Rebecka "Becky" Erring: A Character Analysis
Character Overview
Rebecka Erring—universally known as Becky—is the sharp-tongued administrative supervisor at Massacre Manor and Evangelina "Evie" Sage's primary workplace adversary throughout Assistant to the Villain. Two years older than Evie, Becky possesses light-brown skin, flawless complexion, and striking cheekbones that frame a face the narrative describes as genuinely beautiful. The tragedy of Becky, Evie notes early on, is that "if her personality reflected even an ounce of her physical beauty, Becky might be the best person Evie knew." Instead, the woman pairs her elegant appearance with a "tight-lipped smile" and an unshakable air of superiority that makes her, in Evie's estimation, "heinous."
Beneath this prickly exterior, however, lies a character far more layered than the simple office antagonist she initially appears to be. Becky carries a secret desperation that recontextualizes nearly every interaction she has throughout the novel.
Personality and Key Traits
Becky's most immediately recognizable trait is her relentless efficiency, weaponized as a tool of passive aggression. She makes a point of arriving at the office before everyone else—a fact she announces with transparent pride, translating to what Evie internally interprets as, "I was here before you, therefore I am better than you. Behold my fearsome attendance record." Her dialogue drips with condescension; she addresses Evie by her full name "Evangelina" in pointed contrast to the nickname everyone else uses, and she hovers near Evie's desk with leading questions designed to assert authority.
Her obsession with rule-following reaches its zenith after Evie's brief resignation and return to work. Becky issues memos demanding punctuality, proper grooming, and the absence of "the odious scent of dragon upon their person." She cuts break times, institutes an "extras" assignment sheet filled with tedious tasks, and punishes resistance by "misplacing" paychecks or relocating desks to spider-infested corners. Even the formidable healer Tatianna—normally untouchable in her lavish pink gowns—finds herself assigned ink-refilling duty, prompting a pillow thrown in protest.
Yet alongside this authoritarian streak runs a thread of unexpected integrity. When Evie first suspects Becky might be the traitor leaking information from within the manor, the possibility carries weight precisely because Becky's competence and constant presence give her access and opportunity. The question—rendered moot by later revelations—is a testament to how effectively Maehrer constructed Becky as a plausible red herring.
Motivations: The Desperate Search for a Cure
The defining revelation of Becky's character arrives in Chapter 38, when Evie chases a masked figure through Hickory Forest and tackles the spy to the ground—only to yank off the mask and find Becky staring back at her. Both women are stunned: "Becky?" / "Evangelina?" / "You're the spy?"
Becky is not the spy. Her explanation, delivered with more raw emotion than Evie has ever witnessed from her nemesis, reveals that an intern dropped a King Benedict mask in her lap and she seized the opportunity. Her plan was to infiltrate the Gleaming Palace by posing as a Valiant Guard, all to find a rumored cure for the Mystic Illness—the same disease that has ravaged Evie's father and, as becomes clear, afflicts Becky's grandmother.
The mask sequence transforms Becky from a one-dimensional irritant into a mirror of Evie's own circumstances: a young woman burdened with family illness, making reckless choices out of love and desperation. The Villain, notably unsurprised, admits he "told you not to give stock to the rumors," confirming he knew of her personal situation all along. His earlier hiring of Becky—under what he describes as "unpleasant circumstances"—suggests her employment at Massacre Manor may itself be an act of mercy beneath his villainous persona.
Chronological Character Arc
Early Chapters: The Workplace Nemesis. Becky establishes herself immediately as Evie's antagonist, greeting her with a cutting "Good morning, Evangelina" each day and circling her desk like a bureaucratic vulture. A rumor circulates among the interns that Becky had once wanted the position of The Villain's personal assistant, only to watch Evie receive the job instead—a thwarted ambition that would explain the particular venom in their dynamic.
