Chapter Text
“Lumine, come help us with dinner!”
The muffled shout of her mother broke through the thick barrier of Lumine’s bedroom door, reaching her ears in an unpleasant melody that jolted her awake from her restless, anxious sleep. Her golden eyes squinted against the harsh glare of the cold lamp above. Groaning softly, she pushed herself upright in bed, momentarily absentminded as she slowly registered the changes in her body.
Her feet felt cold even as heat began creeping through the rest of her. Her throat was dry and parched. Her eyes were heavy and swollen, and her head spun faintly with dizziness.
“I should’ve taken more vitamins after getting drenched in the rain yesterday.” The girl murmured. She slipped her stiff feet into her fluffy house slippers before carefully standing up.
Sluggishly, Lumine made her way down the stairs, moving slowly and cautiously. One hand clutched the railing to steady her wobbly legs. The first thing she smelled was the rich, spicy aroma of golden curry. The first thing she heard was her mother talking, her father laughing, and another voice chiming in between them. Yet when she reached the lower steps of the staircase, her grip on the railing tightened even more.
Because the first thing she saw was bright copper hair and a pair of deep blue eyes looking straight at her. If a healthy Lumine’s legs might wobble at the sight of the boy, a sick Lumine didn’t stand a chance.
“Hey, Lu.” The boy smiled warmly, lifting his hand in a casual wave.
Finally, Lumine’s feet touched the floor, and her grip on the railing loosened.
“Hey, Ajax.” She said, trying to sound normal. But the approaching sore throat, combined with the stupid nervousness that always pooled inside her whenever Ajax was around, made it difficult to produce a clear, steady voice.
“What-” She coughed, clearing the mucus from her throat. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, Ajax here is a savior!” Her mother cut in, shooting Lumine a smug look. “I was panicking because we ran out of vegetables for dinner. My daughter was sleeping soundly like a princess in her chamber, and my son ran out again as if his mother has ten maids in this house to handle all the chores.”
The corner of Lumine’s eye twitched at the sarcasm. If not for the intense dizziness she would get from rolling her eyes right now, she absolutely would have done it. She would also have countered her mother’s dramatic complaint with the very real fact that—if she hadn’t been on the verge of a fever—Lumine would have happily helped with the housework.
Unlike Aether—the social butterfly who had countless friends and served as the secretary of the Student Council, keeping him busy even on weekends—Lumine found her joy in the quiet of her own room, surrounded by stacks of books and her gaming console.
“Haha, don’t look at her like that, auntie.” Noticing the sour expression on Lumine’s face, Ajax softened the situation with a short, polite laugh before walking straight toward her.
Lumine swore she could feel her heart drop when the boy stopped right in front of her. Her wide golden eyes met the deep blue of his.
Ajax was the neighborhood’s golden boy. He helped parents and elders with their daily errands; watering their plants, buying groceries at the nearby minimarket, often accepting nothing more than the dirt-cheap payment of 3,000 Mora. He was friends with nearly every teenage boy in the neighborhood and the undisputed star of their amateur football team that gathered every evening at the empty field nearby. And, of course, he was the perfect embodiment of the “boy next door” image for every teenage girl who knew him, both at school and in the neighborhood.
Boys wanted to be like him. Girls wanted to be with him. Children idolized him. Parents and elders adored him.
Lumine? If she were being honest with herself, Ajax’s appearance alone was enough to make any schoolgirl stop in her tracks. Combined with the charming, confident aura he carried so effortlessly, Ajax was undeniably handsome. That much, she could admit.
But… was that really all there was to it?
Perhaps it was Lumine’s habit of (over)analyzing people, but if the mountains of books she had read and the games she had played had taught her anything, it was;
Be wary of people who seem too perfect. The brightest places always cast the darkest shadows.
