Water, she was deep in water, cold and heavy. A coldness that reached all the way to her bones, her eyes opened and she took deep breaths. Lilith looked around, surrounded by the deep blue, yet she was able to breathe just fine. Looking ahead she saw something glowing, like a gold silhouette of a body slowly approaching her. The same glowing body she found the maze of walls made of roses, and it seemed to be reaching out to her again, so she extended her hand, the silhouette grabbed her hand and pulled her in, clashing into her, Lilith closed her eyes bracing for the impact. Instead she was embraced by warmth, a sweet smelling breeze, mourning doves singing, and a soft voice greeting her. "You're back…" The original Lilith said, sitting on a throne of purple and pale pink roses that was perched against a willow tree. Estella saw her reflection in the calm river behind her, sighing she turned back to look at Lilith. "You managed to change something." Lilith said. Estella sat on the grass. "What did I change?" She asked. "In the…novel…it says I poisoned Thalia, and then tried to play innocent, I pleaded to Vincent, and he told the guards to lock me up, with you, he defended you, and said he wouldn't let you die." Lilith said. Estella remembered that part of the novel, Lilith was almost executed that time but Thalia begged the Allard's to have mercy. Since Thalia basically has them wrapped around her finger, they couldn't deny what she was asking for and put Lilith on probation. "So I can't really change the flow of events, they are going to happen anyway….even if it isn't "me" that does it?" Estella asked. "Unfortunately, someone else has control over our story, however, it seems six people now have broken out of that control." Lilith said. Estella was shocked to hear that, there were already people that trusted her? "Wait, who?" Estella asked. "Sebastian, Natalie, Melinda, Betty, Odette, and Henry." Lilith stated. "So…since they are technically side characters in the novel…the mind control over them wasn't as strong?" Estella asked. "Yes, in my original timeline, Sebastian and I were really close, we trusted each other. Natalie and my girls were very close as well, when my story was changed, I was like a puppet, and no matter what I did, I couldn't break the strings, I had to relive my life, but this time losing everything I loved." Lilith said sadly. "Who is controlling the story?" Estella asked. Lilith sighed as she leaned back, crossing her arms. "I don't know, but my guess, it's someone you know personally, in your timeline." Lilith said. Estella scratched her head. "So if I find out who is in control…I go back to my life?" She asked. "I would assume so, do you have any guesses? Is there someone here who reminds you of a friend in your life?" Lilith asked. Estella sighed, feeling sadness pooling in her heart. "Yes….I believe Odette…is similar to a friend back home…however, there is no absolutely no way she would do this." Estella said. Lilith seemed to agree. "Odette hasn't changed, there has been nothing different about her behavior." "You knew Odette?" Estella asked. Lilith smiled, the first time Estella had seen her have a genuine smile. "In my original timeline, she was my platonic soulmate, I loved her very much. However, I suppose it's meant to be since Yuki is someone you love the same way I loved Odette." Lilith said. Estella raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying….Odette is actually Yuki's past life!?" Estella asked. "Yes, just as I am yours." Lilith said. "We are one?" Estella asked. "Yes, and because we are both stuck in this situation, I was able to live your life through you…and I'm sorry.." Lilith said. Estella crawled over to Lilith and laid down in the soft grass, her mind blown from all the information she heard just now. "So no matter what life i'm in…me and Yuki find each other…" Estella said, smiling as the thought if them findinch each other in each life crossed her mind. Looking up at the sky, the sun was setting and it made sky purple with pink clouds. