Chapter 2 : Fulcrum pt.2

It was morning when Iris woke up to the sound of birds calling. Sunlight danced in the room, surrounding her in a halo of warmth and comfort.

"Ah. You're up!"

"Leon."

"It's 9 already! How long are you gonna sleep for, hm?"

"Haha, can't I sleep in just for a little bit?"

"Pfft. The star student of the Athenian Academy sleeping in? Impossible!"

Laughing, Iris sat up, her messy hair falling unceremoniously onto her face.

"Ah! You drooled on my pillow too! Iris!"

"Yeah, yeah, you can add that to your collection of valuables."

"What??!"

"You know. Like you said, the star student at the Athenian Academy. My drool is very valuable."

"...."

"What?"

"...That's...that's kinda weird."

"Eh, you signed up for all this weirdness the day you asked me out. Hmm, how did you do it again? Let's see, you started out your confession just fine, but then started stumbling a-"

With a yell of "don't bring that up!" Leon clamped his hand against Iris's mouth.

"Stop it! I..."

As Leon continued with his complaints, Iris's thoughts began to drift off. She began to think about the current situation she was in, and all the pressures society that will be shoved onto her as the next head of the house of Edgar. No. With her as the head, it'd be renamed as the house of Iris. After all, no one here had any last names. But she didn't want to focus on that now. She sighed mentally, knowing that a small part of her was wishing that this fleeting moment of happiness would stay forever and ever.

That she could stay with Leon for forever.

She had met him one bright summer day when they both were in middle school. Leon was shorter back then and known to cause a lot of trouble for the teachers and adults at school. Iris was the quiet girl in the back, the one who didn't know how to fit in because of her innate status as a the daughter of a high-ranked official. That day, Leon had been prancing around with his friends, daring each other to do things like jump the fence that surrounded the school or draw some sort of mural on the school walls when he ran straight into her. She was just taking a walk around that side of the city when he ran into her, knocking them both down onto the heated pavement.

"Oh, sorry! Are you alright?"

Contrary to the rumors that spread around him and his friends, Leon was kind and caring, something that touched Iris's heart. No one had really ever reached out to her before, other than Irene, but even then, Irene was the daughter of another high-ranking official, so it was different. The following school year, she noticed that subconsciously, she had begun to follow him. After that chance meeting in the summer, Leon constantly yelled out a greeting whenever he saw her in the hallways and she would quickly return the greeting before rushing off to the next class. It wasn't until her father noticed her sudden absent-mindedness while doing homework and had a two-hour talk with her when she realized this is what it felt like to like someone. Grinning, Edgar had only told her to embrace the feeling and see where it led her.

This secret one-sided affection stayed with Iris for a long time as she wasn't the type to say her feelings out loud or tell anyone about it. And Leon wouldn't find out about it until the end of high school. During this time, other students began to get used to the sight of the two of them always together with Leon in the lead and Iris following behind. The two would laugh together, have lunch together, and just spend most of their free time during the school day together. Many of their friends asked if they were a 'thing' yet, but both Iris and Leon quickly crushed such questions with a flood of no's.

On graduation day, Iris had dressed up her best to give the valedictorian speech. She had managed to overcome her timidness of her earlier years and stood proudly on the pedestal with her father only a couple rows down, eyes gleaming with pride. At the end of the motivational speech and after the crowd's deafening cheer, Iris had ended up swooped off of stage by Leon who was grinning from ear to ear.

When the two finally got off the stage and into an area with less people, Leon had said his confession. It turned out that he had started liking her too back in middle school and also wasn't brave enough to confess until now. He had been afraid of rejection and was splendidly surprised when she had nearly shouted yes to his asking for a date.

That night was a beautiful graduation night for the two friends-turned-lovers who spent the entire graduation party grasping hands and having fun.

Of course, the aminosity between Leon and Edgar had happened much later. He had thought Leon would simply be Iris's first love and that would be it. He hadn't expected her to stick with him.

As Iris continued to think about the happy times she had spent with her boyfriend, the sound of the doorbell cut through her thoughts. Startled, her eyes focused on a Leon in a ridiculous position with his right hand on his heart and his left hand in the air. Apparently, he was still complaining about her bringing up the topic of his confession and that complaining somehow evolved into a miniature reenactment of a scene from Pyramus and Thisbe.

"Coming!" He yelled as he quickly tidied his now-messy clothes and hair before dashing towards the front door.

Iris, after getting out of bed, also walked towards the front door while yawning and rubbing her eyes. She watched as Leon opened the door to two cops.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, sir. Are you Leon of house Veronica?"

