Sol was still reeling from Lilith's story, though the daze didn't last long.
"I understand," he finally said with a confident smile. Complaining wouldn't change anything — if he had the time to mope, he'd rather spend it getting stronger.
---
"So… why are we bathing together again?"
Sol found himself back in his bathroom, this time with only Lilith accompanying him. He sat on a low stool, a towel draped over his lap, while Lilith knelt behind him, washing his back.
"No real reason," she replied casually. "I just thought it's been a while. The last time we bathed together, you were what, eight? Time really flies."
Sol nodded quietly as she poured a basin of warm water over him.
"I can handle the front myself," he said, "your turn now."
Lilith didn't answer, only turned her back to him, holding her towel to cover her front.
Standing up, Sol couldn't help but admire her bare back — elegant, smooth, and graceful. But any hint of lust faded as his gaze fell upon the large scar cutting across her creamy skin.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, tracing the rough scar with trembling fingers, guilt flooding him.
That wound was a reminder — Lilith had taken that blow protecting him years ago during a diplomatic mission.
"Envilya…" Sol muttered bitterly. The Envilya Kingdom, ruled by demonkind, stood opposite Lustburg, the realm of humans.
"You shouldn't feel guilty," Lilith said softly. "That was my mistake, not yours."
It had been the only time Sol's life was truly in danger. During a summit of the seven kingdoms, one of Envilya's emissaries suddenly unleashed a forbidden spell to assassinate him at the cost of his own life.
Officially, the man's motive was revenge — he'd lost his family to Mars — and the Envilya rulers denied involvement, offering heavy reparations. Lustburg, still reeling from Mars's death, had no choice but to accept.
Everyone knew it was nonsense, but they endured.
Of course, when several of Envilya's promising noble heirs mysteriously died over the next two years, Lustburg had nothing to do with it — or so the story went.
Sol chuckled at the thought.
"What's so funny?" Lilith asked.
"Just imagining the looks on their faces when their heirs started dying."
Lilith smirked. "The nobles, perhaps. But the royal family? I'd say they were pleased."
"Huh?"
"Sol, do you know why our royal family has never lost power despite having so few heirs?"
"Because we're strong?"
"True, but more precisely, it's because of our alliance with the Church of Castitas. Together, we suppress the nobles when they overreach. Envilya, though… is different."
"I see," Sol said thoughtfully. "Their church must side with the nobles."
"Exactly. The Church of Gratia supports the noble houses, while the Invidia royal family stands alone. It's a miracle they've lasted this long."
"So the assassination was likely backed by the church and the nobles. And those… 'unfortunate accidents' that followed weakened their faction, helping the royal family recover."
Lilith laughed — a full, unrestrained laugh. "You're sharp. Yes, those accidents greatly benefited the Invidia royals. And, strangely enough, they decided they owed us for it."
She stopped there, not wanting to burden him further. Whether that debt would be repaid depended on Sol's awakening — and how powerful he became.
"Anyway," she said with a teasing grin, "enough backwashing. Let's hurry before Edea gets mad — even I wouldn't want to face her wrath."
She rose gracefully, heading toward the bath, but froze when she turned back — Sol's towel had slipped off.
A heavy silence filled the room before she muttered, almost under her breath, "You've certainly grown up…"
No one needed to ask what she was referring to.
---
Later, Sol descended the stairs toward Edea's quarters, a conflicted expression on his face — part disappointed, part relieved.
He was disappointed that nothing had happened… yet relieved nothing had.
'I didn't expect to be such a coward,' he thought. He knew he'd missed a chance to grow closer to Lilith, but deep down, he felt it was for the best. She carried heavy burdens he didn't yet understand.
Had he pushed things further, best case, she'd have turned him down; worst case, she might not have — and that would have changed everything between them.
'One moment of lust isn't worth destroying what we have,' he decided. For him, sex was something that deepened a bond, not what defined it.
Then another thought struck him.
'What about her husband?'
All he knew was that Lilith's husband, a man from the Gorfard family, had died mysteriously only weeks after their wedding.
'A mysterious accident…?'
His mind flashed to the deaths of Envilya's nobles.
'Could she have killed him?'
He considered it briefly, then shook the thought away. It didn't matter. If Lilith had done it, she must have had a reason — and even if she hadn't, it changed nothing for him.