"Aster darling! Why aren't you resting!" Her mother briskly walked through the open door of Aster's bedroom.

Aster turned to her side. "It's just some light reading."

"...You know you should be taking it easy for now, right?" Her mother tucked away a strand of hair that had fallen during her reading.

"I am." Aster took her mother's hand in hers. "Don't worry."

Her mother breathed in deep and let out a light sigh.

Just looking into her mother's sad eyes, Aster could almost hear the apology from her lips. "Mum, I'm okay."

Her mother bit her bottom lip, then broke into a helpless smile. "Okay. Anyway, come. I came to call you and Rhia for tea."

"Isn't it a little late for tea?" Aster questioned with a smile, but she still got up to return her book to the bookshelf.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. We can whenever we want, can't we?" They headed next door to Rhiannon's bedroom.

"Rhia sweetie!"

Rhiannon looked over her shoulder from where she was lounging on her bed.

"Let's have tea together!"

"Yay!" Rhiannon leapt off her bed and bounded over to them.

"Just nice." Darius commented from the stairs that was not too far from Rhiannon's bedroom. "First to the table wins." Then, he took off without counting down.

"Hey! Not fair!" Rhiannon jumped over the railing in an attempt to catch up to her brother.

"Rhia! How many times must I tell you not to do that! It's dangerous!" Her mother scolded as she sped down the stairs.

Meanwhile, their father laughed heartily. "Those two never seem to grow up."

"That's their charm." Aster followed behind everyone with a small smile clinging to her lips.

Whiffs of a tantalising smell greeted them before they even arrived at the dining table. Their stomachs grumbled and the feast that laid on the large table did not disappoint. There was a variety of sweet and savoury pastries. The three siblings swallowed the saliva that quickly accumulated within their mouths.

"Go on. Eat. All of you have had it rough today." Their father pushed Aster forward.

'Ah. That's right. They have their way of knowing what goes on in school.' The children realised the motive for their parents' surprise.

"Lift up your spirits and put up a good fight!" Their mother handed portions to the other two who were already at the table.

"Yummy!" Rhiannon exclaimed through her mouthful of food.

The chatter, good food, and cheery atmosphere at the table quickly washed away any lingering negativity from the afternoon.

Everyone was so full after tea that they decided to skip dinner for the day. While everyone retired to their rooms, Rhiannon held onto Aster's hand.

Aster looked back at Rhiannon questioningly.

"Big sis, can you promise that you'll call big brother or me if anyone looks for trouble with you at school?" She feared that Aster will continued to be picked on after what happened today.

"Don't worry about me. Because it's me, everything will blow over easily. Things will return to normal soon and everyone will overlook me as usual."

"Why? How can you be so sure?"

"Because it's me. It won't be that simple or easy if YOU were the one on the podium today."

Aster's strange baseless confidence stumped Rhiannon. The times when Aster made such abnormal comments were increasing. "Big sis... Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am."

However, Rhiannon's frown stayed. "Then, please explain, why are you so sure that everything will be okay just because it was you on the podium."

"... Even if people notice me, they remember you a lot more than they remember me, right?"

"But that's different-"

"Anyway, the details are not important. What's important is that every time you feel a need to get rid of Eric or Guinevere, can you promise to come to me? Or at least REALLY question yourself if that is what you truly want?"

"Huh? Why would I not be sure of what I want?"

"So far, with anything regarding them, don't you feel like you're just being triggered to act?"

"...Well... Isn't that normal?"

"Not in the way you're being triggered."

"Huh...?" Rhiannon's mouth hung agape. The more she talked to Aster, the less she understood. What was going on with Aster? Did everyone at home miss something? 'I should ask the rest about this.'

"Rhia? Please?"

Rhiannon shut her mouth and nodded with a tight-lipped smile. Despite all that was said, the gist she got was that Aster wanted her to have nothing to do with Eric and Guinevere.

Aster's prediction proved to be right. Things returned back to normal within a month.

Eric's and Guinevere's reputation were restored. Everyone also knew by now that they had Lucifer's backing.

