The morning air was thick with silence. A silver mist curled through the garden trees behind the manor as Riella stepped barefoot onto the stone path, her shawl wrapped tightly around her. The letter—still folded and hidden under her pillow—echoed in her mind like a drumbeat.
She needed to think, away from the warmth of the sheets, away from the questions she wasn't ready to ask out loud. Especially not to Amelia, not yet.
Moments later, soft steps crunched on the grass. Amelia joined her, hugging her own arms against the breeze.
"You're up early," Amelia murmured.
"So are you."
Amelia smiled. "Couldn't sleep. I kept dreaming of pie."
Riella laughed softly, shaking her head. "I miss home."
"I know," Amelia replied. "But there's something here. Don't ask me how I know… I just feel it."
Before Riella could answer, a maid approached with a hesitant bow. "My ladies… a carriage awaits outside."
Amelia blinked. "We weren't expecting a ride."
"General Dimitri requested your presence."
The girls exchanged glances.
---
At General Dimitri's Estate
The estate was quiet but dignified—high ceilings, carved stone archways, velvet-lined corridors. Riella felt her nerves tighten as they were ushered inside.
Dimitri stood near the hearth, clad in a crisp black coat. A tall man with dark eyes and a sword at his hip stood beside him.
"This is Kaien," Dimitri said, his tone cool. "My most trusted man."
Kaien gave a respectful nod. Riella returned it, cautious. She noticed how Kaien never once looked away from her—studying. Watching.
Dimitri gestured for them to sit.
"No need to worry," he said. "You're not here because of anything troubling. You will simply being returned to the manor for your safety. Some things are stirring, and I'd rather you remain unseen for now."
Amelia spoke before Riella could. "Is someone after us?"
"No," Dimitri answered, his voice neutral. "Not yet. This is a precaution."
Riella didn't respond. But in her mind, that name surfaced again. Leonardo. She didn't know who he was—but she'd heard it. Felt it. Like a thread tugging through her memory.
Dimitri's gaze shifted toward her briefly—then away.
I wanted to know if you are comfortable in Chloe's manor. And to warn you about leaving the manor.
Let me know on any disturbance and any unfamiliar person that reaches out to you.
"Kaien will escort you both back."
But before they left, Riella caught a glance toward a closed doorway down the corridor. She turned to Amelia.
"You saw them too, didn't you?"
Amelia nodded slowly. "There were two little boys peeking from behind the curtain."
Twins.
Neither of them said anything more. But something about those boys—so identical, yet still a little unfamiliar—stirred something strange in Riella's chest.
As the carriage took them back to the manor, the silence between the girls wasn't heavy—it was thoughtful. The letter. The name. The twins.
There were too many pieces—and they were finally starting to find the edges.
As the carriage wheels crunched over the gravel, Riella sat in thoughtful silence, her fingers grazing the folded edge of her sleeve. The image of the two boys—mirror images of each other—lingered in her mind like a whisper refusing to fade.
"Did you see their eyes?" Amelia finally asked, breaking the stillness between them.
Riella turned slightly. "Yes… almost like Dimitri's. But softer. Like they hadn't seen war yet."
"They were hiding," Amelia murmured. "Peeking. Like they'd been told not to be seen. But they couldn't help it."
A silence stretched between them again, filled not with awkwardness but with weight. Meaning.
"Do you think…?" Amelia started, then stopped.
"What?"
Amelia chewed on her lip, hesitant. "Nothing. Just... something felt familiar. I don't know how to explain it."
Riella nodded slowly. "Same here."
She didn't dare speak it aloud—but something in her chest had clenched when their eyes met hers. Like something tucked deep inside her memory had stirred, then rolled over, still asleep but no longer still.
"They were twins," Amelia whispered. "You never see twins around nobility. Not often."
"And they looked too much like him," Riella replied softly. "But he didn't say anything."
"He wouldn't," Amelia agreed. "He's too composed. Too… practiced."
The carriage turned down a narrow road as the clouds shifted above them, letting slivers of light fall across Riella's lap. She looked down at her hands and then out the window, her voice barely above a whisper.
"There's more to all of this, Amelia."
"I know," her friend said quietly. "We're not just here by chance."
Neither of them spoke again until the manor walls rose into view.
But both girls knew—without needing to say it—that they were finally brushing against the edge of something bigger. Something hidden.
And now that the curtain had been pulled back, even just a little, there would be no going back.