The east garden was awash in morning dew, every leaf glittering in the pale light. Yet, beneath the beauty lay a stillness that felt… wrong.
I stepped onto the gravel path, my senses alert. The roses here were taller than me, their shadows slicing over the stone like dark fingers. And there—near the fountain—stood a man in a plain traveling cloak, face obscured by the hood.
"You came," he said, voice low and gravel-edged.
I didn't answer right away. "Who are you?"
He chuckled without warmth. "Names are currency, Lady Evelyn. Today, you're not rich enough to buy mine. But I can offer you… a truth."
Something in the way he said it pricked at old scars in my memory. I kept my distance. "Then speak."
He glanced at the roses swaying in the faint breeze, then at me. "In your first life, you died not because of cruelty or pride. You died because they needed you to. Someone had to take the blame. And you… were perfect."
My breath caught. "Who is 'they'?"
"Ah." He tilted his head. "That's the wrong question. The right one is—how many of them are still alive?"
The system pulsed in my vision:
Critical Quest Update:
Hidden Plotline Unlocked — The Consortium of Shadows.
Objective: Identify the first of the twelve members involved in your past execution.
I took a step closer, refusing to let his cryptic tone rattle me. "Then tell me one name. Prove you're not just another phantom in this cursed palace."
He hesitated, then said softly, "Lady Isolde Harrin. Watch her. But don't strike yet. They're all watching you as much as you watch them."
Before I could press for more, the hooded man stepped back—and melted into the mist curling over the garden's edge, as though he'd never been there at all.
Anna's voice called from somewhere behind the hedges, frantic. "My lady! The Princess is demanding your presence in the throne room!"
My pulse quickened. If this summons was connected to Lady Isolde… the game's next move was already in play.
The hunters were circling. But this time, I wasn't prey.