Chapter 28 - Hostile
Lilly felt her skin start crawling the moment she realized how Adelia had learned the supposed truth. The scale had been flipped in her mind, making the doubt heavier than the trust. Cold sweat ran down her back, and her hands started trembling.
‘Is that why she left? Because I would be learning the truth today? And… right after I finished the belt?’
‘I’ve never felt her emotions like I have with Mia and Adelia… What would I find? Did she prevent that as well somehow?’
‘She has revealed lies before, conveniently hidden until I started trusting her. First the lies in the forest, then her involvement with the assassins… She seemed like a good actor…’
‘Did Eldrin teach me as an excuse to keep in touch, then? It always seemed suspicious that he would teach me for free, especially in a subject he barely knew…’
Every kindness Eolande had shown, every hug and every tear shed, started growing thorns in her mind. An intense sense of betrayal was fighting with love, locking out everything happening around her. She heard them, but she didn’t have the presence of mind to listen to the words.
“... Why?”
Her voice was barely a whisper, but both Victor and Myndia heard it well under their own worried yells.
‘Lilly, this could all be a line of coincidences. At least ask her yourself before making any rash decisions!’ Myndia told her, trying to calm her tumultuous mind.
Victor had risen from his chair and looked at Lilly worriedly. “Lady Lilly, it pains me to see you like this. As I said, I do not know what her motives might be. I was worrying about the worst-case situation, and I apologize for my harsh wording.”
Lilly hated how hard he made it to hate him. If he was being rude or insensitive, she could at least yell at him in anger like she wanted to, but like this, she had to hold herself back.
She fought to keep the anxiety at bay, focusing on taking deep breaths and convincing herself that everything she thought she knew before this meeting still could be true. Adelia and Claude must have confirmed the general’s words somehow before they were convinced, Right?
‘But if this is all a ruse they made up after luring Elly into a trap, I just revealed Adelia as a traitor… Ahh, what do I do now?’
Myndia carefully started replying, hoping it was a question Lilly wanted help answering. ‘Staying neutral is going to be a challenge. I think you first have to figure out what you believe before taking drastic actions.’
‘... How can I know without seeing Elly again? How can I trust her without knowing?’
‘Can you act against her without knowing, then?’
Lilly remained silent. She couldn’t.
‘Then there’s your answer. And if what this prince says is true, I’ll make sure she gets what she deserves in the future. You can stay on her side until you know the truth, I think.’
Lilly exhaled softly, looking up at Victor. He still looked worried about her, making him either a good person or an excellent actor.
Her mind had cleared slightly after figuring out what should decide her actions. She decided to side with the people she knew while doing everything she could to meet Eolande and learn the truth. That didn’t make it much easier to figure out her next move, though.
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‘Killing the brother of the king might have some serious consequences, don’t you think?’ Lilly asked, half in jest. And half not.
‘Ehh, I don’t think that will help us much. If Eolande has been trapped somehow, we might need a bargaining chip to get her back. We have Adelia, but we can’t hand her over to them.’
The silence had lasted a long time, but Victor seemed hesitant to break it. He was still standing with his palms on the table.
With an emotionless voice, Lilly spoke to him. “Prince Victor, I’ve decided not to believe you.”
Victor looked pained by her words, but not for himself. He seemed pained for her sake, finding her inability to see the truth pitiful. He truly was a good actor. “Lady Lilly, please consider everything I’ve said. I understand it must be hard, but don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment.”
Lilly shook her head, having made her mind up. “I apologize, Prince Victor. Coincidences won’t convince me to believe my most trusted ally has conspired against me from the start. You won’t be leaving Thundrel before I see her again.”
“What?! You’re going to keep me here? I am here under the authority of the crown!”
“I don’t care. Right now, my only two priorities are keeping the people I care about safe and seeing Elly again. If you’re the ones who lured her out, it would be in your best interest to bring her here.”
Victor looked outraged, but also somewhat intimidated. If he knew anything about her capabilities, it only made sense to fear her, especially now that they were on different sides.
“You truly have been led astray, haven’t you? By keeping me here, you’re risking a diplomatic incident. What do you think the consequences of kidnapping the king’s brother will be?”
Lilly furrowed her brows, looking directly into Victor’s eyes. “If we’re going to be slinging threats around, let me tell you what’s going to happen if you hurt a single hair on my loved ones, or anyone in my city for that matter: Your precious castle will melt to the ground.”
Victor seemed unconvinced, but he sat back down on the chair to show his willingness to cooperate.
“I have already killed thousands, don’t doubt that I can do it again,” Lilly reminded him. “If you really want to convince me you’re telling the truth, you could let my flame into your body. That way, I can feel your emotions, and there’s no way to fake those.”
“... That would let you cripple or kill me on a whim. I don’t trust your emotional state or your feelings towards me enough to do that.”
Lilly smiled coldly. “I was hoping you would say that. That makes it easier to believe my decision was right.”
“Oh, not letting you into my soul makes me a liar? That’s an interesting way of thinking,” Victor sneered.
“This conversation feels a bit cold, doesn’t it? Let’s bring Adelia in here; I’d like her input as well. Just sit tight. I’ll go talk to the guards you brought,” Lilly said, getting out of the chair.
It felt kind of nice being openly antagonistic like this, she thought. Everything was so much easier, not having to worry about offending the other party. She was slightly worried about letting his guards out of her sight, but there was little she could do alone.
She opened the door, only to find one of the guards having his ear against it. He looked shocked to see her, like a scared child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Oh, I thought we would be having a private conversation,” Lilly said, smiling as she grabbed hold of the guard’s armor. He was completely unable to move.
Lilly turned back to the room while making sure the guards stayed still. “I changed my mind, Victor; you’re all coming with me to Adelia’s quarters.”
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Claude seemed surprised to see Lilly as he opened the door, but his surprise turned to shock once he saw how she was holding two guards and a prince in place behind her. “Uh, huh?”
“Hi, Claude! Could you find some guards and bring them here? With handcuffs?” Lilly asked, like it was the most natural thing to ask.
Claude looked at Victor, who looked back with a sour expression. “You’re already a traitor, do whatever you want.”
“The only traitor here is me; Claude is being forced to follow my commands. Right, Claude?”
Claude still didn’t seem completely present, but he started moving past them and down the hallway to look for guards. “Woe is me; the fiery tyrant is giving me no choice,” he mumbled as he walked, making Lilly chuckle in spite of the situation.
She walked into Adelia’s quarters, finding her on the sofa in the middle of the room, sitting normally. “Lilly!” she yelled excitedly, but just like Claude, she was shocked after seeing her companions. “Uncle? What’s going on?”
Lilly felt a bit nervous. She knew Adelia had a decent relationship with her uncle, so it might pain her to have to do this. “Hi, Adelia! We have a lot to discuss.”