Psyche (2)

Madeleina.

The moment she introduced herself, it clicked.

In the novel, Elara had learned the truth directly from Aeliana's lips. The confession had come in fragments—raw, bitter, unfiltered. Aeliana, still reeling from her experiences, had spoken the name with a mixture of resentment and resignation. Madeleina. The one who had pushed her. The one who had sent her to her death.

And now, she was here.

Standing before me.

Her expression was schooled into perfect composure, her movements measured, controlled. The ideal attendant. The kind of woman who had spent years mastering the art of silence, of carefully chosen words, of navigating the precarious world of nobility.

But it was her presence that caught my attention.

Aeliana had said it herself. "It was Madeleina….the attendant I had trusted the most….She was the one who pushed me…"

And of course, alter it would be revealed what her reasons were.