"Good morning. And yes. Can I help you?"

The two cops looked at each other before turning back to Leon.

"Is Iris of house Edgar here?"

Hearing her name, Iris spoke up.

"I'm here, I'm here. Can I help you?"

"We've found evidence about the killer."

As she processed those words, her eyes slowly expanded, chasing away the sleepiness that had existed moments before.

"Perhaps you would like to sit down first. You too, Mr. Leon."

The two sat down on the couch as the two officers entered the house and stood in front of them.

Eager for answers, Iris quickly asked, "What did you find?"

"Mr.Edgar was killed by poison from something he consumed. Although our forensic team has yet to determine the specifics, they found out that the poison used was from a plant"

"What? Doesn't Mr. Edgar have a device that checks for food poisoning?"

"That device is unable to detect poison that is contained inside something."

"Ah…"

"Upon further investigation, our forensic team managed to narrow down poisonous plants to a small list. Given the plants listed, it is likely that Mr. Edgar had drank something poisoned rather than ate something poisonous. Although we cannot rule out the possibility of the other."

Iris, who had stayed silent the entire time, finally spoke up.

"So, my father was poisoned to death?"

"Yes. It was not gradual poisoning."

"But…. who would want to kill him? He has no enemies as far as I know of."

"That was actually one of the reasons why we came. We were wondering if you happened to know anything of use."

"No. I just ate breakfast and then went out on a date with Leon."

"Oh."

Iris watched as one of the policemen took out a notebook and scribbled furiously on it.

"So, you ate breakfast at home?"

"Yes."

"Did you drink anything for breakfast?"

"Yes. I drank some milk before heading out."

"And you didn't feel anything? No stomach aches, no headache, no dizziness, nothing?"

"Nothing", Iris confirmed, a little confused as to where the questions were heading to.

"I see. That solidifies the test results."

"Huh?"

"When our forensic team was trying to figure out what poison was used, they tested all the drinkable liquids in the house for poison. Most were cleared off the list, but some items came out ambiguous. Given that you drank milk, that means either the killer did not poison the liquids until later or the milk was not poisoned."

Iris thought for a moment before slowly asking, "Why do you trust me then?"

"We have no reason to suspect you. There is no evidence pointing to you and we've traced all your transactions from the past few days. Therefore, we consider you clear."

"What about Leon?"

"..."

Ignoring the silence, Iris began to mull over possible drinks her father would drink during the day.

"Perhaps it was tea?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Father always drank tea at noon and in the afternoon. Perhaps it was that."

"Good to know. Anything else you can think of?"

"Um, the morning tea is made using local plants. The afternoon tea is made using foreign plants."

"Alright. Thank you for that info, Miss Iris. Now then, on the other hand..."

This time, the policemen who was jotting down notes spoke.

"Mr. Leon, please stand up."

"Ah, sure."

"Hands out."

"Okay?"

Click.

The sound of handcuffs snapping shut caught Iris's attention as her head jolted up. She watched, shocked, as Leon was handcuffed and then forced onto his knees.

"Mr. Leon. You are the prime suspect of the murder. Please come with us quietly. If you resist, we will be forced to use not-so-kind methods."

"Huh? But...wha-? Why? Why the heck am I the prime suspect?"

"You can take your complaints to court. Now then, please."

"Hey! What the- you can't just take him!", Iris yelled out, grabbing onto one of the officers.

"Miss Iris, please calm down. Because he is a prime suspect, it is standard for us to detain him. If he truly is innocent, then we will let him go."

"But...I…."

The officer shook his head before replying, "Please understand that we are only following protocol. Hopefully, your boyfriend truly is innocent."

As the officer began to lead a complaining Leon out the door, the other officer turned to Iris and smiled.

"Have a....better day Ms. Iris. Mr. Leon's trial will take place tomorrow so do get some rest."

As the second officer walked out of the house and began to close the door, Iris suddenly heard Leon's shout.

"Don't worry about me, Iris! I'll be fine! Just take care of yourself first!"

As the door shut, Iris suddenly felt weak and collapsed onto her knees.

"Ah…."

Stifling the sobs that were beginning to leak out of her throat, Iris stared dejected at the door where her boyfriend had been just moments before. All thoughts of the fragile happiness from before were gone, chased away by the sound of sirens and shutting of doors.

No, Iris thought, he cannot possibly be the murderer. Even though there's some negative feelings between them, Leon would never do something like that.

....

I'll prove it.

I'll prove that he is innocent.

Because I refuse to lose him too.