Lilith sat beside Rin on the cold stone bench, her hands folded neatly on her lap like she'd seen the maids do.
She didn't know why she sat like that.
It just felt… correct.
The garden was peaceful. Too peaceful.
Birds chirped. Water trickled from a small fountain nearby. The air smelled faintly of flowers—lilies, she noted absently. Her eyes tracked the petals swaying in the breeze, every movement sharp, precise. Habit.
Rin glanced at her from the corner of her eye.
She was smiling.
Lilith noticed immediately.
"Um…" Rin began, rocking slightly on her heels. "You don't have to sit so stiffly, you know. You're not in trouble."
Lilith blinked.
"…Not… in trouble?" she echoed slowly, like she was tasting the words.
Rin nodded. "Yeah. You're just… sitting. With me."
Just sitting.
Lilith processed that for a moment.
"Oh," she said. Then, after a pause, "Okay."
Silence followed.
Not an uncomfortable one for Rin—but for Lilith, it felt like standing at the edge of a cliff with no instructions on whether to jump.
Rin cleared her throat. "So… do you like the palace?"
Lilith's fingers twitched.
The palace.
Chains without iron.
Walls without blood.
"I… don't know," she answered honestly. "It's… quiet."
Rin laughed softly. "That's one way to put it. I grew up in a village near the border, so this place still feels unreal to me."
Lilith turned her head toward her. "You… weren't born here?"
"Nope. Came here when I was thirteen." Rin smiled. "I cried for a week straight."
Lilith frowned. "Why?"
"Because I was scared," Rin replied easily. "And lonely."
The words hit something deep.
Lonely.
Lilith lowered her gaze to the stone beneath her feet. "…I think," she said slowly, carefully, "I know that word."
Rin's smile softened. "Yeah?"
Lilith nodded once. "It feels… hollow. Like something is missing. But you don't know what."
Rin stared at her for a moment, surprised. "That's… actually a really good explanation."
Lilith's lips parted slightly. "…It is?"
"Yeah." Rin chuckled. "You're better at this than you think."
Better at this.
Lilith didn't know what this was—but the approval made her chest feel warm. Strange. Unfamiliar. Not unpleasant.
A pair of guards walked past the garden path, their armor clinking softly. One of them glanced at Lilith, eyes lingering far too long.
"Hey," one of them muttered under his breath, smirking. "Didn't know pets were allowed outside."
Lilith's vision sharpened instantly.
The world slowed.
She saw it clearly—how easily his throat would give way, how his pulse fluttered beneath skin. Roots of dark instinct crawled up her spine, whispering solutions.
Her left eye burned.
Before she could move, Rin stood up.
"That's enough," Rin snapped, planting herself between them. "Show some respect."
The guard scoffed. "And what are you gonna do about it, maid?"
Rin didn't back down. "Report you. And I won't be the only one."
The second guard tugged the first away. "Drop it. She's trouble."
They left, laughter fading into the corridor.
Lilith stared at Rin's back.
"…Why?" she asked quietly.
Rin turned. "Why what?"
"Why did you stand in front of me?"
Rin blinked, then smiled awkwardly. "Because… you looked like you were about to do something bad."
Lilith tilted her head. "…I was."
Rin froze.
Lilith continued, voice calm, almost curious. "I could have killed him in less than a second."
A long pause.
Rin swallowed—but she didn't step back.
"…But you didn't," Rin said.
Lilith looked at her hands.
"No," she admitted. "Because… you were here."
Rin exhaled slowly, then sat back down. "Then I'm glad I was."
Lilith hesitated.
Then, carefully, she sat closer to Rin. Not touching. Just closer.
"…Rin," she said, testing the name.
"Yes?"
"Thank you… for talking to me."
Rin smiled warmly. "Anytime, Lilith."
Lilith repeated it in her heae in a long while, the hollow feeling eased—just a little.