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Lilith letting her process the information. "If the reason why i'm here is to help you…does that mean you brought me here?" Estella asked. Lilith shook her head. "No, the only thing I know is someone rewrote my story, they found my diary and they changed everything. I wasn't exactly the kindest lady in all the land, but I would have never tried to poison Thalia, or hurt her in any way." Lilith said. "I can't think of anyone that had it out for me back home…" Estella said. In general she had pretty peaceful life, she just went to college, hung out with friends, and stayed busy either going to the gym or trying new hobbies. She kept trying to think of anyone who could have a grudge against her, it was possible that it could be someone she didn't even know. "I'm sorry Estella….it's time for you to go…" Lilith said sadly. Estella sat up and looked back at her. "What do you mean?" She asked. Suddenly she woke up, staring at the ceiling as she replayed everything Lilith dropped on her just a few moments ago. She got out of bed to sit at her vanity and saw her reflection was now Lilith, she sighed, she wished that she could speed up the process. Tatsu was scratching and whining at her door, she rushed over to open it and he started jumping at her excitedly. She giggled as she bent down to hug him and he licked her face. "No Tatsu! Not my face!" She said through her giggles, she never imagined how much joy a pet could bring to one's life. Natalie and the girls came in with a cart full of snacks, sad looks on their faces. "What's wrong?" Lilith asked as she sat on her chaise. "It's unfair…." Betty said, sitting next to Lilith laying down and putting her head on Liliths laps. "What's unfair?" Lilith said, gently running her fingers through Bettys hair. "Why do bad things keep happening to you? You're so kind and generous, you're strong and you don't let anyone tell you what to do." Betty said. Melinda agreed. "It's true, before you came the only issues were the two young masters arguing and fighting over Thalia…." Melinda trailed off when Natalie made a face to tell her to stop talking. "That much is obvious, they're both so in love with her, now that she got poisoned I can imagine how desperate they are to make her feel better…" Lilith said. Natalie looked at her strangely, she seemed to be confused at Liliths nonchalant attitude towards hearing that Vincent loved Thalia. "My lady…if you don't mind me asking…are you not in love with master Vincent?" Natalie asked. Lilith laughed heartily, making Betty and Melinda look at each other confused. "No, i'm not in love with him, if you're talking about what you saw earlier, he's just a handsome man, but I don't have romantic feelings for him." Lilith said as she popped a grape into her mouth. "Oh…I thought you two liked each other…are you really okay with him being in love with Thalia?" Natalie asked. "Well…I mean he loved her way before I came along, and I can't expect him to love me if I don't love him either, besides, I know what it's like to not being able to have someone you know you can't have.." she said, thinking of Miyano, she felt saddened by the thought. Suddenly a flip switched in her brain. "Wait…what if..I can find Miyanos past life?" She thought. She knew that there were bound to be similarities between Miyano and his past life if Yuki was so similar to hers, and the girls reminded her of the two young students that always came to the convenience store she worked at in her original life. Since they needed tutoring she often had sleepovers with them since they conveniently lived in the same apartment she did. The similarities between them was uncanny. As she thought deeper into it she began to feel giddier, the possibility of finding him giving her hope. "Have you seen Lilith act suspicious recently?" The duke asked. Sarka shook her head. "No my lord." She said. "Hhhmm…has it been the same for the rest of you?" He asked, the maids and butlers nodded. "Who was the last person to handle Thalias food?" The duke asked. "I passed it to cassie and she was the last I knew of that had it in posession." The heaf maid that passed the dessert to cassie in the morning said, a stoic expression on her face. Cassie was sweating, looking around nervously but she stepped up to stand in front of the duke. "My lord, I promise I didn't tamper with it, I just set it down on the coffee table along with the other desserts for Lady Thalia before she went in to have tea with the duchess, I left the room and got some sugar cubes since Lady Thalia enjoys putting them in her tea, then I went back and….I just put them on the table and left the room." She said. "So no one saw if anyone went into the tea room after Cassie left?" The duke asked, losing patience. They shook their heads again. "Alright, Sebastian, check the chores list and find out from any of the other staff if they saw anyone around that area." The duke asked. "Yes sir." Sebastian said as he took the chart of chore lists with him. "You are all excused." The duke said as he sighed in frustration. Vincent rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Father, I truly believe it wasn't Lilith." He said, hoping that his father will stop being so suspicious of her. "I understand