The volu kept increasing.
"AHHH."
"AAAHHH."
"AAAHHHHH."
"AAAAHHHHHH."
I could physically feel my patience leaving my body.
Across from , Clara had sohow returned to reading her book despite the noise which I genuinely had no idea how she did.
anwhile, Lillith and Silvia continued their bizarre competition over who could demand food louder.
Finally, I had enough.
Without saying a word, I leaned forward and grabbed Lillith’s fork.
Both of them paused.
I picked up a piece of bacon with my own fork and another piece with Lillith’s.
Before either of them could react, I shoved both pieces into their mouths simultaneously.
Silvia imdiately began chewing happily.
Her eyes practically sparkled as she enjoyed the food.
Lillith, anwhile, stared directly at while chewing.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Accusingly.
I knew that look and mont she swallowed, she pointed at .
"Traitor."
I blinked.
"What?"
"You chose her."
"I didn’t choose anyone."
"You absolutely did."
"Lillith."
"You fed her first."
"I fed both of you."
"You fed her first."
I simply stared as there was no winning this argunt.
Under , Silvia looked up at us before happily eating another piece of bacon.
Lillith imdiately noticed and a sinister smile appeared on her face.
She slowly leaned towards Silvia.
"Hey."
Silvia froze.
"What do you think tiger at tastes like?"
The effect was imdiate.
Silvia squeaked and buried herself into my chest.
Lillith pointed dramatically.
"Stop doing that!"
I looked at her.
"You’re the one that scared her."
"I asked a question."
"You threatened to eat her."
"I did not."
"You literally asked what tiger at tastes like."
Lillith crossed her arms.
"That’s not a threat."
"It absolutely is."
Silvia nodded rapidly and Lillith looked incredibly offended then dropped her forehead onto the table with a loud thunk.
For several seconds she simply remained there.
Apparently mourning her suffering.
Clara finally lowered her book.
"Do any of you actually have plans today?"
I imdiately answered.
"Yes."
Everyone looked at .
"My plan is to do absolutely nothing."
Clara nodded.
"Reasonable."
I leaned back.
"I’ve spent months building railroads, factories, workshops, weapons and who knows what else."
I pointed toward the ceiling.
"Today I intend to be useless."
Lillith imdiately raised her hand.
"I support this plan."
Clara rolled her eyes.
Then looked toward Silvia.
"Actually..."
The white-haired beastkin looked up.
"What?"
Clara rested her chin on her hand.
"Maybe we should see what she’s capable of."
I blinked.
"What do you an?"
"Her beastkin abilities."
That got my attention as Clara then continued.
"Normal cat beastkin are already known for being incredibly fast."
Her eyes drifted toward Silvia’s white ears.
"But she’s not a normal cat."
Lillith imdiately nodded.
"Correct, she’s a pest."
Silvia hissed at her and lillith hissed back.
I chose to ignore both of them.
Clara then sighed.
"My point is that white tigers are considerably stronger and rarer."
She looked thoughtful.
"So she’s probably inherited sothing."
I looked down at Silvia.
The beastkin girl had sohow acquired another piece of bacon which she was softly nibbling on.
"Silvia."
"Hm?"
"Do you want to play a ga?"
Her ears imdiately perked up.
"Ga?"
I nodded.
The bacon disappeared into her mouth.
Then she smiled and enthusiastically nodded.
"Yes!"
A few minutes later, the four of us found ourselves outside in one of the manor courtyards.
The area was fairly large, with trimd grass, decorative trees, flower beds and stone pathways winding throughout the grounds.
Several servants occasionally passed through, only to slow down and stare curiously at our group.
Especially Silvia.
The white-haired beastkin stood beside while her ears twitched excitedly.
anwhile, Lillith stood on my other side with her arms crossed.
She still looked annoyed.
Mostly because Silvia was standing beside .
Clara looked between the two.
Then pointed toward a large tree at the opposite end of the courtyard.
"Let’s start simple."
Silvia tilted her head.
"Simple?"
"Run to that tree."
The beastkin girl looked disappointed.
"That’s all?"
Clara nodded.
"That’s all."
Before Silvia could respond, Lillith stepped forward.
"I’ll race her."
I imdiately pointed at her.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you’re an monster pretending to be a student."
Lillith looked pleased.
"Thank you."
"It wasn’t a complint."
She ignored .
anwhile Silvia puffed out her cheeks.
"I wanna race."
Lillith looked down at her.
"So do I."
The two imdiately started glaring at one another.
Clara sighed.
"Fine."
I looked at her.
"Clara."
"What?"
"This is a terrible idea."
"Probably."
Then she looked at both of them.
"Just don’t destroy anything."
Neither of them answered.
Which sohow worried even more as the two walked over to the starting point.
Lillith casually stretched her arms.
Silvia anwhile crouched low to the ground as she dropped onto all fours.
Her ears flattened slightly as her tail straightened.
