I
Time - 8:26 pm
clack
"Ari…why are you still…?" Lucy asked the one who was leaning on the wall beside with his arms folded as she shut the door behind her after coming out, "The meeting…shouldn't it be started by now?"
"It starts at 8:30, I called you early. You don't have to attend the meeting if you can't" He replied, there's no explanation needed as to why he called her early in specific, it's quite self explanatory.
"It's…fine…I can attend it…"
…
"Lucy" He said as he walked and stood in front of her.
"Yes…?"
"You siblings had the closest relation with Amane and I know how much you loved her as your mother" He once again wore the cold expression as the one he had inside, "Even so, it's important that I ask this, your sudden disappearance…it's not related to this incident, is it?"
'How can you even think that!?' Lucy wanted to scream that but stopped just as her mouth opened, realising that she is without a doubt easily the prime suspect in this case due to her unexplained disappearance for months and then sudden reappearance that just so happens to coincide very closely with the death of the 2nd Top Lord and critical condition of the strongest General both of whom are closely related to her.
"I'll ask once again, where were you from March 12th to June 14th?"Ari asked the one who was avoiding his gaze, looking at the floor.
…
"I can't say…but…June 14th…?" Lucy replied, turning her face towards the enquirer, "The day I returned on wasn't 14th, it was in the evening of June 13th…"
"It wasn't 14th?" Ari asked, his face still maintaining the stern look but relaxed a little for the first time since they met today, "Really…? Do you have any alibi for that?"
"Feirin and…another boy" She replied while looking straight in his eyes.
"Another…boy…?" He asked in response to which she nodded, "Don't tell me you picked up Amane's habit…"
"No comments…"
"Hey!?" He exclaimed, quite unbecoming of his age and position as the King, "sigh…first she abducted you siblings a long time ago then Feirin recently and now you take on after her all these years later and abduct a random kid as well…"
"A-ahem! I didn't kidnap him…I did ask for his permission first" She replied, looking away once again.
"That doesn't change anything! He was homeless at the very least…right?" She simply nodded to which there wasn't any change in Ari's expression after all, this conversation if heard out of context would definitely spark quite the controversy.
…
"sigh…But I am glad…" He said and turned halfway around towards the direction of the staircase that was in a bit of distance, "I don't know where you disappeared off to, still, it's quite visible that whatever happened in that time had an effect on you…a bad effect, that's why you don't wish to talk about it"
"It's that visible huh…" She said, looking down.
"I can't say I fully believe you not until you explain your disappearance…but I know for sure that you can't ever be the one to do this" He said as he walked towards the conference room.
"Thank you…" Lucy whispered and followed after him.
(Lucy)
I understand…you have a duty and responsibility to fulfil… Even if you want to trust me, it must be hard to do so…and even if you are by my side, Central 20 won't be…so going about it in this cruel way despite how I might feel is the only method you have… Still…the only person whom I can talk with right now and have known for many years now…also not trusting me… I get why, I really do, it's my disappearance that is the cause of it all…but…I too have the right to feel hurt when I am emotional…don't I…?
Then…why…why doesn't it hurt…?
II
Time - 8:29 pm
(Narration)
clack
"Everyone here?" Ari asked as he and Lucy entered the white conference room. The room had white tiled walls, a giant oval table in the middle with ten chairs around it (the one at the end of the table, near the door being more comfortable looking and bigger than the others), a projector attached to the ceiling and two air conditioners (that's quite rare to find in places other than The Heart) attached to the walls near the ceiling, "Seems like the case"
There were five people sitting in their seats, each chair was numbered between 1st to 10th out of which the seats from 4th to 7th and 9th were occupied.
"There's seriously no need to do this, all of us are pretty much colleagues here" Ari said as he sat because all of the people that were sitting stood up to greet him, and then sat in their seats again.
"Erm, Pat hasn't arrived yet" Said a boy standing near the end of the table at the 9th seat, he is wearing a black t-shirt (that says 'Everything Starts at Zero' on the front and 'Everything Ends at Zero' on the back in bold white text) and shorts, height around 5 feet 4 inches and is almost 14 Thysia years old; quite the get up for an important meeting.
"Ah right, the 10th lord wasn't invited for this meeting Kaito" Ari replied as he and Lucy sat on their respective seats.