Oh, how Lumine wished it were just her anxious mind overthinking again. How she wished she could return to how things used to be for the past few years—admiring Ajax from afar, giggling and blushing whenever they passed each other in the school corridor and he greeted her. How she wished she could preserve her ignorance, her obliviousness about him, so she could keep seeing him the same way every other ordinary schoolgirl did.
But she couldn’t.
Not when, three months ago, she accidentally saw him crush a harmless ladybug beneath his shoe—only to press the tip of his lit cigarette into the poor, mangled body afterward.
Not when, two months ago, she saw him enter the city’s infamous red-light district. She had followed him out of playful curiosity, intending to tease him later about why a schoolboy would sneak into such a place—only to freeze in horror when she saw him laughing as he tossed a handful of money onto an overdosed homeless woman lying on the street.
Not when, a month ago, she overheard him manipulating a younger child into attacking his own friend. Ajax’s voice had sounded so smooth, so gentle—spoken with such careful sweetness that even venom seemed like honey on his tongue.
Not when, just yesterday, while visiting a friend in another neighborhood, she saw him beating a student from another school until the poor boy was left a bloody mess on the ground.
Of course, the reason none of his victims had reported him was the same reason Lumine had stayed silent. No one, absolutely no one, would believe them. More likely, they would be the ones condemned for daring to accuse Ajax.
“Lu, you look pale.”
Ajax’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. The warm smile on his face faltered, replaced with an expression that could only be interpreted as concern. He reached forward and placed his hand against her forehead to check her temperature, letting out a small gasp that only made Lumine feel more uneasy.
“Auntie, I think Lumine is sick.” He said quickly. “This isn’t good, we have our semester exams next week!”
In a hurry, his hand slipped into his black sling bag as he searched for something inside. A moment later, he pulled out a small box of azithromycin. Tearing open the foil, he popped out three tablets and held them out to her. Lumine remained frozen where she stood, her eyes moving slowly between the medicine in his hand and his face.
“Take this after you eat.” He instructed gently. “One tablet a day for three days, at the same time each day, okay?”
When Lumine still didn’t respond, offering nothing but stiff, uncomfortable silence, her mother called her name firmly, a clear warning to accept Ajax’s kindness.
“Uh…” She swallowed thickly before accepting the tablets. “Thank you, Ajax.”
“Haha, don’t mention it.” There it was again; the light, short, gleeful laughter of his. The old Lumine would have flown to the moon just hearing that youthful yet masculine sound. But the Lumine standing here now only felt the thin skin along her neck prickle with goosebumps.
“I don’t want to see you sick, Lu." He added with a playful grin. “Otherwise, whose bento am I supposed to steal during lunchtime?” He punctuated the joke with a wink.
A small, strained laugh escaped Lumine’s lips. “Maybe I’d actually get proper nutrition if you stopped stealing my food, Ajax.”
Ajax chuckled again and gave her shoulder a firm, friendly pat before turning to say goodbye to her parents. They tried to give him 10,000 Mora for helping with the groceries, but he politely declined, explaining—as he always did—that he simply enjoyed helping people around the neighborhood.
Moments later, he stepped out the door. Behind him came the delighted squeal of Lumine’s mother, already launching into her usual wishful prayer. "Oh, if only my daughter would marry a boy like that someday.”
Soon enough, the door closed. And all that remained was Lumine, standing motionless in the hallway, her gaze fixed on the door Ajax had just walked through. Her fingers tightened slowly around the tablets in her hand.
“Ugh, girlie, I missed you!”
A laugh escaped Lumine as her closest friend, Amber, groaned dramatically and dropped her bento box onto Lumine’s desk. The brown-haired girl grabbed the chair in front of the desk and spun it around so she could sit facing Lumine, clearly ready to enjoy their usual lunchtime routine.
“Geez, you’re so dramatic,” Lumine teased. She opened her own bento box, revealing chicken katsu drenched in fragrant black pepper sauce over fluffy rice, along with sautéed green beans and sliced carrots.
