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It was a marriage of pure convenience.
Her "husband," a Snezhnayan doctor, sought a residential permit for his medical license in Fontaine, while she, a sleeper agent, needed a "family" for her undercover mission.
Lumine had spent her entire life as an agent, yet this long-term undercover mission was a territory she never set foot into. She felt exhaustion overwhelming her, driving her to a breaking point. The need to be constantly on alert—to wear a façade at work, at home around her "husband," and every time she stepped outside—was draining her.
The only time she could “be herself” was when she was alone in her room. It was the only time she could remove her plastered smile and allow her weary self to rest—just for the night. But she noticed that, lately, it took her longer to fall asleep. Every time she tried to close her eyes, she ended up staring at the ceiling. Her mind was wandering everywhere, but she knew she could go nowhere. There was no other way to live other than continuing on this mission. There was no other way.
One sleepless night, she looked at herself in the mirror… and all of her thoughts and feelings surfaced.
Lumine felt that she was living as an observer—like she was watching a slice-of-life movie from the sideline as an audience. Everything around her was mundane, but at the same time, exciting and entertaining. She, however, was not a part of the movie. It was something she could never be a part of.
She knew that dreaming to live just like a “regular person” would be unreasonable. There were things in this world that only she was able to do. If she did not go down on this path, “regular people” would not be able to live their lives in peace.
Lumine realized that… all she wanted was to let her guard down—to enjoy the remarkably normal existence she’d never known: the routine of her 9-to-5 work at Palais Mermonia, relaxing at a café with her colleagues afterward, and her leisurely walks in the park. She wanted to fall in love, to marry, and to build a family. She wanted to be one of the “regular people” she wished to protect.
Lumine’s guard became weaker and weaker. However, her enemy’s forces were consistently relentless.
Consequently, that day, Lumine almost lost her life.
Something was off, but Lumine can’t pinpoint what it was.
She was walking home with Mona, her colleague at Palais Mermonia, and was walking by Mona’s favorite coffee shop when she felt something was not right.
Was it the wind? The crowd? Or something on the streets?
It was mostly an instinct—she had gotten no clear signs of danger. At a glance, everything should be safe. Nothing bad should happen, right? It was late at night, but there were too many people. Too many witnesses.
Lumine was on alert, but at the same time she could not focus on anything. Not Mona’s chatter. Not her surroundings. Not her or other people’s safety.
She was incredibly exhausted. Too fatigued to think clearly. She just had overtime at the Palais Mermonia to complete some administrative work (which could let her get important information for her organization). And on the night before, she intercepted the fourth assassination attempt of a popular Fontainian actress (which would trigger a war between nations if she failed).
Lumine sneakily took a glance at the tall buildings around her, worried that there could be a sniper—or two, or multiple. Or was there someone up in the alleys? Lumine could not shake the feeling that something was off.
“Lumine, are you listening to me?” Mona tugged her hand, trying to get her attention as Lumine’s gaze wandered. It was not safe, Lumine thought. She needed to get Mona away. “Mona, can you go ahead? I think I saw my husband.” She lied.
“Huh? Where?” Mona started looking around. Lumine gestured vaguely. “I think I saw him right there. Let me call him. You go on ahead.”
Mona complained, but she let Lumine go. As she walked away, Lumine picked up her phone and pretended to call her husband. “Hi, Aj…”
WHUMP!
A blunt hit.
Lumine fell to the ground. Someone tried to snatch her phone, and as she instinctually tried to make sense of the situation—to protect herself and her surroundings—she saw a knife being swung at her.
She could not react as quickly as she wanted. The knife nearly cut her throat. She hit the assailant—she knew they were an assassin, and she knew the assassin would not miss the second time. Lumine tried to struggle, protecting herself with her purse, but the assassin was quick—too quick. And then…
The assassin stopped. Before Lumine could process anything, they ran away with her purse.
The crowd around Lumine froze. Some screamed. Some tried to stop the assassin. But of course, the assassin outran them.
Lumine trembled. Her heart was pounding hard.
“Lumine!” She heard Mona’s voice among the crowd. “Lumine. Are you okay? Oh Archons. Can you stand up?
A robbery, as the crowd put it. But Lumine knew it was more than robbery. She was almost killed. Mona held the still-shaken Lumine tightly. Her grey eyes darted to someone Lumine did not recognize.
“Thank you, thank you, Mr. Barista. You saved her.” She said.
“No need to thank me. We were just closing when we saw it.” The man Mona called “Mr. Barista” replied. He was one of the baristas at Mona’s favorite coffee shop, it seemed.
Lumine quickly scanned her surroundings to assess for other threats. She saw a broken saucer not far from her. It seemed that the barista hit the assassin with the saucer.
“Are you okay, Miss?” The barista asked.
“...Mrs.” Lumine corrected him. Her voice was shaking.
“I’m… okay…” she added. “I’m okay…”
She was not okay.
Lumine convinced Mona to only walk her up until the lobby of her apartment building. As she was walking to her unit, Lumine received a message from her handler that the threat—the assassin that tried to kill her—had been eliminated.
Rather than relieved, Lumine felt unbelievably uneasy. She felt afraid, frustrated, and exhausted.
She knew that she could not let her guard down. Not now. Not ever. She had to continue the charade and pretense at all times. Even at home. Even when she was by herself. Today, it was her life that was in danger—but what if the next time they would threaten other people’s lives?
Lumine stood by the front door of her unit and took a deep breath. She, of course, had to tell what happened to her husband, but she was unsure how to act.
She finally opened her door. A rush of delicious seafood aroma filled her senses, accompanied by a ginger man—her husband, Ajax—rushing to her with a big smile.
“Welcome home, Lumine!” he said gleefully. “I know you had overtime, so I made my special dish for dinner! Would you like to…” He stopped.
His smile faded instantly. “Lumine, what happened?”
A tear fell along Lumine’s cheek. Before she could stop herself, she softly sobbed and dropped to her knees. Ajax responded by rushing over to her and hugging her. He silently hugged her, consoling her by gently patting her back, as if to assure her everything was okay.
Lumine kept sobbing. She was too exhausted to think or act, but she tried to carry on longer. Just a little longer. If she could only complete her mission. Then maybe… maybe one day, she would be able to live a life just like one of those slice-of-life movies.