illes. The estate, usually a hive of daylight activity, now rested under a cloak of stillness, the only illumination coming from the flickering s

en heart of Versailles-the restricted library, a vault of ancient knowledge carefully sealed off from all but a select few. Within th

Arielle defie

ined discreetly close, she reached for the hidden latch concealed within the carved relief-a mechanism known only to the eldest

isdom-a heady scent that had drawn Arielle here tim

," she murmured, voice low as th

ightened. "You

pt that hinted at the idea of inherited memories encoded in DNA, a science half myth, half forbidden knowledge. It was said that only

ar whisper, but there was an edge-

. But sometimes..." she trailed off, "sometimes, fragments come to m

an emotion the cold dossiers he had read never hinted at. Official records painted Arielle as a calculating heiress, o

some written in archaic script that Arielle deciphered with a schol

ies of forebears into the DNA of their descendants, thereby creating a living archive of experience and knowledge

istence of the project and more what

with scientific promise and ethical peril. Yet her behavior-her warmth, moments of hesitation, flashes of doubt

struggled for words. "So alive,

"Maybe the record is wrong. Or inco

ed silence

oft but distinct tone that made Rafael's eyes narrow. His mil

go. But first..." She tore a page from the journal, f

l. His duty was clear-to protect Arielle at all costs. Yet the

ted feed: Arielle's data file had been compromised. Altered to depict he

at the screen,

ice was calm, but the flicker o

instinct and his own steel resolve. Now, here he was, torn between the loyalty to a mission and the gr

order, safeguarding its legacy even at the cost of an innocent life. The other asked for som

he shadows of Versailles, where loyalty was currency and truth

k, so too did the fragile balance

f Cha