The days arrived cold and quiet.

By this point, traveling with Lillith had developed into a strange routine.

Wake up.

Realize she was always awake and staring at me.

Pretend not to notice.

Get forcefully fed breakfast.

Then spend the rest of the day inside the carriage while she alternated between lovingly talking to me and threatening anyone that looked at the wagon too long.

Honestly—

I still wasn’t fully sure whether my situation counted as being rescued or kidnapped anymore.

The carriage rolled steadily along the forest road while pale morning sunlight filtered through the trees around us.

I sat near the back quietly adjusting the temporary prosthetic the blacksmith had given me earlier.

It still felt awkward to walk with.

Better than nothing.

But awkward.

Meanwhile Lillith sat at the front guiding the horses while softly humming to herself.

Every few minutes she glanced backward just to make sure I was still there.

Eventually she suddenly spoke.

"We’re only about a day from the border now."

I looked up slightly.

"Already?"

Lillith nodded.

"At our current pace we should arrive tomorrow evening."

Honestly, hearing that felt strange.

After everything that happened, part of me had started feeling like the journey would never actually end.

The border.

Home.

Finn.

The workshop.

It all almost felt distant now.

Then suddenly another thought crossed my mind.

"...How exactly are we going explain all this?"

Lillith tilted her head slightly.

"Explain what?"

I stared at her blankly.

"You annihilated part of another kingdom."

"They kidnapped you first."

"That does not erase the political consequences."

Lillith looked unconcerned.

"If anyone complains I’ll just kill them."

"...Please don’t."

"You always say that."

"Because murder is generally frowned upon."

Lillith sighed dramatically.

"Valenor’s laws are so restrictive."

I rubbed my forehead tiredly.

The carriage continued onward quietly for a while afterward.

Then eventually Lillith spoke again.

"...Leo?"

"Mhm?"

"When we return..."

Something about her tone made me look up immediately.

She sounded oddly careful.

"...Will things go back to normal?"

I blinked slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Lillith stared ahead at the road while loosely holding the reins.

"You’ll go back to your workshop."

Her voice remained soft.

"You’ll spend time with Finn again."

A faint pause followed.

"You’ll start building things again."

Ah.

I quietly leaned back against the carriage wall.

Honestly—

I understood what she was really asking.

Will you drift away from me again?

That was the real question beneath her words.

After several moments I quietly answered.

"...Probably."

Lillith visibly stiffened slightly.

But before she could spiral into another emotional breakdown, I continued.

"But that doesn’t mean I’m abandoning you."

Silence followed.

Then quietly she asked:

"...Are you sure?"

The amount of genuine uncertainty in her voice caught me off guard.

I slowly looked toward her properly.

For someone powerful enough destroy fortresses casually—

Lillith really could become strangely fragile when it involved me.

"I’m sure."

Lillith stayed quiet afterward.

Then eventually she softly murmured:

"...You always say things that calm me down right before immediately doing something dangerous."

"That is an unfair accusation."

"You literally got kidnapped the moment I left you alone."

"...Okay that one is fair."

A tiny smile appeared on her face afterward.

The road gradually widened as the day continued.

More travelers occasionally passed now , merchants, soldiers, wandering adventurers and refugees displaced from the war.

Most people only glanced toward our carriage briefly before continuing onward.

Though occasionally someone would look at Lillith too long.

Those people usually became very interested in staring literally anywhere else once she noticed them.

Around midday, we stopped beside a river to rest the horses.

Lillith immediately jumped down from the carriage before turning toward me expectantly.

"...What?"

"Come here."

As Lillith stretched both of her arms out towards me.

"I can walk now."

"I know."

"Then why are you making that face?"

"Because I want to carry you."

I sighed heavily.

"You are impossible."

"And yet you still like me."

"That sentence was dangerously confident."

Lillith smiled smugly.

Then before I could properly climb down myself, she had already scooped me into her arms anyway.

"Lillith."

"Yes?"

"One day I’m going build something that lets me escape your grip."

"That sounds like a challenge."

"It is."

She looked genuinely thoughtful afterward.