The Traitor Investigation. When The Villain's shipments begin getting compromised and severed heads appear in the foyer as evidence of failed plans, Evie compiles an employee suspect list. Becky's hovering curiosity—"What are you working on?" she asks, trying to read Evie's notebook—and her role as the office's information nexus make her a natural suspect in Evie's eyes.
The Employment Letter Incident. Becky plays a pivotal role in the novel's central misunderstanding when she finds King Benedict's employment offer letter fallen from Evie's pocket and delivers it directly to The Villain. Her timing is impeccably destructive; she bursts through the door just as Trystan begins to open up to Evie about his past. The letter, which actually belonged to Blade, appears to implicate Evie as a potential traitor. Becky "at least had the good grace to look a little apologetic" as Evie storms out and quits—a flicker of conscience beneath the competitive surface.
Confronting The Villain. In Evie's absence, Becky demonstrates unexpected courage. When Trystan struggles to read the appraiser's handwriting—a task only Evie had mastered—Becky delivers a pointed observation: "Isn't it interesting that we are quicker to repair some things over others?" She follows this with an even bolder statement: "Perhaps you need to remove your pride so that you can see what needs to be fixed more clearly." This direct challenge to her employer showcases a fearlessness Trystan himself respects. Most tellingly, when asked if she wants Evie to return, Becky answers with brutal honesty: "No, I don't. But I think she deserves to."
Post-Return Escalation. After Evie resumes her position, Becky's rule enforcement intensifies dramatically—a complicated response that reads both as retaliation and as a frantic reassertion of control over an environment that briefly functioned without effective leadership. Evie, for her part, finds the "familiar comfort" of their verbal sparring almost reassuring amid the chaos.
The Ink Revelation. Becky's most consequential contribution to the plot occurs when she identifies the "special" purple ink Evie's father gifted her as blue traceable ink. This single observation unravels the entire conspiracy: it means Evie's detailed notebook—her meticulously kept records of every plan and shipment—has been feeding information directly to the enemy through her own father's betrayal.
The Final Plan. By Chapter 60, Becky has become an essential, if unlikely, co-conspirator. Evie reveals to Becky that her rescue plan for the captured Trystan begins with a shocking request: Becky must kill her. The scene underscores how far their relationship has traveled from mutual disdain to something approaching trust forged in desperation.
Relationship with Evie Sage: From Nemesis to Reluctant Ally
The Evie–Becky dynamic is the novel's most sustained interpersonal friction and one of its most carefully developed relationships. Their verbal exchanges function as a form of ritualized combat: Evie deflects Becky's nosiness by redirecting her toward misbehaving pixies; Becky critiques Evie's picture-hanging technique from below the ladder with relentless precision; both women deliver cutting remarks that fall just short of outright hostility.
Their moment of genuine connection arrives in Chapter 38, when Evie discovers Becky's secret and experiences "a swath of sympathy, an almost tenderness." The shared burden of caring for family members afflicted with the Mystic Illness creates an unspoken bridge between them, even if neither woman readily acknowledges it.
The evolution from antagonism to grudging professional respect culminates in the ending, where Becky's skills become indispensable to the mission. The journey embodies several of the novel's central themes: the slow, unglamorous construction of trust between people who have every reason to distrust each other, and the recognition that alliances can form in the unlikeliest soil.
Relationship with The Villain
Becky's relationship with Trystan operates on terms markedly different from Evie's. Where Evie receives banter, concern, and eventually romantic tension, Becky maintains a formal, professional distance—but not a timid one. She gave him an abstract painting as a gift, suggesting a desire for his approval that predates Evie's arrival. Her willingness to challenge him, as when she essentially orders him to "fix" things with Evie, reveals a self-possession that Trystan values: "It was the boldness with which she spoke that made Trystan respect her."
Key Decisions and Their Consequences
Taking the King Benedict mask led to her exposure and, paradoxically, the first moment of genuine understanding between her and Evie. The decision was reckless, driven by desperation rather than logic, and it nearly resulted in her being mistaken for the traitor.
