In the following days, news about Eric's witch hunt for Aster travelled and fueled the rumours. Lucifer had to keep a close watch on Eric because Guinevere could not control him. Lucifer's headaches became migraines and he had to rely on painkillers to keep working.

The search for the source of the rumours proved to be a lot more challenging this time round. Just as Lucifer had the breakthrough that it was due to his assumption that only one party was responsible, Lucifer discovered the Eric had slipped away.

"Where the fuck are you!" Lucifer's voice exploded through the phone and into Eric's ear.

"I'm at her house."

"What!"

"I can't just sit still and do nothing! Gwen has stopped coming to school! She can't take it anymore! This will all end once I find that bitch!" Eric hung up the phone before Lucifer could respond.

The door bell chimed throughout the house. A while later, their domestic helper approached the dining table to inform the family of their guest. While Rhiannon glared in the direction of the main door, everyone else looked at Aster, asking without words if she wanted to greet their guest.

'After all the trouble of avoiding him... Colour me surprised if Rhia isn't triggered by this.'

"Please tell him that I'm not the person he should be looking for. If he still insists to meet me, just tell him that we're not receiving any guests. Thank you, Sal."

Sally bowed and excused herself.

"Let's ignore him and eat." Aster nudged Rhiannon.

By the time they finished their meal, Sally still had not returned.

"I'll see if Sal needs help." Rhiannon took a step towards the door.

Aster stepped in her way, held onto her shoulders, and turned her around. "Just ignore him. He's a dog barking up the wrong tree. Trust Sal to send him away."

Rhiannon looked back, her gaze shifting between Aster and the main door. She sighed sharply then let Aster push her back to her room.

While Aster studied in Rhiannon's bedroom for company and unspoken supervision, their parents took matters into their hands.

They went out to the gate and found Eric standing by with a scowl on his face. Sally and Stanley had stood guard there to make sure that he did not try anything funny.

"Your name's Eric Lu, right? Son of Principal Lu?" Mr Lee asked.

"Mr and Mrs Lee." Eric bowed curtly. "I'm still waiting to see your daughter, Aster. Please get her to meet me. She keeps avoiding me."

"Eric, you do realise you're outside of school, right?" Mr Lee crossed his arms and stood with his feet shoulder-width apart.

Feeling a little intimidated, Eric let his tongue slip, "So? It's your daughter who keeps running-"

"Eric, seeing that you're still a child, I'll let you off this time with a warning. Don't insult our children." Mrs Lee smiled sweetly while her eyes shone with her evil intentions. "Now, run along home. I'm sure your father would not like to hear of this."

"... Can you please ask Aster to stop avoiding me at school? I'd very much like to speak with her." Eric very reluctantly minded his manners.

"I'm fine with passing that message on but are you sure you want me to do that?" Mrs Lee raised her dainty eyebrows. "The school is just a playground for us adults."

Understanding her unspoken threat, Eric apologised, then ran home with his tail between his legs. After he calmed down, he realised the gravity of his actions and regretted it greatly. He did not know what came over him that made him do something so brainless. Now, he could only hope that Aster's parents would not tattle on him to his father.

"Sugarplum, why did you bother warning him? Let's just deal with the nuisance that's bugging our darling."

"Honey... Don't you think it'd be more humiliating for him if our Aster is the one who gets to toy with him?" She tapped his nose lovingly.

"Ahh... You're as cunning as ever." He grinned and hugged her around her waist.

"Let's make sure that Aster's coping well."

Rhiannon's observations had worried everyone in the family. If Aster's odd speech and behaviour carried on, they would consider asking her to see a psychologist.

"Aster darling?" Their eyes were immediately drawn to Aster's study materials that were scattered around Rhiannon's table. Their shoulders drooped slightly. Why was she still working so hard?

"Yes?" Aster drew their attention back onto her.

Rhiannon looked past her phone to eavesdrop.

"Sorry for disturbing you, but how are you doing in school?"

"Is that Eric boy being too much of a disturbance? It sounds like he's been trying to get a hold of you for a long time." Her father went straight to the point instead. He was eager to help her if she needed it.

Aster shook her head and smiled reassuringly. "I'm doing perfectly fine."

Her parents looked at each other then looked at her again.

"Alright. Keep up the good work, okay?" Her mother stroked Aster's head.

"Let us know, anytime, if you need anything." Her father reminded her.

"I will."

After her parents left the room, Aster glanced at Rhiannon who still had her eyes glued to her phone. Aster sighed lightly. "You know... I'm really okay."

Since there was no one else in the room, Rhiannon knew that Aster was speaking to her. She put down her phone in defeat and pouted at Luna. "That's what you always say."