"Eh, why?"
"The conference this time involves some hefty topics which are a little too sensitive for a youngster like him, I wouldn't have invited you either but you are an important witness which is why your presence is required, that's it"
"I see…" Kaito said and sat down.
"Let's start the conference then. The topi-...what's wrong Freya?" Ari stopped as the one in the 5th seat raised her hand, her figure is quite lean, she has short black hair, brown eyes, wearing spectacles, a black blazer with a white shirt on the inside; black pants, and she's a little smaller in height than Lucy (5 feet 6 inches) and is in her mid 20s; a very neat and tidy woman.
"Before the main topic of today, I believe there's something else that needs to be addressed right now" She said and shifted her gaze towards the one who was sitting to her left, "3rd Top Lord Lucy, I believe you ought to know what I am probably referring to"
"yawn…You are right…yawn…I agree with her Ari" Said the thin blue haired man sitting beside Freya at her right on the 7th position who had dark circles beneath his eyes (like his hair, also blue in colour), his getup being pretty much the exact same as Freya except he didn't have any spectacles, his white shirt buttons are undone, the belt was half out and the sleeves of blazer were folded for some reason… Height the same as Ari's and is in his early 20s; a very…opposite vibe compared to that of Freya, "yawn…the air conditioner is great…can I sleep here tonight?"
"No Orin…you can't, you aren't allowed" Said the blonde haired man sitting across the table of Freya at the 6th position who also had the exact same get up except his blazer was dark blue in colour and unlike Orin, he was actually very tidy just like Freya. He's a little smaller than Orin and the Kingin height and is in his mid 20s; makes one wonder if opposite personalities attract or vice versa when looking at these three lords in one room, "I too agree with Freya"
…
"sigh Alright, lets hold a vote if that's the case" Ari said, sitting with his arms folded after glancing at Lucy for a moment, "The ones who wish to discuss about the 2nd Top Lord first before the topic of the conference raise your hands and the ones-"
Out of the 7 people present, 4 of them immediately raised their hands; Lucy and Ari being one of those who didn't raise their hands, but there was one other person who didn't, it was a guy sitting in the 4th position with his hands on the table kept over one another; he's wearing a black coat, black pants, has dark lavender hair and a mask covering his face which was half white and half violet in colour, the only visible part of the face was through the holes of the mask which revealed his crimson eyes.
'Who's this guy…' Lucy thought, looking towards the person in the 4th seat in confusion for a moment.
(Lucy)
As much as I wish that we wouldn't talk about this topic right now…I could feel it in everyone's gaze here, knew that there's no avoiding this situation ever since I entered this room, definitely can't considering there's three of Central 20's members as the lords…but, who's this masked guy…? I didn't notice him earlier and I don't remember ever seeing him… Why's he sitting in Yumi's place…?
"Four over three huh, well, to be completely transparent, I was going to bring it up later anyway as it's related to the main topic of the day" Ari said (Isn't that five over two then… Related to the main topic of the day? How?).
"I believe the Central 20 members among us and I had already gone over some of the things we had in hand at the time, right?"
"Yes"
"yawn…yes…"
"Yes sir"
The Central 20 members…their presence has always felt quite normal, but Ari always said how it was a headache, I relate to him right now…it has never felt so nerve wracking as much as it does right now to be with them in one room…Freya, Warren and Orin…
"Then, Kaito, tell us what you saw on that night once again" Ari asked. This boy Kaito, he's a Thysia year younger than me or was it two…? Either way, I remember Rebecca doesn't quite get along with him, she doesn't like his personality or dressing sense…(even his current outfit…can't really blame him though, these meetings haven't ever been that interesting to begin with) She's still a kid, surely with time she'll come to respect others and not judge them over their likes and dislikes as she grows…
…And then Kaito told the details of it…of that night again…
"After that I reported as soon as I got to the scene"
What… Ari didn't tell me that's the state they found Mom in… Why… I can't believe it… Why…why did Mom do something like that…taking out her own eye… And how did Rebecca end up in that condition… It didn't happen that far away from my house…and I didn't even know…how…I should've been able to sense it…
(Narration)
'You were busy having nightmares of your actions as always, forgot already?'
Her eyes widened as its words echoed in her mind, of the one which is her own voice yet not hers.