“I was only gone for two days. And those were absolute hell!” She pouted. “I still have to study everything on my own because I’m scared I won’t catch up before the exams!”
“Girl, who are you trying to fool?” Amber rolled her eyes playfully. “I know you spent your sick days playing those farming games and reading yet another mystery novel.”
Lumine grinned widely. “Oops. Am I that obvious?”
Laughter burst from both girls before they settled into their usual rhythm of casual, gossip-filled conversation. Amber’s friend circle stretched across practically the entire school; students from different classes and clubs, from juniors to fellow seniors, from the quiet cooking club to the loud, chaotic basketball team. Naturally, it meant she had access to nearly every piece of gossip circulating around school. And every day at lunch, she delivered those stories to Lumine like a personal news broadcast.
“By the way…” Amber took a huge bite of her sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. A habit Lumine found equal parts cute and annoying. Why couldn’t she just finish chewing before starting a conversation?
Amber swallowed before continuing. “Did you hear that another girl confessed to Ajax?”
The black pepper sauce suddenly tasted far too sharp and bitter in Lumine’s mouth at the mention of that name.
Of course. No school gossip was complete without mentioning the most popular boys and girls. It always felt like those famous students were the main characters of some ongoing story, constantly at the center of attention. And Lumine felt like nothing more than an NPC quietly existing in the background.
Kaeya, the famous basketball captain. Jean, the school’s idol as the President of the Student Council. Eula, Lisa and their beautiful girl squad. Albedo and Sucrose, the Science Olympiad-winning prodigy duo. (Sometimes Aether would make the list too, thanks to his reputation as the diligent secretary of the Council, but Lumine would immediately shut the topic down. It felt far too strange hearing people gossip about her own brother.)
And, of course… him.
“Oh.” Lumine responded flatly, hoping Amber would pick up on the disinterest in her voice and drop the subject.
“Yeah!” Amber continued enthusiastically, completely missing the hint. “She’s Fischl’s classmate, my friend from the archery club. That makes it, like… the fourth girl in two months! Crazy, right? Girls are seriously head over heels for him!”
Unfortunately, Amber misread Lumine’s sour expression in the worst possible way. A mischievous grin spread across her face. “Why that face, girl? Don’t tell me you’re je—”
“Hell no!” Lumine cut her off immediately, physically shuddering at the idea. “I don’t like him at all!”
“Come on~” Amber drawled, poking Lumine’s arm playfully. “Not jealous jealous, you know. More like the ‘jealous because she can talk face-to-face with one of the hottest guys in school while I’d be too scared to even look at him’ kind of jealous.”She paused mid-sentence to cough, quickly taking a gulp from her water bottle before continuing. “Besides, it’s kinda normal to feel a little weird about it. Everyone likes him.”
“You’re weird,” Lumine sighed. “Just because someone is hot doesn’t mean they’re romantically attractive. You know what I mean?”
“But he’s not just hot!” To Lumine’s utmost annoyance, Amber somehow sounded defensive on Ajax’s behalf.
Ajax was the president—and arguably the most valuable member—of the school’s archery club. His long list of competition wins alone had brought prestige to the club, and somehow his mere presence was enough to boost everyone’s morale. Amber, being one of the members and someone who had personally experienced Ajax cheering her up several times, had essentially become part of the Ajax Defense Squad—ready to shield their beloved president from any criticism.
As much as Lumine loved Amber, she found it utterly ridiculous—and frankly a little disgusting—how fiercely people defended a fellow student to that extent. Then again, if Lumine were as oblivious as Amber to the truth, she might have done the exact same thing.
“He’s-”
“Okay, I get it. He’s perfect, right?” Lumine snapped. “But that’s exactly the problem! He’s too perfect! It’s honestly uncanny to think someone can be smart, athletic, and ridiculously charming all at once. Something has to be off. There has to be more than meets the eye!”
