By late afternoon, the distant walls of the Magneto Kingdom’s border checkpoint finally ca into view.
Tall stone barricades stretched across the road while ard soldiers patrolled the battlents above. Several wagons sat lined up outside the gate waiting for inspection while banners bearing the crest of Magneto fluttered in the cold wind overhead.
The mont I saw it, my stomach tightened slightly.
There was absolutely no way we could pass through normally after everything that had happened.
I slowly looked toward Lillith sitting at the front of the wagon.
"...How exactly are we sneaking through that?"
Lillith glanced back over her shoulder calmly.
"I already have a plan."
The mont she said that, I beca suspicious instantly.
Every single one of her "plans" recently had sohow involved either unconsciousness or multiple deaths.
Then slowly—
Lillith turned fully toward with a soft smile on her face before raising one hand toward .
Her fingers were fully open.
Imdiately, recognition hit .
That exact movent.
The sa thing she did before I blacked out while she dealt with Kael.
The sa thing she did before she supposedly "purchased" the wagon from the rchant.
My eyes widened.
"Oh no."
The second purple mana faintly started gathering around her fingertips—
I launched myself sideways off the seat instantly.
"Absolutely not!"
Lillith blinked in surprise as I nearly threw myself across the wagon trying to avoid her hand.
"...Leo?"
I pointed at her accusingly.
"What were you planning to do after putting to sleep this ti?!"
Lillith tilted her head innocently.
"Sleep?"
"Yes sleep!"
"I have no idea what you’re talking about."
I stared at her blankly in disbelief.
"You literally waved your hand at !"
"I wanted to touch your face."
"That is not convincing anymore!"
Lillith sighed softly before slowly crawling closer toward inside the cart.
"You really should stop dodging my love."
"That sentence becos more threatening every ti you say it."
"It’s romantic."
"No it isn’t!"
Lillith ignored entirely.
Then suddenly—
She disappeared.
My eyes widened.
A split second later I felt soft fingers gently brushing against my cheek.
I physically flinched.
Lillith had sohow instantly appeared directly beside .
Purple mana flowed softly around her fingertips while she gently rubbed my face with a disturbingly affectionate expression.
"There."
Her voice sounded satisfied.
"I touched it."
"LILLITH—"
The purple glow intensified slightly.
Almost imdiately, heaviness spread through my body.
My limbs weakened.
My vision blurred.
"No..."
I weakly tried pulling away.
But Lillith simply smiled softly before cupping both sides of my face gently.
"You should rest."
"...You’re definitely murdering soone again..."
Lillith looked deeply offended.
"You accuse of terrible things."
"...Because terrible things keep happening..."
The last thing I saw before darkness overtook completely was Lillith smiling down at lovingly while stroking my hair.
Then—
Nothing.
...
Consciousness slowly returned soti later.
The first thing I noticed was movent beneath just like last ti this happend.
The second was the sound of wagon wheels rolling across dirt.
I slowly opened my eyes.
The wagon ceiling ca into view above while dim evening light filtered through the openings at the sides.
My body still felt heavy from whatever spell Lillith had used earlier.
Then suddenly—
"Good morning sleepyhead."
I slowly turned my head.
Lillith sat at the front of the wagon holding the reins while smiling brightly at . The mont she noticed trying to sit up, her expression softened imdiately.
"There you are."
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
"You made fall asleep again."
Lillith blinked innocently.
"I have absolutely no idea what you an."
"You mana-drugged !"
"That sounds incredibly illegal."
"Because it probably is!"
Lillith giggled softly afterward before glancing ahead toward the road again.
"We’re only a few hours from the Aldric territory now."
That imdiately caught my attention.
"Really?"
"Mhm."
The orange glow of sunset stretched across the horizon while shadows from the trees slowly lengthened around us.
"But since it’s getting dark," she continued softly, "we’ll need to camp one more night."
A while later the carriage eventually stopped beside a clearing near the road.
The mont the horses halted, I imdiately pushed myself upright.
Lillith noticed instantly.
"...What are you doing?"
"Helping."
"With what?"
"The camp."
"No."
I blinked.
"No?"
"You still need rest."
"I’ve done nothing but rest for almost a week!"
"You need more."
"I’m fine."
Lillith narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Leo."
"What?"
"Sit down and look cute for if you really want to help."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"That is not a task!"
"It is for ."
Sothing inside finally snapped slightly.
Maybe it was frustration.
Maybe pride.
Maybe I was just tired of constantly being treated like I’d shatter if soone breathed near .
Without responding, I turned and moved deeper into the wagon toward one of the larger supply crates.
If she wanted proof I wasn’t helpless—
I’d prove it.
Outside, Lillith had already begun setting up the campfire when I crouched slightly and grabbed the sides of the heavy wooden box.
Then I lifted.
For one brief second—
It worked.
Then—
CRACK.
A sharp snapping sound echoed beneath .
My eyes widened instantly.
The prosthetic split apart under the pressure.
Before I could react properly, my balance vanished completely.
I slamd hard against the wooden floor of the carriage alongside the crate with a painful crash.
"...Ah—!"
The next second Lillith appeared instantly beside .
Not ran.
Appeared.
"LEO!"
Her expression looked genuinely panicked as she imdiately dropped beside and pulled tightly into her arms.
"What were you thinking?!"
I winced slightly from the pain while Lillith clutched against her chest almost desperately.
"Why would you do sothing so stupid?"
Her voice shook slightly now.
"You keep hurting yourself every ti you ignore !"
I looked away quietly.
Lillith tightened her grip slightly.
"Why do you keep doing this?"
The frustration in her voice slowly weakened into sothing more emotional.
"I tell you to rest..."
"And then you push yourself until you break again..."
