Dragged Into Another World By The Obsessive Villain

After she was done gawking at the beautifully woven tapestry, Crisseda led her through the corridors lined with bustling servants at every corner. The very castle itself seemed as if it were alive somehow. Its polished onyx floors and arched windows gave views of the landscape below. One such arched window, all the way at the end of the hall Crisseda led her down, was stained glass and depicted Lunara, the goddess of the moons and dreams, crafting two giant moons into being.

A group of servants carrying silver trays glanced at her in curiosity as she passed, following close behind Crisseda as she could. The servant guiding her was so quick, it was almost a struggle for her to keep up.

"Not much further now, miss," Crisseda said suddenly as they rounded a corner. "His Grace wished for me to show you to the library as soon as you arrived. He thought it would prove beneficial to you. It will give some of the others time, also. They're replacing your linens with proper ones."

Elara felt a spark of excitement. That might be just what she needed. She knew quite a few details about this world, but there seemed to be quite a lot that she didn't know if the running water and flushing toilets were any indication. Before she put herself in the position to go toe-to-toe with the notoriously cunning female lead and the powerful king of Isyndor to give Caspian a better future, she would have to arm herself with knowledge.

The corridor widened into an arched entryway guarded by two massive stone pillars.

"This is it, miss," she said.

"Thank you, Crisseda."

"Of course, miss. I'll come back for you when your lodgings have been properly prepared."

When she left, Elara stepped into the library. The room was monumental, but she felt as though she should have expected that. There was no room within Caspian's castle that wasn't tastefully grand. Its ceiling was dizzyingly high, with rows and rows of mahogany shelves that rose from floor to ceiling. There were ladders with brass fittings available for the books that were too high to reach. There was another massive stained glass window here, this one depicting a wolf sleeping in a glade under the glow of the suns.

The heady scent of aged paper, ink leather, and dust filled her nose and Elara felt like she was at home for the first time since she'd arrived in this world. It was comfortably warm inside and there were scholars seated at the oak tables, pouring over scrolls and open books. They looked up at her in confused surprise, but none of them made any move to talk to her. They continued on with their work, the sounds of rustling pages and soft murmurs as findings were exchanged were the only sounds.

Elara breathed in. She was finally at peace.

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Elara settled into the silence of the vast library with ease. She was sat on a window seat overlooking a lake that split a sprinkling of homes from a field of grain. She had a tome in her lap, and a few more tomes she'd picked out stacked neatly on the floor near her feet. She felt very much like a scholar in an ancient magic academy, and it pleased her fantasy-loving heart to no avail. When she thought of magic academies, she remembered that such things existed in this world. Not a magic academy, but magic itself.

She poured over a few volumes about this world's cultures and, as she'd thought, they extended far beyond what was mentioned in The Day of Eternal Night. 

What she learned in the few tomes she'd skimmed through was this: six kingdoms surrounded Isyndor, and they were Ithatica, Thalendor, Ravaryn, Vyrandael, Eldarwyn, and Cyndara. These were all names that Elara recognized, but most of them were in passing, save for two. The kingdoms of Eldarwyn and Vyrandael. In the novel, when Caspian is sent to the frontlines in hopes he'll die by the current king's mother, they are at war with Eldarwyn. The war only ended when Queen Airelle took the throne after her father's death and managed to sign a peace treaty with Isyndor.

After the death of Orland, it's implied that Caspian turns to Queen Airelle for help. In exchange for the use of her army, he will give her kingdom exclusive trade passage through the kingdom of Isyndor. A proposal that was too sweet to pass up, indeed, because Isyndor sits right in the middle of the other six kingdoms. 

It's only implied, though, because it's what the female lead says when they meet High King Aeron of Vyrandael and get him to join their side over Caspian's. They'd used it as justification for his death at the end of the book when they absorbed the southern province and took it for themselves, 

Though, she was slowly starting to wonder how much of the book she could actually trust. It had always struck her as strange. If Caspian truly joined hands with Queen Airelle, why would he have made such a hasty move like storming the capital before her forces had arrived? Sure, one could argue that the death of Chancellor Kyran had produced an adverse effect, but Caspian would never order his knights to march to their deaths if they only needed to wait a few more days for help.

She decided to tuck that thought away for later. She'd come back to it when she needed it. She put down the tome she was reading and reached down to grab another from the pile at her feet. She grabbed at random and the one that ended up in her hands was called The History of Isyndor's Noble Houses.

She skimmed through the thirty noble houses of Isyndor comprised of. Of course, there was House Isyndor who produced the kings and queens who had ruled this kingdom for four hundred years. But there was also house Vellathor who produced dukes and duchesses due to their relation to a former empress from one hundred and fifty years ago. She skimmed the names of dukes and marquees' until she came across the one she was looking for. 

House Orinthal. 

