Alex watched Lilia closely, waiting for a reaction. He expected hesitation, resistance—at the very least, curiosity. But what he got instead left him momentarily speechless.

“No.”

Lilia’s answer came without a second of delay, her voice calm and unwavering. She met his gaze steadily, as if his question didn’t matter in the slightest.

Alex blinked. “No? Just like that?”

She nodded, an almost imperceptible smile touching her lips. “It doesn’t matter.”

He narrowed his eyes, studying her expression carefully. “You don’t want to know why?”

“No.”

That answer stunned him even more. He had expected her to ask—maybe even argue with him. But instead, she just accepted it as if she had no doubts whatsoever.

In reality, it wasn’t that Lilia didn’t have doubts; the reason was different. It was that…

“I trust you,” Lilia said simply, her violet eyes unwavering. “That’s all there is to it.”

Yes. She trusted him.

Alex, however, exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Wasn’t this place important to you?”

Lilia let out a slow breath, glancing at the prison walls that had once been her goal. “It was,” she admitted, “but only because of Lucian. Everything I did, everything I worked for—it was all because of him. Now that he’s gone… it’s different. Even if I didn’t get what I originally came for, I’ll be fine.”

Alex remained silent, watching her closely. There was something about her tone—relief, maybe? Acceptance? Whatever it was, it felt like a weight had finally lifted off her shoulders.

As she saw Alex staying silent, she continued, her voice softer now. “I was never happy before I came to the academy. My life was dictated by duty and by expectations. Then, when I finally started living—truly living—Lucian appeared. He threw my world into chaos again. So, to escape, I buried myself in training, growing stronger, faster, better… always trying to keep ahead, always trying to run. But now… now that he’s gone, I don’t feel the urgency anymore. I don’t need to run.”

Silence stretched between them, heavy and unspoken emotions lingering in the air.

Alex knew what she meant. Lucian was the one who cornered her. In the novel’s plot, Lucian was a wall that Lilia and the protagonist had to overcome with collective efforts to build their relationship.

He was supposed to stay like that until Lilia and the protagonist became strong enough to face him, and once they did, they would defeat him, marking an end to it all.

In that process, however, they would grow strong.

The plots were there to help the protagonists and heroines grow stronger. Alex didn’t care about the protagonists, but Lilia was different.

Her will to grow stronger can’t be broken like this. He didn’t want someone he was thinking of having as his woman to stay content with her power.

Thinking about that, Alex finally broke the silence. “So… are you going to stop pursuing strength, then?”

This time, it was Lilia’s time to turn silent. She looked into Alex’s eyes, perceiving his intent.

‘He wants me to keep growing, huh?’ She thought to herself, feeling her heart stir. She chuckled inwardly. ‘He really is weird.’

Lilia had heard that men don’t like their women growing stronger. They appreciate it when their women depend on them, but it seemed like Alex was different.

‘Well, I guess that’s why I…’ Shaking her head with a smile, she replied, “Of course not.” Shifting a bit on his lap, she looked deep into his eyes, a strange determination burning in her eyes. “I now have another reason to grow stronger.”

‘I need to be worthy of standing by your side after all,’ she added but kept it to herself, not voicing it out.

Alex, looking at her smiling, somehow knew that he wouldn’t get an answer if he asked what the new reason was, but he was happy for her, so with a smile mirroring hers, he asked, “You’ll return to the academy, then?”

Lilia chuckled in response, shaking her head. “Isn’t this the perfect disguise for death?” She stretched her arms lazily. “I’m staying here. The academy was only good because you were there, Alex.”

That caught him off guard.

But it wasn’t too surprising. Lilia wasn’t just running away from Lucian; there was her family as well. She didn’t want to stay in that suffocating place, and this was the perfect disguise to cut ties with them.

[She’s being honest with her feelings now,] Sophie commented in his head, causing him to feel relief, but before he could respond, Lilia added with a smirk, “Besides, I’m sure you’ll visit me here every day.”

Alex stared at her, stunned. There was no question in her voice—no request. It was a demand, spoken with absolute certainty.

She wanted him to visit her every day.

It was a big demand, but not impossible. If he tried, then it was possible to make that happen.

However, he wouldn’t tell her that, so a slow chuckle escaped him. “That so?”

Lilia hummed, snuggling closer into his lap, her smile widening. “Mhm.”

Alex shook his head with amusement. “We’ll see.”

That answer seemed to satisfy her. She didn’t take his words as the answer; she looked at his expressions. And those expressions said he would, so a bright, genuine smile bloomed on her face.

“Hehe,” she giggled, feeling content.

After that, for a moment, they sat there in silence, simply existing in each other’s presence. But then, Alex exhaled, his gaze turning thoughtful. “You really don’t even want to know why I’m doing this?”

Lilia opened her eyes and studied him. For a moment, she said nothing, as if searching for something in his expression. Then, softly, she spoke. “You’re not going to tell me.”

Alex blinked. “I was—”

“No,” she interrupted, shaking her head, “you weren’t.”

Among the people who knew Alex the best in the academy, Lilia was one of those who came to the top of the list.

Lilia was one of the very few people Alex showed both his annoying side and his loving side.

She was different from Zahara, who knew only of his annoying side and was only recently learning about his loving side.

That was why she added, “You were going to show me.” Her violet eyes glowed knowingly.

She knew that in order to maintain the air of mystery, Alex wouldn’t tell her anything, but she also knew that he wouldn’t keep her in the dark and probably show her what he was going to do.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“You won’t do something that would leave me with a loss,” she continued, tilting her head slightly. “You probably already have a plan in mind. One where I won’t suffer any loss.”

For a moment, Alex simply stared at her. Then, with a slow shake of his head, he chuckled. “You’re something else, you know that?”

Lilia merely smiled. “I know.”

They just stared at each other for a second before they burst into laughter, enjoying each other’s company.

After laughing for a while, Alex breathed, giving her a nod. “Alright. Do you want to see it?”

“Yes.”

There wasn’t even a second of hesitation in her response. Her trust in him was absolute, and Alex, who valued relationships, would never let that trust waver.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep