Humming a light tune, I pushed open the library doors and mentally prepared myself for tonight's chess match with Diluc. I was in a good mood, considering how well everything has been going. Signora was out of the way, midterms were a sinch, Kaeya and Childe were generally getting along, and my morning with Thoma was the cherry on top. If this keeps up, maybe my lucky streak will be strong enough for me to beat Diluc this time. Unlike just a few days before, the library was near empty. There was no longer a reason to spend extra hours studying, and I know Diluc would appreciate the silence. Surprisingly, I didn't find him sitting at our usual table. Normally, he was the first to arrive, but this could be another sign that I was set to win tonight.

Thinking ahead, I first went over to the cabinet storing the chess materials and decided to set the game up myself. Diluc always had the courtesy to do so, ensuring that our games started right away, and I wanted to return the favor. I neatly sorted the pieces to their designated positions and finished off by lining each side with a row of dutiful pawns. Taking great care to make sure the board was as neat as possible, the setup took more than enough time for Diluc to arrive.

He hadn't shown up yet.

I frowned. Was there something keeping him? There's no way he was busy with tavern work, not with the Sakoku Order still in place. It's not like him to be tardy at all, and I contemplated whether or not I should tease him for it when he did get here.

I waited some more.

Time went on and worry began to pick at me. Though I doubted it, there was a chance Diluc was skipping out on tonight, but why wouldn't he warn me beforehand? If not busy, was he upset? The last time we met, he'd made his feelings for me clear. Even though I wasn't able to properly express the same to him, he said he was alright with that. Diluc's unyielding patience assured me we could continue as we were, but what if he changed his mind since then? He was always so sure of himself—what if he wanted nothing to do with me, someone who couldn't sort out her own feelings until it was too late?

My hands began to sweat as I spiraled into an endless loop of what-ifs, and I forced myself to take a steady breath. Nothing could be said for sure until I spoke to him myself, and I had the time. I could wait all night if I had to.

I was not able to wait all night. The guards didn't allow it.

Now, after being chased out of the library and ushered back to the dorms, I lay restless in bed knowing there would be no chess tonight. That was fine—there was always tomorrow. Diluc had to show up tomorrow, right? If not, I don't think I'd have any choice but to track him down and confront him myself.

Would that be too forward?

I shook the doubt away. Diluc and I were friends first, and friends check in on each other. He'd promised to be here for me, and I wanted to be there for him as well. Whatever it was that kept him occupied, I hoped it wasn't too serious. If it was, I hoped there was some way I could help him out—he would do the same for me. At least, he would if he knew everything. As far as Diluc was concerned, I was just doing my best to get through a regular year at the Academy, but there was so much more to that.

Kaeya, Childe, Thoma, and now…Diluc?

With a groan, I squished my face into my pillow. It still smelled like Kaeya—not what mattered right now. I trusted Diluc. I really did. Though, it did make me uneasy for a fourth person to know. At this rate, my entire friend group would be a part of Operation: Uncovering Lumine's Hidden Power in addition to the treasure hunting turned Abyss Order side quest that would undoubtedly put them at risk. I didn't want that for them. Ideally, everyone would be doing their best to get through a regular school year.

What's more, is that I was nervous about how Diluc would respond. He was someone who didn't tolerate lies, and though omitting information wasn't necessarily lying…I winced. He might see it as a lie. Not only that, but he might be upset once he finds out I told three other people first. I worried more about that than Diluc wondering why I waited so long to tell him.

I forced my eyes shut in an attempt to fall asleep. Instead, an image of Diluc flickered in my mind. How I envisioned his reaction to my truth—a stony expression, eyes that grew distant. Disappointment. Frustration.

I imagined him saying, "I should have known better."

Worse, "I understand. If you find no need to concern me with the important factors in your life, then perhaps I should not be concerned with you at all."

My heart sank. I would rather have nightmares than cause him to look so crestfallen. The more I thought about it, the more realistic it seemed that Diluc would want nothing to do with me. In his eyes, he would think that I didn't trust him enough—that he wasn't deserving of it.

Stop it, Lumine. Think positive thoughts.

Maybe it wasn't too late. I still had a chance to tell him, and it's better late than never. Whatever his reaction may be, I would have to accept it no matter how much my heart hurt.

