Chapter 32: Happy Birthday Lillith
The rest of the day continued in complete misery.
At least for me.
For Lilith—
It was apparently the greatest day of her life.
Every lesson went exactly the same.
Lilith sat peacefully near the back of the classroom while I remained forcibly trapped beside her.
Or more specifically—
Dragged around like invisible luggage.
Any time I attempted escaping, Lilith would simply tighten her grip without even looking away from the lesson.
It was terrifying how quickly she adapted to kidnapping someone.
Meanwhile Clara spent most of the day trying not to laugh whenever she noticed my invisible suffering.
At one point during lunch I tried hiding beneath the table.
Lilith simply dragged me back up without interrupting her conversation.
Hopeless.
Eventually though—
The academy day finally ended.
Freedom.
Or so I hoped.
Lilith happily walked beside me toward the carriage while still invisibly holding onto my wrist to prevent another escape attempt.
The moment we entered the carriage, she casually snapped her fingers.
Immediately—
My body became visible again.
I looked down at myself before letting out a long sigh.
"I never want to experience that again."
Lilith smiled proudly.
"I thought it was fun."
"Of course you did."
"You looked cute struggling."
"That sentence is horrifying."
Lilith simply leaned against my shoulder comfortably while the carriage began moving.
The two of us continued bickering almost the entire ride back to the manor.
Mostly because Lilith refused acknowledging that dragging me around the academy invisible all day was completely insane.
"It was romantic."
"It was abduction."
"Same thing."
"NO."
By the time the carriage finally arrived at the NightBane manor, I was mentally exhausted.
A pair of heavily armored knights stepped forward to open the carriage door.
Lilith exited first elegantly as always.
Then—
I stepped out behind her.
The knights visibly froze for a split second.
Shock flashed across both their faces.
Because from their perspective—
Lady NightBane had entered the carriage alone alone.
And now somehow came out with a boy.
One knight even looked like he almost spoke.
Then Lilith casually glanced toward them.
Instant silence.
Both knights immediately straightened themselves while pretending absolutely nothing unusual had happened.
Everyone here feared her.
And honestly?
Reasonable.
Eventually the two of us returned to our room.
Again—
Still unfair.
The manor had enough empty rooms to house a small army.
Yet somehow I was still trapped sharing one with Lilith.
The moment the doors closed behind us, Lilith immediately turned toward me.
Then walked closer.
Very close.
Her deep purple eyes stared directly into mine.
"So..."
I already didn’t like that tone.
"What did you get me for my birthday tomorrow?"
I stared at her blankly.
"...Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Lilith."
"What?"
"You kidnapped me for the entire day."
"That’s unrelated."
"It absolutely is not."
I pointed accusingly at her.
"I physically could not buy anything because I spent the entire day being dragged around invisible."
Lilith paused slightly.
Then crossed her arms.
"Hm."
For a moment she actually looked thoughtful.
Then—
"You can just give yourself to me instead."
"...That’s not how birthdays work."
"It should be."
I was beginning to understand why the original novel called her the Void Witch.
The rest of the evening continued exactly how I feared it would.
The moment I finished changing clothes—
Lilith immediately grabbed my arm.
"Bed time."
"That sounds threatening when you say it like that."
"It’s supposed to."
At least she was honest.
I barely had time to protest before she dragged me across the room toward the massive bed once again.
Meanwhile I considered every possible escape route.
Window?
Probably sealed with magic.
Door?
She’d stop me instantly.
Violence?
Absolutely not.
Hopeless.
The moment we reached the bed, I immediately attempted diving toward the sofa.
A mistake.
Lilith caught the back of my shirt effortlessly before physically dragging me backward across the mattress.
"No escaping tonight."
"There shouldn’t HAVE to be escaping!"
Lilith ignored me completely before climbing onto the bed beside me.
Then—
Like always—
The imprisonment began.
One arm wrapped around my chest.
Then another around my waist.
Then both legs trapped mine completely.
It genuinely felt like being sealed away by an ancient monster.
