"Did you both hear about the simultaneous collapse of several families?" Aster looked between Darius and Rhiannon.

"Hm? Of course. What about it?" Darius sipped his morning coffee.

"Do you know anything about it?" Aster prompted the silent Rhiannon.

"..." Rhiannon eventually sighed. She preferred not to lie to her family if she could help it. This case was not worth being kept as a secret either. "Yes. A week or so ago, Guinevere was bullied by a group of students. These families are their families."

"Wow. Who's that Guinevere girl? She sounds amazing."

"Ptooey. She's no where near amazing. She's shit. All she does is look pretty and pitiful to charm someone into doing the work for her."

"Oh... That's... Quite amazing in a different way."

"In a not admirable way. It's disgusting."

Darius laughed. "I can see why you feel that way. You're polar opposites."

"I know right! But don't you think so too?"

"Well... I won't go to the extent of saying I'm disgusted by her method... Maybe dishonorable at most?"

"Huh? That's it?"

"You have the most pride out of the three of us." Aster added to the conversation between the two.

"Not that it's a bad thing." Darius quickly highlighted. "You have complete trust in the way Mum and Dad brought us up and so have pride in our outlook on life."

"But she shouldn't forget to not impose our way of doing things onto others, should she?" Aster looked at Darius for support.

"Mmhm. Just be mindful of that. There's no need to care about how others live their lives. No need to upset yourself so much over it. I don't think it's worth my sweet sister's frown."

Aster smiled in agreement.

Rhiannon pouted. She could tell she was being told off, albeit gently. "Argh. It's just annoying like a fly that won't go away no matter how much I swat it."

"Hmm..." Darius tapped his chin.

Aster thought of asking her to get used to the fly's presence but she knew that was not her family's way. It was her way. The way of someone powerless. "...How about removing yourself from the situation?" Aster finally suggested.

"Huh? Why should I be the one to run away? Shouldn't the fly run instead of me?"

"Well... I see where Aster's coming from... If you really cannot get rid of the fly, you can only choose to move away from it. It's almost like running but it's still something you can do, instead of putting up with it. Sucking it up would be the worst, won't it?"

"I refuse to believe that I can make something as small as a fly disappear." Rhiannon crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair.

"...What if you stop thinking of her as a fly?" Aster leaned forward onto the table to close the distance that was created.

"Huh?"

"Who do you think was responsible for the simultaneous fall of the families?"

"...Although they're small families, it's still quite a feat to make it happen simultaneously. I refuse to believe someone as dumb and straightforward as Eric is responsible for this."

"Mmhm."

"You know who it is?"

"Not that I know, but I have a strong hunch that Lucifer is behind it."

"Who is this Lucifer?" Darius' curiosity was piqued. Someone had actually grabbed his dear sister's attention.

"Again?" Rhiannon exclaimed at the same time. "And why're you so sure about it?"

"Lucifer likes Guinevere. More importantly, he didn't appear in the library for the past week. News of the simultaneous collapse accompanied his return to the library. The timing is too good for it to be a coincidence."

"What the hell..."

"So who's this Lucifer?"

"Let's say Guinevere's a fly. But this fly has a big, strong, friend. A friend who has been a huge hindrance in your attempts to deal with the fly. Am I wrong?"

"...I want to know this Lucifer guy." Darius' tone was suddenly low and threatening, effectively catching the sisters' attention.

"He's just some guy I happen to share a table with in the library."

"He's just some guy stuck with an unrequited love."

"...It sounds like he's causing trouble for you two."

"Which you shouldn't get involved in?" Rhiannon raised her eyebrow.

Aster smiled. "Don't worry, big brother. We can deal with it."

"...I don't like him." Darius grumbled. "The first guy who caught our dear Aster's attention but he's a troublesome one."

"...Please don't make it sound like something more than it is." Aster was turned off by the mere thought of it. This was meant to be a serious issue. "Okay, going back to topic, Rhia, we can't underestimate Lucifer, can we?"

Rhiannon avoided eye contact and kept her head down. Her brows were drawn tightly together and she grinded her teeth in irritation.

Aster got up from her seat, walked over to Rhiannon, and hugged her. "I know it's difficult to accept this."

"I'm caught in the exact situation Mum and Dad wanted us to avoid." She whispered. "What did we go through everything for then?"

Aster continued to hug her and stroke her arms in silence. It was a question she constantly asked herself and had no answer to.

"We just have to keep getting better then." Darius no longer sounded as light-hearted as earlier. "You're still far from the end of the tunnel, Rhia. Of course we'll still be at people's mercy every now and then. We're not good enough yet. Even I haven't reached that level."

Rhiannon peeked up at her older brother and broke into a small smile. "That's true."

At this point, Aster dissociated and saw everything from a third person's point of view. There she stood, behind Rhiannon, still hugging her, but looking so out of place. The two of them would just keep getting better, while she would stay there, stagnant, forever. What was she even here for?

"Young masters?" Stanley's voice pulled Aster's consciousness back to her body. "It's time for school."

Everyone looked at the wall clock. They had gotten carried away with their conversation. Rhiannon stuffed the remaining toast in her mouth, while Darius downed what was left of his coffee. Aster had lost her appetite, so she left with her food barely touched on the table.

The next days passed uneventfully. Rhiannon had shifted her full focus onto improving herself, and had gone back to chewing on her jerky, daily. She also had a newfound appreciation for her martial arts practice because it helped her let out some steam.

One day, she was on her way to the library to find Aster when she heard two familiar voices that made her stop before going around the corner.

"What exactly is that cream you gave to Gwen? It's super! There's not even a mark left on her arm!"

"I have my resources."

"Can't you at least give me a hint?"

"Why should I make things easy for you?"

"Heartless."

"Grow up."

Eric continued whine and bother Lucifer to no avail.

'Some miracle cream huh... I wonder how it'd fare against my creation. Too bad I'll never find out.'

Just as she took a step forward, the change in topic made her halt again.

"Hey hey, wait, one more thing, is the simultaneous collapse of the few families your doing?"

"What about it?"

"Why?"

"They were the ones bullying Gwen last time."

"What? It wasn't just one girl?"

"It's not even the girl you're thinking of." Lucifer was getting irritated.

"What? Ugh... Man, I hate to admit it, but you're really too damn good... Can you chill? My old man keeps comparing me to you."

Rhiannon's opinion of Lucifer raised by a little again. However, her mood crashed back down soon. 'If only he wasn't enamoured by Guinevere like every other guy.' Rhiannon smoothed out her expression before emerging from the corner.

The boys looked at her but she kept her head held up high and back straight.

"She really rubs me the wrong way. Did you know she called Gwen useless? And called me and Gwen idiots?" Eric spoke as soon as Rhiannon walked past them. "Who does she think she is? A jealous wannabe like her can't measure up to even Gwen's toenail."

Rhiannon froze. Her eyes bulged in anger and she gritted her teeth hard. Her breathing became rugged as she turned her head back to stare daggers at Eric. 'Who the fuck does he think he is? How dare he compare me to that fly?'

Lucifer frowned and headed into the library, leaving Eric with his final message. "I won't control your flapping mouth but don't come looking for my help when trouble finds you because of it."

"Hey-" Eric's voice was caught in his throat when his eyes met Rhiannon's glare. "Humph!" Eric puffed his chest, tugged on his blazer, then walked off in the opposite direction.

'I can't believe I once liked him! What exactly did I see in him?' She continued to stand alone by the library entrance trying to compose her feelings before she went to find Aster.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, she could not calm herself. She simply could not take that insult lying down. 'I'll make you regret what you said!'