Mrs. Olivia rose from her chair and walked toward the large bookshelf that took up one entire side of her room. She grabbed a photo frame between the rows of books.
"Archtier… and its memories across the sky," she muttered, stroking the blurry sepia photograph.
She briefly lowered her gaze from the photograph. Her face didn't take on a calm, dignified expression again until she placed the photo back where it belonged. Then she exited the room wearing a black suit and matching black trousers.
"Miss Olivia, congratulations on your excellent teaching assessment. How did you achieve it?"
The woman smiled meaningfully at the question of a bespectacled woman sitting behind her computer desk.
"I always ensure everyone gets to participate in my course."
Young people in semi-formal attire chatted among themselves in a medium-sized room with dozens of chairs arranged in tiers. Among them, there was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair who was writing something while propping up her chin.
"Good morning, everyone."
When Mrs. Olivia entered the room, they responded similarly. Her smile widened as she saw the shoulder-length haired girl staring blankly at her with a flash of purple light in her eyes.
"It's wonderful to see you all gathered here," said Mrs. Olivia.
Meanwhile, Brissia was lying on a large bed with her dress still attached to her body. She stared straight at the ceiling of a room filled with renaissance-style murals.
A hazel-eyed man in a black shirt and dark blue trousers sat in a round chair beside the bed. His eyes were fixed on the ground and his brows furrowed. The sparkle in his eyes had vanished along with the tangerine light outside the room.
"Harris, I'm fine."
The man remained silent, even though the girl who was said to be his girlfriend had convinced him through words. He only looked up when he heard a sound of movement from the bed.
"You once acknowledged my outstanding physical ability, didn't you?" Brissia asked, who was standing beside him with a gentle smile.
"I did," Harris replied as he rose from his seat. "But you can't fool me, Brissie."
His words didn't trigger any reaction from Brissia, even when he drew closer to her and said something in a deep, low voice.
"That symbol, emotion, and anguish of yours… Someday, you'll admit everything to me and everyone else."
Brissia fell silent as Harris took a bold step toward the door. However, she noticed Harris's suit jacket on the couch by the window.
"Harris!"
The man froze when he just gripped the doorknob. He turned to face her with a deadpan look, but became perplexed as Brissia delicately placed his suit jacket on his shoulders.
"You might be upset by me," Brissia said softly. "But, Harris, some things are better kept under wraps."
Brissia lowered her hand from Harris's shoulder, making the two of them stare at each other.
"Why are you being like this, Brissie?"
His tone was filled with disappointment and disbelief. He was about to ask again when he heard the door squeak. Brissia lowered her gaze while taking a few steps back from him, turning to the only door of the room.
"Is everything all right?" Benjamin asked, peeking into the room.
Brissia's small nod turned his worried expression into one of relief. However, his gaze changed to astonishment when he saw Harris clenching his fists and turning his head away.
"Harris, Brissia."
Harris turned his head in slight surprise when Benjamin called his name with an intentional emphasis.
The turquoise-eyed man smiled gracefully, spreading his arms as he opened the door wide. "Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Come. I'm hoping you won't mind coming to the private banquet I've planned for you and your companions."
With Benjamin walking down the red carpeted hallway in front of them, Harris and Brissia followed behind him in silence. Until they entered the dining room, what had happened in the guest room still plagued the two of them.
Gierra, Nicholas, Debora, and two other agents sat around a cream-clothed table that served a variety of appetizing dishes. Brissia sat beside Gierra, who greeted her half worried and half enthusiastic. Meanwhile, Harris sat beside Debora, who sat quietly and seemed exhausted.
"Please, help yourself. If not for you all, I wouldn't have felt secure and at ease at that party," said Benjamin who sat in a chair at the end of the table, making them nod and take the dishes to their empty plates.
"How do you know Nicholas and Gierra, Ben?"
Benjamin and everyone else's gazes fell on Brissia immediately.
"Ah!" Nicholas spoke and smiled broadly. "He turned out to be a classmate of ours who went missing before the closing ceremony for the student orientation. Remember?"
Nicholas's smile vanished as Brissia remained silent. Then everyone went back to eating their food as there was no more response from them.
"...Must've had to do with her that its effect subsided sooner than anticipated."
The muttering of one of her colleagues made Brissia almost choke.
"Pardon?" Brissia inquired and looked at them questioningly, making her two colleagues who were sitting on her front right oblique jump in surprise.
