L has created his own hole and, since I have no intention of getting my hands dirty with mud, I will make sure that it is his own actions that make him stumble and fall into it.

I unintentionally planted the first seed and, as if it were a real seedling, I have to be careful how much water to give it, because I don't want it to die at birth. For this reason, I have to carefully calculate the key moments when Rae is most susceptible to other people's opinions, i.e. mine, which should be more significant than anyone else's here, especially considering that I would have nothing to gain – at least from her perspective – since I'm not part of the project and I'm not trying to overtake her.

It might take longer than I would like, but I'm in no hurry at the moment and a less violent approach might save me a direct reply from L. He won't be able to tell me to stop influencing her or reveal the reasons for his choice, although I doubt there could be anything so convincing that would compensate for favouritism towards others who are not part of the Apexes. Not even the fact that her integration is recent can explain it, since she is part of it anyway, whereas Faust has never even entered the realm of possibility to be considered as such.

Despite thinking of him as incompetent, I must take into account the chance that he has already warned Rae and Ayla of some of the ways in which I might intervene, even though we discussed that I shouldn't, and that he realises what I'm doing.

Normally, I wouldn't have bothered, because it is normal to ask for explanations about differential treatment, but L is L. He knows what my aim and desire is regarding his failing project. There is no doubt that his mind decides to act in a strange and twisted way and finds a way to blame me.

I still don't understand how seeing my reaction to the aliases helped him. I don't know what he was trying to prove: my temperament, my relationship with the two or the argument that I resent him because his name is L.

On the last point, he did not explicitly say that he thought so, but he tried, and I was the one who had to stop him, because I did not want him to think about it too long or for me to betray myself in any way. I believe, though, that my first question posed to him led him to consider that path probable, and forbidding Rae and Ayla from communicating their aliases to me showed that he really did go down that road. It has revealed my attachment to their names, which, linked to my hatred of his, may indeed steer him in a direction that, I regret to admit, is correct.

Therefore, I must be careful. I cannot give him any more hints.

This is not to say that he is any good as a 'detective'. It was more of a mistake on my part, because I was too rash and did not seek out the necessary information to attack him effectively, as I usually do. I would never have done that if I had known who L really was, and he would have had nothing to start from.

As already mentioned, I am not usually so careless. I always try to be careful not to leave any breadcrumbs behind, taking into account as many variables and cases as possible, but L's arrival was not a predictable situation. Too early and too close to the accident.

I wonder if I would have reacted differently if he had arrived in the middle of spring and a few years later. The vision that appears to me tends to be similar, because I am affected by what is happening, but if I try to distance myself and ignore the present as much as I can, in a world where both of us are not like we are now, I would probably have helped him patch up the flaws in his project and Rae and Ayla to be considered A and B, so they could be chosen first.

However, that's not the reality we live in, and L is the complete opposite of that true ideal of justice he wants to simulate; therefore, all I have left to do is to shoot him down, before he can ruin the lives of my two best friends, and I'm on the right track, because as much as I can't persuade them that it's not worth it – at least for now –, I'm slowing down its implementation.

My mere presence, it seems, is enough to put L in a stagnant situation until he understands the reasons for my actions, which, if I can perfectly conceal them, gives me years to work with. I'd say that's a pretty wide window.

I thought I'd focus on both, so I'd hit L from both flanks, but Ayla feels great respect and immense admiration for Rae. It means that pushing the latter out of the project has a high probability of leading Ayla to do the same. In this way, I would put them safe and secure, also eliminating this strange relationship that Ayla and L seem to possess, isolating him more, since I noticed that except for a few 'chosen ones', including Elioenai, Natal and, for some strange reason, Lex (though explainable by the latter's initiative and not by any real interest on L's part), he doesn't talk to anyone else.

I had expected him to be more involved in the business of Wammy's House, since he considers himself supreme master of a third of the lives of those within it and Watari seems to take more orders from him than vice versa, but he is not. He likes to stay in his room a lot and limit himself only to trips to the library and the kitchen, outside breakfast, lunch, and dinner times, including snack hours, that is.

