Extra's Descent

After buying new clothes for her and Aurelia, Amelia realized Brandon left ahead of them.

But as she checked her phone, Brandon had informed her he was waiting at a restaurant.

And so, Amelia and Aurelia arrived together and sat across from him.

Amelia stared at Brandon—who seemed to be pondering.

This guy…..

'He's been teasing me the whole time…..'

Amelia found herself perplexed.

In the first place, what was their relationship exactly….?

She had no clue at all.

He had been teasing her this whole time. But whenever she looked at his eyes, there was no shift in his demeanor.

His eyes remained utterly lifeless and indifferent.

However, despite that….

'It makes him seem more attractive….'

For some reason, she found herself flustered whenever she stared deep into his cold eyes.

She had never felt this way before about him. She had only seen him as someone to look out for.

"Haaa…."

Amelia sighed and covered her face with a palm.

'Why did I even offer my place….'

It was spontaneous. The thought of not being able to see him made her uneasy for some reason.

Thankfully, he accepted her offer, albeit temporarily.

But that begs the question.

'Why…?'

Did he….

Was he….

'Does he like me?!'

She truly couldn't tell. Brandon was way too nonchalant with her.

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She truly couldn't read him.

He wasn't like that back then.

From the past few months, he looked miserable. Especially with the instability in his Sovereign's Will.

But now, it was as if a flip switched inside him.

A complete 180 turn.

It made him seem more…. charming.

And to her surprise, she hadn't realized this was what she was looking for in a guy.

Someone that seems like he doesn't care about her.

'Am I the weird one?!'

She shook her head, covered by her palms, as she felt a sudden rush of heat on her face.

'What am I even saying….'

Yeah, she was at a loss.

But this dilemma of hers…. It was a breath of fresh air. It made her forget all of her problems.

This day…

It was pleasant.

Slowly removing her hand from her face, she stared at Brandon.

'Do I like him…?'

She began to question herself.

But she was quick to push down her thoughts as she shook her head.

'I'll give it some time. It doesn't seem like he feels that way about me anyway.'

Or maybe he did…?

He often gave signs.

But Amelia had only noticed those signs recently, after being conscious about him.

The thought of dating her best—friend's younger brother….

'Is it weird…?'

No, no.

'Why did I immediately think of dating?!'

Another dilemma.

Ah.

It was then when she realized.

Wasn't there a girl he had confided with her about three months ago…?

What was her name again….?

"Enjoy."

She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts as the waiter arrived with their meal, setting each of the plates down on the table.

The enticing smell of the food wafted in the air and Amelia's nose perked up.

This arrangement between them….

She was fine with it.

Noticing her demeanor, Brandon's voice reached her ears.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

It wasn't nothing. But regardless, she shook her head.

"Let's eat."

***

Brandon found himself perplexed as he stared at Amelia. He had already finished his meal. Amelia was still indulging in her own meal silently.

In fact, she was silent the whole time. No words were exchanged between the two.

A smile crept up on Brandon's lips.

He wasn't blind.

He could tell the signs.

At least, compared to back then.

Especially when it was from someone he was actually attracted to.

He paid close attention to her.

Though he did not regret confiding in Amelia back then.

He wanted to be honest with her. To tell her of his dilemma back then concerning Rachel.

But now that the other Brandon had revealed everything to him, he finally understood the inconsistency in his emotions regarding romance.

The other Brandon's feelings regarding Rachel were simply too strong. In every progression, he could see that even if the other Brandon knew of the beginning and the end, he had always courted her.

However, he wasn't the other Brandon Locke. Nor did he want to be Raven Blackheart.

And though he was a mix of the two, he wanted to carve out his own story.

He didn't agree with the other Brandon's methods. The same went for Jin's desperation.

He wanted to be…

"Different."

And that difference was what this progression needed.

But truth be told, he wanted to suppress the other Brandon.

And that was what he was trying to do. To completely deny him. To shut down his ideologies.

'You wanted me to become you. A better version of you. But you are a failure.'

To fully reject him.

…

Night struck.

11:00 PM.

Adorning a newly bought black–blazer, the ends extended down and fluttered.

And finally, donning his sunglasses.

Why was he so fond of these glasses?

Because it was the mirage mask, fully contorted into sunglasses.

It was for that reason that he was confident enough to stroll the public market, without any regard of exposing his identity.

Except for a few individuals—currently—to the world, Brandon Locke is still dead.

One of the reasons why he had kept up this status was to fully infiltrate the syndicate.

'After all, they would never conclude that Moriarty is actually a dead man.'

And the fame of Brandon Locke had already died out.

To the world, Brandon Locke was just a child with potential. A child that was on the rise—but fate wasn't as kind to him as it took his life.

That was Brandon Locke.

Clank—!

Closing the door to his room, Brandon turned around slightly and halted.

There, he could see Amelia, wearing a white nightgown. She seemed to have been waiting for him as she sat on the dining table.

"Is it time?"

She asked.

Brandon nodded.

"Just some preparations."

"Okay."

Brandon walked ahead, about to head for the exit. Before he could twist the door knob, he felt a hand tug the back of his clothes.

Turning his head slightly, Amelia looked at him with a worried expression.

"Please be careful. Belle told me about what happened back then when you were dealing with the syndicate."

Brandon's lips curled up to a smile. Despite Amelia's confliction earlier, she seemed to have made up her mind.

"I will."

"Good."

But Brandon continued staring at her, standing still.

Perplexed, Amelia pressed her face awkwardly.

"....Is there something on my face?"

"There is."

"What?"

"This."

Brandon pressed his finger on her face. In particular, the mole under her eye.

"Eh?"

"Heh."

He chuckled and left the room shortly after.

Staring at the close door, Amelia stood transfixed, touching the mole under her eye.

A mole. But others liked to call it a beauty mark.

Then….

"Did he just call me beautiful…?"

Indirectly.

But it's not like he hadn't done that before.

Was he just teasing her again? Or did he actually mean it?

"Haaa…."

She truly couldn't read him.

But the signs he gave….

"Haaa…."

She ruffled her hair.

She quickly dismissed her thoughts. Tomorrow, she would return to her duties. They had already decided on what to do with Aurelia.

She was a child. But she was still capable. All Amelia had to do was prepare her meals for the day. Aurelia already knew how to take care of herself and such.

Gathering her thoughts, she flicked the lights off.

Switch—