Without a shred of an appetite, I entered the dining hall and stifled a yawn. Diluc was the last topic on my mind when I went to sleep and the first to pop up once I woke up. By the end of today, I would know for sure how things turn out. Making it to tonight's chess match without stressing myself to death was what I had to worry about for now.

"Hey, girlie," Childe swooped in at my side. "What are you feeling for breakfast?"

I shrugged. "I'm not really hungry, so maybe I'll just grab a glass of juice."

He paused with a frown. Ocean-blue eyes scanned me and probably noticed the tiredness that dragged at my face. "Did you have one of those nightmares last night?"

"Haven't had them for a while," I shook my head. "Just didn't get good sleep."

"In that case, we need to make sure you get your energy somehow," he sighed. "Just juice won't do, how about some Omelette Rice?"

I scrunched up my nose. "Too heavy."

"Onigiri, then?" he suggested.

I considered it.

"I'm not letting you leave this building without eating something first."

"So demanding," I sighed. "Fine. Onigiri it is."

"Perfect," he grinned. "I'll get the same."

Childe stood by me as we waited in line for our breakfast, and I did my best to shake off last night's rabbit hole of worst-case scenarios. With how perceptive Childe was acting right now, I'm sure he would notice if I let my mind stray back to Diluc. For now, I could distract myself with food. When it came to my turn to order, I asked for one Onigiri.

Childe interjected. "She'll have two."

I shot him a look, and he simply shrugged.

With our identical trays in hand, the next stop was our table, but a commotion in the center of the room caught my attention. Students were excitedly murmuring to themselves, clustering around one table in particular. I couldn't get a clear visual of who was sitting there, though. Too many bodies were packed around it, and curiosity got the better of me.

"Hang on," I switched directions. "I want to hear what they're talking about. You can head to the table. I won't be long."

Childe followed me anyways. "I didn't know you were into hot gossip."

Once I got close enough, I stood on my toes to catch a glimpse of a pointed hat that drooped to the side. The face of its wearer remained obscured, and I grumbled in my frustration.

"Who is that?"

"Oh, her?" Childe said. "That's Mona. I know her from the Astronomy elective I took last year. She's such a try-hard."

I craned my neck to look at him. "Are you sure you just aren't a slacker?"

"Trust me," he said. "From the very first day in that class, Mona made it extremely obvious she already knew everything about the stars. That aside, I asked if she could tell my fortune once, and she said the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard."

Just then, the girl sitting at the table—Mona—cleared her throat. All chatter quieted as everyone turned their full attention to the third-year. Slowly, she lifted her head, and the brim of her hat revealed eyes full of mirth.

"Come on," someone cajoled her. "Tell us what happened with Signora last night!"

Mona laughed quietly. "You may address me as Astrologist Mona Megistus, meaning 'The Great Astrologist Mona.' If it is divination you seek from me, then I ask you respect my name by learning it wholly, here and now."

Divination? Was she some type of fortune teller?

A coin pouch full of Mora jingled as another student tried to get her attention. "I'll pay if you go into detail about it!"

"You can't use things like Mora to determine the value of astrology!" Mona gasped. "Astrologers must rid themselves of material desires. Furthermore, the work of the astrologer is to show people what fate has in store for them, not look into what occurred in the past."

"But aren't you the great Astrologist Mona Megistus?" Childe jumped in with a mischievous tone. "I guess astrology isn't all that it's cracked up to be if you can't even look into the past just a little bit."

I whispered to him. "Looks like I'm not the only one interested in hot gossip."

"She's dragging her feet," he whispered back. "Mona likes drama as much as the next person. I'm sure she'll crack eventually—just wait and see."

"Alright, alright," Mona sighed with a slight smile creeping onto her face. "I suppose I could take a quick peek. What was it again, last night at the docks? Hm, yes, my scryglass will be enough to do the trick—no need for the celestial globe."

