Chapter 55: Lilliths vision of the future
The room had gone completely quiet by now.
Moonlight filtered softly through the curtains while the faint sounds of the manor outside slowly faded deeper into the night.
Meanwhile—
I was trapped.
Again.
Lillith had herself wrapped around me so tightly that escaping would probably require divine intervention at this point. One of her legs rested over mine while both her arms remained locked around my waist, her body pressed fully against my side like she intended to fuse with me permanently.
Meanwhile she simply stared at me.
Not blinking.
Just quietly admiring me with that same intense look she always got whenever she started thinking too much about me.
I continued staring upward at the ceiling pretending not to notice.
Eventually—
"...Leo."
"Mhm?"
Her fingers slowly traced small circles against my chest through my shirt.
"The thing Finn said earlier..."
I immediately felt dread.
"...Which thing?"
Lillith smiled softly.
"About children."
I closed my eyes instantly.
"No."
"You shut the conversation down too quickly earlier."
"Because it was too dangerous."
"How?"
"You started glowing."
"That doesn’t answer my question."
I sighed heavily.
"Lillith..."
But she ignored me completely.
Then quietly—
"The idea of little mini Leons honestly sounds adorable."
I physically felt my soul leave my body.
"Please never phrase it like that again."
"Why?"
"Because it sounds terrifying."
Lillith giggled softly at my suffering before shifting even closer against me somehow.
Then slowly she leaned toward my ear.
"Just imagine it..."
"...I don’t want to."
"Small little children with your hair."
"Lillith."
"And your eyes."
"Lillith."
"And they’d cling to you constantly because you’re warm."
I covered my face with one hand immediately.
"This conversation is killing me."
Lillith gently pulled my hand away from my face before intertwining her fingers with mine.
"You’d be a good father."
That sentence caught me completely off guard.
For a moment, I genuinely didn’t know how to respond.
Eventually I awkwardly cleared my throat.
"...I can barely take care of myself."
"Mhm."
"So why are you saying that confidently?"
"Because I know you."
I slowly glanced toward her.
Lillith looked completely serious now.
"You’re kind."
That surprised me slightly.
"You pretend you’re not."
Her fingers lightly squeezed mine beneath the blankets.
"But you always worry about people."
"You remember small details about them."
"You help people even when you complain the entire time."
A faint smile crossed her face.
"And you’d spoil daughters terribly."
"...Why specifically daughters?"
Lillith looked thoughtful for several moments.
"They’d manipulate you easily."
"That sounds concerning."
"You’d never say no to them."
"That sounds inaccurate."
Lillith stared directly into my soul.
"...You bought Finn food because he looked sad once."
"...That was different."
"You absolutely would spoil our daughters."
I sighed weakly.
Meanwhile Lillith looked completely invested in this imaginary future now.
"They’d definitely like sleeping beside you more."
"Why are you competing with fictional children?"
"Because I know they’d steal your attention."
"That is not normal."
Lillith ignored me completely.
Then quietly—
"I’ve thought about it before."
I blinked.
"You’ve what?"
"Our future."
My face immediately heated up again.
"LILLITH."
"What?"
"You cannot casually say things like that!"
"But I think about you constantly."
"That somehow makes it worse!"
Lillith simply smiled softly before resting her head against my chest again.
"A quiet home sounds nice."
The teasing in her voice slowly faded.
"You’d have your workshop."
"I’d make sure nobody bothered you."
Her fingers slowly tightened around mine.
"And our children could grow up somewhere peaceful."
Something about the way she said that sounded strangely genuine.
Not obsessive.
Not teasing.
Just pure honesty.
Lillith slowly looked upward thoughtfully while continuing.
"I think you’d secretly carry them around constantly."
"I would not."
"You absolutely would."
"I wouldn’t."
I stared blankly upward at the ceiling.
"You’re terrifyingly committed to this imaginary scenario."
Lillith looked completely serious.
"It’s not imaginary to me."
That sentence hit harder than expected.
Then quietly she continued:
"I think they’d be beautiful."
The room became softer somehow after she said that.
Less tense.
Less teasing.
For once she simply sounded like a girl imagining a future she genuinely wanted.
"They’d probably inherit your hair."
A small smile crossed her face.
"And your eyes."
Then immediately afterward she frowned slightly.
"...Hopefully not your mana capacity."
I winced.
"Direct."
"I’m serious."
Her expression softened immediately afterward though.
"But even if they did..."
She gently touched my chest.
"They’d still be precious."
For several moments neither of us spoke.
Then quietly I asked:
"...You really think about this often?"
Lillith blinked slightly.
"...Every day."
That answer somehow didn’t even surprise me anymore.
She slowly buried herself deeper against my chest afterward.
"I like imagining growing old with you."
The honesty in her voice made my chest tighten slightly.
"A home."
"A family."
"You beside me every day."
Her fingers tightened slightly around my shirt.
"And no one taking you away."
There it was again.
That fear.
Always that fear.
The atmosphere shifted slightly after that.
Lillith’s voice became quieter now.
More fragile.
"When we were younger..."
She slowly traced her fingers against my chest again.
"You used to talk about traveling constantly."
I sighed quietly.
"...Still do."
"Mhm."
Her eyes lowered slightly.
"And every time you talked about it..."
Her grip tightened.
"...I felt scared."
I looked down toward her.
Lillith rarely admitted fear openly.
"You always sounded so excited about places far away."
Her voice weakened slightly.
"Like your heart already belonged to the world."
The room remained quiet except for our breathing.
"And part of me kept thinking..."
She hesitated briefly.
"...What if one day you loved that world more than me?"
Something twisted painfully inside my chest hearing that.
"Lillith—"
"You nearly died already."
Her voice cracked slightly now.
"You lost your leg."
"You got tortured."
"And if I arrived even a little later..."
She stopped speaking.
Because she couldn’t.
I slowly moved one hand against her head gently.
But Lillith only pressed herself closer against me.
"That’s why the idea of a family sounds nice."
Her voice came out muffled against my chest now.
"Because if you stayed..."
Her fingers tightened around me slightly.
"...Then maybe I wouldn’t have to be scared all the time."
The room fell completely silent afterward.
For once—
I didn’t know what to say.
Because beneath all the obsession...
All the clinging...
All the terrifying behavior...
At the center of it all was just fear.
Fear of losing me.
Fear of being left behind.
Fear that one day the world would take me somewhere she couldn’t follow.
Then quietly—
"...Would you really be happy?"
Lillith looked up slightly.
"With what?"
"With me staying."
Her expression softened instantly.
"Yes."
"No adventures?"
"I don’t care."
"No traveling?"
"As long as you’re there."
"No inventions taking us across kingdoms?"
Lillith actually frowned slightly at that.
"...Maybe some inventions to keep you content."
I snorted quietly despite myself.
Then slowly—
She moved upward slightly before gently kissing me again.
This time softer.
Longer.
More emotional than before.
Like she was trying to pour every feeling inside her directly into me.
And when she finally pulled back—
Her forehead rested lightly against mine while her purple eyes stared directly into my own.
"...I really do want that future with you."
