Chapter 143: Claimed by Tooth and Thread

The journey back to Duke Arkwright’s territory was a quiet one, the rhythmic beat of Ignis’s wings the only constant sound. Ignis flew with steady purpose, the conquered Howling Crags shrinking behind them. Elise dozed fitfully against Adam, Seraphina kept a watchful eye on the horizon, and Lilith sat with her usual preternatural calm, looking for all the world like a noblewoman on a leisurely aerial tour.

In the silent space of their shared mental link, Adam’s voice brushed against Lilith’s consciousness, dry and pointed. ’So. About our uninvited guests. Did you manage to learn anything useful before you... dealt with them? Names? Who sent them?’

Lilith’s mental reply was a picture of serene innocence. ’I am afraid not. They were remarkably fragile. They expired before any meaningful interrogation could begin. A pity.’

Adam didn’t need to see her face to sense the lie of omission. He sent a wave of pure, skeptical disbelief through the bond. ’You didn’t get carried away and... enjoy yourself a little too much, did you? To the point of forgetting to ask questions?’

’I may have applied a modicum of pressure,’ Lilith conceded, her psychic tone as smooth as silk. ’To gauge their resilience. It was disappointingly low. They broke almost immediately. Like overripe fruit.’

’I knew it,’ Adam sighed mentally, though a part of him had expected nothing less. ’Just... try to focus next time. It’s weird enough that they showed up in that deadly place with their mediocre skills. It feels off. Like they were meant to find us, or the Sovereign, or both.’

’An astute observation,’ Lilith agreed. ’However, their surprise at the Princess’s identity seemed genuine. They were opportunistic scavengers, not informed agents. Whatever force may have pointed them toward the Crags, it did not brief them on the full menu.’

’That’s what bothers me,’ Adam countered. ’Which is exactly why you should have tried harder to get information! Your psychic skills are perfect for that! You can literally sift through a dying mind!’

There was a pause. When Lilith’s voice returned, it was thoughtful, as if she had just received constructive criticism on a hobby. ’You raise a valid point. My methods of... extraction... may be too intense for baseline human physiology. I shall endeavor to refine my technique. Next time, I will strive to keep the subject conscious and coherent for longer. Perhaps start with the fingertips and work inward more slowly.’

Adam’s mental projection radiated a deep, profound sense of foreboding. ’That... is not what I meant. At all. That sounds like you’re planning to get better at torture.’

’Efficiency is key,’ Lilith replied cheerfully. ’One must always seek to improve one’s craft. Do not worry, I shall practice on more durable subjects first. Perhaps a human knight.’

Adam gave up, severing the telepathic link with a mental shake of his head. He looked down at the landscape passing below, a single thought echoing in his mind.

’I’m surrounded by maniac.’

Elise shifted slightly, studying Adam’s profile as he stared ahead, lost in thought. His silence felt heavier than usual.

"Adam," she began softly, a hint of hesitation in her voice. "You’ve been quiet. Are you... still angry with me?" Her tone held a note of genuine concern, with a touch of that innocent, almost-improperly-timed charm she sometimes had.

Adam blinked, pulled from his reverie. He glanced down at her. "Hmm? Angry? Well, yeah, a little. But what’s done is done. No point crying over spilled milk... or, in this case, a revealed identity."

Elise looked down at her hands, fingers twisting in her lap. "I’m sorry. It’s just... I’m not used to this. To being out here. For so long, my identity was a shield I had to hide behind in my own kingdom. Now, out here, it feels like a target I keep accidentally painting on myself—and on all of you. I misjudged."

Adam let out a short breath, not quite a laugh. "Don’t overthink it. What’s important is what happens next. And who knows," he said, his tone deliberately offhand, "maybe those adventurers got lost in the Crags and got eaten by a cave slug or something. Problem solved."

Elise looked up, her eyes wide with a mixture of horror and amusement. "You shouldn’t curse people like that."

A faint, wry smile touched Adam’s lips. ’If only she knew they didn’t need a cave slug...’ he thought, the image of Lilith’s serene, blood-spattered form flickering in his mind. "It’s not a curse. It’s just the law of the wild. The dumb and the greedy get culled."

