Chapter 26: A captive guest
Night had already fallen over the royal capital.
Moonlight illuminated the enormous NightBane manor while snow drifted gently beyond the windows.
This place barely even felt like a manor anymore.
It felt closer to a palace.
The hallways alone were massive with dark polished floors, towering pillars, expensive paintings, and chandeliers that probably cost more than my entire territory.
Meanwhile, Lilith happily walked slightly ahead of me while showing absolutely no concern for the absurd luxury surrounding us.
"This wing is mostly for guests."
She casually pointed down another hallway.
"And over there is one of the libraries."
"One of them?"
"We have three."
"...Why."
Lilith shrugged.
"I don’t know. Father likes books."
We continued walking through the manor while servants bowed the moment they saw Lilith approaching.
Most of them also immediately froze upon noticing me walking beside her.
I couldn’t even blame them.
Seeing Lilith NightBane casually dragging some random boy through the manor at night probably looked insane.
Eventually exhaustion finally started catching up to me.
"Lilith," I muttered tiredly, "I want to sleep."
"Okay."
She immediately changed direction.
"I’ll show you your room."
Finally.
At least something good had happened today.
After another few minutes of walking, we eventually arrived at a pair of enormous black doors decorated with silver patterns.
Lilith pushed them open.
I stepped inside—
And immediately froze.
Massive bed.
Dark furniture.
Large fireplace burning warmly near the side of the room.
Towering windows overlooking the capital.
Purple curtains.
Purple carpet.
Purple decorations.
The entire room practically screamed Lilith.
I slowly turned toward her.
"...This is your room."
"Yes."
"...Where’s mine?"
Lilith looked confused.
"This is yours."
"No," I replied immediately. "This is definitely your room."
"Yes," she agreed calmly. "And you’ll be sleeping here."
Silence.
"...Absolutely not."
I immediately turned around to leave.
The doors slammed shut.
A faint dark purple glow radiated behind me.
I slowly looked back.
Lilith stood there smiling softly while dark purple mana flickered around her body.
"You don’t have a choice."
This girl was terrifying.
After several moments of staring at each other, I finally sighed in defeat.
"...You’re insane."
Lilith smiled proudly.
"I know."
Since arguing clearly wasn’t going to accomplish anything, I eventually walked over toward the sofa sitting near the fireplace instead.
"If you think I’m sleeping in the same bed as you, you’re delusional."
Lilith pouted slightly.
Honestly—
That expression probably worked on everyone else.
Unfortunately for her, I still valued my privacy.
I sat down on the sofa while warmth from the fireplace slowly spread across the room.
The exhaustion from traveling finally began hitting me properly.
Meanwhile, Lilith quietly sat on her bed watching me.
Completely silently.
It was unsettling.
"...Why are you staring at me?"
"Because you’re pretty."
"...Go to sleep."
Eventually I closed my eyes.
The crackling fire.
The warmth.
The exhaustion from the journey.
Before long—
I drifted off to sleep on the sofa.
————
Lilith quietly stared at Leon’s sleeping figure from across the room.
At first, she looked slightly annoyed.
He had really chosen the sofa over sleeping beside her.
Rude.
But after a while, her expression softened.
Because now—
She could watch him sleep without needing to sneak into his room through the window like before.
That thought suddenly made her pause.
’Speaking of that...’
A small frown appeared on her face.
Leon seriously needed to stop leaving his windows unlocked.
What if someone dangerous climbed inside?
He was far too careless.
Thankfully she always checked for him.
Lilith nodded to herself confidently.
Yes.
She would definitely need to lecture him about his safety later.
For now though—
She simply watched him.
His breathing.
His expression.
His messy hair.
Every small movement.
An entire hour passed like that.
Eventually, unable to resist anymore, Lilith quietly climbed off the bed before carefully walking toward the sofa.
Then—
Without hesitation—
She laid directly on top of him.
Warm.
Comfortable.
Safe.
A faint smile appeared on her face while she buried herself against him.
"...Mine," she whispered softly.
Not long afterward—
Lilith also drifted off to sleep.
—————
Morning sunlight slowly poured through the enormous windows of Lilith’s room.
I hadn’t slept this comfortably in a while.
The sofa near the fireplace was surprisingly warm.
For a few peaceful moments, I simply laid there half-asleep enjoying the warmth.
Then I realised something.
...Why did the warmth feel heavy?
My eyes slowly opened.
And immediately—
I froze.
Lilith was laying directly on top of me.
Her arms wrapped tightly around my body while her face rested against my chest.
This looked incredibly bad.
"...Lilith."
No response.
"...Lilith."
She tightened her grip slightly.
"No."
"...What do you mean no?"
"I’m sleeping."