And I know this not because I follow him, but because I run into him in the corridor at night, while everyone is asleep. I suppose he thinks I do it because I want to get my card back, since, whenever he sees me, he shows it to me. It is my intention, by the way, just not under those circumstances.

He thinks he knows me and has the advantage. Pretty pathetic, but all right. If he has a misconception about who I am and how I behave, I can hit him from an unexpected corner.

Going back to what I said before. Ayla is the one who gets him out of his room, and he doesn't seem to be able to say no to her, which is both a good and bad thing from my point of view. Honestly, I would be more inclined to say that it is Ayla who ignores his noes and forces him to follow her, meaning she yanks him or pushes him out, but I am rarely present when this happens; therefore, I am unable to explain it.

In any case, despite the various dynamics he has with the different members of his project, one thing is clear: he is solitary, which should make it easier for me to isolate him completely.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if his seclusion within those four walls is also due to the presence of Two Tones. Perhaps he has finally managed to make himself understood and communicate that his hair is not a nest, but I sincerely hope that this is not the case, because I refuse to believe that a pigeon, described as a loyal and affectionate bird in the book I read, could love his company.

And this aspect is something I should work on. I do not mean to establish a bond with a pigeon, but to be able to find a way to get more information about him. Observation, which I rely on a lot regarding others, is futile in his case and asking Ayla or him directly is unthinkable. I don't even think I can install

I heard a knock and I found myself huffing as, for the umpteenth time, I was interrupted during a moment of discussion with Mazzaroth. Rather than say they could come in, I preferred to get up and open the door, so that the visit would not be prolonged, and I could have almost total control over it. All I would need to do was close it and the only way to stop me would be by using a body part, which no one would dare, for fear of hurting themselves.

"How do I look?" That was the first question Lex asked me as soon as I found him in front of me.

I should have memorised the way he knocked, so I would know when or not to open. I tried to close the door, but Lex managed to stop me from doing so, putting his not-previously-injured foot in the way, which didn't seem to particularly hurt, since he had his shoe on.

"You persist." I remarked.

"Perseverance is a virtue of mine." He replied with a smile. "So...?" With a wave of his hand, he pointed to his new hairstyle.

'Why me?' was all I wanted to say. I was not an expert in that area. I had limited myself to learning what was necessary about Ayla's curly hair, which, according to Mrs Nkiruka, hairdresser in the centre of Winchester, was quite dense – less than hers – and required special treatment in order to remain strong and healthy.

We had chosen Saturday as the day to wash it and it was, honestly, my favourite day, because it took us a while to dry it and, therefore, it meant being alone in her company, without third parties to occupy her time. Sometimes I would even have to pretend that I hadn't finished drying them, so that we could stay together longer, as it could happen without me feeling like a burden.

She spent most of her time talking about chemistry, which I still had a hard time understanding, since she was at an extremely advanced level that I could never reach, and I didn't even try, because I wanted to be able to ask her as many questions as possible about the subject. I guessed she realised that I was repeating some of them, but she did not reprimand my ignorance. Rather she explained everything to me in simpler terms and made sure I comprehended it.

I had also tried to learn the typical Ghanaian braids, so that I could do them without having to wait for Mrs Nkiruka. However, the bald dolls in the toy basket not only justified the ire of many of the inhabitants of Wammy's House, but also my best friend's concern and refusal to end up like them.

To compensate for the damage created by my inability to regulate the force I was using, Watari had bought wigs for them rather than new dolls, because they were still usable, and he probably didn't want that to happen again.

Lex's new haircut was definitely a drastic change. He had arrived at Wammy's House with a really short haircut, but in the year he had spent there, he had refused to keep it and it had grown to just above his shoulders. He had limited himself to a couple of snips at the front of his hair, so that it stopped coming completely over his eyes, preferring a long side fringe.

