“Card of Betrayal”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn17Zcv9OK4
The girls Assembly Hall the following morning is the venue for the second Tribunal. Curtains drawn; bell silent. Only selected prefects, Order affiliates, and nominated students have been summoned. The rest go about their normal school routine mostly unaware of the tension in the hall.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvY4HV2EMe
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsq3E80OrB7
To her left: June and Mary. To her right: Kim, silent, unreadable. In front of her: the M.O.3 crate, now cleaned, re-sealed, chalk mark intact.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sR9rC2sQx
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzPXJtZJXr
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eLiaLIbD1
The prefects stood still. No movement.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtSZHEjAd7
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzQedSKuH0
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0BKk5wHjO
Perfectly wrapped.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDMmgqPScP
She reached in.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NNo8qDAug
Paused.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBB72umOt6A
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RSREl3kr1
Gasps rang through the hall.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQ89UDbsht
Naomi stared at it, frozen.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagUNzkLXAT
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNnNWtfyQW
Mary stepped forward, too late.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjkpYVSyOj
“There’s been a switch—!”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMWKtDthEY
But the room had already turned.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjFdRanHP6
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SA2eHF6vF
“Was this whole thing a setup?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzC9D18yO1
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlDRYwIiiZ
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeIVltxFUx
Naomi placed the card down without a word.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiOYvl3HPl
The silence was suffocating.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgSOSvLejv
Then she said, slowly:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIC03gy96Q
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8Xw1POPME
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCsLqzKNGl
Kim whispered, “There were two?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzTWlAlpV5
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1BVav3YdC
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVz3ZADaQk
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAtFGh1kpY
“She’s not in control.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHsKKfw0pr
“This was never about safety.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8rmGtNBNV
“Mercy’s winning.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡam1rXdaScB
Suddenly—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65eL7o9rFM
June stepped forward. Without asking.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKnp0sr8Ux
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSyMKniLfD
Gasps rang out.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmFKUFyOW8
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMbKcW7zXA
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65aBlMtmgN
One name:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgla5po9x4g
Ayo.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfhZV7qgDg
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvkJZmd1Dg
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxCykHWsPv
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSn7QtComu
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqmwg6Zetd
June turned to the room:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzqUgesiFs
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBH194u6fNV
Gasps deepened into murmurs.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSR7wg0iaP
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HVl9vnEqR
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRTllthKXC
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1x2ECQJGF
Naomi finally nodded.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK84BVgNEau
She turned back to the room.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EkTPH9IIL
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GLgkd0gHr
“The Tribunal is postponed.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcu64u3sHg
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3d1xegOJ3Z
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4HiGWHDLV
That’s when Mary stepped forward.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHS8xxvQ1B
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0pudXGwkI
Naomi turned.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAG9rU4RuC
“Not now, Mary—”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeBX8GGJgN
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4fAV8qJZ8
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIesK0J51F
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXhP6G4pnh
She unrolled the pages on the center table.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqgXZAA2P4
Real ledger pages.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LTeeQIuh7
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvLeoSos0j
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOZ2hOk4pc
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTxErv0QDg
Invented correspondences.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Y3bpOtk7M
Mary flipped to one marked in red:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAt5CCUcZCz
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16SxOS2zS4
Naomi stared at it.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3k0TU7SU8D
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLqUEgV5g8
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk662gFtwQy
Then — finally:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpfVPnQHmn
“Partially. The cover-ups happened. But I didn’t know about all of them. I let the fear run the archive. And I let Mercy control that fear.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuDpjSLARN
She stepped back from the lectern.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZROGMHVJvb
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtP1apteE9D
Mary rolled the pages up again.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCe47ZsI9D
“How can we trust that you are not trying to protect yourself. We need to decide what to do with this. Not the Order. Not even you, Naomi.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLrqzg9oUH
Naomi nodded.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWra0A6rgPC
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLOKPj70DM
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeLlrwZxoY
As Mary rolled up the real ledger pages and Naomi sat in quiet resignation, a slow clap echoed from the back of the Tribunal Hall.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuihrho6Mp
All heads turned.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomcecGcgn9
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SSOkkJcFB
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPiwIAae4t
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5eu2NK8FM
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCL5WMIQtUa
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflCYqjnM6N
“You covered for each other. You buried girls under perfect files and soft threats and fake silence. And now you want to be forgiven because someone else did worse?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vWLmAe5ZL
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmKhW2mHsP
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoV5haCTK0i
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd20rmxurHJ
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXdzUpIXAx
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVV8ZGKdNZy
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8Yvccbnid
She faced the remaining prefects.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTe8TBcvr1
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJD5p2YmmaG
She turned.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSj9DnrdIX
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXXqL3uF9n
And she walked out.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NJhSCM6Ih
No one followed.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vE9x6LrTR
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcXNCdviV4
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeq7T8LmTe2
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7t2wTEZ9p
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDohiIabGn9
Seline’s vow still echoed in the minds of those who remained. Naomi had retreated behind the archive walls. Mary and June spoke in hushed tones beside the crate.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQntuqii12S
Kim slipped outside.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWuyUKdWA7
She didn’t notice the breeze at first, or the swirl of jacaranda petals on the stone steps. Only when a shadow moved beside her did she exhale.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGQ6VguWhc
Shiko.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIBrkNTMC4
No words — just presence.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm19M94dUCc
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIOP4ujl3A
“You were right,” she whispered.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzBQC188RQ
“You didn’t flinch.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWc3jeEGYJe
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdD287cEYJg
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5WDMScxKQ
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6pWZcIyh4
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0X6Wh787Ri
Kim turned her face toward her.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3Ac3x9bBj
“Why?”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvEL1G7GQc
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTV5CAfCcp
A pause.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlZNChrbUf
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepTOJUhUAo
But then — her eyes flicked.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuH9JFIUd1
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtVmSBfPas
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShO6lzlWPS
Her breath caught.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgELcxm2Gg
She pulled back gently.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJe0yLwm0v
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2F6Ks0h1sy
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJGE2YJ6S7
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
然後按「加至主畫面」