WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3 of My Next Life as a Villainess, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
As My Next Life as a Villainess Season 2 concludes the school play, where Katarina's many friends squabbled over her while in character, it's clear the villainess is as popular as ever. But her life isn't carefree. While being escorted to a party on a dark country road, Katarina suddenly gets kidnapped in Episode 3 -- and her friends have no idea.
Ever since the school festival began, a mysterious man has been following Katarina around waiting for the right moment to strike, and has finally done so. Now, Katarina wakes up in a comfortable bed in a strange house, completely confused but keeping a cool head nonetheless. But her capture is far from the episode's only twist.
She first meets a housemaid named Lana, who explains that she will not be brought to harm while Katarina mentally prepares to face ransom demands and begin negotiations for her freedom. As she correctly intuits, Lana is the daughter of a wealthy noble family, and it's common for people such as Katarina to get kidnapped for ransom. However, that is not the case here -- her captor, lady Selena Berg, doesn't want a dime from the Claes family. She is after something less tangible, suggesting some serious drama and plot twists.
Selena and her male companion Rufus won't let Katarina leave or explain where she is, so the captive accepts this and indulges in the comforts offered to her. If she can dodge a semester's worth of doom flags, she can handle some gentle kidnapping too and bides her time for now. However, she fails to realize Rufus is using dark magic on Selena, and the presence of such recalls the manipulation of the fake Sirius Dieke and his scheme to kidnap Maria Campbell. The danger is mounting fast. Fortunately, Katarina's friends appreciate the gravity of this threat and prepare themselves to rescue her no matter what.
Katarina spends an entire day with Selena and Rufus, though Selena's fiance, prince Ian Stuart, is notably absent -- it's possible he has no idea any of this is happening. For now, Katarina is on her own, and later that evening, Selena enters her bedroom and wakes her to explain things further, away from Rufus' sharp ears. It turns out Selena, not a true villain, is actually hurting on the inside.
Selena has an inferiority complex due to her weak magic and talents compared to prince Ian, Susanna Randall and the others, and feels unworthy of her adoring fiance who supports her unfailingly. To repay the prince, Selena kidnapped Katarina to pressure prince Geordo into renouncing his claim to the throne, since he is the favorite to become king and is thus Ian's biggest obstacle.
Katarina empathizes with Selena on a personal level, extending the hand of friendship and uplifting her spirits despite the situation. A grateful Selena says she will abandon the kidnapping plan, proving just how much emotional intelligence Katarina has to make up for her otherwise lack of wit. However, Rufus arrives and knocks out Selena with a spell, taking over the kidnapping scheme. He won't be so easy to sway with heartfelt words, unfortunately. As My Next Life as a Villainess continues, Katarina needs help -- and fast.