that, but you need to understand as well, that whoever did, is still here." The duke said. "You know…Cassie did look a little nervous, maybe she knows something…" Vincent said. "Yes, look into it, see if she has any type of resentment towards Lilith or Thalia." The duke said. "Yes father." Vincent said, he immediately walked out to get as much information as he could. "Bailey I need you to take this laundry to the inside staff right now." The head maid said. "Yes Mrs. Hunderson." Bailey replied. Mrs. Hunderson handed her a basket full of clean laundry and checked the chore list for the next task. "Good afternoon Mrs. Hunderson, may I speak to you for a moment?" Vincent asked. She turned to look at him, the same stoic expression she permanently showed. "Young master." She said as she bowed. She was a 60 year old maid that had been working for the Allard Family for 47 years, first starting when she was just 13 years old. Due to her being there for such a long time, she was deeply trusted by the Duke since she was his favorite nanny. She was never afraid to scold him and steer him in the right direction, she was a mother figure to him. "I just want to ask you, if Cassie had said anything about Lady Lilith?" Vincent asked. Mrs. Hunderson seemed to be deep in thought, she looked over at him and nodded. "Yes, she implied Lady Lilith to be a witch, and thought she had sent Lady Thalia a tampered gift, before that it does appear she had prior resentment towards lady Lilith." Mrs. Hunderson said. "A witch?" Vincent asked, appalled. "Yes. However, Lady Thalia immediately set her straight and told her to mind her words." Mrs. Hunderson said, looking back quickly to make sure her girls weren't slacking off. "I see, did she seem to be sneaking around the kitchen or tea room before the incident?" Vincent asked. "No, but it appears she might have seen something since she was so nervous this afternoon even though she's usually such a calm young girl, I believe she might have seen the culprit. However, I also personally believe she might be threatened or is afraid of speaking up," Mrs. Hunderson said. Vincent was impressed by her levels of observation, there was a reason why she became a head nurse when she was only 18 years old. "Thank you, that's very helpful, you are very observant." Vincent stated. Her face remained stoic. "Well, with my experience it would be silly if I didn't have such skill, I have seen a great deal of things child." She said. Vincent smiled, she did have a lot of talent indeed. He could see why his father always went to her for any task, nothing ever snuck past her. "Thank you again, have a good day." He said as he turned around. Mrs. Hunderson bowed as he walked away, a tiny smile forming on her lips, she was truly proud of the man Vincent was becoming. Thalia had gotten better overnight, they did as Lilith and the doctor suggested, and although she did have pain and headaches, she was able to walk around freely. "I'm so tired…"Thalia said. "I know honey…you will feel better soon." The duchess said holding her hand as she walked slowly in the room. "I wonder how things are going…." Thalia asked. "Well, so far not much had come up, Cyrus should come in any minute now for an update." the duchess said. Sure enough the door opened and Cyrus walked in. "How is it going?" The duchess asked. Cyrus sat down, a serious look on his face. "We have information from yesterday from the head maid, a maid named Cassie might have seen the culprit, she was acting nervous and seemed to be hiding something. We're going to look for her now, I just came to let you know." Cyrus said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Thalias eyes were wide, and blood drained from her face. "What? What did you say? Cassie might have seen the culprit?" Thalia asked, feeling faint. The duchess helped her lay back down, Cyrus rushing over to her side. "Are you alright?" He asked as he put his hand on her forehead. "Yes…I just…why wouldn't she tell me? If she something weird…I thought she would have said something…" Thalia said sadly. Cyrus felt anger rising inside of him, scowling he turned around. "I'll go speak with father and Vincent right now." Cyrus said. Thalia raised her eyebrows, looking at the duchess worried. "Will you go? I don't want them to hurt Cassie, there has to be another explanation." Thalia said in concern. "Yes honey, just rest okay?" The duchess said, she stepped out with Cyrus and closed the door. Thalia sighed, she slowly got out of bed and went over to her window, opening it a little to let a breeze in. She wondered if Vincent would check on her at all soon, normally he would be all over her, telling