"There," Lilith mumbled happily while burying her face against my shoulder.
"I can’t feel my left arm anymore."
"That’s fine."
"How is that fine?!"
Lilith simply tightened her hold slightly.
"Now you can’t leave."
"I wasn’t trying to leave."
"You were thinking about it."
Disturbingly accurate.
After several minutes of struggling, I eventually gave up.
Mostly because resisting only caused Lilith to hold me tighter.
And I was increasingly convinced she could accidentally crack stone in her sleep.
The room slowly grew quieter as the fire beside the sofa flickered softly against the walls.
Meanwhile Lilith looked absurdly comfortable while using me as a personal body pillow.
"...Leo."
"What."
Her deep purple eyes slowly looked up toward me.
"You still haven’t decided what you’re giving me tomorrow."
"I’m aware."
"Hm."
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
Then suddenly—
"I’ll accept a kiss."
"...Absolutely not."
"A hug?"
"You already forcibly take those."
"A marriage proposal?"
"Go to sleep."
Lilith giggled softly before finally resting her head against my chest again.
For several moments, silence filled the room.
Then quietly—
"Don’t leave too quickly after my birthday."
Her voice sounded softer than usual.
Almost sleepy.
I glanced downward slightly.
"...I still have work back home."
"I know."
For once—
She didn’t argue.
Instead she simply tightened her arms around me again as if trying to memorize my presence.
Moments like this made it difficult remembering she was terrifying.
Eventually her breathing slowly steadied as she drifted toward sleep.
Meanwhile—
I once again found myself trapped completely within Lilith NightBane’s arms and legs like a prisoner awaiting judgment.
Honestly—
This had somehow become my normal.
———-
Warmth.
That was the first thing I noticed when I woke up.
Warmth and pressure.
Honestly—
At this point waking up trapped inside Lilith’s grasp had become routine.
Except—
Something was different today.
Usually I woke up before her.
But this time—
Deep purple eyes were already staring directly into mine.
"...Why are you awake."
Lilith smiled softly.
"It’s my birthday."
"That explains absolutely nothing."
"It means I was too excited to sleep properly."
Honestly—
Concerning.
I slowly tried sitting up slightly.
A mistake.
Lilith immediately tightened her hold around me before pushing me gently back against the mattress.
"No escaping this morning."
"I wasn’t trying to escape."
"You were about to."
Again disturbingly accurate.
Sunlight filtered softly through the curtains while snow lightly drifted outside the manor windows.
Meanwhile Lilith continued staring at me with far too much focus for this early in the morning.
Then suddenly—
"So."
I immediately didn’t like that tone.
"It’s my birthday."
"...I’m aware."
"Which means."
Lilith slowly moved closer.
"And?"
Her face was now only inches from mine.
Way too close.
"What’s my gift?"
"I told you already," I muttered tiredly. "You kidnapped me before I could buy anything."
Lilith ignored that completely.
Instead—
She slowly leaned even closer.
Her lips hovered dangerously near mine now.
Every survival instinct in my body activated instantly.
"You know..." she whispered softly, "there is something I want."
"...Lilith."
"Yes?"
"If you kiss me without permission I’m leaving today."
Lilith paused.
Then narrowed her eyes slightly.
"You’re using my fear of abandonment against me."
"It’s called self-defense."
Lilith looked deeply offended by this.
Though she still remained extremely close.
Close enough that I could feel her breathing.
Meanwhile my brain was actively panicking.
Because despite how insane she was—
Lilith was also absurdly beautiful.
Long black hair.
Deep purple eyes.
And currently looking at me like I was the only thing in existence.
Dangerous combination.
"You’re thinking too loudly again," Lilith mumbled softly.
"That’s not a real thing."
"It is for me."
Then—
To my horror—
She closed the remaining distance slightly more.
"...Lilith."
"Hm?"
"You’re still too close."
"But you haven’t moved away."
Because I physically couldn’t.
She still had me trapped.
Honestly—
This woman planned everything.