Benjamin glanced briefly at Brissia's two colleagues before looking at Brissia.
"We've tried to examine the black powder that got on your skin last night," Benjamin explained. "It's called Noir Dust, a type of high grade poison that has ever been created. Its effects aren't literally lethal, which makes it strange that a journal classified it as a powerful poison."
Debora raised her head quickly, as if his explanation rang a bell in her head.
"Wait, I think it was explained in a book at the headquarters."
Everyone turned to Debora, staring at her curiously.
With her gaze landing on Brissia, Debora continued, "There's a section that said the effect is simply waiting for the perfect time to completely erase the victim's memories."
Harris rose from his seat with a gloomy expression, making everyone turn to stare at him. However, noticing Benjamin's cold gaze on him and the movement of his lips asking him not to stir up a commotion, Harris couldn't help but sigh.
"We were instructed to return immediately once the mission was completed. Would you let us to excuse ourselves?" he asked.
***
"You've got to be joking. How could you recall the inevitable outcome but not the cure?"
One of their colleagues shrugged her shoulders and shook in disbelief, causing Debora to heave a sigh.
"It's been years since the orientation month! Do you even remember which book explained why we have to leave at dawn?"
Their argument called for instant silence as they walked the corridors of SURVIVE.
"Speaking of which," another agent chirped, "why does he know a thing that only exists in the Notus District?"
"Hey, did you forget that he's the son of an aristocrat? It shouldn't be a surprise if he knows a lot."
Brissia silently listened to Debora and her colleagues' conversation as she walked toward the intersection of the headquarters dormitory. However, when she was about to enter the restroom, a hand held her shoulder.
"I know where we can get information about the antidote," Harris said and let go of Brissia's shoulder.
Her eyes lit up. "Where?"
Harris narrowed his eyes when he saw Brissia approaching him. After taking a deep breath, he came closer to her and whispered something.
"Drey holds the key to the archive room. I've seen him come out of there with the book Debora was talking about."
Brissia paused for a moment, folded her arms across her chest, and rubbed her chin. "So you're saying it's probably there?"
"My hunch said yes."
Her brow furrowed as her complicated gaze lingered on the floor. Until an idea crossed her head, Brissia widened her eyes.
"Leave it to me. I'll sneak into his room just like when I took Miss Savior's photo."
"You won't seduce him, will you?"
Harris's question turned Brissia around when she had just opened the door to the women's restroom. "The whole headquarters knows you're my girlfriend," he continued in an earnest tone.
"Ugh, no," Brissia answered him while rolling her eyes. "Letting one man near me has gotten me into all sorts of trouble."
Harris chuckled, both annoyed and amused. "Fair enough."
After that, Brissia left Harris in the corridor alone.
"Focus, Harris! It's for Brissie's sake," he muttered before walking the other way.
After changing into casual clothes, Harris stepped toward the wide windowed corridor. For some reason, his drowsiness didn't come after he and Brissia agreed to steal the key of archive room.
He stopped as he reached the stairs. It crossed his mind about what Brissia had said before they separated to their respective directions.
His watch showed one in the morning. The presence of the agents in the corridor was nowhere to be seen. Only when he turned to the window did he see several agents on the ground floor milling about in and out of the building.
"Forgive my wariness, Brissie."
After muttering so, Harris climbed the stairs until he reached the fourth floor. With a relaxed walk, he was about to pass through Drey's workroom and back down via the stairs in another corner. However, the silence of the corridor and the dim light had sharpened his senses.
"Mm… not bad, Brissia."
His eyes widened and his body froze. Besides retreating, Harris directed his gaze to the medium-sized door on his left.
"This room is full of useless papers. Why do you feel comfortable working at night?"
Someone said, there are things that one should not know. Harris knew he would regret it if he found out what was going on back there. However, regret was always his addiction.
"Because I know that no one but you will come to embrace the real me under the moonlight, give me comfort that I can't feel when the sun shines behind these curtains."
"Ah, it's a shame I can't see clearly how your handsome face conveys that comfort."
"Don't worry. We look good even in the shadows."
Harris's eyes widened when he saw two people who were bringing their faces and bodies closer to each other in the corner of the room.
Even though his body and mind was burning, he couldn't get his face away from the gap in the door of the room. It was as difficult as it was for him to shake off the fact that his senior had made out with his girlfriend.