Adversary to the Villain

One month after Evie Sage begins working as an assistant for Trystan Maverine, the kingdom’s most notorious villain, he finds himself dreading weekends because it means her absence. Hearing her laugh while cataloging one of his torture sessions, he confronts her. Evie explains that while writing about a man whose tongue was cut out, she made a pun by noting he was “tongue-tied.” Trystan nearly smiles and has to turn away to hide his amusement, though his employee, Rebecka Erring, notices.

Later, Evie asks about the office policy on romantic fraternization. She reveals a man from accounting asked her on a date, and she used the potential policy as a polite excuse to decline without embarrassing him. Trystan tells her fraternization is strictly forbidden, though he afterward confirms with Rebecka that no such policy actually existed. He then instructs Rebecka to create one. She identifies the accountant in question as Thomas and informs Trystan that his advances toward Evie were inappropriate and public. Enraged, Trystan stalks off, implying that he’s going to torture Thomas.