Rhiannon made up with her friends. It was not too hard to do so, because they had listened to Rhiannon in the hall and had assisted in dispersing the crowd once Rhiannon got on the podium.

Darius' life in the sports and military faculty was not affected much in the first place. He had already made some connections there, who helped to cover for him when he came to his sisters' aid.

Aster experienced some dissing and occasional harassment but it never escalated because she seemed to kill their vibe each time. Her reactions were dull, her expression stayed slack, and her words stroked their ego. Now that everything was peaceful again, Aster paid Lucifer no attention. Her studies had been disrupted for long enough.

Unbeknownst to her, Lucifer had begun to study her at length. He was still struggling to understand the enigma that she was.

He took note of her study materials each and every time she came to the library. She seemed to struggle concepts that he had mastered long ago. She was only making it through school with her pure and intense hard work.

He dug into her records and background but nothing stood out. In fact, he found out a lot more about her siblings and their achievements than whatever there was to learn about her.

Everything painted her to be an unremarkable and average joe. How could someone like that call him out but be so confusing at the same time? How could someone like that stay so calm about everything that was being done to her? There had to be a missing puzzle piece that would make all this make sense.

Lucifer looked up from the screen of his laptop, closed his eyes, and titled his head from side to side. His sore neck muscles eased a little bit. Despite his intention to return to his work, his eyes drifted towards Aster.

The sunlight from the tall window by her side lit up her face. The fully bloomed plum blossoms in the background made it a potentially breathtaking scene to behold but Aster still looked as ordinary as ever. If it had been Gwen in her place, this same view will certainly stir the hearts of people. Nonetheless, Lucifer could not tear his eyes away from her.

'Is the sun not glaring?'

At the same time, Aster happened to turn her head just enough for the sunlight to light up the grey of her eyes.

Lucifer's breath was caught in his throat and his eyes widened. Golden specks sparkled in her eyes. Before he could admire it for long, with the slightest tilt of Aster's head, the specks were gone just as quickly and suddenly as it had appeared.

Lucifer rubbed his eyes. 'Was that an optical illusion?'

Intrigued, Lucifer waited to see if it would appear again. Just like that, he was distracted from his work without him realising.

"ASTER LEE!"

The harsh boom of the voice echoed throughout the library. Everyone jumped in their spots and turned towards the library's entrance. Although Lucifer could not see the doors from where he sat, he knew who it was. He pinched the top of his nose and sighed deeply. He silently lamented how this dude ruined any chance he might have of catching another glimpse of the golden specks.

'Goddamn idiot.'

Wait. How would the target of that idiot's bluster react? Lucifer immediately looked at Aster.

Aster was already packing her belongings. Then, she left, taking the roundabout route that circled around the bookshelves. She had moved swiftly, but calmly. A slight admiration for her coolness crept up in his heart.

His gaze was still lingering where Aster had disappeared, when Eric stepped into his line of sight.

She was convinced that meeting Victor spelled trouble. The only reason for people like them to pay attention to someone like her was that she would be the trigger for another conflict between them and Erica.

"Lucifer, do you know where Aster is? I was told I could find her in the library."

"Why are you finding her?"

"I overheard people spreading some malicious rumours about us again!" Eric said through gritted teeth.

Lucifer sighed. "How do you even know that she started it?"

"Who else could it be!"

"She's not the one. Go get your facts right before you let the real culprit escape." Lucifer said dismissively.

Just as he intended to return to his work, Guinevere appeared behind Eric huffing and puffing. Her face was red and perspiration glistened beautifully around her forehead. "Eric... I told you... Not to be rash... You would scare the culprit off... Be patient."

Eric pulled Guinevere in for a hug. "I'm sorry. I got so impatient because I know you're really hurting. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

Guinevere's breath hitched in her throat for a moment. Then, as if a dam had broken, her tears drenched Eric's chest.

Lucifer glared at his laptop. Guinevere's soft sobs caused a dull ache to spread in his heart. He steadied his heavy breathing and repeatedly told himself to keep his mouth shut, but alas, he ended up offering to help the two of them again. At that moment, Aster's words from before echoed in his mind, cementing his bad mood for the upcoming days.