However, now, he had gone to a full fringe, which covered his forehead, and a bowl cut, but which was not as neat as I had seen in the hairdresser's magazines. The lower part was almost as full as the upper part. It also helped that his hair was slightly wavy, because, at least, he did not look like a medieval monk ready to be part of The Dame's narrative.

"You look good. It brings out your eyes." I told him, repeating the words Mrs Nkiruka had used with me.

"Meaning...?" He assumed a slightly defensive stance.

"Your eyes are pretty." I replied. "The fringe draws attention to them."

"Oh! Now, yes, I see... Pretty, huh? I thought..." He shook his head. "It's all thanks to my dad, because I have them like his! My mother always tells me that!" His face lit up again.

At that moment, I realised that I could no longer send him away so easily, but I still had to try, in order not to betray the promise I had made to myself.

"They're like lychees, aren't they? My father always calls them that, 'lychee eyes'."

"I don't know what they are." I replied in the least interested tone possible, hoping it would dissuade him from continuing.

"They are the fruit of this tropical tree in China!" He continued, even more enthusiastic than before. "I have never eaten them, but my father tells me they were his favourite fruit as a child and... Ah! You don't know what I would give to be able to taste them! Anyway, I hit the jackpot, didn't I? With the cut. If it brings out my eyes, it's perfect, right?"

"Yes, but you're using the present tense." I pointed out. "I thought your parents were dead."

Lex parted his lips slightly, probably because he didn't expect me to know, since he'd never told me directly. I overheard him mention a certain car accident while he was having a conversation with someone else a few months prior. I didn't know who exactly, because they were in the library, the other person was covered by the shelves, and I had turned back when I realised he was there. I hadn't done it because I was uncomfortable in his presence, but it was late and I wanted to find a dinosaur book, since I had finished my colouring one and hadn't yet asked Watari to buy me another one. In short, I wanted to be alone.

I had simply put two and two together. If his family had been involved in an car accident and he had become an orphan, it was logical to assume that it had deprived his parents of the chance to take care of him, meaning they were dead.

Lex took longer than I imagined to resume speaking, and when he did, that 'yes' he uttered turned out to be feeble.

"They are." His tone didn't change much, though he tried to hide it with a rather forced smile, which didn't even last a second.

We stood looking at each other for a few seconds and I was about to ask him to move so I could close the door, but a series of quick footsteps coming up the stairs caught both of our attention. I opened the doorway wider and leaned forward in time to see L run into his room and slam the door hard. Soon after, Ayla appeared as well, charging against it, managing to move it slightly.

"L! Watari also said you must cut it!" She said, continuing to push, but being repelled by the strange strength L possessed.

The latter didn't respond verbally to Ayla, limiting himself to that game of doors. After a few minutes, in which Lex and I continued to watch that scene in silence, Ayla grew tired and turned to me.

"Are you going to cut your fringe?" She asked, trying to catch her breath, and I merely shook my head. "Oh, okay. You—"

L walked out of the room. "Oh, okay?" He repeated her words in disbelief, and Ayla didn't waste a second and tried to grab his arm.

L managed to back away, but not enough, because Ayla clung to the sleeve of his white sweatshirt. After falling to the ground in an attempt to get away, he decided to take it off, remaining in his vest, and took refuge inside again.

"L!" Ayla threw his sweatshirt to the ground. "C'mon!"

L opened the door slightly, just enough to show his face. "Where was my 'oh, okay' when I said no? You even made me drop my lollipop. It was my favourite flavour, and it was also my last one, and you knew that."

"Two Tones literally thought your hair was a nest!" Ayla retorted.

"I consider that a compliment. It means she trusts me." He slammed the door shut.

Ayla emitted a cry of frustration, and I wondered why that interest in the anti-justice's hairstyle. Was it because Watari had told L to cut it and, given the close relationship the owner and Ayla had and the boy's disobedience, she felt compelled to complete that task on his behalf?

"Well... I'm off." Lex said and I looked back at him, in time to get one last glimpse of his face.

I was about to say goodbye, but the words died in my throat at the brief sight of his lucid eyes.