him?’

Evelina frowned, then gave a small nod and gestured for Myra to carry on as usual.

"You’re dismissed."

’Well, would you look at that. Didn’t take long to find something to distract myself.’

*** Lower Academy Grounds – Later That Day

Frian tugged his coat a little tighter as he walked through the quieter side of the academy gardens.

He looked normal. Painfully normal—the kind of student your eyes slid right past. Average grades, average presence, average everything. Which was exactly why no one ever noticed where he was looking.

"Are you sure about this?" the student walking beside him whispered.

Frian didn’t bother to glance his way. "I don’t do ’sure.’"

He said, voice steady. "I do outcomes."

The other student frowned. "...You know that way of talking is exactly why girls don’t like you, right?"

"Y-You...! Don’t change the subject."

They walked a few more steps in silence before he added, almost offhandedly, "Still pisses me off that that Illinalta kid outranks us even though he’s just a commoner..."

"You really think your theory’s right? That he’s using forbidden magic?"

"Come on, what else would explain it? Anyway, that’s not why we’re here. If you’re going to make small talk, at least make it about the mission."

Frian came to a stop. For a heartbeat, the air around him felt... wrong, like the world had stumbled, then pretended nothing happened.

"Be careful," he said quietly.

"Someone’s watching us..."

The other student glanced around. "...What do you mean?"

Frian’s eyes narrowed, but he forced himself to move casually, trying not to draw attention. "Not sure. Just keep your guard up."

***

"They really are stupid..."

Evelina smirked, slipping into their shadows with the help of her dark magic and the succubus’s demonic power, eavesdropping the moment she heard the name of the person of interest.

[They’re pretty amateurish. You sure we should even bother with this?]

"Even if it turns out to be nothing, I’m just trying to distract myself, remember? I’d be thrilled if this somehow ends up turning into something entertaining."

[There are better ways to cope, y’know?]

"Better, sure... but more fun? Probably not. Besides, it’s my responsibility to look after his students’ well-being too."