Unspoken

Thud!

A man in a white shirt propped himself up on a tall bookshelf in a dimly lit room. His sleek black hair was covering his forehead.

"I told you not to interact with those commoners, but WHY do you still see them?!"

He was speechless and staring blankly at the shiny wooden floor beneath his feet. It enraged the mustachioed man in a leather vest, who then took a large step toward him until he heard the door open.

The arrival of a group of people dressed in dark blue robes stunned him. A person who had sat in his living room after he accused her of sending his son on a bandit chase was also among them.

"Who are you to enter my house without my permission?"

One of them, Brissia, walked to the front of the line. Upon observing the black-haired man's condition, she came to a full halt. "It won't heal quick," she muttered to herself.

"Guards!"

Brissia's gloomy gaze turned sharp when she looked at the mustachioed man.

"Where are them?! How dare you just walk past my guards?!"

"Those people in butler and maid clothes?"

Brissia's words jolted the mustachioed man. The shock on his face sparked movement from the people around Brissia.

"You will be investigated for alleged involvement in the assault on the Notus District police," said one of them, "and abuse of authority to prevent authorities from carrying out inspections."

"What?!" The mustachioed man snapped with bulging eyes. "I know nothing about the assault! And as for authority, that's how I protect my family!"

"Pft."

All eyes were on Brissia.

"Family? Who? The Young Master over there?" she asked with a wry grin.

"How impudent!"

He continued to scream, even though one of the personnel had handcuffed him. "You can't arrest someone without a single piece of evidence!"

"We have," another personnel said. "Someone has mentioned your plan to eliminate the two Notus District agents while they were out of the island."

He flinched. But then, he glared at the sleek black-haired man at the side.

"You… insolent child!"

The man looked up, staring unblinkingly with his turquoise eyes at the mustachioed man who didn't let go of his sharp gaze as he was dragged out by all the blue-cloaked personnel. Until there was only one person left there, who walked toward him with a sympathetic look.

"Sorry I'm almost late, Ben."

Those turquoise eyes suddenly no longer held emptiness. As she hugged him, tears rolled down his cheeks. Warmth flowed throughout his body along with a feeling of guilt.

"It should be me who apologizes, Brissia."

Benjamin clutched Brissia's dark blue cloak. "Had I known you would join SURVIVE, I would've looked for them myself."

"What are you talking about?"

Brissia looked up at him with a bitter smile. "You could've been killed if you had done that."

A piteous laugh escaped Benjamin's lips. His fists loosened as Brissia pulled herself away from him. The awkwardness that bound him faded along with it.

"I'm glad to see you back safe and sound, Brissia," he said with a charming smile, "but where's Harris?"

Brissia looked back for a moment before looking back at Benjamin. "It seems he and the others have already left here. How can you both miss each other like this?"

"That's not how it is," Benjamin chuckled as he took Brissia's hand. "I just like to see his jealousy when I greet you like this."

Brissia froze when a kiss landed on the back of her hand. Her eyes stared unblinkingly at a pair of turquoise eyes that looked at her calmly, like a smile etched on his lips.

"Welcome back to Archtier, my dear Brissie."

***

Everyone in the editorial office tensed up as Brissia entered the building. Gabriel looked at her in disbelief while the girl just looked around as if looking for her lost personal belongings.

The girl touched her long skirt for a moment, tightening the ties that kept her cloak invisible. Even though she was once part of the editorial office, she couldn't anticipate the unease that soared up to the ceiling. Especially when an elder held her back from going upstairs.

"What are you searching?" Gabriel asked cynically.

Someone's footsteps turned Brissia's gaze away from Gabriel. She found Tyler standing next to Neya and Lucia, looking at her indifferently.

"My communication device."

"It's not here. We've thrown it away."

"H-hey! Don't drag us into this!"

Lucia's denial convinced Brissia that Gabriel was merely trying to intimidate her. However, it still didn't feel right for her to push the person who had hosted her before she became a SURVIVE agent.

"Leave this place immediately before your friends come here."

One order from Gabriel and all the employees' attention turned to Brissia and him. Brissia furrowed her brows, took a deep breath, then exhaled roughly as she headed for the exit. Silence reigned once Brissia's existence was no longer visible to the employees.

Without hesitation, Brissia stepped further away from where she first arrived in Archtier. She exhaled several times just to get rid of the suffocating feeling.

As she looked at the paving road beneath her feet, she suddenly bumped into someone who was rushing in the opposite direction to her.

"Oh! My apolog—"

Her breath hitched when she saw that Harris was the person she collided with. Before she could say a word, the man grabbed her wrist and dragged her quickly.

"What are you gonna do?!"

"Ask Gabriel to return your stuff or give him a once in a lifetime punch."

"Huh, you heard him?! Wait, Harris!"

Harris turned his head, staring coldly at Brissia as she held his arm tightly. Their steps might came to a halt, but their hearts were beating fast. One was anxious, the other seemed to be holding back his emotions.

"I also heard Benjamin stole the nickname I gave you."

Brissia fell completely silent at Harris's words. Even when the sky rumbled, she was still stunned.

Harris, however, didn't say anything else as he released her and led them in the direction they were supposed to go.

 "I… have to visit a place."

"The whole Archtier will be poured in rain. Do you want us to come back soaking wet?"

Brissia bit her lip as she caught Harris's irritated glance. As for Harris, he just continued walking with a calm look on his face.

However, when Harris thought back to what he had heard from the editorial office and the bothered look on Brissia's face, he stopped. He squinted his eyes, turned around, and said...

"Fine! But remember not to…"

The words he said were swallowed up in the air. Before his eyes were only pedestrians passing by without Brissia among them.

Another rumble came along with tears falling on the ground. It wasn't his, but the sky. Still, it was his heart that became troubled.

He ignored the raindrops and fixed his gaze on a young man with black hair and an umbrella approaching the side of a girl with shoulder-length brown hair. When they looked at each other, that's when his gaze narrowed.

"Fine."

It was his last word before he put on his police hat, turned his back on the scene, walked through the rain to the other side. Despite the thunderous echo, he just kept walking and didn't slow down.

"Brissia."

Brissia blinked after Benjamin waved in front of her several times. She turned her head, asking, "Benjamin, would you mind taking me somewhere?"

He glanced briefly at the last direction Brissia was staring at. He fell silent as he noticed the back of a man in a dark blue cloak.

The man who made her no longer called him by his nickname.

"I would. Let's go, Brissia," he answered, walking by Brissia's side while watching Harris being swallowed by the mist as he walked further.

***

On a cloudy night when the dim light of the full moon barely shone through the halls, a brown-haired agent staggered with one hand on the wall and one arm limp at his side.

"Hey! Are you all right?!"

Two agents rushed to him as he collapsed to the floor. When they helped him to his feet, he kept mumbling about someone.

"Come back... Brissie."