For days now, Mistel had been keeping an eye on Raeger when he could.
Mistel's mind was now focused on something he hadn't really thought about before.
They were friends, he knew that. But there were many kinds of friendships. What was theirs?
Raeger had told Mistel he cared about him, deeply. But it wasn't just words.
He really meant it, more than Mistel had realised.
It became even more apparent when Mistel was wandering past the carpenter's shop one day, and he heard people talking. He looked up and caught a glimpse of a group standing outside the inn.
Mistel might have ignored them, until he realised they were talking about him.
He couldn't help but eavesdrop now. He found a suitable spot where he was safely hidden from sight while also being close enough to hear.
Maurice, Giorgio, Angela, Klaus; Raeger was there too.
Although Mistel wasn't aware, the reason they had started talking about him was because Raeger had walked over.
Mistel doubted they would say anything important, but he couldn't stop watching and listening.
Then it happened. Giorgio laughed and said, "From what I heard about him the other day, he sounds like a freak."
In the matter of a second, Raeger had smacked Giorgio in the jaw with his fist. It was so unexpected, he was thrown to the ground.
"Nobody calls Mistel a freak!" Raeger shouted, looking down on Giorgio in fury, "Except me."
Mistel didn't wait another second to find out what would happen next. He turned and ran, hoping he would go unnoticed.
When Lillie told Agate, "There's something important I have to talk to you about!" Agate could only wonder what she was so frantic about.
She'd tried to calm Lillie down and figure it out, but Lillie only said, "Not here. Not now. Tomorrow morning, I'll come by your house, okay? Then nobody will overhear."
Now Agate was in her house with a pot of tea and two cups, waiting for Lillie to arrive.
Just as Agate started humming a tune, the door opened and Lillie entered. She looked calmer today, and agreed to have a cup of tea before they began discussing what she had dropped by to discuss.
They were sipping at their tea when Lillie lowered her cup and said, "You're sort of friends with Mistel, right?"
"Yep!" Agate replied.
"Right. That's why I wanted to tell you about this," Lillie said.
Agate put down her teacup and tilted her head curiously.
"Mistel is, like, hyper aware or something. He knows too much… It's like he's inside our minds," Lillie said.
"Uh… what?" Agate mumbled.
"He knows what I'm thinking! I bet he knows what you're thinking! He knows what everyone's thinking!" Lillie exclaimed.
"You mean, he's psychic?" Agate asked.
"No, it's more like he… he can just predict what you're going to do before you do it," Lillie attempted to explain.
"Oh," Agate murmured understandingly, and took another sip of her tea.
"Don't you hear what I'm saying? Mistel knows all our weaknesses! If he wanted, he could… he could… control us all!" Lillie shouted.
"Haha, yeah, he's interesting like that," Agate said.
"...Why aren't you even surprised?!" Lillie questioned.
"Just because I'm not concerned doesn't mean I'm not surprised. But honestly, it doesn't bother me," Agate explained.
"I don't get how you're able to remain so nonchalant," Lillie murmured.
"Well… you're surprised by this… but doesn't that just mean you had the wrong idea about Mistel? You're only surprised because you thought he was someone, and then you found out he was different to what you thought," Agate said.
"I guess that's true… but still!" Lillie grumbled.
"If he did something bad, something that hurt you, on purpose, then I'll hate him," Agate said, her tone of voice changing abruptly. She looked very serious now. "Did he?" she asked.
"No… In fact, what he did was more like helping Fritz, and in turn, helping me," Lillie murmured.
"That's good! You should drink your tea, it must be getting cold," Agate said.
"But… come on! Are you really going to leave it at that? Aren't you curious? Don't you want to know why Mistel's like that?" Lillie asked.
"What are you suggesting? Are you saying you want to try and understand the mastermind?" Agate countered.
"I guess that does sound ridiculous," Lillie sighed, and finished her tea.
"Oh, by the way, if Mistel ever does do something to hurt you, let me know. I'll beat him up for you," Agate promised.
"That won't be necessary!" Lillie replied.
"Hmph. Well, I'll at least be very, very cross with him," Agate said.