chapter 0.58 Ashes Beneath the Flame

**Location:** Eastern Garden Path, beside the marble corridor leading to the Training Grounds

**Time:** Moments after the conversation between Naoko and Amelia

The moon was high, casting silver threads through the obsidian pillars of House Roche. The wind carried the scent of ash and cold lilies, brushing softly through the open-air path that led to the garden—a place meant for quiet breath between battles.

But no peace stirred in **Rina Amberhart's** chest.

She stood behind one of the great archways, partially concealed by a column of ancient black stone, her back pressed against it as if trying to disappear into the marble itself. Her breath was shallow. Her lips parted slightly. Her eyes—**golden, wide, hollow**—reflected moonlight, but carried no warmth.

She had heard it all.

Every word.

Every venom-laced sentence between **Naoko Roche** and her own mother. Every cruel truth cloaked in elegance. Every accusation. Every confession. Every unspoken history that neither woman thought she'd hear.

Her body trembled, but it wasn't from cold.

**"You would've thrown me in a volcano...?"**

The whisper escaped her lips before she could stop it.

The words Naoko had said rang inside her skull like cathedral bells:

*"If she had lost that mock duel to the Frost heir—would you have thrown her into a volcano? Locked her in one of your flame chambers?"*

Rina's mind reeled back to that duel. The pressure. The expectations. The look of calculation in her mother's eyes as she stepped into the arena—not concern, not encouragement. Just... obligation.

Obligation to **win**. Or be **discarded**.

Her stomach twisted.

A soft clink echoed from her chest—the sound of her **charm necklace**, a small crystal her mother gave her long ago, meant to "help her control the flame." She had worn it always. Believed it held meaning. But now\...

She gripped it tightly in her fist, so tightly the edges bit into her palm.

*"Even you haven't mastered the White Flame..."*

*"Why should she be bound to a path you failed to walk?"*

Rina's breath caught again. Her thoughts spiraled.

All her life, she had believed in **the legacy**. The **Amberhart flame**, the **discipline**, the **honor**. She had convinced herself that her mother's silence, her harsh training, her constant judgment—it all came from **love**. From **vision**.

But now, it sounded like **control**. Like **fear**.

Her legs gave slightly beneath her. She slid down against the cold stone until she sat on the edge of the marble pathway, knees to her chest, arms wrapped around them like a shield.

Above her, the stars shivered, indifferent.

Tears gathered in her eyes but didn't fall. She wouldn't let them. She couldn't afford to look **weak**—even now, even alone.

But her heart was breaking.

**"You don't nurture. You forge."**

Naoko's voice echoed again.

And for the first time... Rina wasn't angry at Naoko. She had always feared her. Disliked her. Felt a natural rejection of the woman's terrifying beauty, her dead gaze, her sharp words.

But now?

Now Naoko sounded like the first adult who had ever spoken the **truth** out loud.

Even if it hurt.

Especially because it hurt.

---

Somewhere down the corridor, voices grew fainter. She heard Naoko's heels retreating. Amelia's slower steps followed. Then silence.

Rina remained where she was.

Frozen.

Golden eyes locked to the obsidian tiles beneath her feet.

In her mind, two fires raged.

The **legacy** of the Amberhart name—burning white, rigid, merciless.

And a new flame.

Darker. Colder. Fiercer.

One that didn't ask for permission to burn.

---

A rustle broke the stillness.

Soft footsteps approached.

It was **Leona**.

She had been searching for Rina after the duel. Her expression shifted immediately when she saw her friend curled against the wall, her hair loose, her shoulders shaking slightly though no sound escaped her.

"**Rina...?**"

Rina didn't answer at first. Then, with effort, she looked up.

Her golden eyes met Leona's.

But they looked... older.

Less like the girl Leona knew.

More like a **woman being reforged** in silence.

**"Did you know?"** Rina asked, voice hollow. "Did you know what my mother thinks of me?"

Leona's face twisted in pain. "No. I swear. I would've told you—"

"I always thought I was chosen because I was strong," Rina whispered, eyes returning to the ground. "But I think... maybe I was just the most convenient."

She stood slowly, brushing off her dress. Her body still trembled, but now it stood straighter. Firmer.

"Let's go," she said softly.

"To where?" Leona asked, voice careful.

Rina looked down the hallway, toward the place where Naoko had walked.

Her voice came like a quiet storm.

**"To finish what she started. If I'm going to marry a monster…"** she paused, gold eyes glowing faintly,

**"…I need to become one too."**