The moment the words left her mouth, regret slipped in. Lumine was never the type to speak carelessly. Normally, she preferred to observe first, then form her opinions slowly and precisely. But the whole situation with Ajax was starting to drive her insane, watching everyone remain so completely blind to the truth.
“Lumine…” The sudden drop in Amber’s voice made Lumine’s stomach twist. “What… are you implying?”
“That he’s a freaking psychopath who beats his victims into bloody messes.”The scream existed only inside Lumine’s mind.
Because if even a single word of that accusation escaped her lips, Amber would either burst into laughter at such a ridiculous claim… or worse, end their friendship entirely. Neither option was something Lumine could afford. In their final year of high school, Lumine needed to focus on her studies and improve her grades if she wanted to get into a good university. As much as she despised Ajax, she couldn’t risk stirring up drama that might derail her goals.
“I just mean… um…” She bit her lip nervously. “He… he feels unreachable to me.” Lumine swallowed before forcing a smile, hoping Amber would let the topic drop. “I can’t reach someone that perfect. I feel… insecure around him. That’s why I’m not jealous or anything! I already know he’s completely out of my league!”
Amber gasped dramatically. At the same time, goosebumps prickled across Lumine’s skin.
“Archons! That was so cringe!” She suppressed a shudder, but when Amber’s face lit up again—clearly ready with another teasing remark—Lumine decided it had been worth sacrificing a bit of her dignity to avoid a bigger confrontation.
“HAHA!” Amber’s loud laugh was exactly what Lumine expected after such a ridiculous explanation. She slapped her hand against the wooden desk, nearly wheezing. “Seriously? You’re insecure?” Amber repeated like a broken record. Still laughing, she straightened herself in the chair, then suddenly focused her gaze on something behind Lumine.
Lumine felt the shift in the air a split second before Amber spoke again.
“Hear that, Ajax?” She called cheerfully. “The girl whose food you tax almost every day, who lives in the same neighborhood as you, and whose parents you know so well… thinks you’re out of reach.”
What?
Lumine stiffened instantly. Every fiber of her body tensed. Her back suddenly felt hot, painfully aware of a pair of eyes on her. Her palms grew damp. One hand curled tightly into the hem of her skirt while the other clutched her spoon. Her lunch sat only half-finished, but her appetite had completely vanished.
And then everything clicked into place. The heavy footsteps approaching her desk. The woody, slightly spicy scent of his cologne drifting closer. The tall figure that finally crouched beside her desk, greeting her with piercing blue eyes and a wide smile.
Her throat went dry.
“How cute, Lu.”
Her panicked gaze shot toward the wall clock. The heated conversation had distracted her so much that she had forgotten something important. Almost every day, Ajax came to her classroom to “collect” his playful portion of Lumine’s bento. Ajax was always punctual. Every single day, he arrived at her desk at exactly 12:15.
Now it was 12:20.
“I’m hurt, Lu.” His voice dropped low, barely above a whisper, soft enough that Amber couldn’t hear it. “I thought we were close enough that you wouldn’t let silly things like that stand between us.”
A chuckle slipped from him. It sounded strangely deep, far removed from the bright, carefree laugh he usually showed everyone else. Lumine’s gaze fell nervously to the hands resting on her desk, and she had to bite down a gasp. At the edges of his neatly trimmed nails were faint dark stains of dried blood. Just a few tiny spots, small enough that anyone else might mistake them for dirt. But to Lumine’s already suspicious mind, it looked awfully similar to blood.
“Lu.”
A command. A silent warning to look at him.
When her golden gaze finally met the deep blue of his eyes, nausea rose in her throat. They were clear as the sky, blue as the sea. The malicious glint hidden within them. The relaxed, half-lidded gaze. The lazy smirk curling on his lips. The fingers tapping idly against the desk.
Lumine knew what he had just done.
He knew that she knew.
And she knew that, too.
And he was daring her to fight him.
