The next morning, Liora woke up convinced she had imagined everything.
The whisper.
The glowing herbs.
The strange feeling in her hands.
All of it.
She sat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her eyes.
“I’m definitely working too much.”
She had barely finished saying it when something crashed downstairs.
Liora jumped to her feet.
“What now?”
She hurried out of her room.
By the time she reached the kitchen, two servants were standing beside a broken tray.
One of them looked horrified.
“I didn’t mean to!”
“It slipped.”
“I know!”
Liora sighed.
“It’s a tray, not a royal treasure.”
Both servants stared at her.
Liora looked down at the broken pieces.
“Unless it is a royal treasure.”
Nobody answered.
She pointed at them.
“Exactly. Clean it up before someone steps on it.”
One of the servants smiled.
“Yes, Liora.”
She grabbed a broom.
“I’ll help.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
She started sweeping.
From the doorway, Lucien watched silently.
He had been on his way to his study.
Instead, he stayed.
Liora didn’t notice him.
She was too busy complaining.
“This mansion has too many floors, too many rooms, too many windows, and apparently too many things that break.”
One servant laughed.
Lucien almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Liora looked up.
She froze.
“Were you standing there the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
Liora narrowed her eyes.
“You really need to stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Appearing whenever I’m saying something embarrassing.”
“I don’t control when you embarrass yourself.”
She stared at him.
“You know, for someone who barely speaks, you certainly have a talent for annoying people.”
“I’ve been told.”
“By me?”
“Mostly.”
Liora sighed.
“Go to work.”
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
“You’re ordering me?”
“You’re late.”
He glanced at the clock.
He wasn’t.
Liora smiled innocently.
“See? Now you understand how it feels.”
Lucien walked away.
One of the servants covered her mouth to hide her laughter.
Liora grinned.
Maybe working here wouldn’t be so bad.
Later that morning, Liora was assigned to the garden.
The mansion’s garden was enormous.
Beautiful, but strange.
Some flowers opened only when she walked past them.
Others moved slightly even when there was no wind.
And there was one particular plant Liora had learned to avoid.
The flower with teeth.
She was carrying a basket of herbs when she noticed something unfamiliar.
A small silver flower growing near the fountain.
She stopped.
She had never seen it before.
Its petals were almost transparent.
Liora crouched beside it.
“Where did you come from?”
The flower moved.
Liora blinked.
Its petals turned toward her.
“Okay.”
She slowly leaned closer.
“That is definitely strange.”
The flower opened.
A faint silver light appeared inside.
Liora reached out.
The moment her fingers touched the petals—
The world disappeared.
For one brief second, she wasn’t standing in the garden.
She was somewhere else.
A dark room. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Someone was shouting.
A man was holding a sword.
A woman was crying.
Then—
A baby.
A tiny baby wrapped in white cloth.
Liora heard a voice.
“Take her.”
Another voice answered.
“She’ll be found.”
“She can’t stay here.”
Then everything vanished.
Liora gasped.
She fell backward.
Her hand flew to her chest.
The garden returned.
The fountain.
The flowers.
The sunlight.
Everything looked normal.
Except the silver flower was gone.
Liora stared at the empty patch of soil.
“What just happened?”
Her head suddenly throbbed.
She closed her eyes.
A sharp pain moved behind them.
She pressed her fingers against her temple.
“Not again.”
She tried to stand.
Her knees weakened.
Before she could fall, someone caught her.
Liora looked up.
Lucien.
Of course.
“Why are you always there when I fall?”
His expression was unusually serious.
“Because you keep falling.”
“I don’t usually.”
“You’ve fallen twice since you arrived.”
“That’s not a lot.”
“It is enough.”
Liora tried to stand properly.
He didn’t immediately let go.
“Are you hurt?”
“My head hurts.”
“Why?”
“I touched a flower.”
Lucien stared at her.
“A flower?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
Liora pointed.
But there was nothing there.
Lucien’s eyes narrowed.
“What did it look like?”
“Silver.”
He went completely still.
Liora noticed.
“You know it?”
“No.”
He answered too quickly.
Liora raised an eyebrow.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
His gaze shifted toward the empty patch of soil.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Liora hesitated.
She didn’t know why, but something told her she should.
“I touched it.”
“And?”
“I saw something.”
Lucien’s expression hardened.
“What did you see?”
“A room.”
“Whose room?”
“I don’t know.”
“A person?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Lucien was silent.
Liora frowned.
“I told you. I don’t know.”
“What did the person say?”
Liora closed her eyes.
She tried to remember.
“Someone said, ‘Take her.'”
Lucien’s jaw tightened.
“And someone answered that she would be found.”
He looked at her carefully.
“What else?”
Liora swallowed.
“There was a baby.”
Silence.
Something about Lucien’s expression changed.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Deep concern.
“You need to rest.”
Liora frowned.
“I have work.”
“Not now.”
“I can still work.”
“No.”
She stared at him.
“Are you ordering me?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds familiar.”
“Liora.”
His voice was different this time.
Serious.
She stopped arguing.
“Fine.”
He helped her toward the mansion.
Neither of them noticed the faint silver mark that had appeared on the inside of her wrist.
That evening, Liora sat in her room.
She couldn’t stop thinking about what she had seen.
A woman.
A man.
A baby.
The voices.
Why had it felt so real?
She looked at her wrist.
The strange silver mark was gone.
She touched the spot.
Nothing happened.
A knock sounded.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Lucien stood there.
Liora blinked.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Do you usually visit your employees’ rooms?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
He held out a small cup.
“Drink this.”
Liora took it.
“What is it?”
“A remedy.”
“For my headache?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“You made it?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Lucien stared at her.
“You’re impossible.”
“I’ve been told.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Liora noticed something.
“You look tired.”
“I am fine.”
“You look terrible.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She smiled.
Lucien sighed.
“Get some sleep.”
He turned to leave.
“Lucien.”
He stopped.
She hesitated.
“Thank you.”
He glanced back.
“For what?”
“For helping me today.”
His expression softened.
“You don’t need to thank me.”
Then he left.
Liora stared at the closed door.
For some reason, her heart felt strangely warm.
She shook her head.
“No.”
She climbed into bed.
“This is my employer.”
Nothing more.
Definitely nothing more.
But downstairs, Lucien stood alone in his study.
On his desk lay an ancient book.
He had opened it to a page he had not looked at in years.
At the top of the page was a symbol.
The same symbol that had appeared briefly on Liora’s wrist.
Lucien stared at it.
His fingers tightened around the edge of the book.
“That can’t be possible.”
For the first time, a thought entered his mind that he didn’t want to consider.
Liora might not be an ordinary human at all.
And if the ancient records were correct—
Someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to hide her.