Morning arrived too gently.
That was the first thing Seraphina noticed.
No alarms.
No footsteps echoing through guarded corridors.
No distant sounds of weapons or whispered commands outside her door.
Just—
silence.
Soft.
Warm.
Her eyes opened slowly.
Sunlight filtered through sheer curtains beside the massive windows.
Golden.
Familiar.
For several seconds—
she simply stared upward.
Disoriented.
Because the ceiling above her was not the one from the branch estate.
No dark carved wood.
No hidden luxury wrapped in secrecy.
This ceiling was white marble lined with gold detailing.
Elegant.
Cold in a different way.
'Home.'
Seraphina sat upright instantly.
Her heartbeat sharpening.
Eyes scanning the room carefully.
Her room.
The De Luca estate.
Exactly as she remembered it.
The massive vanity near the far wall.
The black piano beside the windows.
The peach blossom emblem woven subtly into the curtains.
Everything untouched.
Everything normal.
Which somehow disturbed her more than anything else.
She pushed the blankets aside quickly.
Still wearing silk nightclothes she didn't remember changing into.
Her wounds had been re-bandaged again professionally overnight.
Clean.
Fresh.
But there was no trace of the branch estate.
No trace of Adrian.
No trace of the Wolf House.
Almost like none of it happened.
A quiet knock interrupted her thoughts.
Three soft taps.
Then the door opened before she answered.
Her mother entered first.
Elegant as always.
Dark hair perfectly arranged despite the early hour.
Her beauty soft at first glance—
until one looked closely enough to see the danger hidden beneath it.
Behind her—
Luca and Dante stepped inside.
Seraphina froze slightly.
Her eyes locking onto them immediately.
And this time—
they smiled.
Naturally.
Warmly.
Like nothing had happened.
"Sera," Luca grinned lightly,
"you scared everyone."
Dante crossed his arms beside the doorway.
"…Father almost sent half the estate searching for you again."
Seraphina stared at them silently.
Confusion tightening slowly in her chest.
No formal tone.
No empty eyes.
No "Lady Seraphina."
Just—
her brothers.
Her mother approached the bed quickly.
Gentle fingers brushing Seraphina's forehead.
"…You still feel warm."
Seraphina blinked slowly.
"…You remember me?"
The room went quiet briefly.
Luca frowned immediately.
"…What kind of question is that?"
Dante laughed softly.
"…Did you hit your head harder than we thought?"
Seraphina's pulse became uneven.
Because they looked genuine.
Completely genuine.
No signs of conditioning.
No strange behavior.
No emotional distance.
Nothing.
Her mother sighed softly before sitting beside her.
"…We were terrified when the guards found you."
Seraphina finally looked toward her fully.
"…Found me where?"
A pause.
Then Dante answered casually.
"…At the front gates."
Silence.
Luca nodded.
"Unconscious."
Her mother's expression darkened slightly.
"You were alone."
Seraphina's stomach tightened instantly.
Alone?
That made no sense.
*********
Breakfast passed strangely.
Too normal.
Far too normal.
The De Luca estate carried on exactly as it always had.
Servants moved quietly through the halls.
Security rotated outside the mansion grounds.
Business discussions echoed faintly from lower floors.
Nothing suggested she had disappeared into the hands of the Valerians.
Nothing suggested a hidden Wolf House existed.
Nothing suggested Adrian had stood beside her only hours earlier.
And yet—
the memory of him still lingered vividly.
His touch.
His voice.
The warmth of the library fire.
The terrifying softness in his eyes.
Too real to be imagined.
Seraphina sat near the dining hall window silently.
Tea untouched beside her.
Watching the gardens outside.
Thinking.
Always thinking.
Her brothers argued nearby over something trivial.
Luca accusing Dante of cheating during sparring practice again.
Their mother calmly pretending not to listen.
Normal.
Entirely normal.
Which only deepened the unease inside her.
Because she remembered everything clearly.
The masks.
The missing memories.
The Wolf House.
The word Master.
Adrian.
And yet now—
it felt almost impossible to prove any of it happened.
"…Sera?"
Her mother's voice pulled her back slightly.
"You've barely spoken all morning."
Seraphina looked toward her slowly.
Then toward her brothers again.
They looked completely unaware of anything unusual.
Too unaware.
A dangerous thought crept quietly into her mind then.
If Adrian truly possessed the level of influence she suspected—
then restoring her brothers' memories would not be difficult for him.
Which meant—
he had done this intentionally.
But why?
To comfort her?
To protect himself?
Or worse—
to remind her just how much control he truly had?
Her chest tightened slightly.
Not from fear.
From realization.
Even now—
even from afar—
he was still moving pieces across the board silently.
And she still couldn't tell whether she was being protected…
or handled.
Dante suddenly leaned back in his chair.
"…You're thinking too loudly again."
Luca laughed.
"She always does that face when plotting something dangerous."
Their teasing sounded so natural that it almost hurt.
Seraphina forced a faint smile.
Small.
Careful.
Because suddenly—
she understood something important.
Asking questions now would achieve nothing.
If Adrian wanted answers hidden—
they would remain hidden.
At least for now.
So instead—
she stayed silent.
No more questions.
No accusations.
No mention of the branch estate.
Or the Wolf House.
Or him.
And deep inside—
that silence frightened her more than any truth could have.
Because a part of her already knew—
this wasn't over.
Not even close.
Far away—
hidden somewhere beneath layers of shadows and guarded walls—
a man with cold eyes stood before rain-covered windows silently.
And though no one spoke his name—
the war beneath the underworld continued moving exactly as he intended.