No, worse-
He seemed to enjoy the fact that her knowledge forced her to suffer in silence.
“Ahem. Feeling a little romantic, aren’t we?” Amber’s smug comment shattered the suffocating tension that had been threatening to swallow Lumine whole.
Startled, Lumine abruptly pushed herself up from her seat. Trying to maintain some semblance of composure, she forced a smile at Ajax while shoving her bento box toward him.
“Go ahead and finish it, Ajax.” She said quickly. “I need to go to the bathroom.”
Before Amber could even process what was happening and before Ajax could say another word, Lumine turned and hurried out of the classroom.
Her life felt like it was slowly falling apart.
Ever since discovering Ajax’s psychotic nature, Lumine had asked herself the same question over and over again: Would she be the next victim? Or would it be someone close to her?
And ever since Ajax discovered that she knew—though Lumine had no idea how long he had been aware of it—she felt a constant knot of fear whenever he was around.
But now, her life felt like it was crumbling apart for a different reason. Because the power to stop Ajax’s maniacal violence had somehow ended up in her hands.
That night, Saturday, right after exam week had finally ended, Lumine and Amber went to hang out at Sucrose’s house, which was quite far from Lumine’s neighborhood. Since it was the weekend after a stressful week of major exams, the girls ended up spending far longer there than they had planned, chatting and playing games until late in the evening.
At almost 10 p.m., Lumine sent a message to her parents saying she would be staying over for the night. Given how hard Lumine had studied all week, her parents didn’t question it. They happily gave their permission. But it was a lie. There was no sleepover planned. Amber had already gone home earlier to her own house near Sucrose’s.
Now, Lumine was technically only a few steps away from becoming a college student, a young adult standing at the supposed “freedom” phase of life. She decided to test her courage in the most reckless way possible.
Her destination for the night was a comic café that stayed open 24 hours a day. What better way to celebrate the end of exams than drowning herself in comics and soft cushions, slowly drifting to sleep with an open manga resting on her face?
But that was where the nightmare began.
She should have just read comics in the safety of her own room.
She shouldn’t have had the stupid idea of going up to the café’s rooftop just so she could pretend she was some low-effort version of a “nerdy city girl” aesthetic.
And yet, here she was now. Standing on the windy, empty rooftop. Gasping for breath in horror at what was happening directly below the building.
In the dim, shadowy alley between the café building and the one beside it, a fight was taking place. Except it wasn’t even a fair fight. From three stories above, Lumine could clearly see how easily one of the figures dominated the other; slamming the poor man’s head violently against the wall.
Once should have been enough. But the attacker did it again and again. The sickening thud of skull striking concrete echoed up the alley. Wet, uneven sounds of fists and flesh twisting against the wall made Lumine’s stomach churn. The victim’s desperate cries and broken pleas filled the night air, but none of it was enough to make the other man stop.
Then the scene descended into something even worse. The attacker’s gloved hand slipped into his pocket and drew out a folding knife. As if realizing the end was near, the beaten man began to sob and beg again, his voice cracking into frantic, trembling pleas. The words abruptly dissolved into a wet, choking gargle when the knife had gone straight into his throat.
Lumine’s vision dimmed. Her knees wobbled as nausea surged through her body. She nearly collapsed, gripping the cold rooftop railing tightly just to stay upright.
Below, the dying man convulsed briefly. His body jerked in a short, violent seizure as blood poured from his neck. Within seconds, he collapsed onto the pavement, pale and lifeless. The killer simply stood there for a moment before letting out a short, gleeful snort. Then, calmly, he pulled the knife free, wiped the blood from its blade with a piece of tissue, and tucked it away again. After that, he turned and walked away from the scene, humming cheerfully to himself as if nothing had happened.
Except the “man” who had just committed the murder wasn’t legally a man yet. He was still a boy.
And that winning boy was Ajax.
