Outside the library door, a tall figure lingered in the dim corridor, his hand still resting on the ornate knob.
Kaien.
General Dimitri's most trusted man stood there, cloaked in silence and shadow. His sharp eyes had followed the girls from the moment they left the breakfast hall. Not out of suspicion—but protection. Orders.
He hadn't meant to close the door. Not really. It had creaked slightly, and he'd shut it on instinct, so no servant would wander in. But when he saw what they were doing… something shifted.
That painting. He'd seen it only once before, in Dimitri's private study. A portrait Dimitri never spoke of, never acknowledged, never moved. Yet Kaien knew it was important. And now these girls were asking questions.
He exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening.
If Dimitri had kept that portrait hidden all these years, there had to be a reason. And if the girl—Riella—truly shared the face of the woman in it, then…
Kaien turned and walked away, boots soundless against the stone. He needed to speak with Dimitri. Soon.
But first… he had to make sure no one else found out what those girls were about to discover.
But he wasn't the only one who saw what happened. The tanned lady in dark cloak stood their and left before anyone could see her.
Kaien strode toward Dimitri's wing of the estate, the sounds of laughter and footsteps from passing servants nothing more than a blur in his thoughts. The image of Riella standing before that portrait—it wouldn't leave his mind. Her expression wasn't just curiosity. It was recognition. A pull, as if something deep in her blood stirred at the sight.
He turned a corner and met Dimitri emerging from the study, his cloak half-draped over one shoulder, his brow furrowed.
"You saw them, didn't you?" Dimitri said flatly, reading Kaien's face before he could speak.
Kaien nodded. "They found the portrait."
Dimitri was silent.
"She looks exactly like her," Kaien continued. "Except the eyes."
Dimitri let out a breath, his fingers tightening around the edge of the door.
"She's not her," he said, voice low. "But she's something. Someone."
Kaien tilted his head. "You think she's hers?"
"I don't think," Dimitri replied. "I know."
_ _ _
Meanwhile, Riella stood frozen before the painting. Her mind spiraled.
"It's her…" she whispered again, as if saying it aloud would make sense of the pull in her chest. The face in the portrait—elegant, serene—felt more like a memory than a discovery.
Amelia placed a hand on her shoulder. "Riella… who is she?"
"I don't know," she whispered, but her fingers brushed the edge of the canvas like it could somehow answer. "But I think she's my mother."
A chill passed between them.
"Why would a portrait of your mother be in a hidden corner of the palace?" Amelia asked quietly.
Riella looked at her. "That's what I want to find out."
Amelia's gaze softened, then steeled. "And I'm going to help you."
Just then, they heard the door click open again. They turned sharply—but no one was there. Only a folded piece of parchment lay on the floor by the threshold.
Riella bent to pick it up, heart pounding.
Her name was on it.
Not Riella.
Calistar.