Lilith sat at the small table, carefully peeling an apple while her mother stirred a pot over the hearth. Neither of them spoke, both simply enjoying the comfortable silence that settled between them.
Yet Vanessa's gaze kept flickering toward Lilith, as though she was searching for the right moment to ask something that had clearly been gnawing at her.
Lilith, noticing the lingering glances, finally looked up from the half-peeled apple. "Mother? You've been staring at me since we came back from the garden. Is something the matter?"
Vanessa hesitated, her hand tightening around the wooden spoon. "No… not exactly. It's just..." She paused, as if carefully weighing her words. "That man you brought with you, Viktor. How did you meet him?"
Lilith's brow furrowed slightly in confusion. "Viktor? He's one of the prince's most trusted men. A long-time friend of his."