When Ajax finally disappeared into the shadows, Lumine collapsed onto the ground. Her whole body trembled violently as nausea surged from her stomach. Bile rushed up her throat, and she doubled over, vomiting onto the rooftop floor. The burning acid scraped painfully against her throat, leaving tears pooling in her eyes from the sheer discomfort.
She stayed there for a while, greatly shaking, sobbing, trying to breathe. Eventually, after giving herself a few minutes to recover, Lumine forced herself to confront the reality of what had just happened.
Now, she was the key witness to a murder. A man had just been killed by a boy everyone believed to be an angel. By tomorrow morning, the crime would almost certainly explode across the news. But Lumine held something even more important than witness testimony.
She had the evidence.
From the rooftop above, she had managed to capture everything; how the fight began, how it quickly turned one-sided, and how it ended in brutal tragedy.
For once, Lumine felt grateful that last year she had saved enough money to buy the newest flagship model of her favorite smartphone brand. Its advanced camera performed exceptionally well in low-light environments, allowing it to record the entire scene clearly, even with nothing but the faint, dying glow of a single alley lamp.
Ajax’s face was unmistakable. The way his copper hair glinted under the weak light. The devilish grin on his lips as he slammed the man’s head against the wall again and again. The precise movement of his gloved hand before the knife pierced the man’s throat. All of it was there.
Carefully, Lumine slipped the phone back into her pocket. Her legs still shaky, she slowly made her way down from the rooftop and returned to her assigned room in the comic café, hoping that burying herself in manga might help erase the nightmare she had just witnessed.
But even as she tried to calm her racing mind, one thought remained crystal clear;
She would be the one to stop him.
Police Station
Lumine tapped her foot nervously as she waited for the two police officers assigned to her case to return. She glanced around the room. Officers moved back and forth, busy with paperwork, phone calls, and quiet conversations. The low hum of activity only made her more restless.
She shifted impatiently in her seat. Lumine had never liked the atmosphere of a police station. In fact, she had never imagined she would ever set foot in one. But justice had to be served, didn’t it?
Earlier, she had already been interviewed and asked several important questions regarding the crime she reported. She had given her statement clearly, presented the video evidence, and signed the official report herself. When the two officers finally returned, Lumine straightened in her chair and gave them a hopeful smile.
“Well, Miss Lumine…” Officer Peng began as he sat down, drawing in a slow breath between his teeth. “We have processed your report and statement regarding the murder of Daniel Nolhan. We will certainly proceed with an investigation as soon as possible. We sincerely thank you for bringing this matter to-”
“When will the trial begin?” Unable to contain her anxiety any longer, Lumine interrupted him.
Peng paused and briefly glanced at his partner before clearing his throat. “I’m afraid that’s not something we can answer right now, Miss. Even if the investigation goes smoothly and we manage to charge the suspect, the case may still fall under juvenile jurisdiction-”
“He’s not a minor anymore!” Lumine almost shot up from her seat. Her heart pounded wildly at the absurd turn of the conversation. “He’s-”
“I understand your concern, Miss.” the other officer, Shalem, said gently, trying to calm her down. Meanwhile, Peng’s expression tightened slightly, clearly growing annoyed at being interrupted.
“But the crime you reported occurred six months ago,” Shalem continued carefully. “At that time, the suspect was still a minor and a high school student. There is a strong possibility that the case will still be handled under juvenile law. In that situation, he could be sent to rehabilitation instead of-”
“What difference does that make?!” The scream almost burst out of Lumine’s throat, but she forced it down. The result was a cracked, trembling voice, slightly higher than usual. “Sure, he was a minor back then. But three months later he turned eighteen and graduated from high school! It hasn’t even been a year! And-”
In a surge of panic, Lumine’s shaking hands dove into her bag. She pulled out her phone, opened her gallery, and quickly thrust it toward them. The screen filled with dozens of photos and videos. Peng and Shalem hesitated at first before finally leaning forward to look.
