I watched alongside my family as the Nightbane carriage slowly departed from our territory. The black carriage gradually disappeared beyond the horizon until it was completely out of sight.
The mont it vanished, my mother quickly bent down and pulled into a tight hug.
"Leon, are you alright?" she asked softly.
I looked between her, my father, and Alex before replying,
"Yes... why wouldn’t I be?"
My mother gently caressed my face before speaking in a worried tone.
"That girl is dangerous, you know."
Before I could respond, my father imdiately interrupted.
"Elena, I already told you it’s only a rumor," he said with a sigh. "The two of them got along perfectly fine, and if anything, this visit has brought our family closer to the duke."
I tilted my head in confusion and looked back toward my mother.
"Why is she dangerous?"
My mother hesitated for a mont before answering.
"She’s rumored to be a cursed child."
"A child who brings death to those around her."
I quietly listened as her expression darkened.
"Her mother died while giving birth to her. And when she was four years old, she supposedly tore apart a maid and servant of the Nightbane family using so kind of mysterious magic."
I froze upon hearing those words.
First, she had supposedly murdered two people.
Second—
She had sohow used magic before even awakening her mana capacity.
If the rumors were true...
Then it completely confird what I already feared.
Lilith Nightbane truly was destined to beco the future calamity of the continent.
The Void Witch.
————
Several months passed, and sumr eventually arrived.
I had turned seven years old by then.
As usual, the manor remained quiet and peaceful.
Father and Alex still spent most of their ti stationed at the border, only returning occasionally. Sotis I wondered what their lives were actually like out there.
Still, I was content with my calm routine.
Most of my days were spent wandering around the manor, reading books on magic theory, or receiving lessons from my mother so that once my mana awakened at thirteen, I would already possess a strong foundation.
After running around outside for most of the afternoon, I returned to the manor to prepare for a certain guest’s second visit.
A few days after Lilith had left during winter, we received another letter from Duke Rosthwall explaining that he would return during the sumr to continue strengthening border security.
But honestly...
I could imdiately tell whose idea the visit really was.
————
In the distance, I spotted a familiar black carriage approaching the manor.
An escort of knights in black armor surrounded it, each bearing the crest of the black wolf beneath a crimson moon.
The Nightbanes had arrived once again.
The carriage door slowly opened.
Duke Rosthwall stepped out first, his overwhelming presence no less intimidating than before.
Then Lilith followed behind him.
The mont her boots touched the ground, her deep purple eyes imdiately began searching the area.
A second later—
She found .
Just like during our first eting, our eyes locked onto each other.
But unlike before, Lilith suddenly smiled brightly before happily running toward .
I stared at her in complete astonishnt.
She had changed so much compared to the silent, emotionless girl I first t.
Her long black hair swayed behind her as she skipped across the courtyard, and her once-empty eyes now glead with excitent.
When she finally stopped in front of , a faint smile rested on her face.
"It’s good to see you again, Leon," she said happily.
Even her voice sounded completely different now.
Duke Rosthwall glanced between the two of us before letting out an amused chuckle.
"Well, it seems you’ve beco comfortable with each other rather quickly, Lilith. I’ll go speak with Leon’s father for now. The two of you may do as you please."
The duke walked off toward the manor entrance, leaving the two of us alone.
Lilith imdiately grabbed the edge of my sleeve.
I looked down at her, still slightly stunned by the dramatic difference from before.
Her deep purple eyes sparkled with excitent as she looked up at .
"Hey, Leon, what do you want to do today?" she asked cheerfully.
The sudden energy in her voice completely caught off guard.
The last ti we t, she had barely spoken more than a few words.
After thinking for a mont, I pointed toward the forest near the edge of the territory.
"We could go play in the forest," I suggested.
Lilith’s eyes lit up instantly.
"The forest?" she repeated excitedly.
Before I could even respond, she grabbed my hand and started pulling forward.
"Hurry!"
I let out a helpless sigh as she dragged toward the trees.
Watching her now, it was almost impossible to imagine that this energetic little girl would soday beco the terrifying Void Witch feared across the continent.
...Almost.
———-
A couple of years had passed, and my relationship with Lilith had grown surprisingly well.
I was now twelve years old, while Lilith was only a few weeks away from turning thirteen.
Over the years, Lilith had begun visiting the Aldric Territory far more frequently. At first, I assud it was simply because she enjoyed spending ti here, but as I grew older, I realized there was another reason behind the Nightbane family’s continued involvent with our territory.
The borders were becoming increasingly unstable.
For years, the northern regions had suffered constant attacks from barbarian tribes, but that alone was not enough to draw the personal attention of Duke Rosthwall Nightbane.
The real issue lay elsewhere.
Tensions between the Kingdom of Valenore and the neighboring Kingdom of Magento had been steadily rising.
Trade disputes.
Border conflicts.
Disappearing patrols.
Everything pointed toward the sa inevitable conclusion.
War.
I rembered this being a major plot point in the original story, though I could no longer rember exactly when it began.
As I sat beneath a tree lost in thought, sothing suddenly crashed into my back and sent face-first into the grass.
"Ow—!"
A familiar laugh echoed above .
"Hey! What was that for?" I complained.
Lilith looked down at with a smug smile.
"You were ignoring ."
"I’m sorry," I muttered while pushing myself up. "I was thinking about sothing."
Over the years, Lilith and I had beco extrely close.
Honestly, far closer than I ever expected.
The lonely girl who once struggled to say more than a few words had transford into soone who practically dragged around the territory every ti she visited.
After managing to get her off my back, I repositioned myself and sat down in the grass.
Lilith quietly plopped down beside .
For a while, the two of us simply stared out toward the distant forest swaying gently beneath the sumr breeze.
Then, out of nowhere—
"Hey, Leo," Lilith suddenly said, "have you ever thought about marriage?"
The question caught completely off guard.
"Marriage?" I repeated.
"Yeah."
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly before answering honestly.
"Not really. I don’t plan on getting married anyti soon."
For the briefest mont, Lilith’s expression darkened slightly.
It happened so quickly that I barely noticed it.
Personally, I had thought about settling down eventually. Maybe far in the future I would have a family of my own.
But for now?
My only goal was to awaken my mana capacity and beco strong enough to survive the future.
After that, I wanted to travel the world freely and experience everything it had to offer.
And honestly...
Seeing how much Lilith had changed over the years gave hope.
She laughed now.
Smiled.
Got jealous when I ignored her.
More importantly, she had people that she cared about now, even if they only seed to be and her father.
If things continued this way, then maybe the future really could change.
Maybe my family truly would be safe.
I leaned back against the grass and stretched lazily.
"I want to travel the world soday," I said while staring up at the sky. "There’s still so much I want to see. If I get married too early, I’d probably end up tied down in one place."
Silence followed my words.
I glanced over toward Lilith.
Her expression had gone strangely blank.
For a mont, she looked exactly like the quiet, emotionless girl I first t all those years ago.
A faint uneasiness crept into my chest.
"Lilith?" I asked carefully. "Is everything alright?"
The mont she noticed my concern, her usual cheerful expression imdiately returned.
"Yeah," she replied with a soft smile as she stood up. "I’m fine, thanks, Leo."
Even so...
Sothing about that smile felt slightly forced.
Before I could think any further about it, Lilith suddenly extended her hand toward .
"Co on," she said brightly. "Let’s go to the lake before it gets dark."
I stared at her for a mont before eventually taking her hand.
Maybe I was just overthinking things.
After all—
There was no way soone like this, would ever beco that terrifying and tyrannical figure that I first saw behind Lillith when I t her.
...Right?
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