Chapter 51 - 50: Don’t Leave Me Alone

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Don’t Leave Me Alone

The girl wore a light yellow dress, her pitch-black hair cascading over her shoulders. With her stunning features and tall, slender figure, she looked like a beauty who had just stepped out of an ancient Eastern painting.

The man was clearly stunned by her appearance, a glimmer flashing through his eyes. Dragging the young waitress along, he strode over to Lilia and deliberately picked a fight. "What are you looking at? Little girl, are you trying to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong?"

Lilia glanced at the young woman who had been forcefully dragged over.

The waitress’s eyes brimmed with tears. For a fleeting second, a spark of hope appeared in her gaze as she looked at Lilia, but it was quickly swallowed by endless despair. She thought it was useless. This girl was all alone. If she could barely protect herself, how could she possibly save anyone else?

Just as the waitress thought, Lilia quickly withdrew her gaze and smiled. "No, I’m just a little curious. It seems you aren’t a resident of the Lien Kingdom."

It was hard to find fault with such a pleasant smile. Not to mention, the girl’s smile was so beautiful it nearly outshone the sun in the sky.

The middle-aged man felt an increasingly irrepressible itch in his heart. "Of course!"

He puffed out his chest, proudly showing off the golden brooch pinned to his jacket. The engraved design appeared to be a family crest, though Lilia had never seen it before.

"I am Declan Marlo from Ovis. It’s a pleasure to meet you, beautiful lady."

The middle-aged man claiming to be Marlo bowed slightly and reached out for Lilia’s hand, seemingly intending to press a kiss to the back of it. It should have been a highly gentlemanly gesture, but because his other hand was still clutching the waitress, the movement ended up looking rather comical.

Lilia didn’t move. "I’m very glad to meet you too."

Marlo narrowed his eyes. He was about to say something when he noticed Lilia’s gaze shift to the young woman beside him.

"Mr. Marlo, who is this..." She furrowed her brows slightly, her expression tinged with confusion. After a moment of hesitation, she tactfully asked, "Is she your date?"

Marlo froze. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck, clearing the fog in his mind.

He thought, "That’s right!" He had always heard that the ladies of the Lien Kingdom were quite conservative. Even if they took a liking to a gentleman, they would never be forward about it. Instead, they would beat around the bush and drop subtle hints to express their interest.

The girl before him looked troubled, deliberately asking if this waitress was his date... Wasn’t it just because she was afraid of becoming a third wheel and losing face?

Smugly assuming he had seen right through Lilia’s thoughts, Marlo immediately released his iron grip on the waitress. "No! You misunderstand, this is only our first time meeting."

Lilia tilted her head. "Your first time meeting?"

"Yes! The absolute first!" Marlo couldn’t wait to clarify, terrified that any delay would only deepen her misunderstanding. "I just saw her constantly approaching people in the square and assumed she was in some sort of trouble, so I merely extended a helping hand..."

"I see."

Seeing Lilia smile again, Marlo felt as if even the setting sun on the horizon had grown brighter. He turned to the waitress beside him and gave a light cough. "Since you don’t need my help, you should leave."

The young woman stood frozen for a moment, still failing to process the situation. She wondered if she was really free to go.

"What are you standing around for? Get lo—just go!"

Jolted awake by the sharp reprimand, the waitress shot a quick, complicated glance at Lilia before sprinting away.

Once she was far enough away, Marlo’s smile became even more fawning. "Well then, beautiful lady, it seems it’s just the two of us now. Would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner? There’s a fantastic Ovis-style grilled fish restaurant nearby. I’m certain you’ll love it."

Lilia smiled and took a step back. "I’m sorry, Mr. Marlo..."

Before she could voice her excuse, a familiar voice suddenly broke the space between them.

"Lilia?" A tall figure strode forward, looking at the girl with pleasant surprise. "I never expected to run into you here!"

Before Lilia could respond, Marlo blurted out in shock, "His Highness Theodore!" His gaze darted back and forth between Theodore and Lilia. "You two... know each other?" ℯℯ𝑙.

"We do." Theodore stepped to Lilia’s side, adopting a subconsciously protective stance as if implicitly declaring the girl as his own. "Allow me to introduce you.

"This is Lilia, a... very good friend of mine.

"And this is Marquis Malo from Ovis, who arrived in Lien for a visit not too long ago."

Lilia and Marlo exchanged greetings once more, though the latter’s expression carried a subtle trace of reluctance. No one would be particularly thrilled about having their impending prey snatched away from right under their nose.

With Theodore present, Marlo’s dinner invitation naturally fell through. Since both men wanted to dine alone with Lilia and neither was willing to back down, the inevitable result was that neither got the chance.

Lilia politely declined Theodore’s offer to escort her back, stating that someone would be arriving shortly to pick her up. Theodore didn’t insist, and he departed alongside Marquis Malo.

A short while later, a familiar carriage pulled up in front of Lilia.

Taking Lucian’s hand, Lilia stepped into the carriage. Once she was comfortably seated, she casually asked, "What took you so long?"

"I thought you might need some personal space to handle those unexpected situations."

As Lucian’s words faded, Lilia paused her movements. She planted her hands on either side of herself and leaned closer to the young man beside her. Lucian looked down at her. The girl looked like a curious kitten captivated by a human’s sudden movement, scrutinizing him with an inquisitive gaze as she drew near.

Their eyes met, and Lilia spoke up. "You were here all along. You deliberately waited for them to leave before coming over."

Lucian let out a soft hum of agreement.

Lilia furrowed her brows, sounding slightly displeased. "So you just sat there and watched me suffer?"

"Suffer?"

"Chatting with someone I don’t like is suffering," Lilia replied. "If you had come over sooner, I wouldn’t have had to humor them for so long."

Lucian chuckled helplessly. "...I understand, it’s my fault. I just thought you wouldn’t want me to interrupt—"

"No making excuses," Lilia interrupted.

Lucian surrendered. "I’ll be sure to keep it in mind for next time. I won’t let you speak a single extra word to anyone you don’t like."

"Smooth talker," Lilia softly huffed. But whatever, she would barely let him off the hook this time. She hadn’t suffered any real losses today, anyway.

"Lucian," Lilia suddenly called his name.

Hearing the earnest tone in the girl’s voice, Lucian reined in his smile. "What is it?"

"We are partners." Lilia reached out, covering the back of his hand as it rested on his knee. "Partners should be honest and trusting with each other. We shouldn’t hide anything from one another."

Lucian lowered his eyes, gazing into the girl’s pitch-black irises. They were so close that he could clearly see his own tiny reflection within them. At this very moment, there was absolutely nothing in her beautiful eyes except for his reflection.

"I trust you, so..." Lilia said, "Don’t leave me alone to face all this."