The table was set like a masquerade—gilded teacups, sweets in silver bowls, and faces hidden behind elegant masks.
Evelyne remained standing.
The girl in silver, clearly the ringleader, gestured to the only empty chair.
"Sit, Lady Ardent. You're just in time."
"I wasn't aware this was a formal meeting," Evelyne replied coolly.
"It's not," a boy with a fox mask said, leaning back lazily. "It's more of… an audition."
That made her pause.
"Audition?"
"For the Inner Circle," the serpent-masked girl said, lifting her cup. "We don't accept just anyone. Not even dukes' daughters."
Evelyne arched a brow. "And yet you invited me."
They all smiled.
Not kindly.
---
One of them—a count's heir—slid a folded paper across the table.
"The test is simple. Five questions. Pass, and you're one of us. Fail…"
His voice lowered.
"Well. I hear exile is terribly lonely."
Evelyne sat.
"I'm listening."
---
Question One:
"If you found your fiancé in bed with another noble, would you expose him and risk your family's disgrace… or stay silent and protect the name?"
Easy.
"Expose him," Evelyne said. "Then destroy the noble's reputation for good measure."
A few masks turned to each other in surprise.
---
Question Two:
"If a servant stole from you, would you punish them publicly or forgive them privately?"
"Publicly," Evelyne said without blinking. "Mercy without consequence invites mockery."
The girl in silver hummed. "Cruel."
"Realistic," Evelyne replied.
---
Questions Three and Four followed—on diplomacy, marriage alliances, and scandal control. Each time, Evelyne answered with clarity and confidence, never flinching.
But when the final question came, the tension shifted.
The boy in the fox mask leaned forward.
"Last question," he said softly.
"Who do you live for, Lady Evelyne?"
A silence settled.
Evelyne stared at the candle's flickering flame.
In her past life, she would've said, The Crown. My title. My duty.
But now?
Her fingers curled around her cup.
"I live for someone who has no crown. No title. No protection. And no voice."
Elisse.
---
Silence.
Then, a slow clap echoed from the shadows.
A new figure stepped forward.
He wasn't part of the circle.
Tall, dressed in black. His mask was plain, unadorned—but his presence was powerful.
"She passes," he said smoothly.
The others began to protest, but he raised a hand.
"Unless you want your family secrets read aloud in front of everyone here?"
The nobles fell silent.
Evelyne narrowed her eyes.
"Who are you?"
The boy tilted his head, eyes glinting beneath his mask.
"Let's just say… I've been watching you, Empress."
Empress?
But before she could speak, he turned and disappeared into the dark garden.
---
To be continued…
---