her how worried he was and how much he liked her. The sweet aroma from the garden eased her mind, the nerves from all this trouble made her tense. "I hope everything turns out okay…" She thought, she went back to her vanity, sitting in her soft chair. Pulling the first cabinet open she grabbed a jewelry box, opening it she smiled softly as she looked inside. After a few hours passed and they were able to discuss their next steps, they began looking for Cassie, only to hear that no one knew where she was. "So she's been missing for two hours and nobody said anything?" The duke asked. The guards nodded, after searching for Cassie by going off her chore list they couldn't find a single clue to where she was. The door banged open, Richard looked at the duke straight in the eye, frustration clear on his face. "My lord, we found her…" he said. The duke seemed relieved, but when he realized the look of bad news on Richard's face, he immediately tensed up again. They stood in the forest, looking down at Cassies dead body, fresh blood splattered everywhere. Multiple stab wounds on her body, but it was clear that what killed her was the giant slash on her neck. Vincent sighed, they were so close to finding out who poisoned Thalia and framed Lilith, but now it was all gone. The doctor put on gloves and a mask, he touched Cassies arm and moved it. "This happened at least one hour ago, her body isn't very cold, and her joints aren't stiff." The doctor said. Cyrus walked closer and looked at her face, there dry tears marked on her face, clearly she begged for her life before she was attacked, the last look of betrayal still frozen on her face. "Her cause of death was this cut here.." the doctor pointed at her throat. "After this cut, the rest of the stab wounds didn't bleed much meaning she was already dead when the attacker decided to stab her more times, whoever did this must have been angry and desperate." The doctor said as he stood. "She was only 16 years old, poor thing." Richard said. "Let's get her covered up and brought inside." The duke said. The guards covered her with a sheet while the duke and his sons went back inside. All feeling useless and guilty for not being able to protect her. Lilith finished exercising and was now resting in the bath, the warm water relaxing her sore muscles. Tatsu had his chin resting in the bathtub as he watched her with loving eyes. "She wore blue velvet~ Bluer than velvet was the night~ Softer than satin was the light~ From the stars~" Lilith sang as she played with the bubbles, putting some on Tatsus nose, his tail wagging as he tried to lick the bubbles. "Bluer than velvet were her eyes~ Warmer than may, her tender sighs~ Love was ours~" Her voice carried smoothly, Tatsu fluttering his eyes clearly enjoying it, the joyous aura making her forget she was even a suspect in Thalias poisoning. Vincent stood outside the bathroom, listening to her sultry voice. Feeling the stress of his day fading away, he smiled softly, although he couldn't recognize the song. "But in my heart there'll always be~ Precious and warm, a memory~ Through the years~ And I still can see~ Blue velvet through my tears~" As she finished her song he could hear her step out of the bath, humming the tune of the song she was singing. He knocked lightly and everything went silent. "Natalie?" She asked. "No, Vincent." He said. The silence continued and he figured she was embarrassed that he heard her. She came out with a towel wrapped around her body, looking at him suspiciously. She realized the collar on his shirt was higher, covering the hickey she left on him. "Why'd you cover it?" She asked pointing at his neck. His face turned beet red, even though he was an adult, he was so innocent. She smiled devilishly, wondering who pointed it out to him. He looked down at the floor embarrassed, avoiding eye contact with her. "So what happened this time?" She asked, sitting at her vanity. "Nothing really, by the way, does the name 'Cassie' mean anything to you? A young maid with black hair?" Vincent asked. "No, why?" She asked as she brushed her hair. "I was just wondering…" he said, sudden relief washing over him as he watched her brush her hair without a care in the world. He kept quiet, but hovered behind her, looking at her face through the mirror. When she saw him, a small smile appeared on her face. "Why don't you come closer? I don't bite…" she said. "I somehow doubt that…" he said as his hand reached up to 'cover' the hickey she left on his neck. She laughed at the scared expression on his face, thinking he probably thought she was trying to eat him when she gave him the hickey. In the end, he did get closer, standing