The midday sky was bright, too bright for a day when Eleanor had decided to walk back into the den of betrayal. The carriage carrying her now moved toward the palace, a place she had once thought of as a second home, but which now felt like a battlefield wearing a pleasant disguise.
Sitting upright inside the carriage, Eleanor closed her eyes for a moment. She was no longer the girl who had arrived with hope in her chest. She was someone returning with memory and purpose.
"My Lady… are you sure you want to go to the palace today?" Mira asked softly.
Eleanor opened her eyes slowly. "Precisely because I'm sure, I have to go now."
She looked out the window at the palace towers drawing closer. Every stone, every gate, every corridor all of it held memories that, in her mind, had not long ago been drenched in blood.
But this time, she was not coming as a victim.
"This is where it all begins," she murmured quietly.
The carriage stopped at the main gate. The guards moved aside the moment they spotted the Ainsworth family crest. No suspicion. No visible danger.
And that was precisely what made it more dangerous.
"Welcome, Lady Eleanor," a guard greeted her with a respectful bow.
Eleanor stepped out with easy grace, her expression composed as though she were simply a young noblewoman dropping by for an ordinary visit.
"I'd like to see the Crown Prince," she said without hesitation.
The guard looked mildly surprised, but nodded quickly. "Of course, my Lady. Please follow me."
Mira fell into step behind her, moving at a slightly hurried pace. Something about the atmosphere felt off to her, she just couldn't say what.
"My Lady… you seem different today," she whispered.
Eleanor didn't turn around. "Because I am different."
They walked through the palace's grand corridors. Sunlight poured in through tall windows, casting long shadows across the marble floors. Everything looked exactly as she remembered.
But now, Eleanor saw more than just grandeur. She saw traps.
"Stop here, my Lady. The Crown Prince is in the inner garden," the guard said.
Eleanor nodded. "Thank you."
She continued toward the garden, her heart picking up pace not from nerves, but from something deeper.
Memory. And a hatred that had never fully cooled.
"My Lady… are you alright?" Mira asked again.
Eleanor drew a quiet breath. "I'm just preparing myself to look at the face of someone who once killed me."
Mira fell silent, not fully understanding but feeling the weight of those words all the same.
They entered the garden, and there he was.
Reginald.
He stood beneath the shade of a large tree, dressed in neat noble attire, his expression as composed as ever — as though the world existed simply to bend to his will. Beside him stood Seraphina. They weren't standing too close today, just an easy conversation on the surface but for Eleanor, that was already more than enough.
So you've already started. Even now.
Mira followed her gaze. "His Highness the Crown Prince and Lady Seraphina?"
Eleanor didn't answer because what she was seeing wasn't simply two people talking. She caught the brief flicker that passed between their eyes as they glanced at each other. The same flicker she had seen on the night everything fell apart. Secrets. Something dark underneath.
You've already begun, she thought. Even here.
Reginald seemed to sense their presence. He turned and for a moment, their eyes met.
Time seemed to pause.
For Reginald, this was likely nothing more than a chance encounter. But for Eleanor, it was the first time she had looked at this man since her own death.
"Lady Eleanor," Reginald greeted her with a polished smile. "What a pleasure to see you here."
Eleanor returned the smile.
Perfect. And completely hollow.
"Your Highness," she replied, her voice even.
Seraphina turned, her eyes widening slightly before settling back into a smooth smile. "Dear cousin, what a lovely surprise."
Eleanor held her gaze for just a moment. Not a trace of what she felt showed on her face.
But inside, everything was churning. She remembered it all.
"Lovely to see you too, Seraphina," she said warmly.
They stood at a polite distance from one another, like nobles with nothing to hide.
But the air between them was thick heavy with everything left unspoken.
"What brings you to the palace today?" Reginald asked.
Eleanor stepped slightly closer, just enough to read their expressions more clearly.
"I wanted to make sure of something," she answered.
Reginald raised an eyebrow. "Make sure?"
Eleanor smiled faintly. "That some things truly never change."
Seraphina's eyes sharpened, searching Eleanor's face for whatever was hiding behind those words.
"A strange thing to say," she remarked lightly. "As though you're speaking about the future."
Eleanor turned to her.
"Doesn't the future always begin with what we do right now?" she replied, her tone unhurried and smooth.
A brief silence fell but only briefly.
Reginald laughed softly, breaking the tension as though it had never been there. "You sound wiser than usual, Lady Eleanor."
Eleanor looked at him directly. "Experience has a way of doing that."
And for just a fraction of a second barely a heartbeat, Reginald's smile faltered.
Something in Eleanor's tone didn't sit right with him, though he couldn't place what it was. He smoothed it over quickly.
"Then I hope that change brings good things," he said easily.
Eleanor didn't reply.
Because she already knew this change wouldn't bring anything good for them. Only ruin.
"We'll see," she said quietly.
Beneath a clear sky and in a peaceful garden, three people stood facing one another. Two of them were hiding a plan. One of them already knew everything.
And this time, the serpents inside the palace were no longer hiding alone because someone had finally learned to see them from the very start.
"Your eyes seem different today, Lady Eleanor."
Reginald said it lightly, but his eyes narrowed for just a moment as though trying to see through the composed surface she was presenting. He found nothing. Only his own reflection looking back at him, strangely unfamiliar in her gaze.
Eleanor smiled faintly, holding his eyes without flinching. "Wasn't it Your Highness who just said that experience changes a person?" she replied smoothly.
Seraphina folded her arms slowly, her attention shifting between Reginald and Eleanor with quiet precision. She might not have known what had changed but her instincts told her something had.
"Change can be fascinating," she said softly, "but also dangerous if it goes unchecked."
Eleanor turned to her, her smile perfectly still. "I agree. Especially when someone underestimates it from the very beginning."
For a moment, no one spoke. The garden breeze moved gently through the leaves above them, but the tension between the three of them only grew sharper.
Reginald laughed again, light, unbothered, as though he'd decided this was all just pleasant small talk. "It seems today is going to be rather interesting," he said.
Eleanor gave a slow nod. "Oh, this is just the beginning," she answered.
And inside, she had already begun mapping out her next move. This time, she wouldn't wait to be destroyed.
This time, she would move first.