Lola had heard of Yuri far too many times to count, but she had never seen her in person. She had seen pictures of her, though, and Yuri didn’t look like Yugi at all. They had some resemblance, but there was a clear difference between the two.
If she were to base it solely on Yuri’s picture, Lola could tell she was the total opposite of Yugi. The twin brother was bright and mischievous, while Yuri’s every photo carried a fed-up and exhausted air about her.
Lola cleared her throat as she peeled her gaze from the reports she had been reading. Slowly, she turned to the one-seater couch where Atlas perched, reviewing the same reports.
"Baby," she called, watching him lift his gaze to her. "I don’t think I asked, but how did Yuri end up in the Order again?"
Atlas leaned back and thought about it for a second. "She wanted to kill Ray."
"Huh? Ray?" Lola knitted her brows as she tried to rummage through her memory. "You mean Zoren’s cousin? The one who used to pursue Penny but now pesters Mint?"
"Yes, him." Atlas nodded. "Ray might be like that, but he’s a smart person and is currently the headmaster of the academy Yuri worked for."
Lola blinked and blinked, waiting for more information. The only reason she asked was not out of pure curiosity, but rather to get a broader understanding of Yuri’s character and situation.
"She said that Ray overworked her," he continued, "and she was losing her mind, that she might end up wringing his neck."
Lola’s face twitched, not expecting such a strange backstory.
"Moreover, Yuri was worried she’d end up buried in work and wouldn’t be able to live normally," he added. "However, those were just the simple things that got her into the Order. What truly got Yuri into the Order was because... she found out about it."
"Huh?"
"One of my visits to Anteca, I was talking to Penny and Hugo about a particular case. It was a high-profile case that was well known globally," Atlas explained. "The public knew how the case was solved, but some details were left out. After all, the case was resolved because of the Order’s advanced profiling and lab technology."
He paused, knowing his wife could fill in the blanks, before adding, "Yuri ended up overhearing our conversation."
"Oh..." Lola furrowed her brows. "And then?"
"She was fascinated by it," he shrugged. "Right then and there, she wanted to be part of the Order. Naturally, I refused the idea. Penny and Hugo tried their best to talk her out of it, even dragging Yugi into it. However, she simply got angry when she found out Yugi was aware of the Order’s and the Secret Society’s existence."
"So, with her stubbornness... you ended up agreeing in the end?"
"Not right away. I only agreed when she figured out where the Order was."
"Huh?" That got Lola’s interest. "She found out where the Order was? All on her own?"
He nodded, making her mouth fall open.
"Wow," she said in awe. "That’s some serious skill she’s got."
"Even I was surprised she found out where the Order was. It made me wonder how she did it, but she had advantages. She is, after all, family. Hence, my shadow guards and men didn’t see her as a threat and let her be. Rather, they were even curious if she would succeed."
"Even so, that’s still impressive," Lola remarked. "Even I don’t think I could find the Secret Society or the Order in such a short time."
Not that the Order’s island was hidden, but it was far enough to create its own world. Even if someone found the place, they would just think it was a normal island with some hidden tourist spots.
"Yuri is a natural," Atlas nodded. "We never truly knew that — not even her twin brother or Penny — until then. She was also dedicated, someone who wouldn’t stop once she set her mind on something."
"Even so, I had reservations just because of that. The Order isn’t for everyone. Unless you grew up in this environment or a similar one, adjusting to this life could be difficult," he continued. "So, just like Allen, I gave her a grace period."
"I let her stay here for a while so she could see that the Order isn’t a place for games, but a dangerous world we tread on every day. However, instead of getting overwhelmed, she said..." he trailed off as he recalled how Yuri’s usually dull eyes shimmered with life, almost tearing up in happiness.
"...it was the first time in a long time she felt so alive."
Atlas snapped his eyes to Lola and shrugged. "She begged me, even clung to my feet and wouldn’t let go until I agreed. From then on, she officially became part of the Order."
"And her role?" she asked.
"Problem-solving," Atlas shrugged. "Allen gives her tasks, some cases on the island, and other big cases we handle. She also helps with certain cases from countries under the Order. And I realized Ray didn’t overwork her; rather, she overworked herself."
Lola rocked her head in understanding. "So, that’s why she has those hideouts, huh?"
"Isolation helps her think and piece things together, and at the same time helps her recover after every case," he said. "The very reason I let her disappear as it was part of her process."
"I see."
"That’s why I’m leaning more toward finding out what she was trying to figure out before she disappeared," Atlas remarked, making her look up at him again. "Hugo mentioned that Yuri probably got tangled in something bigger than she thought. However, Yuri is a smart woman. She’s not someone who would touch a case and not expect the worst."
He paused as he shifted his eyes to the report in his hand. "She wasn’t working on a case when she asked for leave. If anything, she said she wanted to rest. That’s why I let her."
"However..." he hummed, tapping his finger on the armrest. "If she was lying and investigating something on her own... something she didn’t want me to know about, and she’d rather call Hugo, that tells me everything went wrong."
He sighed. "And that worries me more, because it means whatever she’s onto... is about me."