24.

“This is my journal. It serves as a record… and a personal diary.”

It was unexpected. Serenity didn’t expect Dante, who valued his privacy, to bring something like this.

Interpreting Serenity’s silence in a positive light, Dante continued earnestly.

“Well, I really thought hard about it, but this is all I could come up with. It’s a record of Julia’s condition and progress while she’s asleep.”

“… ”

“I have nothing to say today. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.”

And in Dante’s eyes, his actions seemed justified. Serenity’s gaze, which always seemed to disapprove, was absent. It was worth taking the time out of his busy schedule. With a sense of pride, Dante stood up from his seat.

“Then I’ll be off. I can’t leave my office empty for too long due to research… But happy birthday, Serenity.”

With measured steps, Dante left the room.

Serenity stared blankly at the cover of the notebook.

‘This is cheating.’

No matter what he said, she wouldn’t be swayed, but this was different.

However, aside from her surprise, Serenity had a separate reason for liking the notebook. It was perfect for monitoring Julia’s condition and planning for the future.

Claizen smirked.

“Is it my turn then?”

After exchanging greetings with Dante and returning, Claizen took his seat.

Sitting on the sofa, Claizen stared at Serenity. His gaze was quite intense, causing Serenity to avoid it before meeting his eyes again.

“I’ve revisited the essence of the problem.”

Claizen clasped his hands together, rubbing his knuckles. He pursed his lips slightly. With closed eyes, his voice lowered.

“Whether Julia truly wants to come back to life.”

A shiver ran down Serenity’s spine.

“And whether we might be misunderstanding something.”

‘Did he figure it out? No, it’s impossible based on my actions so far.’

How is such inference possible? Serenity exerted extra force on the notebook Dante had given her earlier to conceal her agitation.

‘Calm down.’

It could be a way to unsettle Serenity even more, to test her. Since she didn’t share information about Julia and wasn’t cooperating with them either. Serenity wished she knew what intentions Claizen had in asking this question. Her mouth felt dry.

“Why did you come up with such a thought?”

“Someone who claimed to have known Julia for so long doesn’t seem particularly interested in waking her up. That’s not the only reason I believe this isn’t your true intention.”

“We can’t change the minds of three people, so I thought the best course of action would be to change the situation when Julia returns.”

“That means you know. We’re determined to save her no matter what.”

Claizen didn’t deny it. Serenity’s expectations were met.

All three of them are selfish. They all want one thing. For Julia Liv to return.

They were never the ones to listen to her if Julia wanted to die.

If Serenity brings up death, they might even start to distrust her. If that happens, the opportunity to kill Julia will disappear.

“So, I’m telling you to show your sincerity. So that Julia can live a truly happy life when she returns.”

Claizen’s gaze narrowed. Serenity swallowed another lump in her throat.

“…I’ll do it for the sake of the honor of the upper echelon.”

She answered, but Claizen was still scrutinizing Serenity.

‘He might still be suspicious.’

Serenity met his gaze confidently. There was no flaw in her response.

“Then shall we end the discussion here today?”

With that question, Claizen stepped back.

* * *

The birthday party was over, but Serenity’s mind was filled only with conversations she had with the three Heirs.

It was a joyful time, but she felt tired.

Returning to her room, Serenity lay down on her bed. However, sleep didn’t come easily.

Killing Julia seemed more difficult than she thought.

‘At least there’s no chance of me waking up… If I become closer to Yulia and then take off the bracelet and immediately poison her, wouldn’t that be the best way?’

First, if she could obtain poison or something to change her appearance through Yulia, it would be easier to track her or drive her away later.

But there was inevitable worry.

…What if she gets caught?

‘What if they find out I’m not Serenity Zeros but Julia Liv? How would they react?’

Her stomach felt tight. Serenity, who had been tossing and turning on the bed for a while, finally threw off the blanket and sat up. Getting off the bed, she stood near the window.

The moon was shining brightly. It was more beautiful than any chandelier she had seen today.

Serenity reached out to the moon without even realizing it.

At that moment, something glittered on the back of Serenity’s hand.

“Huh?”

What is this? Serenity, wondering what was on her hand, widened her eyes as she examined the back of her hand.

“Why…?”