He looked at her more directly, his crimson eyes holding a trace of something softer than his usual sharpness. "The point is, you can’t change the past. You made a call. It was risky. We dealt with it. What matters is learning from it and thinking about the next move, the next threat. That’s how I’ve stayed alive this long. You can’t afford to get bogged down in ’what ifs.’ You have to look forward. That’s how you survive."

Elise listened, her expression thoughtful. After a moment, a small, sincere smile graced her lips. "You always cut to the heart of things, don’t you? Even when you’re being rather grim about it." She sighed, leaning back slightly. "I envy that about you. That forward momentum. I’ve spent so long being reactive—hiding from a curse, dodging political plots. Just... surviving. You choose to move forward."

"It’s the only direction that matters," Adam said simply. "So, forward it is. We report to the Duke, get our ticket, and keep moving. And you," he added, giving her a light tap on the shoulder with the back of his fingers, "keep that royal brain of yours thinking about the next step, not the last stumble. Understood?"

Elise’s smile grew more confident. "Understood."

Lilith observed the brief but meaningful exchange between Adam and Elise. A flicker of something cold and possessive stirred within her. As the conversation lulled, she gracefully leaned over, her slender fingers plucking at the sleeve of Adam’s tunic.

"Adam," she said, her voice a soft, melodic chime that cut through the wind.

Adam turned his head, meeting her gaze. Her beautiful face was set in a slight, delicate pout. "What is it?"

"My hand... it aches," Lilith stated, holding up her perfectly pristine, unmarked hand. "From the battle earlier. It must be a subtle strain."

Adam, ever practical, immediately took her proffered hand in his, turning it over to examine it. His brow furrowed. "Where? You should have said something sooner. Don’t try to act tough." He gently pressed along her fingers and palm, searching for swelling or a sprain.

"I see nothing. Are you sure?"

Instead of answering, Lilith’s fingers suddenly curled, intertwining with his and squeezing with a strength that belied her delicate appearance.

"Lilith, your grip is too strong," Adam said, his tone a mix of annoyance and bemusement. He didn’t pull away, but he met her eyes, which were now glinting with a knowing light.

A private, psychic thread touched his mind, her voice silky and pointed. ’You seem to be growing rather... close to the Princess.’

Adam answered mentally, keeping his expression neutral. ’We were just talking. It’s nothing.’

’Is that so?’ Lilith’s mental voice purred, her physical eyes flicking towards Elise, who was glancing back at them with a curious, slightly flustered expression before quickly looking away again. ’Her gaze lingers. And yours was... attentive.’

Her grip tightened infinitesimally again, a silent claim.

Adam sighed, both mentally and physically. ’Fine. You can hold my hand. But ease up, you’ll break the bones.’

Lilith seemed satisfied. She relaxed her grip, not letting go, but holding his hand with a more acceptable, though still firm, pressure. "Very well," she said aloud, the pout replaced by a serene smile as she settled back, contentedly holding Adam’s captured hand in her lap.

’She’s getting as possessive as Alice,’ Adam thought to himself, resigning to his fate as a hand-warmer. ’Though Lilith is more... proactively territorial about it. Maybe she just wants attention.’

He glanced over and caught Elise quickly looking away again, a faint blush on her cheeks. Across from him, Lilith’s smile deepened into one of quiet, profound satisfaction. She didn’t need to say another word. The message was clear, sent through the simple, unchallengeable act of physical possession. In her own subtle, spider-like way, she had just woven a thread of ’mine’ right around Adam’s wrist, and she had no intention of letting go anytime soon.

Adam let the wind rush over him, the steady beat of Ignis’s wings a comforting rhythm. But his mind was far from calm. The quiet moment was a luxury, and he used it to pick apart the threads of their situation.

’The Duke... sending us after a Level 71 Elemental Sovereign. That wasn’t just a test of goodwill. That was a potential death sentence for any normal group,’ he mused, his crimson eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at the horizon where Oakrest would soon appear. ’Was he hoping we’d die solving his problem? Cleansing his lands of a threat and getting rid of troublesome unknowns in one move? Or was it truly a test to see if we were strong enough to be useful... or dangerous enough to need watching even more closely?’

The fact that a rival adventuring party had shown up, tipped off or simply drawn by the same bounty, added another layer of murk. Coincidence was a luxury he’d stopped believing in back in the dungeon.

’Either way, playing the polite, grateful guest isn’t going to cut it anymore. He needs to understand that trying to use us, or eliminate us, comes with a cost he can’t afford.’