The posture reminded more of a predatorial animal than a person.
Clara blinked.
"That’s..."
"Terrifying?"
I offered.
"A little."
Silvia looked toward the tree, completly focused.
The playful expression from earlier had disappeared and even Lillith seed slightly surprised.
Then Clara raised her hand.
"Ready?"
Both girls tensed.
"Go!"
The instant the word left Clara’s mouth—
The ground exploded beneath both of them.
CRACK.
Silvia shot forward on all fours like a white blur tearing across the grass.
Chunks of dirt flew behind her.
The speed was simply ridiculous.
Her hands and feet barely seed to touch the ground.
anwhile, Lillith simply vanished.
A gust of wind swept through the courtyard.
Several servants yelped.
One nearly dropped a tray.
My eyes widened as even I almost lost track of them.
A white blur raced across the grass while a black blur tore through the air.
The distance to the tree disappeared in an instant.
Then—
Both seemingly reached it simultaneously.
Silence followed.
I blinked.
Clara blinked.
Several servants blinked.
Then shouting imdiately erupted from the two.
"I WON!"
"No, I won!"
Silvia pointed accusingly.
"You cheated!"
Lillith looked offended.
"How?"
"You used magic!"
"I didn’t."
"You did!"
"I didn’t."
"You definitely did!"
The argunt escalated instantly.
By the ti Clara and I reached them, the two were standing nose-to-nose.
Or rather nose-to-waist, since Silvia was significantly shorter.
"I touched it first!"
"No, I touched it first!"
"You liar!"
"You’re the liar!"
Silvia’s tail puffed up and Lillith’s eye twitched in response.
I looked at Clara who looked at .
Then she sighed.
"I think we can safely conclude she’s fast."
I nodded.
"Very fast."
anwhile the argunt continued.
"I’m faster!"
"No, I’m faster!"
"I’m way faster!"
"No, you’re not!"
At one point Silvia actually climbed onto the tree and pointed down at Lillith.
"This ans I win!"
"That’s not how races work!"
"It should be!"
Lillith imdiately jumped up and sohow landed on a branch higher than Silvia.
The beastkin girl’s jaw dropped.
"CHEATER!"
"I didn’t cheat."
"YOU FLEW!"
"I jumped."
"THAT’S NOT A JUMP!"
Several nearby servants had completely stopped working to watch.
Eventually Clara rubbed her forehead.
Then pointed at both of them.
"Fine."
The two stopped.
Clara sighed.
"It was a tie."
Imdiately—
"No it wasn’t!"
"Yes it was!"
"No!"
I groaned since I knew that this was going to take all day.
—————————
The argunt over who had won the race sohow evolved into an all-out chase.
For the next several hours, the small forested area near the Nightbane residence beca a battlefield.
Or more accurately—
A hunting ground for Lillith.
Unfortunately for her, Silvia proved to be a impossible prey to catch.
I sat on a large rock near the edge of the trees and watched the chaos unfold.
What surprised after a while of observation, was that Lillith was undeniably faster.
When it ca to pure speed, Silvia couldn’t even compare with her.
The problem was that speed wasn’t helping.
Every ti Lillith got close, Silvia would dart between trees, leap over roots, crawl beneath bushes, climb branches, or sohow squeeze through spaces that looked far too small for her.
Her nimblness was simply insane being able to zig zag and dart across or up and down the trees as she pleased.
anwhile Lillith simply bulldozed through anything in her path.
CRASH.
A tree fell.
"GET BACK HERE!"
Silvia’s laughter echoed through the forest.
"You missed!"
"I DID NOT MISS!"
"You hit the tree!"
"THAT WAS INTENTIONAL!"
Another tree exploded.
I rubbed my forehead.
At one point Silvia leapt from a branch and landed several ters away while sticking her tongue out.
Lillith pointed at her imdiately.
"When I catch you, I’m seasoning you and serving you on a platter!"
Silvia gasped dramatically.
"You wanna eat !?"
"YES!"
"Leon!"
I sighed.
"No eating Silvia."
Lillith groaned.
A massive purple magic circle suddenly appeared above the forest.
I imdiately stood up.
"Lillith, don’t destroy the whole area."
The magic circle vanished.
"Fine."
A few minutes later another appeared.
"Lillith."
It then promptly disappeared again.
"You’re no fun."
Hours passed like that.
Silvia provoking Lillith who kept on chasing.
Eventually Clara gave up entirely and headed back inside.
Honestly, I couldn’t bla her.
As for —
I finally decided I had better things to do as well.
So I turned my back on the destruction and headed back inside while distant shouting continued behind .
"CO BACK HERE!"
"NO!"
"I’M GOING TO ROAST YOU!"
"LEON SAID NO!"
The shouting gradually faded as I entered the manor.
———————-
Most of the remaining afternoon was spent inside Lillith’s room.
I occupied one of the desks and imdiately got to work.
