The Fates Tell Me My Best Friend's Long Dead

My best friend, Eleanor Fitzroy, and I both transmigrated into an era of turmoil, where we happen to become students of a legendary seer. I am born with an uncanny gift for divination. With nothing more than three coins, I can read the signs of fate and predict what is yet to come. Eleanor, meanwhile, possesses an extraordinary mind for strategy. She can decipher the most complex military tactics and, with a single formation of her own design, turn the tide against thousands of soldiers. After leaving Ravenvale, our mentor's secluded valley, we join forces to support the disgraced Seventh Prince, Alexander Wyndham, and help him rise to the throne. Alexander soon falls deeply in love with Eleanor. He marries her in a lavish royal wedding, making her the queen of the realm. 15 years into their marriage, they are still as devoted to each other as ever. They have eight sons together. Then, last night, the palace receives joyous news—the empire of Arden has welcomed its first princess since its founding. Overjoyed, Alexander rides through the night with his eight sons and arrives at the gates of Ravenvale, begging me to come out of seclusion and divine Matilda Wyndham's fate. Of course, I agree. I hurry to the royal palace that very night. I place a dab of vermilion on Matilda's forehead and bestow a blessing of peace and safety upon her. With my task complete, I prepare to leave. But on a whim, I toss my coins one more time, intending to divine Eleanor's fate and see what the rest of her life holds in store. The moment the coins hit the ground, however, the signs turn ominous. The reading reveals chaos, death, and a fate that has been sealed long ago. My blood runs cold. If Eleanor has already been dead for some time, then who is the woman lying on the queen's bed, smiling at me so warmly? Chapter 1 Noticing the change in my expression, Eleanor Fitzroy struggled to sit up. "Rosa, what's wrong?" she asked. "Is there anything wrong with Matilda's fate?" The tone of her voice—even the slight furrow of her brows—was exactly the same as Eleanor's. I said nothing. I simply gathered the three coins from the floor and held them in my palm. When I remained silent for too long, Alexander Wyndham strode toward me. The ruler who was normally so decisive and ruthless now had panic written all over his face. "Rosa, what did you see? Just tell me," he urged. "Whatever it is, I'll deal with it." All eight princes dropped to their knees before me, looking up at me anxiously. Prince Charles Wyndham, the eldest, was practically frantic. "Rosa, if my sister is in danger, I'll give my life to protect her!" My gaze swept across the room. Years ago, at the height of the war for the throne, Alexander had been trapped by enemy forces in a mountain pass and afflicted with a deadly curse. I had sacrificed ten years of my own life to perform a forbidden ritual, keeping him alive by sheer external force. When Charles was ambushed by assassins, I had used my own blood to call down a bolt of lightning from the heavens, killing 32 elite assassins on the spot. In the kingdom of Arden, my word was practically law. I raised my hand and pointed straight at the woman lying on the bed. "She isn't Eleanor." Silence fell over the entire palace chamber. Alexander froze, his gaze following my finger toward the woman who was supposed to be his wife. The queen looked stunned at first, but then she gave a bitter little smile. "Rosa, have you spent so many years in seclusion that you've worked yourself into seeing things that aren't there? "If you're angry that I haven't visited you in eight years, you can hit me, curse me, or do whatever you want to me. But why make a joke like this in front of the children?" "I'll ask you one more time," I said coldly, ignoring her pretentious act. "Where did you hide Eleanor's body?" The moment the words left my mouth, an angry voice thundered from outside the chamber. "How dare you!" Queen Mother Agatha Blackwood swept through the doorway, surrounded by attendants. "Rosamund, have you let the little influence you earned years ago go to your head? Do you really think you're some kind of living saint?" She strode to the bed and shielded the queen behind her. "Eleanor has just given the royal family a princess, earning the kingdom an immeasurable blessing, and you dare stand here spreading such outrageous accusations and claiming she's dead?" I ignored Agatha, my gaze fixed firmly on the queen. "Eleanor has an old arrow scar beneath her left rib. She got it saving Alexander years ago," I said. "Are you willing to prove you're really her? Take off your gown and let us see." Agatha's face darkened with fury. "This is absurd!" she seethed, pointing at me. "Eleanor is the queen! How dare you demand that she strip herself in front of everyone