"...Then I’ll just destroy it." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"...You are the single greatest obstacle to technological advancement."

"I’m honored."

A little while later we sat beside the riverbank quietly while the horses rested nearby drinking water.

The surrounding forest reflected softly across the moving river while cool wind drifted through the trees overhead.

For the first time in several days—

Everything felt peaceful.

Lillith rested beside me silently with her head against my shoulder while I absentmindedly skimmed small rocks across the water.

Eventually she quietly spoke again.

"When we were children..."

I glanced toward her.

"You used to talk constantly."

"...I still do."

"No," she corrected softly. "Back then it was different."

Her eyes drifted toward the flowing river.

"You talked like someone who believed the world was waiting for him."

I blinked slightly.

"That’s surprisingly poetic."

Lillith ignored the comment.

"You used describe inventions nobody understood."

A faint smile crossed her face.

"And every time you did, your eyes lit up."

I stayed quiet listening.

"Back then..."

Her fingers slowly intertwined with mine again.

"I thought you looked brighter than everyone else around you."

Something about hearing that made my chest tighten slightly.

Then her expression slowly dimmed again.

"And that terrified me."

There it was again.

That fear.

Always that fear.

Lillith lowered her gaze toward the river quietly.

"Bright things leave."

I frowned slightly.

"What?"

"Comets."

Her voice remained soft.

"Stars."

"Sunlight."

"They all disappear eventually."

The wind gently moved through her black hair while she continued quietly.

"And I kept thinking one day you would too."

For several moments I didn’t respond.

Then eventually I quietly asked:

"...Is that why you cling to me so much?"

Lillith actually looked surprised by the question.

"...Of course."

The answer came so naturally it almost stunned me.

"You’re important to me."

"No," I corrected quietly.

"I talking about this."

I gestured vaguely towards her arms wrapped around mine.

"The watching me sleep."

"The panicking when I leave."

"The threatening entire kingdoms."

Lillith looked away slightly.

"...Maybe."

Silence settled between us again afterward.

Then eventually she quietly admitted:

"When I couldn’t find you after the kidnapping..."

Her voice weakened slightly.

"I genuinely thought part of me had died."

The honesty of that statement hit harder than expected.

Lillith slowly leaned more heavily against me.

"I searched every road."

"Every town."

"Every forest."

A faint tremble entered her voice again.

"And every hour that passed..."

Her grip tightened slightly around my arm.

"...I became more certain I was going lose you forever."

I quietly looked toward the river.

Honestly—

I still didn’t fully know how to handle emotions this intense.

Part of me found it comforting.

Another part found it deeply terrifying.

Eventually I sighed softly.

"...I’m still here."

Lillith immediately looked upward toward me.

Then quietly—

"For now."

Something about the way she said those two words made my stomach tighten slightly.

The atmosphere shifted again.

Lillith’s eyes slowly lowered toward my missing leg.

Then toward the scars still visible along my arms and neck from the dungeon.

"...The world hurts you too easily."

There was no anger in her voice now.

Only quiet resentment.

"Every time you leave somewhere safe..."

Her fingers tightened slightly.

"You come back broken."

I frowned slightly.

"That’s part of living."

"No."

Her answer came instantly.

"That’s part of suffering."

The river continued flowing softly beside us while sunlight reflected across its surface.

Then quietly Lillith added:

"And one day it’ll kill you."

I stayed silent.

Because honestly—

She might’ve been right.

Lillith slowly rested her head against my shoulder again afterward.

"And every time I think about that..."

Her voice became softer.

"...I start understanding why monsters lock precious things away."

A cold feeling slowly crept down my spine.

But before I could respond, she suddenly smiled again.

The shift happened so quickly it almost felt unnatural.

"But you don’t need worry."

That somehow did not reassure me.

Lillith looked up toward me warmly.

"I’ll protect you forever."

The frightening part was—

She genuinely believed that was the kindest thing anyone could possibly offer.

And as the wind drifted softly through the trees beside the river, I quietly realized something else too.

Lillith’s obsession wasn’t growing because she hated the world.

It was growing because every single thing the world did kept proving her fears right.