"Exposure event. Judge for yourself!"

A huge lustrous poster with those words greeted everyone who arrived at the drop-off point of the school. Despite how eye-catching it was, the large majority paid it no more attention than a glance. However, the three siblings knew better than to trust what they saw. This school was all about image and politics.

Before they parted ways to head to their individual faculties, Darius turned to his sisters and pinched their cheeks. "You girls stay safe and contact me if anything goes wrong, okay? I'll be here in a jiffy."

Out of concern for Aster, Rhiannon had told Darius about everything that had happened.

The two sisters nodded their heads with a smile on their faces.

The event was the talk of the school for the day. There was no one in school who had not seen the poster. In the first place, the drop-off point of the school was made that grand to accommodate all the students' cars.

The school bell chimed. The last class of the day concluded. Rhiannon absent-mindedly conversed with her friends about attending the event of the day while they headed for tea.

"Rhia."

Rhiannon's head snapped to the side. "Big sis?" A bright smile lit up her face. It was the first time her sister came to find her in school. Aster had always been too busy studying or practicing something.

"Rhia?"

"You guys go ahead first. I'll find you!"

Her friends exchanged confused glances before nodding and walking off.

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Not for too long." Aster said with a smile.

"What're you doing here? Is it related to..."

Aster lightly flicked Rhiannon's forehead. "Silly. I'm taking a break from studying today to hang out with you. You're not feeling good about today, are you?"

Rhiannon laughed coyly.

"I was thinking of the aquarium in the entertainment building. There'll probably be a lot of people in the main hall for the event, so it's a good chance to enjoy the aquarium in peace."

"That's true!" Rhiannon whipped out her phone and texted her friends the update.

Aster smiled gently. It was good to see Rhiannon's mood improve. She had been nervous and down since the previous night.

"Let's go!" Rhiannon grabbed Aster's arm and pulled Aster along, with a spring in her step.

"Wow." Rhiannon exclaimed breathlessly as the double doors of the aquarium slid away. The place was truly a lot emptier than usual. "I've come here several times but this feels completely different."

"Amazing what a crowd can do, right?"

"Come! I'll show you my favourite exhibit!" Rhiannon's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

Aster let herself be pulled along and listened to Rhiannon's lecture about every marine creature she knew. 'We should do this more often.'

Light footsteps drew Aster's attention behind them, whereas Rhiannon was too focused on the exhibits to notice a new presence in their midst.

'He's here.' Aster locked eyes with the newcomer for a good few seconds before she broke the silence, "Mr Wu."

Rhiannon's head snapped around.

"Excuse me, but I'm here for your friend." Lucifer gave a small bow. Then, he shifted his gaze onto Rhiannon, who now had a scowl on her face. "Miss Lee, your presence is needed in the hall."

Rhiannon clenched her jaw. Adrenaline coursed through her and her body tensed. He did not expect her to follow him like an obedient dog, did he?

Lucifer took a step towards Rhiannon, but Aster side-stepped into his way.

"Excuse me, Mr Wu, but I'm Rhiannon's older sister."

Lucifer's eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

"I'd like 10 minutes of your time, please." Aster continued.

"I can see you after I'm done with your sister."

"If I wasn't clear enough, that wasn't a question. I'm sure whatever it is you plan to do can wait a while longer." Aster turned around to speak to Rhiannon. "Rhia, please be patient and wait here for me, okay? I'll be back."

"Big sis..." Some tenseness in Rhiannon's shoulder melted away.

Aster raised her eyebrows. She was still waiting for a reply.

"Okay..." Rhiannon hung her head low and settled down on a nearby bench.

Aster smiled. "Thank you, Rhia." Aster turned back to Lucifer. "Mr Wu, please?" She gestured towards the exit door.

Lucifer spent a few moments looking into Aster's deep grey eyes but he could not read her. If he was presented with more material to bring about Rhiannon's downfall with more of their slip-ups, this few moments would be well worth it. So, he followed Aster's directions.

On their way to the exit, Aster made sure to keep herself positioned between Rhiannon and Lucifer.

While Rhiannon sulked about it, Lucifer raised an eyebrow in silent approval.

As soon as the door closed behind them and she was sure that they were out of Rhiannon's earshot, Aster spoke. "Let me take Rhia's place."

Lucifer stopped in his tracks and his eyes grew wide. He turned around slowly to face Aster squarely. "Do you know what you're asking for?"

"The event in the hall. Let me take her place."

"Do you even know what you're signing up for?"

"It doesn't matter. It's going to be some form of sick humiliation play, isn't it?"

Lucifer fell silent. Aster daringly met his gaze. She did not stutter or shy away. A strange feeling like he had met his match sprouted within him. He slowly narrowed his eyes, appraising his newfound rival. 'How have I never noticed her before?'

"Is it a deal?"

"Why?" He shot back.

"She's my sister."

"And you think you're helping her by doing this? You're only spoiling her."

"She's not a bad person. She does not normally act like this. Hate the sin, not the sinner. I know that others would not though. That's why I'm asking to take her place in her punishment, not asking you to let her go."

"Not a bad person?" The scene from earlier played in his mind. He took one heavy step at a time towards Aster, forcing her to back off until her back was against the wall. He only stopped when he was a mere foot away from her. Then, he abruptly bent down to hike up her skirt, high enough to reveal her badly scarred thigh. "Maybe not to your or your family, but THIS is what she's capable of. And you're saying she's not a bad person?"

Aster met his gaze levelly. She smacked his hand off her skirt and he let go without resistance. "Just because one is capable of an evil act doesn't make them evil."

"Whatever the case, she has already harmed people. Shouldn't she at least be punished in some way?"

"Do you have to punish someone for them to realise their mistake and learn from it?"

Lucifer's brows drew together tightly, forming a deep crease between them. "Then, explain to me, how are you letting her take responsibility for her actions?" His voice was so deep it was almost a growl.

There was no need for him to know how her family educates Rhiannon, but he would not back off otherwise. In that case... "We'd only let her take responsibility if she did this willingly."

Lucifer raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying someone forced her?" He refused to believe that his intel was lacking.

"...Rather than that, I'm questioning whether she truly had any free will. She had always been a good girl. Why would she suddenly become a villainess upon entering this school? I'd say that some people's existence are just made to go against each other, no matter how hard they try to avoid or fight it. Isn't it the same for you?"

"What do you mean?" His frown returned.

"Tell me, when you first met Guinevere, what did it feel like? Love at first sight? Does a thing like that really exist? Why're you doing what you're doing for her? Why're you doing what you're doing now? Are everyone really just slaves to their emotions, or is there something more and bigger than anyone could imagine, that's playing out and controlling all of our actions and decisions?"

She continued without a break, not giving Lucifer a chance to speak.

"You tried hard to let go of your love several times, didn't you? Did it work? Or did you pick the sword back up for her each time? You seem to exist just to love and protect a certain someone. The same goes for Guinevere and Eric. They don't even need to do anything for drama to follow them. It's as if they exist just to create school drama for the populace."

"You-!"

"Am I wrong?" Aster looked at him dead in the eye.

Lucifer found himself tongue-tied for the first time in a long while. Although she had worded very weirdly, he could not deny a single thing. Ironically, he was the one whose feathers were getting ruffled now. Without her knowing it, she had found his sore spot.

"Suffer in her place like you wished for then!" He snatched up her wrist with a vice-like grip and dragged her off.