Chapter 163 - 162: Adena’s Flashy Arrival

Adena arrived exactly the way she always did, loud, unannounced despite three separate letters confirming her arrival time, and trailing at least twice as much luggage as any reasonable summer holiday required.

"I’m here!" She called out the door of her carriage. She jumped down with a kind of joy, Eleanore couldn’t describe. "Did you two miss me? Be honest."

"We survived," Eleanore said dryly, appearing from the kitchen with a glass of water in hand. "Barely."

"Rude. I brought gifts." Adena dropped one of her bags dramatically onto the hall at the entrance and began digging through it with the enthusiasm of someone who had clearly forgotten what was actually inside. "Somewhere in here. I promise."

Despite herself, Eleanore felt the corner of her mouth twitch. There was something about Adena’s chaos that was, in small, controlled doses, oddly endearing, the kind of energy that filled a room without asking permission first. It was the uncontrolled doses that were the problem. Moreover, she looked different, where did her domineering aura go?

"How long is ’the usual’ this year?" Eleanore asked, settling into the armchair across from the couch as Adena flopped down dramatically, luggage forgotten.

"The usual usual. Whole summer. Don’t look at me like that, I already cleared it with Caelestis."

"He mentioned it."

"With that face? The one you’re making right now?"

"I don’t have a face."

"You have several," Adena said, echoing an observation Eleanore had heard entirely too recently from someone else in this house, which was its own small, irritating coincidence. "Anyway, forget that — have you seen it?"

"Seen what?"

Adena sat up straighter, pulling out her phone with the kind of urgency usually reserved for actual emergencies. "The paper. The gossip one. There’s an article going around about you."

Eleanore felt something in her stomach go very still. "And?"

"You know." Adena started packing her bag again and then asked her servants to take it to her usual room. "Is Caelestis okay? I mean, it clearly says you poisoned Lady Stella."

"Lady Adena, I did no such thing." Eleanore said carefully, though a specific, deeply unwelcome suspicion was already forming in the back of her mind.

"It’s kind of scary of you." Adena tilted her head, ignoring Eleanore’s words and defence. She wanted to believe what she wanted to believe and had no intentions of changing her perspective. "I was here, during the poisoning event. Now that I think about it. It could be you."

"Lady Adena."

"What?"

Eleanore starts walking up to the stairs. You were here too, I wonder if it was you, not me."

"Me?" She looked at Eleanore, filled with anger. This was the real Adena, Eleanore knew. Rude, evil and annoying bitch, she had been friends with one.

"Yes," Eleanore said slowly, "I was kidnapped and no it was not staged. I was not the one who poisoned Stella. Even she knows that."

"Sure— you could say that. If the victim herself refuses to accept that the culprit is you. Then what can one do!"

" Lady Adena."

"What? Do you have a better explanation?" Adena started following her up the stairs, her face was filled with excitement more than any kind of guilt. "This gossip paper is so fun though!" She laughs

Eleanore pressed two fingers to her temple, exhaling slowly, the exact particular headache she’d been hoping to avoid this summer arriving right on schedule. "You do understand," she said, with the calm, deliberate patience of someone one sentence away from losing it, "that you have been here for less than twenty minutes."

"What do you not like about me standing here?" She folds her arms across her chest.

"That’s enough, Adena." Caelestis appears, wearing an expression that many feared.

"For the time that you are here, I request you to not mention that cursed newspaper. Is that clear?"

Adena pouts, walking past him, to her room.

---

Eleanore was halfway through pouring herself a much-needed cup of tea when she nearly collided with Mary in the hallway, both of them equally startled by the sudden appearance of the other.

"Oh — sorry," Mary said quickly, steadying the small stack of folded linens in her arms. "I didn’t see you there."

"No, that’s on me. I wasn’t looking either." Eleanore offered a small, tired smile, the kind reserved for the end of a long day that had started with flowers and ended with a tabloid scandal she hadn’t asked for. "Do you have a minute?"

Mary hesitated, glancing toward the laundry room like she had somewhere to be, before nodding. "Of course."

"I have arranged everything, Mary.." Eleanore leaned against the counter, cradling her tea between both hands. "Your departure shall take place soon."

Mary’s expression softened, a mix of fondness and something more resigned settling over her features. "I believe in you, Madam. I will patiently wait for your call. Although I am a bit too excited to finally meet my nephew" she paused, searching for the right word, "Meeting him would be so tearful, after so long."

"Indeed. He would love that." She smiles.

|| Mission 1, Phase 1: Change Caelestis Destiny. Has been successfully completed.

Phase 2: The Rebels

The Kingdom of Seraphine has been plagued by this organisation called Rebel. They are after the crown and want to kill the royal family, so that they can attain a complete dictatorship. These rebel groups also involve some of the nobles of the empire, who harbour hatred against the royal family of Seraphine.

In their madness for the throne, many innocents die, including you. Your death triggers Caelestis’ fate falling into darkness again and Hael turning against his dear friend again.

Chapter 1: The Woman Named Barbra

Barbra was known to be a very gentle and kind woman of the kingdom. She was always quiet and had no enemy. Until she fell for the wrong person and tried to win him over only to be trampled on completely by the queen of the social circle, Eleanore Sinclair (You)

Quest 1: Death Case Of Lady Barbra Fein

Task 1: Collect information on the relationship between Eleanore Sinclair (you) and Lady Barbra Fein

Do you accept the task?

Yes/No

Note: Reward: + 100,000 reputation

Penalty: -200,000 coins

Total Reputation: -100,000

Total Coins: +90,100||