The one the female lead, Lyanna Orinthal, belonged to. She read through the passage detailing House Orinthal's history even though she was familiar with it. 

Founded in the early days of Isyndor, House Orinthal emerged from the union of a powerful sorceress and a noble warrior. The house's ancestral home is located atop the lush hills of Brightmere, where its sprawling gardens blend seamlessly into the verdant landscape. The founding matriarch, Lady Elysia Orinthal, was renowned for her mastery in magic, while her husband, Lord Kaelen Orinthal, was celebrated for his valor in battle.

Throughout the centuries, House Orinthal has made significant contributions to Isyndor's society. Their foremost achievement lies in the establishment of the magic tower, a prestigious institution dedicated to the study and preservation of magical arts. The tower not only trains aspiring mages but also serves as a diplomatic hub, fostering relationships between noble houses and promoting unity through shared knowledge. Many of Isyndor's most talented sorcerers and scholars hail from this illustrious lineage, and the tower's alumni often occupy key positions within the kingdom's government and military.

Continuing this powerful legacy is Lady Lyanna Orinthal who, on top of being a powerful elemental sorceress is also adept with a sword and has taken her place as Isyndor's fifteenth queen.

Elara sighed. There was nothing new. She'd expected that. It's not as if any incriminating information about House Orinthal would be put in the history books of this world. Especially not when it was the house of the current queen.

Annoyed, she decided to do the one thing she knew would make her feel better: search for the page dedicated to Caspian. Of course, he was in his own dedicated section, just like the House of Isyndor. She stared hard at the portrait that had been drawn of him for the book and decided it didn't perfectly encapsulate his perfection. The jawline was not nearly sharp enough, the eyes nowhere near as smoldering, the silvery hair not hanging quite as temptingly over his forehead.

She knew the book would tell her nothing she didn't know, but she still read through the book's explanation of how Caspian had been given the title of Isyndor's only grand duke.

Born as the illegitimate son of King Eldric III and a common dancer hailing from the kingdom of Ithatica, Caspian Thorevan Isyndor displayed indisputable talent with the sword and his incredible intellect. After proving himself on the battlefields bordering Isyndor and Eldarwyn, King Eldric III gifted his son the title of Grand Duke as well as the lands in the southern province. Despite it being overrun with monsters, Grand Duke Caspian Isyndor proved himself capable, turning it into a haven for nobles and common folk alike. 

After the success of clearing out the majority of monsters and building the great walls that protect the cities, Grand Duke Caspian chose colors and a symbol for his house that this council finds quite fitting: a wolf embroidered on deep blue in silver thread. These colors have become associated with the Grand Duke and his house.

She'd expected this, too. Those who'd written the books kept the section about Caspian incredibly short, especially when she compared it to the leagues of text describing the female lead's house, and everything they'd mentioned was stuff she'd known. 

Except for one part. The part about his colors being deep blue and silver.

Now that she'd read it, it was obvious. The interior of the carriage had been decorated with the colors, and all of the flags outside also contained those colors. Caspian and the knights in his charge also wore blue capes with their silver armor. It was pretty obvious now that she was actually taking the time to think about it.

She looked down at the deep blue dress she wore and ran her fingers over the finely embroidered silver thread. Now, she was coming to understand why all the knights had been looking at her so funny during their time in the inn. 

It was one thing to summon someone from another world to be useful to your cause, but it was a whole other thing to summon that person and have them wear your colors. Especially someone of the opposite sex. 

Nobles were incredibly prim when it came to matters of the opposite sex. And Caspian was the most prim of them all. In all three books, Caspian was only ever moved by one woman and she had betrayed him in the end.

Even as she wondered what he was thinking, she found she could come to no conclusions. Even though she knew much of his character and thought she understood his motivations quite well, his mind itself was still a mystery to her.

The heavy sound of footsteps snapped Elara out of her reverie. Her heart skipped a few beats when her dark eyes met silver ones. He had changed out of his armor and was wearing a simple tunic dyed in deep blue and threaded in silver with carefully intricate patterns and simple breeches and boots. His very presence was commanding, from the slant of his eyebrows to the tilt of his shoulders, there was not a single part of him that didn't demand respect and attention.

His gaze was fixed on her in that intense way of his and he said, "I trust you've found the library to your liking." And his gaze lingered on the pile of books at her feet.

"Ah, yes," she said haltingly. She cleared her throat. "Crisseda said you thought it'd do me good, and you're right. There's so much I don't know, even after all the times I've reread the books and scrolled on the author's forums." She shook her head. "I think I'll be in here every day from now on."

Caspian tilted his head to one side. "What is a forum?"

Elara laughed. "If I explain it, it'll take a lot of time and I'm assuming you don't have a lot of that. You have duties and such, right?"

Caspian waved the thought off. "I can spare a little extra time."