Chapter 10

-Remon's Room-

After days of sleepless nights, the exhaustion and sleep deprivation were finally catching up to her. She had no choice but to rest so she could investigate more efficiently later. However, afraid of missing anything important, Remon asked Leo to take over for a while.

“You want me to sit here and wait for this ‘Malvine’ guy, who you suspect as the one who accused Rein to post something?”

Remon nodded.

“And you also want me to monitor his house’s CCTV feed?”

Another nod, her eyes barely open.

“And… you want me to hack his phone too?”

Remon hummed, giving a slow nod.

“Did you seriously think I can hack someone’s phone?”

“Aren’t you… me? Shouldn’t that be possible?”

“I- Remon, just because we’re ‘twins’ doesn’t mean we’re the exact same.”

“Eh, why not…” she mumbled, yawning.

“I can’t hack. You do it.”

“Mm… fine.” Remon sluggishly climbed out of bed, sat in front of her laptop, and started typing with half-lidded eyes. After a moment, she turned the screen to Leo.

“There. Now you can watch his phone and his room live. Just take a photo or screenshot whenever something new happens. Up to you.”

She stretched, then crawled back into bed. “Goodnight.”

Leo sighed deeply, feeling the weight of responsibility Remon had effortlessly shifted onto him. So much responsibility on his shoulders as he started to worry if boredom would get the best of him and he’d end up falling asleep too.

A few minutes passed—nothing happened. The screen showed Malvine’s room slowly dimming as he drifted off to sleep. His house was surrounded by cameras, all of which Remon had hacked into.

The other rooms were still. No movement. Just classic furniture in sight. The living room, quiet. The dining room, silent. Outside, only a few vehicles passed by.

Malvine’s phone seemed normal, left charging beside his bed. The lack of activity made it harder for Leo to stay awake. To keep himself occupied, he picked up a book from Remon’s bookshelves and started reading.

As he flipped through the pages, something shifted on the screen. A faint movement. The room lights up—but Malvine is nowhere in sight.

Leo’s heart pounded. He hadn’t been paying attention. Had he missed something? His eyes darted across the screen. Stillness. Nothing happened. His panic grew.

“Crap, my fault. What happened? Where is he? Oh please, please, please…”

Then, on the right side of the monitor, Malvine’s phone screen lit up. Malvine, or maybe someone else, was using it. A small wave of relief washed over Leo.

“Alright, can’t miss this one.”

The screen displayed a video—a YouTuber playing a game. Leo frowned, watching closely. After a while, the video stopped. The phone screen went dark again.

He quickly shifted his focus back to the CCTV feed. There, Malvine stepped out of the bathroom, phone in hand.

Malvine walked back to his room, turned off the lights, and lay down again.

“Ah, it’s just a bathroom break..” Leo exhaled, relief washing over him, at least he hadn’t missed anything important.

The entire night passed in complete stillness. Malvine remained asleep, and nothing significant happened.

As morning arrived, Remon finally woke up. Leo, still seated at the laptop, glanced at her and sighed.

"Nothing much to see," he reported.

Remon nodded, washing her face before returning to the screen. Without hesitation, she rewound the footage and began scanning through everything she had missed.

Leo watched as she sped up the video, replaying the same sections over and over again. He frowned, confused by her persistence.

"Uh, Remon, there’s really nothing-"

"Look."

Leo leaned in as Remon dragged the video timeline to a specific moment.

On the screen, Malvine’s phone lit up for just a second. A notification flashed, then disappeared almost immediately.

“Huh… that’s weird,” Leo muttered. “But what does it mean?”

“Wait,” Remon muttered, eyes narrowing. She paused the footage and leaned in.

“No way…” A single notification had flashed for barely a second. Her heartbeat quickened. “Leo, look at this.”

Leo leaned in, his eyes narrowing at the screen. He hadn't noticed anything before, but now—

"What?" He blinked, both surprised and confused. “Someone published a new chapter of Rein’s book.”

“Wait… Who would do that?”

“I’m pretty sure the one who accused Rein of plagiarism.”

“What?”

“Right, I haven’t explained yet.” Remon exhaled, then continued. “Rein’s hobby is writing. He used to publish his stories online, but not anymore. He abandoned them a while ago because of that accusation. That’s the reason he stopped sharing his work publicly.”

Leo’s brows furrowed. “Does he still write after that, though?”

“Yeah. He still writes for himself, but now only shares it with a few trusted people. That’s why this is strange. Someone had it and decide to publish it.”

“Who the hell would do that in the middle of the night?” Leo asked, glancing at the footage of Malvine, still sound asleep. “It couldn’t have been Malvine… right?”

“That’s the question.” Remon’s gaze remained fixed on the screen. “If he wasn’t awake, someone else must’ve done it. The other writer, maybe. If they’re working together, it makes sense.”

“You think Malvine and the other writer are in on this together?”

“It’s possible.”

Leo crossed his arms. “Do you know who the writer is?”

“I do. But I haven’t looked into them much yet.”

Leo leaned back, processing everything. “So what you’re saying is that Malvine accused Rein of plagiarism, which made Rein stop publishing, and now, in the middle of the night, someone uploaded Rein’s new chapter?”

“Yes.”

“That’s… interesting.” Leo shook his head in amazement. “You’re smart, Remon.”

Remon didn’t react. Her face remained unreadable, her sharp eyes still focused on the screen.

“Hmm.”