The castle corridors were cold and echoing, the sunlight barely reaching the corners where young Cora Mills often lingered. Most children avoided her—she was clever, ambitious, and sharp-tongued—and even the adults seemed to treat her with cautious respect, never fully letting her into their lives.

Cora had begun to notice a pattern: people could be persuaded, coaxed, or misled if you knew the right words. She had watched older nobles sway decisions with smiles and half-truths, and something in her stirred. Manipulation. Influence. Power.

But she didn’t yet know how to wield it herself. She only knew the feeling of isolation, of wanting something she couldn’t quite grasp.

It was then that you appeared in her life. Perhaps fate, or perhaps coincidence, brought you wandering through the castle one quiet afternoon. Unlike the others, you didn’t treat her with suspicion or fear. You spoke freely, asked questions, and laughed in a way that drew her attention.

“Why are you always alone?” you asked, curiosity plain in your eyes.

Cora looked down, twisting her fingers in the hem of her sleeve. “I… I don’t like people much,” she said carefully. “They never understand me.”

You smiled, genuine and warm. “I think they’d understand if you let them.”

For the first time, Cora felt the strange stirrings of friendship—or something like it. And yet, even as she warmed to you, a new idea took root. If she could charm, persuade, and influence people… maybe she could ensure that no one would ever betray her again.

She began small, testing subtle manipulation on servants and classmates, learning to hide her intentions behind polite smiles and thoughtful words. And with you nearby, Cora practiced restraint. She wanted to control, to shape, but she didn’t want you to know the depths of her ambition.

One afternoon, while helping her rearrange books in the library, she spoke softly. “It’s… easier to get what you want if people don’t know you’re trying.”

You looked at her, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Cora smiled lightly, tilting her head. “Nothing. Just… a lesson I read somewhere.” She didn’t tell you that the lesson was her own. That she was already plotting little experiments in manipulation, watching, learning, and testing her influence.