That night ended up becoming far louder than I expected.
The mont word spread that I had actually returned alive, the entire manor sohow descended into chaos. Servants hurried through the halls carrying food and supplies while guards constantly moved around outside the estate. Apparently my disappearance had caused enough panic throughout the territory that people were still trying to process the fact I had suddenly returned.
anwhile—
I was trapped.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
My mother kept checking my injuries every ten minutes like she expected another limb to disappear if she stopped paying attention. Alex wouldn’t stop questioning about the kidnapping. Finn had sohow turned himself into the victim of the entire situation and kept talking about the "emotional damage" my disappearance caused him.
And through all of it—
Lillith remained attached to my arm like she had legally claid ownership over it.
At so point dinner had been moved into one of the larger dining rooms purely because everyone kept gathering around .
Even now, I sat near the center of the long table while Lillith calmly leaned against my shoulder beside , one of her hands wrapped around my arm.
I was beginning to suspect she physically could not sit farther than a ter away from anymore.
"...So let understand this correctly."
Alex leaned back in his chair while staring at .
"You escaped through a bathroom window..."
I imdiately pointed toward Lillith.
"She’s the reason I tried escaping."
Lillith looked mildly offended.
"I was being affectionate."
"You erased my bedroom door from existence."
"You locked out first."
"That is because you were staring at sleep!"
"That’s normal."
"No it isn’t!"
My mother quietly sipped tea while looking increasingly concerned.
anwhile Finn just stared blankly at the table.
"...I still think I’m sohow the most ntally stable person here."
"No you aren’t," Alex answered instantly.
Then eventually the atmosphere shifted slightly.
My father entered the room.
The mont I saw him properly standing again, sothing inside relaxed slightly.
He still walked with a faint limp from his injuries, but compared to the state I last saw him in—
He looked significantly better.
"Father."
He quietly approached the table before stopping beside .
For a mont, he simply looked down at silently.
Then his eyes drifted toward my missing leg.
A shadow crossed his face briefly.
"...You ca back alive."
"...Barely."
My father slowly exhaled before placing one hand firmly against my shoulder.
"You protected this territory."
His voice remained calm like always.
But I could still hear the emotion beneath it slightly.
"And then you survived being dragged across another kingdom."
A faint sigh escaped him afterward.
"You continue making my blood pressure worse."
"...Sorry."
Then suddenly his eyes shifted toward Lillith.
More specifically—
Toward the way she was still wrapped around my arm like a snake.
The room beca slightly awkward again.
To his credit, my father sohow managed not to visibly react.
"...Lady Nightbane."
Lillith smiled politely.
"Lord Aldric."
"I owe you thanks for returning my son safely."
"You do."
I nearly choked.
My father sohow remained composed.
"I see."
Lillith nodded seriously.
"Leo almost died several tis."
"...I’m aware."
"I prevented that."
"You did."
She looked oddly satisfied by the acknowledgnt.
anwhile Alex slowly rubbed his forehead.
Finn leaned slightly toward before whispering:
"...Your future children are going to be terrifying."
I elbowed him instantly.
"Shut up."
Lillith heard him anyway.
Her eyes visibly brightened.
My soul imdiately left my body.
"Children..."
"...No."
Lillith slowly looked toward .
"No?"
"We are not having this conversation."
"But I think they’d have your eyes."
"LILLITH."
My mother suddenly covered her mouth trying hide a laugh.
The rest of dinner sohow continued becoming increasingly unhinged from there.
At one point Finn accidentally ntioned the destroyed Magneto checkpoint.
That imdiately drew everyone’s attention.
"...Destroyed?" my father repeated slowly.
Finn froze.
"...I have made mistakes."
My father’s eyes slowly moved toward Lillith.
The room beca unbelievably tense.
anwhile Lillith calmly sipped tea like nothing was wrong.
After several seconds of silence, my father finally spoke carefully.
"...What exactly happened?"
Nobody answered imdiately.
Mostly because none of us really knew how to explain "Lillith may have committed several acts of destruction rescuing ."
Eventually I awkwardly cleared my throat.
"...There was so property damage."
Finn imdiately looked horrified.
"LEON SHE ERASED A ENTIRE BORDER CHECKPOINT."
"That still technically counts as property damage."
My father closed his eyes briefly.
Alex stared at Lillith in disbelief.
anwhile she looked completely unconcerned.
"They kidnapped Leo."
Like that explained everything.
Actually—
To her it probably did.
After another painful silence, my father slowly sighed.
"...I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear most of this conversation."
"Wise choice," Finn muttered.
Eventually dinner finally ended.
Or more accurately—
My mother forcefully ended it after realizing the conversation was sohow getting worse over ti.
By the ti I finally made my way back toward my room, I already felt exhausted.
Lillith naturally followed directly behind .
Of course she did.
The hallway remained quiet except for the sound of our footsteps.
Well—
My footstep.
And the sound of my new prosthetic awkwardly tapping against the floor.
Honestly, the temporary replacent still felt terrible to walk with.
As we reached my room, I noticed sothing imdiately.
The door looked completely new.
Right.
Because the old one had ceased existing.
I slowly opened it before stepping inside.
Everything looked exactly how I rembered.
The desk.
The bookshelves.
The scattered sketches.
For a mont, seeing all of it again felt strangely nostalgic.
Then suddenly—
Lillith wrapped both arms around from behind.
"You’re thinking too much again."
I sighed quietly.
"I almost died."
"Mhm."
"I got kidnapped."
"Mhm."
"...I feel like thinking about that is reasonable."
Lillith gently rested her chin against my shoulder.
"You survived."
Her voice softened slightly afterward.
"That’s all that matters."
For several monts neither of us spoke.
Then eventually I quietly asked:
"...Did you really destroy that checkpoint?"
Lillith went silent briefly.
Then calmly—
"Yes."
I stared ahead quietly.
"...How many people died?"
Lillith hesitated.
"...I lost count again."
There wasn’t guilt in her voice.
Or pride.
Just honesty.
The lives genuinely hadn’t mattered to her compared to my rescue.
Slowly her grip around tightened slightly.
"I was angry."
That much was obvious.
"And at the fortress where you where kept captive."
"I knew they were hurting you."
"...They were."
Lillith buried her face slightly into my shoulder afterward.
"And every hour I couldn’t find you..."
Her voice lowered softer.
"...I started becoming more afraid."
I stayed quiet listening.
"Then eventually..."
Her fingers tightened slightly against my clothes.
"...I stopped caring about anything except getting you back."
The room fell silent afterward.
Honestly—
Part of understood.
That was the frightening thing.
Eventually I slowly turned toward her.
Lillith imdiately looked up at .
For once, she actually looked uncertain.
Like she was worried what I might think after hearing everything.
Then quietly—
"...Thank you."
Her eyes widened slightly.
Not because of the words.
But because I’d said them anyway after knowing what she did.
The next second Lillith imdiately buried herself against again.
"I love you."
"...You say that way too much."
"It’s important."
I sighed quietly before looking toward the bed.
Then toward Lillith.
Then back toward the bed.
"...You’re sleeping here again, aren’t you?"
"Yes."
Lillith smiled happily afterward before imdiately climbing onto the bed like she already owned it.
At this point she practically did.
Reviews
All reviews (0)