"You’re sleeping on me."
"Yes."
I stared at the ceiling silently.
How did my life end up like this?
After several seconds of struggling, I finally managed to move one arm free before lightly pushing against her shoulder.
"Get off."
Lilith immediately clung onto me harder like some kind of human parasite.
"Why?"
"Because I can’t breathe."
"You’re breathing fine."
"That’s not the point."
Lilith lazily opened one eye before looking up at me.
Her messy black hair fell around her face while her deep purple eyes stared directly into mine.
"...Why are we even awake this early?"
"Because normal people wake up in the morning."
"Wealthy people don’t."
"That’s not how biology works."
She ignored my statement completely before burying her face back against me again.
At this point I was beginning to understand why the future called her the Void Witch.
No normal person behaved like this.
I sighed heavily.
"Lilith."
"Mhm?"
"Please get off me."
"No."
"...Why."
"Because this is comfortable."
I twitched slightly.
"You’re impossible."
Lilith smiled faintly against my chest.
"And yet you still came with me."
"That was against my will."
"Still counts."
Eventually, after several more failed escape attempts, I simply gave up and laid back against the sofa in defeat.
There was no winning against her this early in the morning.
After nearly ten more minutes of struggling beneath Lilith, I finally came up with a solution.
"...Do you want to go to the markets?"
Lilith instantly froze.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
She lifted her head.
Her deep purple eyes sparkled immediately.
"...A date?"
"No."
"Yes."
"It’s not a date."
Lilith sat upright on top of me while smiling brightly.
"It’s our first date."
"It’s an outing."
"A romantic outing."
"It’s literally just shopping."
"With me."
"...Unfortunately."
Lilith completely ignored my resistance and immediately climbed off me with shocking speed.
I should’ve used this strategy earlier.
"You have five minutes to get ready," she declared proudly before rushing toward her wardrobe.
I slowly sat up on the sofa while rubbing my face tiredly.
How had a simple market trip become a "date" within thirty seconds?
————
A while later, the two of us stepped out into the streets of the royal capital.
The capital during daytime was absurd.
Massive stone roads stretched between enormous buildings while crowds of nobles, merchants, adventurers, and commoners filled the streets endlessly.
Food stalls lined the roads.
Carriages passed constantly.
Street performers entertained groups of children.
Meanwhile, towering magical displays hovered above certain shops displaying glowing advertisements.
The sheer scale of the city made my territory look microscopic in comparison.
Lilith meanwhile happily walked directly beside me while holding onto my sleeve the entire time.
"This is definitely a date."
"It’s still not."
"Then why are we walking together alone?"
"...Because you forced me to."
"Still counts."
Honestly—
Impossible woman.
Still—
I couldn’t deny the capital was fascinating.
We spent hours wandering through different streets and marketplaces.
At one point Lilith dragged me toward a bakery because she "liked the smell."
Five minutes later she stood happily eating pastries while staring at me expectantly until I bought one too.
Then there were food stalls.
Skewered meat.
Sweet breads.
Fried potato dishes.
Some weird glowing drink I absolutely refused to try.
Lilith meanwhile tried nearly everything.
"This one tastes terrible," she announced while continuing to eat it anyway.
"That makes no sense."
She then immediately held the food toward my face.
"Try it."
"No."
"Please?"
"...Fine."
I was beginning to understand why nobles went broke.
The capital had way too many things to waste money on.
Eventually we entered one of the larger market districts where crowds became significantly denser.
Merchants shouted over one another trying to attract customers while people packed tightly together between stalls.
Lilith continued clinging to my arm while we pushed through the crowd.
"This place is annoying," she muttered.
"You’re the one who wanted to come."
"It’s still annoying."
Suddenly—
A massive group of people shoved through the street from the opposite direction.
The crowd surged violently.
For a brief moment I lost my footing slightly before getting pushed several steps away.
And when I looked back—
Lilith was gone.
"...Oh no."
This was bad.
Very bad.
I immediately began moving through the crowd trying to find her dark hair or purple eyes somewhere among the sea of people.
"Lilith?"
No response.
A horrible feeling slowly crept into my chest.
I got lost.
I continued weaving through crowded streets searching for her.
Then—
"Boy."
A voice suddenly called out from the side.
I paused.
Tucked between several larger stalls sat a small hidden shop I somehow hadn’t noticed before.
Strange magical objects hung from the ceiling.
Glowing crystals.
Old books.
Charms.
Potions.
Meanwhile behind the counter sat an old woman wearing dark robes covered in silver symbols.
Her sharp eyes stared directly at me.
And immediately—
Something about her felt strange.
Like she could see far more than she should.
The old woman slowly smiled.
"You’re an interesting child."