and humiliate her like this?" Alexander, however, turned toward his mother and fixed her with a hard stare. "Mother, let Rosa examine her." Agatha trembled with rage. She pointed a finger in Alexander's face, but for a moment, she couldn't even find the words to respond. The queen sighed and loosened the ties of her underdress herself. Beneath her left rib lay a jagged old scar, its size and exact position identical to the one I remembered. My eyes widened. My divination could never be wrong. The omen I had seen was one of the darkest signs imaginable—a warning of death, of a body that had already been claimed by the grave. Eleanor was definitely dead. The queen pulled her clothes back together, tears welling up in her eyes. "Rosa, I know you're worried about me. You're afraid I've suffered here in the palace. But I'm truly fine," she insisted. "Alexander has treated me wonderfully, and the children have always been good to me." She looked so wronged and helpless that I somehow appeared to be the unreasonable one. My gaze turned cold as I tightened my grip around the coins. "Fine. If there's nothing wrong with her body, then we'll ask the dead themselves. "The truth cannot hide from the forces beyond this world. I'll find the dead and uncover what has been buried." I flung the three coins into the air. They spun rapidly overhead, filling the chamber with an eerie, piercing hum. Then, they struck the floor one after another with a series of sharp clinks. I looked up and met the queen's gaze. "Eleanor's remains are somewhere within Westbury Palace." Chapter 2 Agatha was so furious that she let out a sharp, incredulous laugh. "Rosamund, have you had enough?" she hissed, her fingers flying over the rosary beads in her hand. "This is the royal palace. How dare you make such outrageous claims here? Guards, escort Lady York out of the palace!" The royal guards stationed outside exchanged uneasy glances, but none of them dared to move. Alexander stepped forward, placing himself between me and the guards. "I believe in Rosamund!" The moment he made his position clear, all eight princes drew the swords at their sides and formed a protective circle around me. Charles stepped forward. "Grandmother, if Rosa says something has happened to Mother, then something must've happened to her," he said coldly. "Anyone who dares stop her from searching for Mother will answer to my sword!" Agatha was so enraged she nearly fainted. She pointed at her grandsons, but for several moments, she couldn't utter a single word. The queen leaned against the headboard, deliberately allowing two tears to roll down her cheeks at precisely the right moment. "Alexander, Charles, what are you doing?" she cried. "If Rosa truly suspects me, then let her search. "If she finds nothing, I only ask that she show me some mercy and leave me a little dignity." My expression darkened as I picked up the coins from the floor once more. For the first time, I found myself wishing my divination had been wrong. Back at Ravenvale, Eleanor had always been the timid one. I had held her hand as we made our way through the Valley of Serpents, and she had trembled so badly that she practically clung to me the entire way. Yet when we were fleeing through the chaos of war, she had willingly taken a fatal arrow meant for me. We had promised each other that we'd live to see better days together. How could she have died here without a trace? "Wood feeds fire. Fire overcomes metal. Northwest… water tainted by evil!" My eyes flew open as I turned toward the doors. "The royal lake!" Without hesitation, Alexander raised a hand and ordered, "Drain the lake now!" The entire palace erupted into a frenzy. Thousands of royal guards and attendants worked through the night, carrying buckets and hauling water from the lake. The queen was helped there by her attendants as well, wrapped in a thick fur-lined cloak. She watched the water level slowly sink, yet there wasn't the slightest trace of panic in her eyes. I kept my eyes fixed on the mud at the bottom. The place marked by my divination couldn't be wrong. As the last of the water was drained away, a pile of debris emerged from beneath the mud. Charles didn't even bother removing his boots. He jumped straight into the muck and began frantically digging through the spot I'd indicated. Mud and water splattered all over him, but the prince who normally cared more than anyone about his appearance didn't seem to notice at all. "Rosa, I found something!" he shouted. Charles held up a mud-covered bundle and stumbled back toward shore. Alexander hurried over, his hands trembling as he took the bundle from his son. Once the mud had been washed away, everyone froze. It wasn't a skeleton. It was an old dress embroidered with gold thread. Chapter 3 The moment the queen saw the dress, tears streamed down her