LOGINThe morning at the mansion felt much quieter than usual. After reading part of the journal, no one could truly relax. The secrets they had been searching for all this time were finally beginning to be revealed, but those answers only led to new questions. In the dining room, Selene placed a cup of warm tea in front of Lilith.“Have a little to calm down, Lilith,” she said softly.Lilith gave a small smile. “Thank you.”But as Lilith lifted the cup, the tea’s usually soothing aroma now felt flat. Instead, Lilith caught another scent, a very faint scent of blood. Lilith froze instantly. Her eyes slowly turned red.“Lilith?” Lucas, who was sitting next to her, immediately noticed the change.Lilith quickly closed her eyes. “I’m fine.”But the sound of Selene’s heartbeat was now so clear in Lilith’s ears. Louder and more alluring. Without realizing it, Lilith’s small fangs began to lengthen. Lilith stood up immediately.“I… I have to get out.”“Lilith!”Lucas stood up too. But Lilith had
The secret room was so quiet that they could clearly hear their own breathing. Lilith was still holding the old journal in both hands. Meanwhile, Lucas, Ingrid, Selene, and Veronica could only wait. They couldn’t read a single letter. Only Lilith could. Only the last heir’s blood. Lucas gently held Lilith’s hand.“Take a breath. You don’t have to read it all at once,” Lucas murmured.Lilith nodded slowly. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm her racing heart. Then, she looked down again at the page of the journal.“Lilith, if you’re reading this page, it means your transformation has already begun. Please forgive us. We know the path you’re taking will be filled with pain.”Tears welled up in Lilith’s eyes again.“What did your mother say?” Veronica asked.Lilith swallowed hard. “Mom apologized for all the pain I’ll go through during this transformation.”Lucas gently squeezed her fingers. “I’m sure she had her reasons.”Lilith nodded and went back to reading.“We never cu
Silence enveloped the living room. No one spoke after the journal was proven to be empty. Victoria was still standing in place, frozen, her hands still clutching the black leather-bound book so tightly that it was almost bent in half.“That’s impossible. I risked everything just for this book!”Selene looked at Victoria with disappointment. “So it’s true, you were the one who snuck into the basement last night.”Victoria glanced at Selene, then let out a soft, bitter laugh.“I just wanted to know the truth. And if that journal could really save Lucas.” Her gaze shifted to Lucas. “Why can’t I know it, too?”Lucas shook his head slowly. “That’s not the issue,” Lucas interrupted. “The issue is that you chose to betray our trust.”Victoria didn’t answer; she simply bowed her head. But deep down inside, that sense of shame was slowly turning into hatred. Veronica looked at her with disappointment.“I didn’t expect you to do this,” Veronica muttered.“Maybe I didn’t expect it either,” Victo
The drive back to the mansion felt much quieter. No one said much in the car. Their minds were already filled with the same question. If the original journal was indeed at the mansion, then where exactly was it? Lilith stared out the car window. Her fingers unconsciously fiddled with the crescent-moon pendant now hanging around her neck. “If the journal has been at the mansion all this time… why did we only realize it now?” Lilith muttered. “Because we’ve always thought of the mansion as just a place of refuge, not a destination to return to, as a home.” Lucas, who was driving, replied without taking his eyes off the road. Ingrid nodded in agreement. “Your mother deliberately made all the clues point outward. Because anyone who betrays this family will keep looking in the wrong places.” Evening was turning into night when they arrived at the mansion. Veronica was already waiting in the living room. “You’re finally home. How did it go? Did you find anything?” she asked. Lil
That morning, the sky was still shrouded in gray clouds when a black car pulled away from the mansion. Inside were only Lucas, Lilith, Ingrid, and Selene. Veronica had chosen to stay at the mansion to keep watch. Meanwhile, Victoria, as usual, offered to help Veronica take care of the mansion.“Be careful,” Veronica said before they left.Lilith nodded with a smile. “We’ll be back soon.”Lucas opened the car door for Lilith first. That small gesture made Selene clear her throat softly.“You two really have no shame left, do you...”Lilith immediately blushed, while Lucas looked completely unfazed. “I’m just acting like I always do.”Selene snorted softly. “That’s exactly the problem.”Ingrid, sitting in the front seat, merely gave them a faint smile. For a moment, the atmosphere felt light. Yet they were heading to a place that might change everything.The drive took nearly two hours. The farther they left the city behind, the narrower the roads became, lined with wild trees. Lilith g
The night after they found the black key, rain fell gently, soaking the mansion’s grounds. The library was still lit by the glow of the fireplace. On a large wooden table, the black key lay next to various parchment scrolls that Ingrid had been examining for hours. But the results were still nil. Ingrid sighed softly.“In my entire life… I’ve never seen metal like this,” Ingrid muttered.Lucas leaned against the window. “That means this object was indeed made to last for centuries.”Lilith silently studied the key. The longer she looked at it, the stronger the strange sensation in her chest grew. It was as if the key were calling to her.“Do you feel it again?” Lucas immediately noticed the change in Lilith’s expression.Lilith nodded slowly. “It’s getting stronger.”Lilith gently touched the crescent moon pendant that now always hung around her neck.“It feels… like someone is guiding me.”The room fell silent. No one thought her words were an exaggeration. Because ever since Lilith’
On the way home from Ingrid’s antique shop, Lilith barely spoke a word to Evelyn. Evelyn had glanced at Lilith several times from the driver’s seat, but chose to remain silent. Her best friend knew her well enough to know when to ask questions and when to let her process everything on her own first
Lilith woke up, her breath coming in gasps. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her heart was pounding too loudly. The room was still dark, and only a small lamp in the corner of the living room was still glowing dimly, while a light rain fell again outside the window.It took a few seconds before Lil
Lilith didn’t realize exactly when her tears began to fall and wet her face. She simply stood right in front of her rented house, her breathing feeling much heavier than before. The funeral. She recalled that funeral.It wasn’t just a vague fragment like her previous memories. This time the memory
Hope. That was the clearest thing Lilith could see in Lucas’s eyes right now. Not obsession, not possessiveness, and not that sense of ownership that had so often made Lilith feel secretly annoyed. Rather, it was something far simpler. It was as if, after waiting so long, Lucas had finally seen a s







