Author's note: this is from Serina's point of view

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I was frustrated that Mona called me out on Duke.

Am I that obvious? Of course, I am. I know that he is not here, but just the mention of his name makes me lose my composure.

To be honest, I was not upset at Mona. I was upset at myself.

I hope that in time I will get over it. Get over him. Get over this useless bundle of feelings I don't know how to handle.

I stood in the middle of the study room and looked around.

The staff would come to clean, but they didn't move things. Everything was kept how it was from the moment Aldus purchased this house.

The place was very tidy, and I wondered if my parents ever used this room.

Why am I here? Because in mystery movies, this is where people hide things that others shouldn't see. A book that opens a secret passage, a loose board in the floor, a hidden bottom of the drawer… At least that's how it works in the movies.

My sight fell on the massive executive desk, and I decided to start my search from there. Under the desk… nothing unusual. Drawers… they looked fine. Lamp, brand new notebook… nothing clicked or popped out.

Well, it seems that the desk is just a desk, and I moved to check the floor. The boards were in place, and there was nothing strange under the blanket.

Next were the built-in bookshelves.

I remembered that my grandmother visited me in Romania on several occasions and urged me to come and live with her in London. I was young and silly and I didn't want to part from my parents.

Now I regret my decision. They were not my parents anyway, and if I came to live with her, I would have a clue about her habits and maybe figure out where her hiding spots are.

It's silly that I lived in this house for eight years, yet most of my time I spent in a handful of rooms.

This was one of the rooms I didn't visit.

There was nothing unusual in the bookshelves and my legs took me down the hallway, where my old bedroom was.

I found it strangely eerie that everything was exactly how I remember it. So many memories… not many good ones.

My eyes lit up at the idea of one place. The attic! If there are some memories, they should be there, right?

Bingo! I bubbled with excitement when I spotted a number of boxes in the corner of the attic. Those are personal things of my grandmother. No one bothered with them, so those things just ended up boxed and forgotten.

Two boxes later, I realized that these are just clothes and some knick-knacks.

I slumped on the floor with my forehead against one box.

This will take forever.

There are four bedrooms, a library, living room, a reception room, and a small garden in the back. I don't know what I'm looking for or if there is anything to find. Why did I think that this can be done in one hour (or less)?

Think, Serina, think… I spoke with that woman more than once. Did she ever reveal anything important? Any hints?

My grandmother would mostly chat about my interests and would tell me that education is important. I remembered that she was the one who told my mother that I should focus on learning the piano, but that can't be a clue. There is no music room here or a piano, so…

She emphasized the importance of education. I decided to head to the library and try my luck.

The library had three walls covered in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that were packed with books. There was a sitting arrangement of sofas and sofa chairs in the middle, and it looked good, but it was just a fraction of the library Aldus has. Not that I'm comparing because no one compares to Aldus. He is simply the best in everything.

I started inspecting books.

Encyclopedias, reference books, cookbooks, English dictionary, French dictionary, investment guides, almanac of the stock market in 1980-ies… it was a mish-mash of everything like someone went to a flea market and bought things randomly.

But these books had a few things in common; they were all in hardcover and in a very good condition.

As I moved further, I reached the part I would classify as fiction. Science fiction, fantasy, myths, ancient religions, fairytales, manual on playing the piano, legends… I froze. Why is the manual on playing the piano there?

I pulled out the book and observed it.

My eyes widened when I realized that I'm holding the first edition of etudes, instruction in piano playing by Carl Czerny. He was an Austrian pianist and composer, in the eighteenth century.

Why was this book here? I didn't see any other books related to music, but I would put it within reference books and various guides and not between a collection of fairytales and legends related to titans.

I opened the book and ran my finger gently over the yellow paper that showed how old this book was. If this was truly the first edition, it was at least two hundred years old, and the pages would be fragile. I was thinking if I should preserve the book somehow, as it must be pricey.

I flipped the page and my eyebrows shoot up at the unexpected content.

Instead of instructions on how to place fingers on the keyboard, or notes, there was elegant handwriting.

Unique curves on 's' and 'c' letters reminded me of my grandmother's handwriting. She would send me cards for every birthday and since those were the only cards I ever received, I was keeping them in a shoebox under my bed.

[ I received the summon to make necessary preparations. My whole life I was trained to serve, but the mission was not what I expected. ]

There was nothing else written, and I greedily flipped the page, hoping that there was more. And there was!

[ Too old for a role of a mother, I found a suitable couple who was willing to take in the child.

Good: they will do anything for the money.

Bad: they seem to be greedy and might use the child against me later.

Unfortunately, I'm running out of time. I hope I'm not making a mistake. ]

There was a chance this was related to me, but there were no dates or names.

I flipped the page and realized that my hands were shaking as I read the elegant words on the yellow paper.

[ They asked for more money, and I had to threaten them. I know their type, nothing is ever enough and I refuse to feed their greed. Will they harm the child? ]

The next page...

[ The child is growing like a normal human. No one suspects anything. Argona's reputation is not only for show. If things go as planned, she will be no more than human until she reaches maturity. ]

Oh, how I wished that Aldus was here. He would have many insights on this. Does he know who this Argona person is? Maybe.

I carefully read the text on the next page.

[ I feel that I'm being watched. I have no proof it's them.

I should move and assume a new identity, but the child is too attached to surrogates and refuses to leave their side. Taking her by force might attract attention.

My hope is that she will stay as human until they lose interest in her.

I'm sorry, my Queen. This is the extent of my abilities. If I stay here longer, she will be in danger.

I will tie my assets to the child and her steady future, with the hope to force surrogates to watch over her well. ]

I flipped the page greedily, and another one, and another… all other pages were blank except for the last one which had different handwriting in a language I didn't understand, and it ended with a signature of Carl Czerny. Was this German?

It looked like someone replaced pages in the original book so that it can be used as a journal of some sort.

My mind exploded. Was this for real, or part of some mystery novel, or maybe scribblings of a mad person? Am I holding the clue I was looking for?

It sounds like I'm the child and 'the couple' or 'the surrogates' could be my parents, right? But who is Argona? And who is this Queen?

It sounded like codenames and there was a chance that this had nothing to do with me.

I felt the urgency to get out of there and go home. Aldus needed to see this!

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