"Because it's the truth."

"Yeah... Right..."

"Please, don't do anything? I'm happy with the way things are."

'How can anyone be happy with someone obnoxious chasing them around? Her routine's all ruined because of him.' Rhiannon adjusted herself to sit up properly. "It's getting really creepy that you're always guessing when I'm planning something evil."

Catching how Rhiannon did not promise her to not do anything, Aster turned off the table lamp and shut her laptop, then joined Rhiannon on the bed. "Let's sleep together tonight, okay?"

"... I'm no longer a little girl... You don't have to coddle me like that..."

"Oh? So you wouldn't like it?"

"...Pooh."

Aster laughed softly. "Just as we'll always be babies in mum's eyes, you'll always be my baby sister in my eyes."

After brushing their teeth, Aster brought her toy companion from her room while Rhiannon did her nightly skincare routine. Aster read a little more until Rhiannon was ready to sleep. Then, they tucked themselves into bed and held hands to sleep.

'I'll make him pay... He must suffer for the inconvenience he brought to big sis...' Vengeful thoughts filled Rhiannon's mind as she drifted off to sleep.

By her side, Luna fell asleep questioning her ability to change the way things were progressing.

The days passed by uneventfully.

Lucifer kept a tighter leash on Eric. His new findings also calmed Eric enough to sit his ass down. So, Aster could return to peacefully studying in the library once more. Aster believed that it was only because the function of Eric's action had been fulfilled. So, she hired the same private investigator from before to follow Rhiannon again.

The reports she received this time were very normal. Unlike before, nothing stood out. Rhiannon went to classes in the morning, then went for her extra curricular activities or hung out with her friends after class. Like Darius, Rhiannon was establishing contacts they might need in the future.

A dreary nag that she was useless reared its ugly head again. No matter what she did, watched, or read, her presence was forgettable and her social skills stayed weak. People always ended up gravitating towards someone else. No one invited her anywhere and they hardly initiated a conversation with her.

'Hm? The window in her classroom broke and she volunteered to help?'

Volunteering to take charge of events and matters was a common occurrence in this school, not to mention for Rhiannon, but things like classroom maintenance was considered a menial task that not many would care about.

The window also took longer than Aster thought Rhiannon would have it settled.

Rhiannon had become friendly with the person in charge of the school's maintenance and worked together to come up with a new design for the windows to increase its durability while reducing the costs of making it. The first product created was used to replace the spot where the broken window was, before they would mass produce it and replace all the windows in the school. This became yet another one of Rhiannon's achievements and her reputation among her peers soared. Her family was, of course, equally proud of her as well.

Although the construction was entirely managed by the in-charge, and not Rhiannon, Aster could not shake off the feeling that there was more to this than meets the eye.

Aster stared at her laptop screen with a faraway look in her eyes. 'The classroom's just above... It wouldn't hurt to check it out, right?'

She packed her belongings and headed to the fourth floor of the building.

After checking that the classroom was empty, Aster went in. Her eyes scanned the large room that has canvases, mannequins, and other models placed around the room. Since the report even specified the exact window that was replaced, Aster had no trouble locating it.

Admiring Rhiannon's work, she gently slid her fingers down the glass and across the metal edges, feeling the coolness of the material underneath her fingers. It looked as if she was caressing the window. She gripped the bottom then slowly pushed it upwards. It moved smoothly and easily. A cooling breeze blew in and chilled her face. Upon closer inspection, there was really nothing wrong or out of place with the new window.

'It really is a nice design... Did I think too much this time...?'

Aster stood still, finding it hard to believe her success in cutting ties with the lead characters.

'Is this really the end? Is this really possible?'

She absentmindedly gazed at the view outside the window. A row of plum blossom trees lined the building and a footpath that led to a well-maintained garden. Her feet moved on their own and brought her to the adjacent side of the room.

Another building blocked the view on this side. Wondering what laid between the buildings, Aster pushed the window outwards, but it refused to budge. Fearing that she would dislodge the window and cause a freak accident, she opened the window beside it instead.

It was nothing much down below. Only a crossroad that connected the two buildings and another two paths leading elsewhere.

The disturbing thought stayed on Aster's mind and soon became a paranoia. 'What if someone else tries to force it open? I better call for it to be replaced.'

As soon as the maintenance worker arrived, he got to work without acknowledging Aster's presence. Being used to such behaviour, she paid it no mind and continued studying in the corner of the room.

"Hm? What's this?" The worker fiddled with the window several times and changed his tools from time to time.

"Excuse me." Aster interrupted his mutterings.