Back to the present,

-Raymond Valtere's POV-

2 days later,

I looked at Lorence silently.

"So, have you decided on a codename?" I asked after a few moments of silence, he looked at me silently and smiled.

"Silene Coronaria." He said simply.

"So you decided to use the same idea as I did?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

"Yeah, I hope you don't feel angry at me for this, or something..." He mumbled, averting his eyes from mine as he did.

"Oh, no. I didn't think you'd follow my idea, that's all." I replied, explaining what I meant by my question.

"Ah, I wasn't accusing you of being mean. I was just..." He also began to explain his actions unnecessarily, but trailed his voice off as he realised the rabbit hole we would be going down.

"Yeah, it's fine anyways." I said and shook my head. "Anyways, I'll show you where you'll work in a few days, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine with it." He nodded his head slightly and I gazed at the greasy, dark green hair.

His hair ticks me off...

I closed my eyes and looked at his yellow eyes, the previous embarrassment and fluster he showed was gone and only an unnamed emotion lay in there. His eyes stared at me despite all possible disruptions and they unsettled me, with all the intensity hidden behind an innocent veil.

It was as if he was a different person, with an intense obsession which I had yet to uncover.

I sighed and sat down beside him, he seemed slightly startled at my sudden movement, but I soon only saw happiness.

"So, how about you tell me about your previous research?" I ask, deciding to get to know him better before doing anything else. We had some time anyways.

---

-Lilith Ardes' POV-

I sat beside Devron with a grin and stared at him.

"Is there something you need, Lilith?" Devron asked, tilting his head as he looked at me, pausing in eating his food.

"Can I have some of your food, Darling?" I asked, looking at the fork in his hand.

"Ah, sure." He smiled and nodded his head as he fork-fed me the food, using his own hands. I gladly took the chance and ate the food.

"Oh, it's really good." I remarked, chewing the food and swallowing quickly.

"You want some more?" Devron asked, and I nodded my head, he got some more food and fed me, despite me having the ability to eat myself. Of course, I wasn't arguing.

We sat in silence, with Devron feeding me his food without complaining. He seemed to like feeding me.

"So, was there another reason you came to see me?" Devron asked as he fed me some more.

"Ah, no, I actually just wanted to see you." I said bluntly, smiling at him.

"Really?" Devron asked, "What's so amusing about me?"

"Amusing?" I asked in return.

"If you wanted to see me, then I must've been funny in some way." He explained in a tone which made me feel like laughing, but I held it in.

"No, I just wanted to watch you." I said frankly.

"Is there a certain reason why?" He asked, it was less suspicion and just pure curiosity from him, really.

"I don't know, I just like staring at ya." I answered bluntly and didn't look away.

"Then you can stare as much as you want." He said, grinning at me.

I can't help but grin back at him.

"Then I'll do just that." I said, laying my head down on the table and looking at him with a playful smirk.

"..." Devron stayed silent as he finished his food and turned to stare at me, he eventually laid his head on the table to stare at me in the same way I stared at him. We were quiet as we were face to face. Although he didn't have eyes, and he also wore a blindfold, I could feel his gaze on me vividly.

I felt my ears redden and I tried to turn away, before his hand caressed my cheek and stopped me from turning my head away. I averted my eyes from his face and looked at his sleeve instead.

"This is unfair..." I mumbled as I felt his hand still on my cheek.

"Is it?" Devron asked in a whisper as our faces were close enough for me to hear him whisper.

"Yeah." I whispered back.

"How so?" He asked, and I felt his thumb gently move along my cheek, as if stroking it.

"I was staring at you for longer, so why am I getting flustered?" I asked, my face heating up.

"Look at me, Lilith." Devron whispered in a soft tone, and my face just heated up further.

I eventually shifted my gaze from his sleeve to his face and saw him grinning at me. He was still caressing my cheek gently as if he didn't feel any embarrassment.

"I find you cute when you're flustered." He said gently, and I just kept getting redder and redder. "Especially when your eyes hold only me in them."

"But- Why can't I make you flustered for once?" I asked, still feeling his hand on my cheek vividly.

"I can't get flustered, but I feel very fulfilled just seeing your red face." He replied, half explaining and half teasing.

"..." I was speechless, and didn't retort as I stayed there, face-to-face with Devron as he stroked my cheek.

---

-Morrigan Ivanova's POV-

I sat across from Nyx, watching her as she ranted about her day.

"... And my parents are so strict, I think they'll start searching my chip!" She said worriedly, barely eating the food in front of her as she spoke.

"Why don't you just hide it?" I asked, forgetting a little anecdote she told me.

"Dont you remember? Last time I tried hide something, it somehow just fell from its hiding spot. And the next time, my parents randomly found it." She said, looking down at her food sadly.

"Blame it on Fate, I guess. You somehow make me feel lucky." I said, listening to her stories carefully.

"You are lucky. Your parents don't even care about you." She replied in an unfair tone.

"Exactly." I remarked. "They're too busy with their own things that they don't give a damn about me."

"Yeah, but it means you can do whatever you want and they wouldn't even care." She added.

"True." I said simply, choosing to give up as I sipped my drink.

"Anyways, how'd the new chapter of the story go?" She asked, changing the subject with a sudden mood change as I barely heard her.

"What?" I asked and she rolled her eyes, ready to repeat as she leaned closer and spoke.

"How'd the new chapter of that story go?" She asked and I finally understood.

"You mean [The Overseer], right?" I asked to confirm.

"Yeah, that one. Isn't it your recent obsession?" She said.

"Yep, it is. I don't even know when it'll end because it's mainly something of a Slice of Life." I said, "And I usually hate those, but this one atleast has some semblance of a plot." I shook my head slightly and kept speaking.

"But I don't think we'll ever get a face reveal from him, unless the artist decides to do it..."

 

---