Exiled Prince: I'm the Unexpected Extra in the Novel-Chapter 147: Date with Lilith [6]

Cassian, after casting a glance around the room from behind the door Lilith had locked, dropped himself onto the soft, L-shaped sofa in the middle of the living room.

His back hadn’t fully touched the cushion when a thin but strong hand grabbed his wrist and forcefully pulled him up from where he sat.

"What are you doing again?" grumbled Cassian, trying to find his balance.

Lilith, hands on her hips, frowning, was looking at him with the air of a typical housewife.

"Help me in the kitchen, honey," she said in a tone that accepted no objections. "You’re not going to let me cook dinner alone, are you?"

Cassian rolled his eyes. This game was getting more absurd by the minute.

"Why do we even need to eat dinner?" he asked, spreading his hands to both sides. "Isn’t this place an artificial world you created anyway? Even our sense of hunger isn’t real. Besides..."

He narrowed his eyes and pointed around.

"Why do we keep staying here, in this fake house game? You said you would give me information about Yavres and the world, about the dirty secrets of the gods. But so far, you haven’t said a single thing that would be useful to me. I just listened to your past and rode a bike."

Lilith ignored Cassian’s whining. With the expression of a mischievous child on her face, she reached for the hanger on the side of the kitchen.

Hanging there was a frilly, quite feminine kitchen apron with blue rose patterns on it.

Before Cassian could understand what was happening, Lilith passed the apron over his neck with one move and quickly tied the sashes around his waist.

"There, now it’s perfect!" giggled Lilith, looking at the funny sight of Cassian. "The Prince in black matches so well with blue roses."

Cassian looked at the apron on him. He reached out to take it off but Lilith stopped him by wagging her finger.

"No need to rush, honey," Lilith said, turning to the counter and washing the vegetables she took out of the bag.

"Time flows differently here and in the real world. The hours we spend here compete with seconds outside. Most likely, only about an hour has passed in the real world."

She looked at Cassian over her shoulder, her eyes shining.

"We will have enough time to ask everything you want to ask, and get every answer. What’s the rush? After all..."

She picked up the knife and twirled it in the air.

"...from now on, we are together forever." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Cassian opened his mouth, wanted to object to this "forever" remark, to end this madness.

But Lilith, without giving him a chance to speak, thrust a sharp chef’s knife and a wooden chopping board into his hand.

"Come on, chop the onions. And don’t cry, princes don’t cry."

Cassian sighed deeply. Life kept sending him women more problematic than the last...

Inside the kitchen, there was only the sound of the knife hitting the board, chop-chop-chop, and the bubbling of the water boiling on the stove.

Cassian was throwing furtive glances at Lilith occasionally while doing his job.

With this witch he hated, the source of his curse, who turned his life into hell... Right now, he was cooking in a modern kitchen.

He didn’t know how he got himself into this strange, twisted relationship. But deep in his heart, he didn’t feel regret at all.

Lilith was stirring the pot energetically, humming and singing to herself occasionally.

There was a happy, carefree young girl expression on her face. For that moment, she was the most innocent girl in the world, just preparing a meal for her lover.

Cassian couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Lilith suddenly turned her head and caught Cassian’s intense gaze. A wide, confident smile spread across her face.

"What is it?" she said, leaning against the counter. "Can’t take your eyes off me, honey? Or do you want me to kiss you again?"

Cassian paused.

"Yes," he said honestly.

Lilith paused for a moment at this sudden and clear answer. Her quick wit, her mocking mask fell for a second. A light pink spread across her cheeks.

She giggled forcibly, adjusted the ladle in her hand.

"Haha... I didn’t expect you to be this honest," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I guess it was inevitable for you to fall in love with me against my charm. Your resistance was in vain."

"No," said Cassian, throwing the vegetables into the pot. "I still hate you."

Lilith pointed the spoon in her hand at Cassian like a sword. She narrowed her eyes.

"Look, you shouldn’t talk so casually to people, my prince," she said, her voice warning. "You are being too hurtful. A woman’s heart is like glass, if it breaks, it cuts."

Cassian said nothing. He just handed the vegetables he chopped to Lilith.

"Make the food, witch. I’m hungry."

Lilith finished the meal without minding this rude attitude of Cassian, even taking a secret pleasure from it.

She asked Cassian to set the table and Cassian, with his blue rose apron, arranged the plates and forks without objection.

Lilith put the pot in the middle of the table and the two sat opposite each other.

Cassian took a spoonful of the food. It tasted surprisingly good. This woman could create perfect tastes even if it was with illusion.

Lilith, resting her chin on her hand, was looking at him expectantly.