“I didn’t show these earlier because they’re not directly related to the murder case.” Lumine said breathlessly, scrolling through the gallery. “But look-” She nearly choked on her own saliva as she frantically flipped through the files. “This one- April third. He beat a student from another school.” She swiped to the next video. “And this- April eleventh. He tried to enter an underground fight club. The bouncer refused because he was underage, and Ajax attacked him. He almost killed the man!”
Video after video flashed across the screen as Lumine rushed through them, explaining each incident despite the tremor in her voice. Finally, after a long moment, she stopped scrolling and the room fell tensely quiet.
“Miss Lumine. May I ask something?” Shalem said slowly and carefully, as if trying not to alarm the already shaken girl. “Is the reason you waited six months to report all of this… because you wanted him to be charged as an adult?”
Holding back her tears, Lumine nodded. Shalem let out a long sigh, while Peng just shook his head.
“That is not-”
“I know.” Lumine interrupted Shalem again, her voice softer this time, trembling slightly. “That’s not how it works, is it? He would still be charged according to his age at the time of the crimes… right? But please- please help me with this. Do you think age makes a difference here? Do you think a year in rehabilitation could stop a psycho like him? Do you not see his violent history? His pattern of repeating crimes?”
Before Shalem could respond, a sharp, feminine voice cut through the tense air.
“May I ask what’s going on here?”
Lumine and the two officers snapped their heads toward the source. A tall, pale-skinned woman strode forward, the crisp click of her high heels echoing through the office. Her lips curled into a slight smile, painted a striking lipstick red, and her piercing eyes locked onto the nervous girl.
“Ah, Chief.” Shalem said with a slight bow, gesturing toward Lumine. “This is Miss Lumine, our key witness in the murder of Daniel Nolhan.”
“Nolhan…?” The Chief crossed her arms, tapping slender, manicured fingers against her elbow as she studied Lumine. “Ah. The brutal murder six months ago, the one that left us completely in the dark, yes?”
“Yes, Chief.” Peng nodded. “However, we’ve run into a problem. Miss Lumine insists that the potential convict be charged as an adult, but the crime was committed when he was still underage.”
The Chief hummed thoughtfully. Then, to everyone’s surprise, she reached for Lumine’s phone. With swift efficiency, she flipped through the gallery, her sharp eyes scanning the photos and videos of Ajax’s crimes. For a long, uncomfortable moment, the only sound in the room was the faint rustle of the Chief’s fingers on the phone screen.
If Lumine had met the Chief anywhere else, she might have gawked in awe. Appearance-wise, the woman was breathtaking. Tall, with a commanding figure and a busty silhouette, her cold, upturned eyes seemed almost menacing. Her pale blonde hair was pulled into a slightly messy bun that partially obscured her right eye, adding to her aura of authority.
Lumine’s eyes flicked up to the Chief’s nametag but lowered them again because the Chief suddenly turned her body to return the smartphone to the desk. A soft hum escaped the woman's smiling lips as her gaze pinned Lumine in place.
“Indeed. The boy does not belong here.”
Ajax had been charged with the murder of Daniel Nolhan.
The courtroom air was suffocating. Thick. Humid. Repulsive. Murmurs of disbelief rippled through the room—neighbors who could hardly believe the news, including Lumine’s own parents—and sobs echoed from the victim’s family.
Lumine clung to a fragile hope that this was all a dream. That Ajax was just a normal teenage boy with no blood on his hands. That she was just a clumsy teenage girl nursing a secret crush. That she had been hit by a truck and fallen into a coma for years, and all of this was nothing but a nightmare.
But it wasn’t.
All she could do was bow her head. Her eyes remained fixed on her fingers, curling together absentmindedly. Since the moment she had stepped into the room, she had not dared raise her gaze, ignoring the ache forming in her neck and shoulders.