right behind her, staring at the hairbrush in her hand. "You wanna brush my hair?" She asked. He looked a little pensive, but he stretched out his hand and she gave it to him. He seemed a little awkward about it, doing it as softly as he could, mimicking the way he saw her do it. She watched him through the mirror, how concentrated his eyes were. He was beginning to spend more time with her, and deep down she felt guilty. She felt as if she was cheating on Miyano, even though they weren't a thing. So far, she realized that Sebastian had a few similar mannerisms as Miyano, and it was getting her hopes up. However, just a few hours ago she was locking lips with Vincent. "Well…who could blame me…he's hot as fuck.." she thought. Natalie and the girls walked in to set up her dinner, the news of Cassie's death had them on edge but they were warned not to say anything to Lilith. They thought they were doing good, but when Natalie locked eyes with Lilith she almost froze. Liliths eyes were hyper-focused on her, watching her every move, like a predator watching its prey. "Natalie, what's wrong?" Lilith asked. Vincent looked at them, furrowing his brows, telling them to stay quiet. "I'm just worried my lady, there hasn't been any news yet." Natalie said, her stoic expression and calm demeanor back in place. Lilith, didn't buy it, but decided not pressure Natalie, she figured she was probably ordered to keep her mouth shut. After all, the Allard family was her true master. "Is that so? I thought they would have new information…" Lilith said, relaxing again as Vincent brushed her hair. Betty and Melinda finally let out a breath they were holding, Cassia was another person they grew up with, they got along well, and hearing of the way she died had them nervous that the culprit was still in the mansion. However, they did think Cassie was a little mean since she often spoke badly about Lilith. When Liliths hair was all brushed, Natalie helped her put on a lang satin night dress that complimented her figure. Lilith knew immediately that Natalie was trying to be sneaky and put something alluring on her purposely when Vincent was in the room. Which seemed to be working since he was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her. "My lady, we have to go write a report and turn it in at 8pm, we will see you in the morning." Natalie said as they bowed. "Alright, have good night girls.." Lilith said. The door clicked closed after them and Lilith continued eating. "Vincent..tell me about yourself.." she said. He looked deep in thought as he hummed. "Well…I like cats…." He said, looking up as he thought about what to say next. She looked back at Tatsu, since Vincent had picked him for her, she just assumed he preferred dogs. "What else do you like?" She asked. He picked up a grape. "I like grapes, and wine, and savory foods." He said popping the grape into his mouth. She smiled, resting her head on the chaise as she watched him. "I also like riding my horse, and training.." He said. She chuckled a bit. "What do you not like?" "I don't like being compared to my brother, I hate asparagus, even though I like drinking, I hate hangovers, I don't like when people close to me hide things from me, and I don't like…that I know absolutely…nothing about you…" he said leaning back, his eyes soft as he looked at her face. Her eyes widened a little by the sudden statement, she bit her lip as she thought of what she could tell him without exposing that she was from another timeline. "I like food, I like hunting, I like animals, being outdoors, I like flowers, and trying new things…" she said. "What do you not like?" He asked, leaning his cheek on hand as he got comfortable. "I don't like being pressured into doing something I don't want to do, I don't like boiled carrots, I like them raw but I can not eat them cooked, I don't know why…" she said giggling when she saw his confused face. "Really? What else?" He asked. "Hmmm, I don't like…beards, or mustaches, they make me uncomfortable." She said. He smiled. "It's a good thing I don't like growing a beard either." He said. She giggled as she playfully smacked his arm. "You know, after thinking about it, why do you like cats? I thought you liked dogs more." She asked curious. "Well…a lot of people have the misconception that all cats are aggressive and aren't friendly companions. However, that's the people that try to force a bond with a cat, for example trying to hold it when it clearly doesn't wan't to be touched." He said. "That's true…" she said. "However, if you let a cat come to you first, you create a positive bond and it will naturally accept you." He said. "That, is a pretty