We all watched in anticipation as Mona summoned an intricate circle made from Hydro. It floated in the air in front of her, put together by a series of runes and shapes I was unfamiliar with. At the center of the circle glowed the shifting image of a starry night sky. The depiction of the stars was so detailed, it felt as though I was staring directly into a galaxy. I couldn't make sense of any of it, but Mona's eyes scanned the circle as if it were a complex book. Her brows drew together with focus, and she would occasionally widen her eyes. Whatever she saw, it must have been interesting. Mona reached her hands out to the circle, and I noticed she wore gloves—probably to keep her hands dry. With nimble fingers, she adjusted the outer rungs of the circle at different angles.

"I see," she said as her scryglass circle burst into tiny droplets of water. "I wasn't able to glean any of the conversations had, but there is a clear picture of what happened with Signora last night." She paused, and everyone kept their attention sharp. "As we all know by now, that terrible tyrant got expelled and was supposed to be sent back where she came from. The guards were there to make sure she didn't escape, but what they didn't count on was someone else's interference."

Did someone try to stop Signora's expulsion?

"She was lucky to escape with her life," Mona murmured.

Everyone gasped, including me.

"Hm, how should I put this? She made it to the docks fine, no issues at all. But then, almost out of nowhere, she and the guards were jumped by a…I guess you could say an onslaught of flames. The assailant was quick and tenacious—her dress even caught fire. To save herself, Signora ultimately dove into the water."

Giggles filtered through the crowd.

"The guards fished her right out, and there was no further sign of the mysterious assailant as if they disappeared into the night. Not even I was able to discern who they were, only a dark shadow. Perhaps someone wished to deal out their own punishment to Signora before she was gone for good."

"Do you think a student did it?" I wondered aloud.

Mona's eyes latched onto mine. "I did sense a certain element of…vengeance."

"It could have been anyone," Childe scoffed. "She's wronged more people than she hasn't."

"This is true," Mona nodded. "I do not need to make use of my divination to be aware of that, but don't go asking me who it was. My powers do not reach into the territory of identification, and I'm afraid my salad will wilt if I spend any further time entertaining you all."

With her dismissal and everyone's curiosity mostly satisfied, students dispersed to their own tables. I caught snippets of side conversations as Childe and I crossed the dining hall. Speculations over the attacker's identity were in full force, and not-so-subtle glances were being directed toward the Pyro table.

"Oh, good!" Amber waved at me once we sat down. "I was going to go over there myself to see what everyone was talking about, but I figured it'd be easier to just wait for you to come back. So? Anything interesting?"

I relayed the information about Mona's divination. When I got to the part about the attacker, Amber's fork clattered to her plate. She covered her mouth with both hands, and her eyes had widened with shock.

"That's terrible," she whispered.

"At least no one else was hurt," Thoma commented. "If the docks caught fire and it spread any further, that would have been a lot of trouble for the townspeople."

"Whoever it was had a good reason," Childe shrugged. "No use in dwelling on it now. The past is in the past."

"Violence is never the answer," Amber murmured.

Bennett jumped in. "Do you think Signora was scared?"

"Of course, she'd be scared," Xiangling said. "Anyone would be!"

Amber looked at me. "Are you sure they have no idea who it was?"

"The best lead would be a Pyro Vision holder, I guess."

Bennett's jaw dropped. "Do you think people are going to start suspecting us?"

"There are other ways to attack with fire," Thoma added. "Like with alchemy. Let's not worry about it too much until more news comes out. Breakfast is getting cold."

"You're eating Mint Jelly," Childe rolled his eyes. "It's already cold."

Thoma blinked down to look at his plate and laughed. "Oh, you have a point there."

The conversation then fell to what Amber and the others were discussing before—their thoughts on when the Sakoku Order would be ending. The general consensus was that the Raiden Shogun had to lift it sooner rather than later, especially with the lack of Abyss Order activity since the monster attack. I was only half-tuned into what everyone had to say. My mind continued to wander back to what Mona said, her piercing eyes so certain of her revelations.

The mysterious attacker was prompted by vengeance, and they wanted to get to Signora while they still had the chance. Was the ultimate goal to scare her? Wound her? Kill her? I couldn't decide on which one, but a part of me was oddly appreciative of the attack. When it came to Signora…I could make an exception for the violence. The Academy would positively be seeking out that person's identity, and that would probably lead to another expulsion. With the consequences in mind, I hoped the attacker's identity would forever remain a secret.

mona 3