If Silvia really had led to crude oil, then I needed a way to make proper use of it.
While coal was good, oil would take so much further.
My pencil moved steadily across the paper.
Pistons.
Valves.
Fuel chambers.
Crankshafts.
Ignition systems.
The rough draft of my first combustion engine slowly began taking shape.
Hours passed as the sunlight outside faded before the evening then arrived.
I was almost finished when the door slowly creaked open.
I glanced up as Silvia entered.
The beastkin girl looked absolutely exhausted.
Leaves were stuck in her hair.
Dirt covered her clothes and one sleeve was even torn.
She looked like she’d survived a war.
Without saying a word, she slowly waddled across the room.
Then climbed directly onto my lap.
"What are you doing?"
She stared down at the sketches.
I smiled.
"Drawing."
She tilted her head.
"It looks weird."
"That’s because it’s an engine."
"A what?"
Before I could answer—
The door opened again.
Lillith entered who sohow looked even worse then Silvia.
Her hair was a ss.
Dirt covered her cloths.
There was a branch stuck sowhere behind her shoulder.
And pure murderous rage filled her eyes.
The mont she saw Silvia sitting on my lap—
"You can’t run now!"
Silvia imdiately buried herself into .
"I’m going to enjoy roasting you alive!"
I sighed.
"Lillith."
"What?"
"I’m trying to work."
Lillith walked over and glanced down at the drawings.
"Is that a machine for exterminating cats?"
"No."
"Sha."
Silvia hissed at her and she hissed back.
I ignored the both of them before I then continued.
"It’s a combustion engine."
Lillith imdiately leaned over with both arms wrapped around my neck.
Then she rested her head against my shoulder.
"Like the water one?"
"Sort of."
So I pointed at the drawing.
"Petrol gets stored in a fuel tank."
She nodded.
"Then a small amount enters this chamber."
I pointed again.
"The piston compresses it."
"What does that do?"
"It makes the fuel easier to ignite as well and compresses the air and the space inside."
"Oh."
"Then a spark ignites the fuel."
Lillith blinked.
"And?"
"It explodes."
Her eyes widened.
"On purpose?"
"On purpose."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It is."
I continued sketching.
"The explosion pushes the piston down."
Then I pointed at the crankshaft.
"Which turns this."
"And that makes movent?"
"Exactly."
Lillith thought about it and then frowned.
"Why do you need this?"
"Cars."
"Better trains."
"Vehicles."
Lillith imdiately pointed at herself.
"I can do all those things, that they can."
I looked at her.
"Can you transport hundreds of tonnes of cargo every day?"
"...Maybe."
"...If you spent more ti with ."
I sighed.
"What about transporting other people?"
Her face imdiately soured.
"I don’t want to carry random strangers."
"Exactly."
Lillith groaned dramatically while resting more of her weight against .
After a few monts, her expression softened.
"Do you really have to leave tomorrow?"
I looked over at her.
Then gently stroked her hair which made her eyes imdiately brighten.
"I’ll always be back."
A smile slowly ford on her face.
While I continued stroking her hair—
Another hand suddenly grabbed mine and I looked down.
Silvia was holding my wrist.
"Pat too."
The room froze.
Lillith’s expression imdiately reverted back to rage.
"Piss off!"
"I was here first."
"No you’re weren’t!"
"I was."
"No!"
I sighed.
Then used my other free hand to pat Silvia’s head.
Her ears imdiately began twitching happily.
anwhile my other hand continued stroking Lillith’s hair.
For a few monts neither complained.
Then—
"You’re giving her too much attention."
There it was.
I glanced outside noticing night had fully fallen.
"Alright."
Both looked at .
"We should probably sleep."
Lillith nodded.
Then imdiately pointed toward the door.
"Out."
Silvia blinked and looked at .
"Will you sleep in my room?"
Before Lillith could even react, I answered.
"I can’t."
Silvia’s ears lowered slightly.
"Oh."
"Sorry."
After a few seconds, she nodded and quietly left.
Lillith visibly relaxed.
"Finally."
A short while later, we were both lying in bed.
Or rather—
I was on the bed with Lillith lying on top of .
She stared down at .
"Do you really have to go tomorrow?"
I sighed.
"We’ve talked about this."
"I know."
"Then—"
"I still don’t like it."
She buried her face into my chest.
"I don’t think I can survive another six months."
Then she kicked her legs furiously behind her.
"Lillith."
"What?"
"No matter how long we’re apart..."
I wrapped my arms around her.
"We’ll always find our way back to each other."
For several monts she stayed silent.
Then her grip tightened and a small smile appeared on her face.
Finally she lowered her head against my chest.
And began rubbing her face against it repeatedly.
"What are you doing?"
She frowned.
"Removing the sll of that stupid cat."
I imdiately knew where this was going.
"Lillith."
"That stupid cat is marking you."
I sighed.
Then stared up at the ceiling and drifted to sleep.
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