face. "Alexander, do you remember this dress?" she sobbed, dropping to her knees before him. "When you were poisoned all those years ago, I knelt beside this lake for three days and three nights. "I sank this dress to the bottom of the lake and prayed to the spirit of the royal waters, begging it to keep you safe. I was willing to trade ten years of my own life for yours." Alexander went rigid. The suspicion in his eyes faded, replaced by overwhelming guilt. He bent down and helped the queen back to her feet. "Eleanor, you've suffered enough." Agatha immediately seized the opportunity. "Rosamund, do you have anything left to say?" she demanded. "You abused Alexander's trust and turned the entire palace upside down. You deserve to die for this!" Although the eight princes still stood protectively around me, confusion had begun to creep into their eyes. The dress really did belong to Eleanor. There was even a faint trace of her presence lingering on it. It seemed that this impostor had someone powerful helping her after all—someone capable of masking her presence even from my divination. I tightened my grip around the three coins, my eyes narrowing. "One old dress proves nothing." That was enough to make Agatha fly into a rage. "Guards! Seize this madwoman who's been spreading these outrageous lies!" The attendants and guards behind her had barely taken a step when Alexander once again shielded me behind him. "Mother, I told you. Without Rosamund, I would've been nothing but a dead man by now. "If she wants to search, then let her search. She can turn the whole capital upside down if she has to!" The eight princes quickly closed ranks around me, and Agatha's people immediately backed off. I looked at the queen through the crowd. She was still wearing that same expression of concern, as though she genuinely cared about me. "Rosa, I know you're skilled at divination, but you're only human. Even the wisest person can make a mistake. "If you're determined to keep searching, then I'll search with you. I only ask that you don't let this destroy the peace between everyone." I ignored her. I bit down on my tongue until I tasted blood, then spat it over the three coins. This time, I called upon the full power of the ancient relic embedded within my bones. A searing pain spread from deep within my bones. My throat tightened with the taste of blood, and I suddenly doubled over, coughing up a mouthful of it. Charles cried out and reached for me, but I waved him away. "Heaven above, earth below. Light and darkness, reverse and reveal the truth. Find her!" The bloodstained coins shot into the air and transformed into a streak of crimson light, flying straight toward the most remote corner of Westbury Palace. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, my voice hoarse. "The dry well at the Grey Wing." Everyone's expression changed the moment they heard those words. The Grey Wing was the most sinister and haunted part of the entire palace. Its dry well had long been used as a mass burial pit for disgraced attendants and women cast aside by the royal family. My heart twisted with agony. How could Eleanor be lying in a filthy, forgotten place like that? The color drained from Alexander's face. He shoved the queen away and sprinted toward the Grey Wing as though possessed. The princes followed close behind. The queen remained where she was for a moment, her eyes reddening, before allowing one of her attendants to help her after them. The Grey Wing was desolate and crumbling, its dry well covered by a massive stone slab. The commander of the royal guard personally led a team to move the slab aside. They secured ropes around themselves before descending into the well and beginning to dig. Alexander gripped the edge of the well so tightly that his fingernails split and blood ran down his fingers, yet he seemed completely unaware of it. One second passed, then another. At last, movement came from below. "Your Majesty, we've found something!" A mud-covered skeleton was slowly hauled out of the well. Several tattered scraps of cloth still clung to the bones. Alexander's knees gave way, and he collapsed into the mud. His trembling hand reached toward the remains, only to stop just short of touching them. "Eleanor… My Eleanor…" Charles and the other seven princes broke down completely, dropping to their knees as tears streamed down their faces. My gaze remained fixed on the skeleton. The connection I had sensed through the ancient power within my bones was growing weaker, and I knew something was wrong. The presence clinging to these remains wasn't right. "Bring the royal examiner here now," I said, turning toward the commander of the royal guard. "I want these bones examined." A flicker of hope sparked in Alexander's eyes, which had been filled with despair moments ago. "Bring the examiner