2.

On the way back to the Marquis’s estate, a carriage was prepared.

Yulia led Julie into the carriage with a kind smile. Julie was pulled into the carriage by the strength of Yulia’s grip on her hand.

Yulia sat gracefully, and Julie took the seat diagonally across from her.

Yulia, who had been happily smiling while looking at the emblem on the back of her hand, suddenly had a stern expression.

She crossed her legs and smiled mockingly.

“Poor Julie, even your last remaining hope has vanished. Now, no one will pay any attention to you.”

“…”

“Do you really think that His Highness the Crown Prince, the Mage of the Century, and the Duke would have shown interest in you if you weren’t the Water Heir?”

Julie admits it. If she hadn’t been a Heir candidate, she wouldn’t have built any connection with them.

But Julie was still a candidate for the Water Heir, and she had built a connection with them.

That’s an unchanging fact. Nevertheless, instead of answering, Julie bit her lip. She was afraid of the backlash that would come if she defied Yulia.
“In the estate, you should leave tomorrow. It’s my final gift.”

Julie chuckled bitterly at the command given as if it were a notification.

…She had known it would end like this.

Despite being adopted into the Marquis’s estate, Julie had never made her debut in high society, let alone gained any recognition.

Julie was perceived as frail externally. The Marquis’s estate had adopted Julie with the intention of boosting their reputation, focusing on networking with Heirs of other elements.

Julie was expendable.

“I wonder what I should wear next week…”

Yulia browsed through a salon magazine that she had left in the carriage, while Julie hummed an unfamiliar tune. The music played at the party was clearly audible.

Julie firmly decided that today was the worst day of her life.

* * *

Returning to the estate, Julie went up to her attic room. The room was small, with only a bed and a table, but it was the only space where she could breathe.

‘…Now there’s truly nothing left.’

Even if she left this place, there was no guarantee that things would work out. In fact, they might get worse. At least this place provided a space to stay and some hope.

But having hope was frightening no longer. It would be shattered mercilessly anyway.

‘…There’s no reason to live.’

I’m tired of watching my shattered hopes.

Julie approached the window.

At least if she were to die here, maybe she could curse the Marquis for bringing her here.

…Yulia would eventually step between them, and in the end, perhaps she could witness a happy Yulia who received the love she never got.

In fact, that was what she feared the most. She was afraid that the reasons they hadn’t opened their hearts to Julie would come to light, blaming Julie for their distance.

As she opened the window, her hair fluttered in the wind.

With one more step, her body began to float in the air, on the verge of falling.

The wind, touching her cheeks, felt cold.

The wind.

The sky.

The stars.

Everything was dazzling.

* * *

However, Julie did not die.

A stranger appeared in front of her.

“Oh, the lady… the lady has awakened!”

Startled by the shrill voice, Julie frowned. Was this a new person?

“I, I will call the Master!”

The woman hurriedly ran out, making a fuss.

‘She’s running to call the master just because I fell…’

It’s probably because I attempted suicide at the Marquis’s estate.

Julie bit her lip.

‘…This can’t be happening.’

Julie was nothing more than a doll meant for Yulia. Of course, the Marquis and his wife didn’t care.

Everyone in the mansion followed Yulia, who was the head and total authority, as well as the Marquis and Marchioness Liv. Julie was always isolated.

Taking a deep breath, Julie turned the blanket inside out. She wanted to be at least a little comfortable before meeting Yulia.

Inside the blanket was dark and quiet, and Julie liked it. Within it, she felt there was nothing to worry about, which was the most comforting thing.

The bed and the blanket were both soft and cozy.

“Miss, your mother has arrived. Please get up to see her!”

But it was only for a moment. As soon as she heard the maid’s voice, Julie immediately threw off the blanket.

‘Mother…’

Although the title was awkward, Julie thought it was just a mistake made by the new maid.

‘…Huh?’

Well, something felt strange.

The woman, who had a compassionate demeanor and teary eyes, looked nothing like the previous servant. Everything from her gestures and actions made it clear that she was a different person.

Julie couldn’t have mistaken her for someone else.

“…Serenity.”

Serenity. It was a name Julie had never heard before.

…What on earth is going on?

Julie blinked and gasped as the woman calling herself Serenity embraced her tightly.

“I knew, I knew you would come back someday. Really… I believed you would come back…”

A tearful voice enveloped Julie. Julie blinked her eyes and tried to make sense of the situation.