interesting hypothesis." She said. He scoffed. "It's science, when I had a cat, I struggled at first because I was little and trying to force it to like me, then, I stopped. I started to let her come to me, I respected her space and in the end, we had a great bond." He said. She smiled. "That is very sweet, what happened to her?" She asked. He sighed. "Well, she got sick, she liked catching mice, i'm assuming she might have got one that ate rat poison or something, she was so fluffy though, and white like snow." He said, he sounded a little sad but she could tell it was a fond memory for him. She couldn't help but think that he was just like a cat, in the beginning she believed he was going to kill her at any chance he could, but she let him be the one to approach her first, and now he comes by more often. As they continued talking about their likes and dislikes, he turned back to look at the clock. "It's 2am!" He exclaimed. He was having such a good time talking with her for seven hours and didn't even feel the time. Apologizing for keeping her up so late he rushed out after bidding her a good night. When she was finally alone in the room with Tatsu, she sighed deeply. She got a lot of information out of Vincent, and although he had quite a few similarities to Miyano, she didn't feel as if it was enough. Getting up to lay in bed, she hoped Odette got her invitation and would come visit her tomorrow, and that the piece she requested from the wood carver would be finished before her arrival. She slowly drifted off to sleep, the image of her parents in her head giving her peace of mind. The next day, she received a package from the wood carver, she was excited as she opened it. It was a block of wood cut into smaller blocks. Natalie looked at her confused. "What is that my lady?" She asked. "A few days ago, when we went back to the markets, I requested this from a carver, it's a game I plan to play with Odette today." She said. "How does the game go?" Natalie asked. "You place all the blocks in different directions, then I pull out a block slowly, without making the tower fall, the next person tries as well, and whoever knocks down the tower, loses." Lilith said. She was originally going to play it with Vincent but now that Odette was going to be with her today, they could play it together. "That sounds fun, i'll set it up." Nataly said taking it away. Lilith smiled, today she would see if Odette was as competitive as Yuki, she needed to know how many similarities they had so she could have some sort of guideline on how to find Miyano. "Lady Millard has arrived." Melinda announced. "Lilith!" Odette called out as she ran towards her. Odette hugged her tightly, sighing as she let go. "How is Tatsu?" Odette asked excitedly. Tatsu heard his name and approached to see the person with a death grip on his mom. Staring up at Odette with confusion. "He's huge!" Odette said as she offered her hand for him to sniff. Something was different about Odette, the dress she was wearing didn't have a corset, and the dress was more flowy and relaxed, and from what she could tell she seemed to be glowing. Suddenly she realized why in her recent letter she mentioned wanting to tell her something in person. "You're pregnant…" she said softly. Odette quieted down. Looking back at Lilith with the widest smile on her face. "Yes!" She said. They celebrated jumping up and down as they hugged. "When did you find out!?" Lilith asked. "Two days ago, I wanted to tell you first since you're the one who sent me those snacks." Odette said. Odette had mentioned they had trouble concieving and Lilith made her some medicinal tea and plants to help, though she didn't think it would happen so fast. "When are you telling Henry?" Llith asked. "I'm telling him tomorrow, he doesn't have any meetings so I want him to be relaxed." Odette said. "Have you had any morning sickness?" Lilith asked. "Not yet, i'm kinda worried about getting it, though I have been craving peaches lately it's so strange." Odette said. "Well this is really good news, I wonder how far along you are." Lilith said. "Well I secretly went to see a doctor, he said most of my symptoms indicate about 4 to 6 weeks. Which would correlate around the time I started on the snacks you made me." Odette said. "That's wonderful, also, I have a game I think you'll enjoy." Lilith said as they rushed up the stairs. Tatsu followed them happily as they kept talking about baby names and what Henry's reaction could be like. Unaware the duchess had overheard their conversation from another room, she smiled to herself as she stood up. "I need to find Vincent." She thought as she walked out of the room.