Delivering the employment letter to Trystan triggered Evie's resignation and the subsequent dysfunction of the office—consequences Becky seemed unprepared for, given her later admission that Evie deserved to return.
Identifying the blue traceable ink transformed her from office antagonist to critical ally, providing the evidence that exposed Griffin Sage's betrayal and redirected the investigation away from innocent employees.
Agreeing to Evie's rescue plan—which involves Becky killing Evie as part of the strategy—represents the culmination of her arc toward active participation in the manor's dangerous mission.
Theme and Symbol Connections
Becky's character arc intersects with multiple thematic threads in the novel. Her hidden desperation to cure her grandmother connects to the theme of secrecy and double lives—she, like Evie, maintains a carefully constructed facade while nursing private anguish. The initial suspicion that she might be a traitor plays into the novel's exploration of trust and betrayal; she is suspected, cleared, and ultimately instrumental in exposing the real betrayal.
Her sharp exterior masking genuine vulnerability embodies the question "what makes a monster"—is she cruel by nature, or has circumstance shaped her defenses? Her gradual integration into the manor's inner circle of trust reflects the found family theme, while her confession about her grandmother represents a moment of profound vulnerability that alters how both Evie and the reader perceive her.
Questions and Answers
1. Why is Becky so antagonistic toward Evie Sage when they first meet?
The text offers a potential explanation through an intern's rumor: Becky had wanted to become The Villain's personal assistant herself, and Evie was given the position instead. Whether this rumor is true remains unconfirmed, but the circumstantial evidence—Becky's pointed hostility toward Evie specifically, her gift-giving to The Villain, and her need to assert superiority—suggests professional jealousy plays a role. Additionally, Becky's personality is fundamentally rigid and controlling; Evie's optimistic, improvisational nature represents everything Becky finds disorderly, creating natural friction between their working styles.
2. What secret is Becky hiding when Evie tackles her in the forest?
Becky is not the traitor leaking information from the manor. She obtained a King Benedict mask from an intern and was attempting to infiltrate the Gleaming Palace to find a rumored cure for the Mystic Illness. Her grandmother suffers from the same disease that afflicts Evie's father, and Becky's desperation drove her to a reckless solo mission that The Villain had explicitly warned her against pursuing.
3. What crucial discovery does Becky make that exposes the real traitor?
Becky identifies the purple ink from Evie's favorite tincture—a gift from her father—as blue traceable ink. This revelation means that every detail Evie recorded in her gold-foiled journal about the manor's plans, shipments, and operations has been magically transmitted to the enemy. The discovery shifts suspicion onto Griffin Sage, Evie's father, who provided both the ink and the notebook, confirming he has been the unwitting conduit through which the traitor has operated.
4. What does Becky tell Trystan about Evie's departure from the job?
When Trystan asks Becky directly whether she wants Evie to return to work, she answers with unflinching honesty: "No, I don't. But I think she deserves to." This statement is significant because it separates personal preference from professional judgment. Becky does not like Evie and does not pretend otherwise, but she acknowledges Evie's competence and her value to the organization. The admission reveals a capacity for fairness that transcends their personal feud and marks a subtle but meaningful shift in Becky's character.
5. How does Becky figure into Evie's plan to rescue Trystan in the final chapters?
After Otto Warsen's death and Trystan's capture, Evie returns to the manor, orders Otto's head hung from the ceiling, and then reveals to Becky that her rescue plan begins with Becky killing her. The exact mechanics of this plan remain part of the cliffhanger, but the fact that Evie entrusts Becky with a role so central—and so apparently lethal—demonstrates how far their relationship has evolved. Becky has transformed from the woman determined to be Evie's enemy into a necessary co-conspirator in the novel's darkest hour.
For more analysis of this book, explore the complete guide to Assistant to the Villain or browse the questions and answers section.