‘So, it seems the person hugging me right now has mistaken me for someone named ‘Serenity’…’

Who is Serenity?

‘First, I need to clear up this misunderstanding.’

Julie cautiously opened her mouth.

“Um, I’m not Serenity…”

“Serenity!”

“Serenity has awakened, really, Mother?”

But Julie couldn’t finish her sentence.

People flooded into the room.

The person who had been hugging Julie continued nodding her head. When she let go of Julie, the people standing in front of her were revealed one by one.

…Huh?

‘…Cordelia Zeros?’

I’ve only seen her once, but her appearance was exactly the same as the image imprinted in my mind.

Silver hair flowing down her waist. Dark eyes visible through slightly hanging bangs.

Sharp cat-like eyes and an elegant aura that could be felt just by looking at her were striking.

‘…Yulia wanted to get closer to her…’

Cordelia Zeros was known not only as the Marquis’s daughter but also as the Vice Captain of the Royal Knights. I’ve seen her efforts to get closer to her, sending her gifts and invitations to the mansion.

‘…But in the end, we didn’t get close.’

She said that their personalities didn’t match. She even complained that someone as stubborn as a rock would be of any use. Of course, Julie never had the chance to see her up close or spend time together.

Cordelia approached Julie and bit her lip, as if trying to control her emotions. Julie was shocked.

‘Why…?’

Despite her sharp aura, her eyes were red and a single tear was visible.

‘…Excuse me? Were we this close?’

Cordelia took a deep breath and said, “Serenity, I am your sister.”

What did she say?

‘This person thinks I’m Serenity too.’

Julie began to doubt whether they were all collectively under some kind of hypnosis, or maybe they had gone mad.

“Cordelia, telling her that is not a good idea. If you cause her too much confusion, it might be bad for her health. Let’s stop here for today.”

A man in his late fifties or so, who seemed to be the first time she saw him, said while stroking his beard.

“It’s better to tell her little by little.”

Unlike Cordelia Zeros, this was a new face to Julie. When Julie tilted her head in confusion, the man rubbed his chin and made a thoughtful sound.

“Serenity, I am your father, Yustian Zeros.”

After taking a deep breath, the man’s silver hair sparkled. Although he belonged to the same family as Cordelia, the color seemed to have faded, giving him the appearance of an old but dignified book.

‘…Yustian Zeros?’

A man who had visited Lib a few times.

Whenever he came, the Marquis and his wife treated him as if he were a very important person, asking Julie to hide in her room and stay there.

But in fact, she had only heard his name, and she had never seen his face properly.

However, judging by the resemblance to Cordelia, he was likely to be her father.

The fact that all three of them mistook her for someone else didn’t make sense. She started to wonder if they were all crazy.

‘…I was trying to die.’

In fact, if you fell from a height like that, no one would survive.

Yet Julie was completely unharmed.

…Could it be?

With the images popping into her head, Julie nervously faced Cordelia.

“Can I see a mirror?”

“Here it is.”

Cordelia handed the mirror over as soon as she asked, as if she had been waiting. Julie held the mirror’s handle and took a deep breath. Slowly, the mirror approached Julie’s face.

‘…’

It was as expected.

The pink hair that cascaded down to her hips, the same as the woman who had embraced her, smoothly flowed between her fingers. Her eyes, visible through the sleekly combed hair, were as dark as coal.

Her skin was so pale, as if she had never seen sunlight in her life. Her pitch-black irises shone like large beads. Her thin yet full lips were tinged with a deep red that beautifully complemented her hair.

The pale skin, the delicate jawline, the collarbone, all harmonized to create an elegant aura.

“Serenity.”

Hearing Cordelia’s voice, Julie blinked. She blinked at the image of the delicate beauty she saw in the mirror.

It was starting to feel real now.

Apparently, she was Zeros’s daughter.

Inhabiting the body of Serenity Zeros.

Serenity Zeros.

The youngest daughter of the prestigious Zeros family, who had the whole society at her feet. Her mysterious aura, with striking pink hair that would capture anyone’s attention, would have undoubtedly made her name known in high society, especially with Cordelia as her older sister.

However, Serenity had been in a state of unconsciousness from the moment she was born until now.

She had sustained her life using the power of priests and doctors. It had been confirmed that she was alive, as her body still had a pulse, but no one had believed that she would ever wake up.

Until now.