here!" he ordered. The most experienced royal examiner from the palace medical corps hurried over with his case. He knelt beside the remains and carefully examined every bone. About 15 minutes later, the examiner rose, his head lowered. "Your Majesty, these remains…" he began, his voice trembling. "The pelvis is unusually narrow, and there are no signs of separation at the pubic joint. "This woman never gave birth." Silence fell over the entire area. The examiner's words rang in everyone's ears, but Eleanor had given birth to eight princes. These could not possibly be her remains. Chapter 4 Agatha immediately burst into laughter. "Rosamund, you think you can accuse the queen of murder with nothing but an attendant's skeleton? You deserved to be hanged for this!" The queen walked up to me and took my cold hand in hers. "Rosa, I know you've spent all these years living in seclusion at Ravenvale," she said. "You must've been terribly lonely. You've let your own demons get the better of you. "I don't blame you at all." I stared at her flawless face, my stomach churning with disgust. Charles had studied divination under me since childhood, and he was particularly sensitive to the signs. He picked up the three coins stained with my blood and crouched down to cast the reading again. At first, his brows were tightly furrowed. Moments later, he suddenly looked up, his face lighting up with excitement. "It changed! The reading changed!" Grabbing Alexander by the arm, he exclaimed, "Father, look! The signs have shifted. The elements have fallen back into harmony. This is an extremely positive sign! "Mother isn't dead. She's alive and well!" Then, he turned toward me, a hint of reproach in his eyes. "Rosa, you must've grown rusty with divination after spending so many years in seclusion. That's why you got it wrong. "Mother is right here. Please, stop putting everyone through this." The other seven princes quickly agreed, their tense expressions finally relaxing. Alexander let out a long breath, his entire body sagging with relief. "Rosa, you're exhausted," he said gently as he walked toward me. "Spending eight years alone in Ravenvale must've been difficult. "Someone, take Lady York to the east chamber to rest. No one is to disturb her without my permission." The commander of the royal guard approached with two guards and gestured for me to follow. Meanwhile, the queen came over once more and affectionately linked her arm through mine. "Rosa, go get some sleep. Everything will be all right when you wake up." I looked at them, completely deceived by the woman standing before them, and gave a bitter smile. The ancient power within me carried the energy of heaven and earth and could discern the workings of life and death. How could it possibly be wrong? I couldn't lie to myself any longer. I couldn't keep running from the truth. There were countless secret arts in this world, and there were indeed ways to deceive ordinary divination. Someone whose abilities surpassed mine a hundredfold might even be capable of fooling the sacred power within me. But no matter what trick this impostor had used, there was one thing she could never deceive—my mentor. Whatever secrets she possessed, they would never be enough to fool him. I suddenly tore my arm free from the queen's grasp. "Rest? No." I drew the dagger at my waist and, without the slightest hesitation, plunged it straight into my chest. "Rosa!" Alexander and all eight princes immediately went pale with shock. "Don't move!" I shouted. I yanked the dagger free, and blood gushed from the wound. With fingers slick with blood, I snatched the three coins from Charles' hand and slammed them against my forehead. The instant the coins touched the blood from my heart, they erupted a blinding golden light before sinking directly into my brow. I opened my eyes. My eyes, once clear and dark, had transformed into brilliant pools of gold. The queen staggered backward under the force of my gaze. For the first time, the composure on her face finally cracked. "Rosa, what are you doing?" I stood before her and asked one final question. "If you really are Eleanor, then answer this. What is our mentor's name?" The queen froze for a moment before secretly relaxing. "Our mentor? Raven Vail, of course," she answered casually, brushing a stray lock of hair from her temple. "We studied under him at Ravenvale." The moment she said it, the entire chamber fell silent. I closed my eyes as blood-red tears rolled down my cheeks. Alexander's face changed instantly. He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood before collapsing unconscious. Realization dawned on Charles and the other seven princes. They drew their swords and pointed them at the queen. Charles' eyes were bloodshot, his face filled with murderous fury as he snarled, "Who the hell are you?"