Evie and Trystan sit together on the worn sofa in the cottage, both visibly tense. Trystan catches Kingsley the frog, who had stowed away in his saddlebag, and places him on a nearby table. After a moment of hesitation, Trystan begins to reveal his history, telling Evie he discovered the guvres when he became an intern for King Benedict nearly ten years ago. Evie is stunned but senses how painful the telling is for him, and she assures him he only needs to share what he wants to.

Trystan explains that at nineteen, while visiting a university near the city, a magical specialist detected something dormant in him and referred him to someone who could foster his abilities—King Benedict himself. The king offered Trystan a position as his personal apprentice at his summer home. Trystan, desperate for validation he had never received, eagerly accepted. For the first few weeks, the experience was incredible: Trystan became obsessed with pleasing the king and did everything asked of him, including helping capture the guvre. The king justified this by claiming baby guvre venom was a cure-all and that the end justified the means.

However, Trystan noticed that servants and Valiant Guards grew increasingly fearful of him, and the magical specialist working with him became more timid. When Trystan confronted the king, Benedict told him his dormant magic was dangerous and that there was no hope of managing it. The king claimed that allowing Trystan to go free would endanger everyone he loved. Trystan begged to stay and improve, but the king had the Valiant Guards take him into custody immediately.

Trystan was imprisoned in the dark cellars beneath the summer home—no windows, no torches—for an entire month. When Evie asks how long it took them to let him out, Trystan reveals with a slight smile that they never did: he let himself out. This revelation marks the origin of how Trystan became The Villain, shaped by the king's manipulation, betrayal, and cruel imprisonment.