"Thank you Kaito" Ari said as the boy finished speaking, "Given the circumstances of this incident it's still hidden from the public eye as it was important for this meeting to be held first, however it'll be published in the newspapers on the upcoming Monday. Before we proceed, is there anything anybody wants to say?"
"I do" Freya said and Ari gave her the permission to speak.
"Ms Lucy, where were you on the night of June 13?" She asked with her head tilted slightly to her left, glaring at the girl.
…
However, Lucy was clearly shaken, trembling now knowing the actual details of the events that had taken place, it was unbelievable to even imagine, but the truth was that really did happen.
"Ms Lucy"
"Y-yes!?" Lucy exclaimed as the querier touched her shoulder.
"Where were you on that night?"
"I-in my hous-"
"Please refrain from lying, you weren't back until the morning of June 14 according to our intelligence" Freya said, cutting through Lucy's words, her eyes now hardened and became narrower.
"It's the truth! Feirin can attest i-"
"Isn't he a kid? His statement can't and won't be taken into consideration, not to mention that you could easily tinker with his word-"
"Stop Freya, you are going overboard with the accusations, she's a suspect at most even if we consider her disappearance" Warren interrupted, "...wake that idiot up"
…
"Wake up!" Freya exclaimed, pushing Orin's shoulder who had fallen asleep (he's drooling even…).
"Eh? What? Is it morning? Just a bit longer…" Orin mumbled and went back to sleep.
'...I don't know if I find this nerve wracking anymore' Lucy thought as she looked beside her at Freya who violently shook Orin to wake him up.
"Huh?! Oh…good morning yawn! Hmm…" THE guy said as he woke up. (Why is this guy here…)
"Huh…oh right, it's the conference…why do you have to keep it at night time, Ari…yawn…" He continued as he rubbed his eyes, "Oh! Ms Lucy, you are back? Where were you for three months?"
…Somehow the guy's immediate question after waking up is actually the one that Lucy is most unwilling to answer right now which brought her nervousness that she had gained some control over for a moment back now.
"T-that's…"
"What? I can't hear you" Orin said with his chin resting on his hands that he had kept straight on the table, his look was now completely different and something about his presence became much more unsettling compared to Freya for Lucy, "Where, were, you?"
"I-..."
"She was on Dion for a mission that I assigned to her" Ari said, and everyone turned their faces towards him, clearly surprised, especially Lucy.
"Is that so? Hmm, so I can go back to sleep righ-"
"Why…why did you not tell about this earlier then?" Freya asked, her tone showed irritation and surprise for a slight moment but reverted to the usual stern manner right after.
"I said why, didn't I?" He continued, "That I would come to this topic after our original topic but everyone wanted to talk about that first that's why I let it be, this was a secret mission that was given to her by me personally and nobody else knew about it, which is why Lucy isn't allowed to speak regarding it unless I personally disclosed it. So are there other queries anyone has before we move onto actual evidences?"
"Dion…you mean that provision of festivities?" Orin asked, visibly excited, to which Ari nodded, "Ooh…what was the mission about exactly?"
"What her mission was specifically is going to remain classified for the time being, as everyone here knows, Dion, the provision of festivities and Thysia have been in the talks of working together to improve our relations since some time now, all I can say for now is that Lucy's mission was related to that" He explained, but in reality, the true target of this explanation was something else, the reason of saying all of this was to make Lucy aware of the situation that had been ongoing during her absence which he hadn't conveyed earlier.
"Then how come you did not sense anything happening so close to your house?" Freya asked Lucy.
"I…was exhausted after the long trip…the place lives up to its name…" She answered nervously.
…
"I see…makes sense" Freya said and sat upright.
"Any other queries that anyone has before we move on?" Ari asked.
'I have no other excuses…I can't just say that I was having nightmares and couldn't wake up…' Lucy thought, 'Talks with Dion…the provision famous for its festivities, from what I remember they were going to start spreading their culture and market to other provisions soon as a method to build relations… I had no idea that Thysia is going to be the first one to collaborate with them…' Staring at the only person that she could trust on this table of many thoughts, 'But even more so than that, Ari…I didn't expect you'd cover up for me like this…'
'Please don't make me regret this choice I made in haste and break my trust…' The King thought with his eyes closed.