Every sound around her blurred into white noise, drowned out by the frantic pounding of her own heartbeat and the shaky rhythm of her breath. The air felt thick and heavy, and Lumine feared she might faint from lack of oxygen.
Until the gavel struck. That single, sharp rap of wood silenced everything.
“The court is now in session.”
Even as the courtroom noises died, Lumine could still hear nothing clearly. The gasps of the public, the precise cadences of the attorneys… they all melted into a buzzing haze. Her head felt light like she might collapse at any moment.
“Your Honor, the prosecution calls Lumine Viatrix to the stand.”
Her mother’s hand tapped insistently on her thigh, trying to pull her out of the daze. It did nothing. Lumine’s head hung low, and even as the bailiff came to escort her forward, she saw nothing but the yellowing ceramic floor beneath her baby-blue flats.
She took the oath and sat on the witness stand.
“Please state your name for the record.” The prosecutor instructed.
“Lumine Viatrix.” Her voice trembled. She hoped it was loud enough, hoped the strain in her throat didn’t betray the fragile, fearful tremor that made her words barely audible.
“Ms. Viatrix, directing your attention to the night of March 28th… did you see the person who attacked the victim?”
“Yes.”
The prosecutor pressed on. “Do you see that person in the courtroom today?”
“Yes.”
“For the record, could you please indicate where that person is?”
Silence.
She had known this moment would come sooner or later. Lumine took one last, shuddering breath and finally raised her head for the first time since she had stepped into the courtroom. Everything around her blurred. Faces, walls, the murmurs of the gallery, none of it registered clearly.
All of it, except him.
He sat in the defendant’s chair, wearing the orange uniform that matched the shade of his hair.
The ever-sparkling blue eyes she knew so well were dulled for the first time she had seen. Thick, dark bags had begun forming beneath them after four uncomfortable nights in prison.
The lips that could once charm even the grumpiest grandma ever now pressed into a flat, tight line.
Yet, he still held himself upright. Head raised high. Shoulders squared still.
Lumine’s heart pounded violently when Ajax’s gaze met hers. Even across the courtroom, he consumed her entire field of vision. For a dizzying moment, it was as if only the two of them existed in that room. Beneath the fatigue and anger in his eyes, there was something else. A brief glint, barely contained behind the hurt and fury. When the corner of his lips twitched —just a fraction—Lumine felt her stomach churn.
“Miss Viatrix, could you please indicate where that person is?” The prosecutor repeated, snapping her back from the spiraling storm of her thoughts.
Lumine took a slow, steadying breath. Her right hand trembled slightly as she clenched it into a fist, then lifted it with purpose. She pointed.
“He’s sitting right there.”
The verdict was out.
Ajax was found guilty and sentenced to twelve years in prison.
As the court adjourned and the legal personnel filed out, the room filled again with a cacophony of sound. Happy tears streamed down the victim’s family, finally able to feel the light of justice. Sad tears rolled down the cheeks of elderly neighbors—those who had loved Ajax for his charm and helpfulness, now mourning that such a seemingly sweet boy could harbor such darkness. Some whispered wishes they could have recognized the warning signs, hoping they might have helped him sooner.
And then there was Lumine.
She stood rooted in her seat, eyes locked on nothing but those dull cerulean orbs, now fixed brazenly on her golden ones. Even as the bailiffs snapped the cuffs back onto his wrists and began to tug him toward the exit, his gaze never wavered.
Again, beneath the dullness, she could see it; hurt and anger. And then, behind those emotions, another glint. The corner of his lips twitched upward. Longer this time. It bloomed softly until the familiar, sweet, almost intimate smile appeared; the one he reserved for her alone.
Lumine felt her heart plummet. Goosebumps rose along her arms, across her neck, down her spine. She could not tear her eyes away. Only when the bailiffs finally dragged him out of the courtroom did she collapse inwardly, gasping for air.
That look. That smile.
It was a challenge.
A dare.
An excitement.
A warning.