When the early morning sunlight spilled through the gap in the curtains into the girls' dorm at Nevermore Academy...
Enid woke up groggily, her consciousness not yet fully online.
She habitually moved her arm and felt she was hugging a... cold, soft body?
Who is this? Why are they in my bed? Enid's brain, still buffering, began to turn slowly, creaking like rusty gears.
Oh, what did we do yesterday... Won the Poe Cup, celebration party, Victor and I seemed to have gotten drunk... Who brought us back in the end?
Wednesday? Wednesday seemed to have dumped Victor and me onto the bed... Oh, wait! So that means... the one I'm hugging right now is... Victor?!
This thought struck Enid like lightning, sobering her up halfway instantly. Her heart began to pound wildly.
A warm rush mixed with shyness and massive surprise surged to her cheeks.
Oh, Wednesday! My best sister! I will thank you for the rest of my life! She screamed silently inside.
Victor isn't awake yet... can I... do whatever I want for just a little bit?
Enid's heart thudded in her chest, and her cheeks flushed.
Her eyes opened halfway. Though her vision was still blurry, she could vaguely make out the silhouette of dark hair beside her.
Holding her breath, with a thief-like excitement and shyness, she puckered her lips and carefully leaned in to kiss the cheek of the blurry figure beside her.
Just then, Wednesday woke up too.
But right now, she wished she hadn't—no, she was incredibly thankful she woke up at this critical moment.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a pair of puckered lips getting closer and closer, and Enid's expression immersed in "blissful fantasy."
Wednesday felt every hair on her body stand on end. A sense of crisis stronger than facing a homicidal maniac seized her instantly.
A split second before those lips touched her cheek, Wednesday shot her hand out, pressing precisely onto Enid's entire face and shoving her away forcefully.
Wednesday's voice carried a rare, near-cracking venom:
"Enid Sinclair! It is not werewolf mating season yet! Keep your saliva-secreting organs away from me! Immediately! Right now! Wake up!"
This familiar voice, this cold touch, this venomous tone... like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguished all of Enid's romantic fantasies.
Enid jolted fully awake, her azure eyes widening.
Her vision focused, and she clearly saw Wednesday right in front of her, wearing a rare expression of revulsion!
"W-Wednesday?!" Enid bounced away, shrinking into the corner of the bed like a startled rabbit. She subconsciously wrapped her nightgown tighter around herself, even quickly looking down inside her clothes to ensure everything was intact. "You... why are you in my bed?!"
Wednesday sat up, expressionlessly straightening the collar of her black nightgown which hadn't been messy at all. The corner of her mouth curled in a sarcastic arc: "Because a certain idiot occupied my bed."
As she spoke, her gaze glanced coldly across the room.
Enid followed her gaze over the edge of the bed and saw Victor Black sleeping sprawled out on Wednesday's bed with the black silk sheets. One leg hung off the edge, an arm hugged the headboard railing. He was sleeping incredibly soundly, even snoring slightly.
"Victor?!" Enid screamed again, her voice full of confusion and a trace of... disappointment? So the one I almost kissed just now was Wednesday? Oh, Wolf Gods above!
Just then, Wednesday showed no intention of getting up. Instead, she sat leisurely on the edge of Enid's bed, looking down at the vintage watch on her wrist, seemingly waiting for something.
"What are you doing?" Enid asked curiously, completely lost.
"I installed a small mechanism on my bed to 'wake me up' when necessary."
Wednesday didn't look up from the watch face, her tone as flat as discussing the weather. "Although I usually do not require such low-level assistance."
Three, two, one... here it comes.
Wednesday counted silently in her mind.
Thwip—!
A slight sound of breaking wind suddenly rang out from the foot of Wednesday's bed!
A small but sharp crossbow bolt shot out from a concealed launcher at the foot of the bed. It drew a cold straight line, whistling precisely past the bridge of Victor's high nose—thunk—and nailing itself deeply into the wooden headboard above his head! The tail of the bolt was still vibrating slightly.
"AWOOOO—!!!"
Victor Black let out a scream comparable to a wolf howl. He jolted awake from his dream, sitting up like a spring. His heart pounded madly, pupils dilated, face written with extreme terror and the confusion of just waking up.
"What's happening?! Enemy attack?! Assassination?! Venom, get up!!" He shouted incoherently, hands groping around him subconsciously as if looking for a non-existent weapon.
Venom was woken by the noise, popping a small, groggy head out of his collar, muttering sleepily: "What's the noise... sun's not even up... Hmm? Smell of metal?"
Wednesday watched his panicked performance coldly, her voice dripping like icy spring water: "Remember what happened last night? About how you 'occupied' my bed?"
Victor clutched his still-racing heart with one hand and rubbed his throbbing temple with the other, trying to piece together memories from the hangover and shock: "Oh... I think I got drunk last night... head hurts... I didn't do anything weird, did I? Wait..."
He frowned, trying hard to recall. Blurry fragments began to flash back—being pushed down by Wednesday, bound, the intense lamp light, and...
As if suddenly capturing a clear fragment, he froze. His eyes darted around, and a suspicious flush rose on his cheeks.
"I think... I remember a little..." His voice grew smaller, carrying uncertainty and shyness. "I seem to have been... pushed down by Wednesday? And then... subjected to some extremely spectacular, artistically level rope play..."
Click-clack-clack—
Enid's neck turned toward Wednesday like a rusty wind-up toy, jerking bit by bit. Her expression was extremely complex—a mix of shock, blankness, and a trace of betrayed grievance.
"You guys..." Her voice was trembling. "Last night... while I was asleep... what did you two do?!"
Tears welled up in Enid's eyes, her voice quivering with grievance: "What were you playing behind my back?!"
Victor seemed completely oblivious to the weird atmosphere. He even added with a hint of bragging: "Wednesday was super professional! That technique was absolutely master-class!"
Wednesday took a deep breath, veins throbbing faintly on her temple. Her cold gaze swept over Victor's face of "innocence" and Enid who was on the verge of tears. Her voice sounded like it was dredged from the depths of an ice cellar:
"Do I need to tie you up as well, so your brain stops manufacturing those baseless and utterly stupid, terrible delusions, Miss Sinclair?"
She took a step forward, looking down at Enid, speaking fast and clearly like reading a dull lab report:
"The essence of the matter is boringly simple: Black broke in drunk, interfering with my independent investigation. To obtain valid information and prevent him from causing further chaos, I employed the most efficient interrogation method—restricting his freedom of movement and conducting targeted questioning."
"The entire process lasted seventeen minutes. It focused mainly on him illegally bribing Thing to monitor me, and his fragmented memories regarding the lab scent and Joseph Crackstone. There were absolutely none of the cheap, vulgar plotlines currently playing in your head."
"Now," Wednesday's gaze was like a scalpel, "do you understand?"
Enid was a bit dazed by this string of cold facts and nodded subconsciously: "Oh... oh, so that's it..."
But the skepticism flickering in those azure eyes clearly indicated that the little theater in her heart had only temporarily dimmed the lights, not completely dispersed the show.