I stayed silent for several monts.
Then finally—
"...After my awakening ceremony..."
Lillith quieted imdiately.
I stared down toward my broken prosthetic silently.
"I didn’t want to feel useless."
The words ca out quieter than expected.
"When they announced I had no mana capacity..."
My fingers slowly tightened slightly.
"...I got scared."
Lillith watched silently.
"I realized how weak I actually was."
The mories still felt unpleasant.
The stares.
The disappointnt.
The feeling of suddenly understanding I could never naturally stand beside real mages.
"I kept thinking about all the things I wanted to do..."
My voice weakened slightly.
"...And how impossible they suddenly felt."
Lillith’s expression softened completely now.
I laughed weakly afterward.
"Without my inventions..."
I looked down at my hands.
"...I’m basically useless."
"That’s not true."
"It is."
I shook my head quietly.
"Even a low-ranking B-rank mage would’ve killed when I had them."
The image of the battlefield resurfaced imdiately.
The flas.
The wind blades.
The helplessness.
"If Finn wasn’t there..."
I didn’t finish the sentence.
I didn’t need to.
Silence filled the carriage afterward.
Then slowly—
Lillith gently pulled closer against her chest before softly stroking my hair.
"You aren’t useless."
Her voice sounded incredibly gentle now.
"If it wasn’t for you..."
She hesitated slightly.
"...I wouldn’t even have a reason to live."
I slowly looked up toward her.
Lillith smiled faintly.
"My life would’ve been so much emptier without you in it."
Her fingers slowly brushed through my hair again.
"And yes..."
She looked directly into my eyes now.
"You can’t fight high-ranking mages."
Painfully honest as always.
"But that doesn’t make you useless."
She gently touched my chest.
"Most people can’t."
I stayed quiet afterward while she continued softly stroking my head.
Eventually Lillith quietly stood.
"I’ll finish setting up the tent."
Then after one last gentle touch against my cheek, she stepped outside the carriage again.
Left alone, I quietly leaned back against the wooden wall.
Part of wondered if maybe staying with Lillith really could work.
A peaceful life.
No danger.
No war.
Just her.
Honestly—
It probably would work.
That was the scary part.
But deep down...
I already knew sothing else too.
I probably wouldn’t be happy forever living that way.
Eventually the wagon flap opened again.
Lillith smiled warmly.
"The tent’s ready."
Then imdiately afterward she bent down trying to scoop into her arms again.
I resisted instinctively.
"I’ll walk."
Lillith stared at blankly.
"Your leg literally broke."
I remained silent.
Lillith sighed softly before carefully lifting anyway.
This ti I didn’t resist.
A while later she gently placed down inside the tent before bringing over a bowl of soup from the fire outside.
She started happily feeding again.
Honestly, arguing had beco pointless at this stage.
The night outside had grown quiet.
Only the soft crackling of the fire beyond the tent disturbed the silence while faint moonlight filtered through the fabric walls around us.
After dinner, the two of us laid beside one another quietly beneath the blankets.
For a while neither of us spoke.
Lillith remained close enough that I could feel her warmth against my side while her fingers lazily traced small circles against my arm.
Then softly—
"This is probably the last ti we’ll properly be alone together for a while."
I glanced toward her slightly.
"...Yeah."
The mont I answered, sothing in Lillith’s expression shifted.
Her smile softened.
But at the sa ti—
There was sothing deeper beneath it.
Sothing possessive.
Almost desperate.
Before I could react properly, she slowly sat up above .
Then both her hands gently moved to the sides of my face.
Her fingers brushed softly against my cheeks while she looked down at silently for several seconds.
Those deep purple eyes seed almost to glow within the darkness of the tent.
"...Lillith?"
Instead of answering—
She leaned down and kissed .
My eyes widened instantly.
The kiss was soft at first.
Warm.
Slow.
Almost careful.
But beneath that gentleness was an overwhelming amount of emotion.
Lillith held my face firmly while pressing herself against as though terrified I might sohow disappear if she loosened her grip even slightly.
For several stunned seconds my mind completely blanked.
Then the kiss deepened.
Lillith tilted her head slightly before her lips parted against mine, and before I could properly react, her tongue slowly slipped past my lips.
"Mm—"
A quiet sound escaped involuntarily.
Imdiately, Lillith deepened the kiss further.
Her tongue wrapped itself around mine almost greedily, moving slowly but possessively as if trying to claim every bit of affection I had left inside for herself alone.
One of her hands slid gently into my hair while the other remained firmly against my cheek keeping completely trapped beneath her.
Like she never wanted let go again.
The kiss continued endlessly.
Every ti I tried pull back slightly for air, Lillith simply followed after imdiately, refusing create even the slightest distance between us.
I could feel her breathing against my face.
Feel the faint trembling in her fingers.
Feel how desperately she clung to .
And sohow—
That desperation felt more intense than the kiss itself.
Eventually my face had beco completely red while my thoughts dissolved into complete confusion beneath the overwhelming affection she poured into the kiss.
Only after what felt like forever did Lillith finally pull back slightly.
A thin trail of saliva still connected our mouths briefly before snapping apart.
Lillith remained hovering above breathing softly while strands of black hair fell around her face.
Her purple eyes looked hazy.
Possessive.
Completely focused on .
Then slowly—
Her thumb gently brushed across my cheek again.
"...Mine."
The way she said it wasn’t playful.
Or teasing.
It sounded sincere.
Completely and utterly sincere.
Before I could even process that properly, Lillith slowly lowered herself against my chest afterward, wrapping both arms tightly around while burying her face into my neck.
"I love you so much..."
Her voice ca out soft and muffled against my skin.
"So much..."
I laid there completely stunned while her grip around slowly tightened further.
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