Chapter 15

Her lips parted, but no words came.

Alaric stepped closer, his gaze steady.

“Did he send you here? To please me?”

Her silence was his answer enough. She lowered her head, ashamed, her fingers tightening against her skirts.

Alaric’s jaw clenched, and for the first time, anger flared in his usually calm eyes.

“Your father dares use you as a pawn even now.”

She tried to speak, to defend or explain, but he lifted a hand gently—not to silence her, but to reassure.

“Do not fear,” he said softly. “I will not let him use you this way again.”

Lilith tried to keep her composure, the way she had been trained since birth—but her hands betrayed her, trembling as she held them clasped tightly in front of her.

“Your Majesty, I…” Her voice cracked, and she quickly bit down on her lip, as if to punish herself for slipping.

Alaric’s expression softened. He motioned for her to sit, his tone unusually gentle.

“You don’t need to bow or hide here, Lilith. Speak freely.”

Those words—speak freely—unraveled something inside her.

She sank into the chair, and before she could stop herself, the tears spilled over. She tried to hide her face in her hands, but the sobs came anyway, raw and small, the kind of crying no one had ever allowed her before.

“My father…” she whispered between gasps.

“He… he says I’m nothing unless I serve his plans. That I exist only to—” She broke off, shaking her head.

“I tried so hard. I did everything right, but it’s never enough. It’s never for me. Nothing is ever mine.”

Alaric did not interrupt. He leaned forward, his hand resting lightly on the arm of her chair—not touching her, but steady, grounding. His voice, when it came, was calm but firm.

“Trust me. Your father is wrong.”

She lifted her tear-stained face to him, startled by the certainty in his words.

“You are not here to be used. You are not a vessel for his schemes. You are Lilith.” His tone grew almost fierce, though never cruel.

“I remember the little girl who stood before me at eleven years of age, trembling but defiant. You have more strength in you than your father will ever understand.”

Her shoulders shook harder. “But I can’t escape him. He’ll never let me go—he’ll ruin me if I fail him. He always does.”

Alaric’s eyes darkened. “Then he will have to go through me.”

Lilith blinked at him through tears.

“I am the Emperor now,” he said slowly, with the weight of finality.

“As long as I breathe, the Marquis will not touch you. You are under my protection, Lilith. Do you understand?”

Her lips trembled as she tried to reply, but all she managed was a nod before fresh sobs broke free.

Alaric, against all protocol, rose from his chair and knelt in front of her so that his gaze was level with hers. He didn’t reach to wipe her tears—he gave her dignity—but his presence was steady, unwavering.

“You have carried too much alone,” he said softly. “From this day, you will live freely.”

Lilith covered her mouth with her hands, choking back the sound, but the relief of hearing those words shook her to her very core. No one had ever said such things to her.

For the first time in her life, she allowed herself to cry until her body gave out, and Alaric stayed there, silent and unmovable, a shield she never thought she would have.

⚜

The room was quiet, save for Lilith’s soft, uneven breaths as she tried to calm herself. Alaric remained near, silent but steady, giving her space without leaving her side.

The door opened abruptly, and Asher stepped in. Even in the stillness of the chamber, his presence was commanding. His armor glinted faintly, and the faint smell of smoke and iron clung to him, reminders of the opposing nobles that he has faced before returning.

Lilith froze. Her heart hammered—not out of fear, exactly, but a strange, unfamiliar tension. She was sobbing and that too in front of the Emperor and the Duke. She quickly regained her composure with that thought.

Even from a distance, Magnus had seemed larger than life, distant and untouchable. Now, he was in the same room as her.

“Your Majesty… Brother,” Asher said, his voice clipped but respectful.

“Reporting as ordered. The northern garrisons are secured. No incidents to report.”

Alaric nodded sharply. “Good. That is all. Dismissed.”

Asher’s eyes flicked briefly toward Lilith, and for a moment, she felt exposed. She quickly lowered her gaze, pressing her hands together on her lap, trying to make herself small and invisible.

Then, almost imperceptibly, he gave a slight nod in Alaric’s direction. And said, his tone softening with just a fraction,

“Congratulations, brother. The crown suits you.”

Lilith’s pulse quickened. Her mind raced with the tension of the moment. He was polite—distant, but there was something in his gaze that made her aware of him more keenly than she cared to admit. She struggled to read his expression: was that warmth for Alaric, or… something else?

Asher turned back to leave, his boots clicking sharply against the floor.

Lilith watched his retreating figure, and even as she tried to force her thoughts back to Alaric, a faint shiver ran down her spine.

There was a weight to him, a danger she could not place, yet part of her could not look away.

Alaric, sensing her lingering gaze, gave a faint, almost imperceptible sigh. He didn’t scold her—he simply stepped slightly closer, a protective presence between her and Asher.

“You don’t need to worry,” Alaric said quietly, his voice meant only for her.

“He respects me. You don’t need to—” He paused, meeting her eyes. “—you don’t need to fear him. Not while I am here.”

Lilith nodded, though her heart was still racing. Asher’s brief appearance left an echo in the room, a mixture of awe and unease that she could not shake. And as Alaric’s steady presence enveloped her once again, she realized how deeply she relied on him—for comfort, for safety, for guidance—though her feelings were innocent and childish, tied to trust rather than love.

The room returned to its quiet, but Lilith’s mind lingered on the image of Asher: silent, disciplined, imposing… and yet, strangely attentive in ways only Alaric could notice.

⚜