"How does it taste?"

"Good," answered Cassian while chewing.

Lilith pouted. "Just good? You could have praised me better. Like ’Great’, ’Magnificent’, ’Bless your hands my love’..."

Cassian took a sip of his water.

"Maybe..." he said, fixing his eyes on her. "Maybe if you give me useful information, I’ll do that."

Lilith rolled her eyes.

"You really are a log, aren’t you?" she said reproachfully. "While there is a beautiful young girl in front of you, and she cooked for you with her own hands, all you think about is information... War, strategy, gods... Enjoy the moment a little."

Then the expression on her face became serious, her voice cleared as if making a business deal.

"By the way..." said Lilith. "Don’t forget to make the body you will create for me same as my current state! I love this look. Young, beautiful, and attractive."

Cassian put down his fork. The sound of metal hitting porcelain broke the silence.

"Who said I would create a body for you?" he said harshly. "I didn’t give you such a promise."

Lilith leaned towards Cassian over the table. Her eyes were burning with a dangerous glint.

"Will you leave your lover alone?" she whispered. "All alone in the dark, in cold and loneliness!?"

"You are not my lover," said Cassian, emphasizing every word.

"You weren’t saying that when you kissed me but..." said Lilith, licking her lips.

"You were the one who kissed me!"

"What does it matter?" Lilith shrugged. "Our lips met, our souls mixed. Don’t be a spoilsport. I want that body."

Cassian took another spoonful of food, trying to suppress his anger.

"I cannot use my powers casually," he said, his voice taking on a logical tone. "Especially in the north... Especially in the current situation... Absolutely not."

He hit his fork on the table.

"If Obsidian Dawn finds my location, the end won’t be good for either of us at all."

Lilith smiled. This was a confident smile, one that had planned everything.

"I will protect you!" she said cheerfully.

Cassian laughed mockingly.

"How will you protect me? With what power? In the new body I create for you, you won’t have a mana core. You will be no different from an ordinary, powerless human."

Lilith leaned back, crossed her arms on her chest.

"Don’t worry about that matter, honey," she said. "To get stronger... I don’t need a mana core. I have a different method. Old school."

Cassian frowned. "What method?"

Lilith’s eyes narrowed, her voice turned into a whisper but it was cold enough to freeze everything in the room.

"I will drain the other witches."

Cassian spat out the food he was eating. He went into a coughing fit, his throat burned.

"Cough! Cough!"

He took the water on the table and drank it, looking at Lilith in horror.

"You..." he said, out of breath. "Have you lost your mind? They... They are considered your lineage!"

"So?" said Lilith, quite calmly. "That is their duty. To serve me! They are side effects of my existence, my backup batteries. When I return, their duty ends. They must give their energy to me and mix into the nothingness they belong to."

Cassian slammed his fist on the table. The plates jumped.

"You will do no such thing!" he shouted. "Never!"

Lilith looked surprised. She tilted her head to the side.

"Why are you reacting this much? Don’t you already hate witches? Slapping that girl, humiliating them... You even told them they were worthless to you, that you didn’t care if they died. Why are you playing the hero now?"

Cassian stood up. Even with the blue rose apron, his anger was frightening.

"Yes, I said it!" he said. "I don’t like them. Their existence gives me pain. But this... This doesn’t mean I want them to die, that I will turn a blind eye to their murderous exploitation."

His eyes were spitting fire.

"If I wanted to... I would have killed them long ago the moment I first saw them in that forest. I had the power, I had the opportunity. But I didn’t. Because I... I am not a monster!"

The room was buried in silence. Lilith watched the determination, the twisted but solid morality on Cassian’s face.

Then she slowly got up from her seat. She walked around the table and came to Cassian’s side.

She wrapped her arms around Cassian’s waist, rested her head on his chest.

"Okay honey," she said quietly. "If that’s what you want... If that will make you happy... I won’t touch them. I promise. Let them continue their small, miserable lives."

Cassian’s tense muscles relaxed a little. But Lilith continued.

"But..." said Lilith, lifting her head and looking into Cassian’s eyes. "Making my body right now poses no problem for you."

Cassian opened his mouth to object but Lilith put her finger on his lip.

"After all..." said Lilith, with a sly smile on her lips. "Of the 6 Princes... Only two are currently in the north."

Cassian’s eyes widened when he heard this.

"What?"

Lilith giggled.

"You heard it. The Obsidian Dawn you are so afraid of... Is actually divided right now."

She pulled her finger from Cassian’s lip and tapped on his chest.

"So... The stage is ours, my prince. We can make as much noise as we want."