Evening at St. Heath's Academy cast long shadows through the hallways as Aurora trailed behind Muen, dragging a broom taller than herself, her pink tail drooping in clear displeasure.
"Thanks for helping me clean the classroom, Aurora," said Muen with an apologetic smile.
Aurora pursed her lips, her expression sulky.
"Second Sister, next time, don't lose track of time spying on Big Sister's practice and end up getting detention again. Now we're stuck cleaning the music classroom."
"Okay, I get it," Muen replied sheepishly, knowing full well this wasn't the first time her curiosity about their eldest sister Noah's training sessions had made her late.
Aurora sighed dramatically, the sound echoing in the quiet hallway.
"This is already the third time this month you've dragged me along for this!"
Muen scratched her head with a nervous laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
"I can't help it, Aurora. Think of it as extra physical training after class!"
"What kind of physical training involves sweeping floors...?" Aurora muttered under her breath, though she continued following her sister.
Despite being a punishment for tardiness, cleaning the music classroom was more symbolic than anything. The students at St. Heath's Academy mostly came from wealthy or noble dragon families, so the school didn't deliberately make punishments too harsh.
However, rules were rules, and minor consequences like cleaning classrooms served as a gentle reminder for students to follow them. If a student repeatedly broke the rules, the school would escalate matters—starting with private discussions with their homeroom teacher and, if necessary, calling in their parents.
Muen's tardiness wasn't considered a serious issue, so even though this was her third offense this month, the school wasn't making a big deal out of it.
"Aurora, don't forget, last semester when you got caught exploiting a loophole in the school rules, I ran laps with you as punishment!"
Aurora pouted, tossing her broom aside and crossing her arms.
"Second Sister, I was already mad about that, and now you're reminding me?"
She huffed indignantly, her pink wings fluttering with annoyance.
"I was just trying to win a few extra progress awards! Why did they call it 'malicious exploitation' of the rules?"
Muen chuckled, resting a hand on Aurora's shoulder.
"The rule was simple: the student with the most improved exam scores would receive a special reward. You just kept scoring poorly on purpose, then acing the next exam to win the award over and over. Of course, they figured it out eventually!"
Aurora's "strategic inconsistency" had initially fooled her teachers and classmates into thinking she had wildly fluctuating performance. But by the end of the semester, her pattern was too obvious to ignore.
Whenever the exam was easy, Aurora would secure the lowest score; when the exam was hard, she'd rank second in the entire year group.
Half the semester's progress awards ended up in Aurora's dorm room. It was only when the dormitory supervisor noticed her stash of prizes that the "scheme" was uncovered.
The homeroom teacher had sternly reprimanded her:
"Aurora, this behavior is unacceptable. These awards are meant for students who genuinely improve through hard work. What you're doing only undermines their meaning."
Aurora had replied nonchalantly,
"Teacher, I wasn't doing it for the prizes."
"Then why did you do it?"
"Because it was fun."
The memory brought a nostalgic smile to Muen's face. Back then, every exam season, the younger students would closely watch Aurora's antics. A flutter of her pink wings was enough to signal that the day's exam rankings were about to be shaken up.
For Aurora, the school might not have understood her, but she had mastered the school's system.
"Alright, Second Sister, stop digging up old stories! Let's just clean up and get this over with!"
Aurora grabbed her broom and scurried off toward the music classroom, her small frame nearly disappearing behind the large cleaning tool.
"Hey, wait for me, Aurora!" Muen called, hurrying after her.
As they reached the music classroom doorway, the sisters chatted casually until they noticed a figure in white dart out from the classroom and disappear down the hall.
Aurora squinted suspiciously, her sharp eyes tracking the retreating form.
"With my years of experience, that person was definitely up to something."
"Are you sure, Aurora?" Muen asked skeptically, peering down the now-empty corridor.
Aurora shrugged, though her expression remained thoughtful.
"Not really. Maybe I'm just trying to sound cool."
"..."
Muen grabbed Aurora's hand.
"Come on, let's just clean up quickly so we can go find Big Sister."
Hand in hand, the two sisters entered the music classroom.
The room looked pristine at first glance—nothing seemed out of place. It was likely that the white-clad figure had simply wandered in by accident. The music classroom was open to students for practice as long as they informed a teacher beforehand.
"Let's get to work!" Muen said enthusiastically, eager to finish so she could spend time with their eldest sister.
Aurora, having "mastered" the school's approach to punishments, resigned herself to the task, knowing it was more symbolic than anything. Together, the sisters began tidying up—Muen sweeping while Aurora dusted the various instruments.
"Hey, Aurora, could you wipe down the piano? I'm swamped over here," Muen called from where she was arranging sheet music.
"On it!"
Aurora wrung out a damp cloth and approached the grand piano. In the evening light filtering through the windows, its polished surface gleamed with an almost regal elegance. Even compared to the one at home, this instrument was exquisite.
Aurora carefully wiped down every corner of the instrument until she reached the keys—and noticed something strange.
"Second Sister, come here!"
"What's wrong?" Muen hurried over, broom still in hand.
The two crouched by the piano keys, their large dragon eyes scanning the black-and-white surface intently.
"Do you see it?" Aurora pointed to several keys in the middle register.
In the fading sunlight, there's a faint layer of dust stuck to these keys in a peculiar pattern."
Muen leaned closer, squinting as she examined the keys.
"You're right. And there's a faint smell of glue. You wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it."
"Glue... That's why the dust is sticking to it," Aurora muttered. She frowned, her brow furrowing in concern.
"But who would put glue on a piano in the music classroom? That's beyond a prank—it's just mean!"
"Could it have been that student in white we saw earlier?"
"Maybe, but they're long gone now, and we don't even know who they are," Muen replied, her voice tinged with frustration.
"Let's clean it off before someone gets their hands stuck," she suggested practically.
"Good idea."
The sisters worked carefully, wiping away the nearly invisible layer of glue from the keys. They made sure every key was clean and smooth before moving on to complete the rest of their light cleaning duties. After finishing, Muen clapped her hands together.
"All done! Let's go find Big Sister now!"
"Okay!" Aurora replied cheerfully, her earlier irritation forgotten.
Just as they were leaving, they heard Muse's bright voice outside the classroom, followed by Hefei's softer response.
"Hefei, I learned a new song yesterday. I'll play it for you!"
"Mm-hmm!" Hefei's voice responded with quiet enthusiasm.
Muse burst into the room, her bright ruby eyes sparkling when she saw her sisters.
"Second Sister! Third Sister! You're here too?"
Muen pulled their youngest sister into a warm hug.
"Are you here to practice, Muse?"
"Yup! I wanted to play my new piece for Hefei. You should stay and listen—it's really good!" Muse pleaded, looking between her two older sisters with hopeful eyes.
Muen hesitated, glancing toward the door.
"But we were going to find Big Sister..."
"She'll be here soon!" Muse promised, her ruby-like eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Big Sister said she'd meet us here after her training!"
"Alright, we'll stay," Muen conceded with a smile.
"Yay!"
Muse eagerly sat at the piano, lifting the cover and running her small fingers over the now-clean keys. As the first notes of a sweet, simple melody flowed through the room, the sisters relaxed, enjoying the serene music and the peaceful end to their day.
But out of the corner of her eye, Aurora caught a glimpse of white movement in the hallway through the classroom's small window. She quickly ran to the door and pulled it open, but when she looked outside, the corridor was empty—the mysterious figure already gone.