…It was a water pattern.

The successor of water had already been determined.

“I must have seen it wrong.”

It must have been a false vision in a dream. Serenity shook her head. Feeling like she should go back to sleep, she climbed onto the bed again. Before covering herself with the blanket, Serenity, in a hunched position, realized there was something on the sole of her left foot.

‘What’s this now?’

Moonlight seeped into the room, not bright but with a faint glow. Serenity glanced down at the light illuminating her feet.

And then she screamed silently.

It was the pattern on the ground.

And it was in the exact same place as where Clagen’s pattern was.

This was unbelievable. Serenity stood up again, her heart racing, and switched on the lamp. Wondering who might come in, she locked the door firmly and approached the mirror, swallowing nervously.

It was to check her feet…

The pattern glowing blue on her left earlobe was exactly like Dante’s wind pattern.

‘Am I going insane?’

On her right forearm, she checked just in case, and there was even the fire pattern engraved.

The water pattern on the back of her hand.

The earth pattern on her feet.

The wind pattern on her earlobe.

And even the fire pattern on her forearm.

Not just one element,

All four elemental symbols on one person.

On Serenity.

She was fully awake now.

There was no way she could sleep in this situation. Serenity took deep breaths as she sat near the mirror. It was to examine the patterns closely. After placing the lamp on the dressing table and bringing the mirror closer, Serenity brought her earlobe to the mirror to examine the pattern.

It matched the wind. It was exactly like the pattern she saw when the Heirs confirmed their patterns. It was a representation of the wind blowing.

‘Am I the successor of the wind?’

That was ridiculous. There were no symptoms to suggest it. The power of fire, the power of earth, they were all the same. The water pattern was somewhat familiar, but the other patterns weren’t.

‘How do I hide this?’

Currently, there were four Heirs holding their positions, but their positions were shaky. Even those who used to look up to them were starting to resent them. If Serenity, who had all these patterns, were to appear now, it was unpredictable how public opinion would sway. The reason for these patterns appearing on her was also unknown.

In that case…

There was only one choice given to Serenity.

‘I have to hide it for now.’

Serenity couldn’t hide the fact that she had patterns from everyone. She didn’t have the power to keep hiding it.

Instead, she needed to minimize the number of people who knew about it.

They had to be someone Serenity could trust.

Just the fact that the patterns that only appeared on the Heirs appeared on her would cause a big stir, and there weren’t many who would overlook her efforts to hide it. They also had to be someone she could trust. Someone with the ability and strength to hide it.

‘The first person I need to tell…’

Serenity quickly left the room.

She let her hair down like a ghost to hide the patterns. Wrapped in a blanket, Serenity headed to Cordelia’s room. It was nearing two in the morning, but it didn’t matter. She knew Cordelia hadn’t fallen asleep yet.

She made excuses to the guards patrolling the area that she was meeting her because she had a nightmare.

When Serenity reached the door, she knocked.

“Come in… Wait, Serenity?”

Cordelia’s eyes widened as she saw Serenity entering the room. As always, she had documents in her hands. Serenity awkwardly smiled at Cordelia.

“Sister, we have a problem.”

Serenity explained the current situation to Cordelia. After returning to her room from the birthday party, she noticed patterns on her body. Cordelia, sitting Serenity down in her study, examined the patterns closely.

Starting from the earlobe, then the forearm, the back of the hand, and finally the sole of the foot.

“The patterns are indeed real. How could this happen? It’s impossible. There has never been a person with the same patterns after the Heirs have already been determined.”

Rarely, Cordelia furrowed her brows. Lost in deep thought, Cordelia stared at Serenity.

“So you want to hide this?”

“I know how much confusion is already happening regarding the current Heirs. I don’t know how much we can hide it… but I want to understand this situation and prepare myself mentally.”

“I understand your feelings. It might be best to hide it for now.”

Cordelia agreed with her words, which was a relief.

It would be good to tell only Cordelia, but that was impossible. To investigate what had happened to her, they would need to examine the records of the four elements, which was impossible unless one was a successor of the four elements. The space where the four Heirs gathered was even in the Imperial Palace. That’s why it would attract too much attention to go alone.

Though she didn’t like it, she had to tell one of the Heirs about her situation.