Elina opened the door just to see Rene standing on the other side. She couldn’t recall ever seeing that mix of emotions on the traitor’s face—a combination of confusion, anger, and worry. Still, she knew such a look could only come from her family.

“Where’s Lord Dazuz?” Rene asked. She honestly seemed to consider stepping inside to look for him herself, but decided against it.

Wise; even if her wife was the former queen, there wouldn’t be much she could do if it turned out Rene had no reason to enter. The kind of education Adelinde would have received would be better suited to convict rather than defend—that’s the most a ruler could do. That’s what her brother did for Aurik Qrian, at least.

Regardless, Elina ignored her to point out the double standard.

“I’m not allowed to come to your house, but you can come to mine?”

“I’m not here to scare your daughter,” Rene retorted. “I just want to ask your father some questions.”

“He’s not home,” Elina replied simply. She took a step out the door. “And I was about to leave, so if you would like to do the same…”

She trailed off and hoped Rene might understand, but the traitor seemed rather content to be defiant.

“You should be able to answer one question,” Rene said somewhat coldly. “If there’s nothing to follow up, I’ll leave.”

Elina sighed, taking a step back again. “Fine then. What—”

Rene didn’t even let her finish, asking it in a half-whisper but wearing a frown.

“Did Tara live with you at some point?”

Elina paused. Her silence—spent searching her thoughts for any clues she might have given away and actually recalling several—was enough of an answer for Rene.

“…Okay.” Rene took a step back. “So she did. Where did you find her?”

“You can’t say you don’t have an idea,” Elina said. Father…would not be pleased when and if he heard. If Rene said it and Elina didn’t directly verify, he might not blame her.

“I do, but I want confirmation.” She seemed to understand Elina’s intentions, but she also seemed to acknowledge she wouldn’t get answers otherwise.

Rene hesitated enough for Elina to entertain some taunting, whether or not she should.

“You don’t want to know the answer,” she noted. Giving the traitor a cold smile, she asked, “Are you afraid your two lives were never separate?”

“I could care less about that right now, honestly. I’m not concerned about Tara’s origins so much as I am how you won’t leave us alone if I have an accurate guess.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“How noble of you.”

“Just give me a clear response.” She took another second—a little breath—before continuing. “I was under the impression the spirit wouldn’t be released until the second omyn came.”

“So were we, if I’m being honest,” Elina admitted, shrugging somewhat. “We stayed for a few days because Leo wanted to—we made it a vacation after you left. Lo and behold, at the end of our trip we went back to pay respects; the girl you’ve since called your daughter was in the shrine. And—in case you wanted to ask, just to save some time—her ending up with you was completely coincidental.”

Rene paused, then gave her a warning look.

“That doesn’t change what I’ve said,” Rene said firmly. “You’re not welcome anywhere near my family.”

“She’ll remember once we have a second omyn,” Elina pointed out. “What will you do then, when her original goals return?”

“I would like to believe I raised her better than that,” Rene replied honestly. “The girl from the stories agreed because the alternative was death; Tara should still have the choice if she wants to carry through, and I think she has enough here that she wouldn’t give it away for someplace else.”

She gave Elina some space. Her victory at the traitor leaving was dulled when Rene offered her own cold smile.

“But considering it took you this long to find and trick one omyn,” Rene said, turning to leave, “I honestly don’t expect you to get that far so soon.”

Elina watched as she went, but her satisfaction returned and she almost laughed.

She had two people to prove wrong, now—Father and Rene. She couldn’t very well let them down.

——

There was a light drizzle by the time Rene came home, so she fully expected to hear someone on the piano. Instead of Adelinde’s usual thought-playing, though, the music once Rene entered was an actual composition. She felt a bit guilty upon realizing that—Adelinde typically only played real songs if her thoughts ran a course that she didn’t want others to notice.

With that in mind, she had an apology fully prepared when she poked her head into the music room. Adelinde played on the piano as expected; Tara sat nearby to draw, and Matteo was on the chair readying. Adelinde let her hands rest once she saw Rene.

“Sorry for leaving suddenly,” Rene said, trying to offer a smile to both Adelinde and Tara. After receiving an understanding look from both of them, she glanced specifically at Adelinde. “But I need to talk with you about something.”

Adelinde’s expression shifted to a concern frown, but she nonetheless nodded. She followed Rene upstairs so they had a bit more distance from the kids; Matteo, from the sounds of it, picked up where Adelinde left off on the song.

Adelinde found the words first, more worried than anything else.

“You went to the Dazuz mansion, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Rene confirmed, continuing on with a reassuring look, “But see—I’m fine. I didn’t stab anyone and no one stabbed me. Does that help?”

“…Only slightly. I still don’t think you should be going there alone.”

Adelinde took a moment, sighed, then shifted her concern towards someone else.

“Tara was a little worried,” she said. Half curious and half cautious, she asked, “What did you need to ask the Dazuz family?”

“It’s…related to what Tara said about Itzun—how he’s always been with her, how he says she has a purpose—and her first memory.”

Rene recalled what Elina told her and shared it with Adelinde. Admirably, Adelinde only seemed to grow more confident in what they told Tara earlier—she didn’t doubt it or question if it was safe, like she might have a few years ago. They came to a decision fairly quickly, once Adelinde understood the situation.