The palace gardens were a world apart from the tense, echoing halls inside. Here, the air was rich with the scent of lavender and damp earth, the soft hum of bees drifting lazily among the flowering bushes. The hedges, trimmed into elaborate shapes by royal gardeners, created a labyrinth of green, providing secluded paths where courtiers could stroll in quiet conversation.

Ellie wasn’t in the mood for conversation.

She had come here to escape the mounting pressure, to walk alone among the ancient oaks and breathe in the scent of life and growth. The palace had become suffocating, the weight of unanswered questions pressing down on her shoulders.

Everywhere she turned, there were whispers of Eloise’s latest miracle, fresh faces waking from comas, healers stepping aside to make room for the saintess and her unexplainable powers.

Ellie rounded a corner, passing beneath an archway of ivy, when she saw her.

Eloise stood at the center of a small clearing, her white robes catching the sunlight that filtered through the trees. She was alone, her back to Ellie, her head slightly bowed as if in prayer or contemplation.

The moment was so serene, so perfectly still, that Ellie almost turned and walked the other way, not wanting to disturb her. But something about the scene made her hesitate, a prickling at the back of her neck that she couldn’t quite explain.

She had seen Eloise in the midst of crowds, performing her miracles with grace and poise, always surrounded by desperate people clamoring for her attention. But here, in the quiet solitude of the garden, the saintess seemed different. Less radiant. More… human.

Before Ellie could make a decision, Eloise turned, her gaze landing on Ellie as if she had been expecting her.

“Ah, Ellie Liddell.” Eloise’s use of Ellie’s formal name sounded foreign on her lips, like an unfamiliar melody. “I was hoping we would meet like this.”

Ellie’s heart skipped a beat, caught off guard by the sudden intimacy in Eloise’s tone. Hoping?

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Ellie said, careful to keep her voice neutral. The last thing she wanted was for her unease to show. But even as the words left her lips, she could feel the tension coiling in her chest. There was something about Eloise’s eyes—too calm, too knowing—that set her on edge.

“You’re not interrupting,” Eloise said, taking a step closer. “In fact, I’ve been meaning to speak with you. There’s something we should discuss.”

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Ellie narrowed her eyes slightly, bracing herself. “Discuss?” she echoed, her voice steady but guarded.

Eloise smiled—a soft, patient smile that seemed almost amused. Yet there was a flicker of something colder behind her eyes, something that made Ellie’s skin prickle. She stood her ground, straightening her posture, unwilling to show even a hint of vulnerability.

“Yes.” Eloise’s gaze never wavered, her expression serene yet disarming. “You see, you’re different from the others. You’ve felt it, haven’t you? The power inside you… the hidden power that you’ve only just begun to understand.”

Ellie’s pulse quickened, though she refused to show it. “I don’t know what you mean,” she replied carefully, but the words tasted hollow even to her.

Eloise tilted her head, studying Ellie as though she were an intriguing puzzle, her lips curving into a knowing smile. “There’s something in you, something deeper than the magic you’ve been taught. It’s a power that’s been waiting, growing inside you.”

Ellie fought to keep her expression neutral, but the weight of Eloise’s words struck a nerve. She hadn’t told anyone about the strange energy she had felt ever since she faced the Devil King, the sensation of something vast and unknown stirring within her. It wasn’t like magic, not like any spell or incantation she had learned at the Academy.

Instead, it was something older, more primal, and it frightened her.

“How do you—” Ellie began, her voice barely above a whisper. “How do you know about that?”

Eloise’s smile widened, just enough to unsettle. “I see more than most, Ellie. The gods have blessed me with the gift of sight. And I see you—your potential, your power. It’s why I’ve been hoping to speak with you.”

Ellie’s jaw tightened, her mind racing. She wanted to deny Eloise’s claim, to dismiss her words as nonsense, but a part of her couldn’t. Not when the saintess spoke with such quiet certainty, as though she had peered into Ellie’s very soul.

Eloise took another step forward, her eyes gleaming with a strange intensity. “You and I are not so different. We both have been chosen, guided by forces greater than ourselves. Together, we could do so much more. You don’t have to face this alone.”

Ellie felt her breath hitch, but she steadied herself. She met Eloise’s gaze, refusing to back down. “I don’t know what you think you’ve seen,” she said, her voice firm, “but I’m not interested in alliances. Not with you.”

Eloise’s expression softened, though it felt almost condescending, as if Ellie’s resistance amused her. “I understand your hesitation. It’s a heavy burden, isn’t it? But denying it won’t make it go away. The power inside you will find its way out—whether you’re ready or not.”

Ellie’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, the air between them charged with unspoken tension. “I don’t need your help,” she said, her voice cutting through the stillness.

Eloise’s serene smile remained, though something in her gaze sharpened. “Very well,” she said, her tone light but edged with something Ellie couldn’t place. “Think about what I’ve said, Ellie. The power inside you... it can be a gift, if you learn to embrace it.”

Without waiting for a response, Eloise turned and glided away, her white robes trailing behind her like the wake of a ship cutting through still water. The garden seemed to sigh in her absence, the tension easing as she disappeared down the path.

Ellie stood there, her chest heaving with the effort of holding herself together, her mind racing with questions she didn’t want to ask.

What does she know?