The music had gotten louder and many more nobles were dancing, Lilith looked around the crowd and spotted Odette and Henry dancing together. Henry's eyes almost had hearts in them as he watched her move elegantly, she was quite light on her feet. She sat back down at the table she was sitting with Odette and sighed heavily. Hearing the duke and count Hansen planning her demise was putting even more pressure on her. "I never did hear what the duke replied…I should be more careful around him, if I say or do anything suspicious he'll immediately think i'm plotting…." She thought, which was easier said than done, no matter what she did he would find a reason to blame her. Vincent was watching her intently, she looked worn out and he knew it wasn't from dancing since she had a lot of energy. He scratched his head in turmoil, he wasn't sure if he should go make sure she was alright, his mother noticed and she tapped his arm. "What is bothering you honey?" She asked concerned. "Nothing mother, i'm fine." He said smiling. She wasn't buying it, she followed his gaze and saw Lilith petting a white Pomeranian that being held by a maid. "Ask her to dance." She scolded as she elbowed him. "Mother…" he whined, she raised an eyebrow and he knew he was done for, he sighed and walked over to Lilith. She felt an itch in her ear. " Is someone talking about me?" She thought, turning around she saw Vincent walking towards her conflicted. He cleared his throat when he reached her, looking up at him she cocked her head in confusion. "May I have this dance?" He asked awkwardly. Her nose flared as she tried not to laugh, she understood right away that his mother made him do this. "Your mother?" She asked. "Yes….so will you?" He asked pulling on his collar. Thinking it over she agreed and placed her hand in his, maybe it wouldn't be too awkward. She placed her left arm on his shoulder and he held her waist, maintaining a small distance from her. Her scent reached his nose again, the sweet aroma relaxing him a little. As they danced he slowly got more comfortable, he wasn't as bothered by her as he thought he would be. "I saw you dancing with prince Arsalan." He said. "You were watching?" She asked, it never crossed her mind that he would have paid attention. "Who wasn't? Everyone watched you two quite attentively." He said. "Yeah, how do you know him?" She asked curious. "We met him and his father when we got here, my father is making trade suggestions with the pharaoh as well." He said. "No way! There's a pharaoh!?" She asked as she started to look around. He scoffed at her response. "No way? Who says that?" He thought, she had such weird phrases he's never heard before. So far she had seen a Chinese emperor, a Japanese emperor, and Russian emperor, but not a pharaoh. " She's so strange…she seems so mysterious and menacing, yet she acts like a child when she gets excited.." he thought as he watched her look around with gleaming eyes. "Sorry…I know I get too excited…i've never been to a ball ." She said smiling. "What do you mean you haven't been to a ball?" He asked confused, from his understanding Lilith Grimrose was a woman that spent a lot of time in social settings. She realized what she said, chuckling awkwardly. "Well…I just mean I haven't been to a ball with so much royalty…most of the time I have gone more to picnics or stuff like that.." she said. He seemed convinced and let it go, his eyes seemed focused on something behind her, his eyebrows suddenly furrowed and she followed his gaze. Her heart dropping when she her "father" approaching them with Vanessa. "What the hell." She thought. They stopped dancing and the count cleared his throat. "Lilith dear, you haven't been responding to my letters…I was starting to get worried.." he said, he tried to keep a straight face but she could see the anger in his eyes. "Oh I see, i've been busy…" she said. He scowled. "Well Vanessa here has been missing you very much, she has been crying nonstop almost everyday." He said. Vanessa threw herself to hug Lilith's legs, crying loudly. "Lady Lilith! I miss you so much! How can I live without you!" She sobbed. Lilith's eyes were wide as she looked around, everyone watching the scene, Vincent frowned. "You see after the Allard family didn't let you bring the maid that raised you and educated you, she has been missing you dearly, now that you have been there for a month maybe they will let you bring your maid." He said. Vincent noticed his father and mother rushing over. "There is really no need father, the Allard family have been taking good care of me." She said firmly. "Oh really!? From what I have heard you have gotten poisoned, drowned and kidnapped! They do not take care of you, Vanessa should stay with you, she will be able to protect you." He said loudly so people would hear. "Motherfucker…you're trying to force them to accept the maid by causing a scene in front of all these people.." she thought angrily. "It is true we have failed to protect her, however we have increased guards and staff to watch over her and keep her safe." Vincent said. "What is going on here?" The duke asked. "We were just working out the details of my daughters safety, I demand the maid that raised her stays with her." The count said. The duke looked at the maid groveling at Liliths feet, since so many people were watching he had no choice but accept. "Fine, the maid is now personally assigned to Lilith." The duke said in defeat, if he had denied it the rumors would get out of hand and they would be accused of causing Lilith's incidents. The count smiled. "Well then, now my daughter will be safe and protected, enjoy the rest of your evening gentlemen." Lilith looked at Vincent sadly, Vanessa stood up teary eyed, pretending to be thankful. "My lady…" She said with a quivering lip. Everyone stopped watching and continued to dance and drink, and Vanessa followed after the count. "I'm so sorry, my father is just so stubborn…" she said. The duke frowned, but didn't entirely blame her, since he was the one to accept the demand. Natalie and the girls were watching her sadly, having seen everything they bagan to wonder what would happen to them. "If she has a new maid assigned to her, what happens to you Natalie?" Betty asked. Natalie stayed quiet, she hoped that she could stay with Lilith, if she was reassigned she wouldn't be able to see her anymore. An hour passed after the incident, everyone seemed to be having great time, but Lilith had a lot of things on her mind so she snuck out to the garden. Walking next to the rose bushes she followed a path to a fountain. The moonlight was bright and illuminated everything very well, she looked in the water and saw her grim expression. She remembered the first dream she had with the original Lilith, she was pulled into the fountain and was able to talk to her. " I still have no idea what she wants me to do… and Vanessa was so abusive when I was at the counts mansion…constantly hitting me…this body is stronger than that time, but Vanessa is a trained mercenary….this body doesn't have the same strength I do in my world…" she thought. She felt useless, she sat down on the fountain and sighed. "What are you doing out here?" A deep voice said. She looked up to see the prince, she smiled softly. "I felt a little crowded, I came out for some fresh air, and you?" She asked. He sat down next to her. "I wanted fresh air, a lot people tend to crowd me since they want to try and secure a deal with my father through me, I just needed a break." He said. His eyes seemed sad when he said that, he felt like a tool, not a person. "I'm sorry, that must make you feel so lonely.." she said. He sighed, there was nothing he could do about it. "You know, tonight I thought I met the love of my life, just to find out she recently got married." He said looking at her with heartbroken eyes. It took her a minute to understand he was talking about her. "How could you love me? You met me today…" she said in a teasing tone. "Well…after seeing how much your maids seem to care about you, more than just their master, I thought you must be a beautiful soul, one of your maids from your families side even begged to be with you.." he said thinking of the whole ordeal he witnessed. She smiled at him sweetly, he didn't know that maids true intentio, but he seemed to be a gentle person, someone that just wanted to be seen. "You know…I see you, you are more than just a prince, you have been so kind to me since you first saw me, I would have been honored to be your wife." She said. His hand reached out to lay on hers. "I don't want to give up…remarriage has been more common now…" he said in hopeful tone. Sighing sadly she looked back at the fountain. "It wouldn't be that simple, there are still things I still need to finish." She said. There were no feelings for him, as handsome as he was she didn't feel romantic feelings for him. If she had spent more time with him she would have fallen in love, but even now, Miyanos kind eyes and sweet smile flashed before her eyes. "Prince Arsalan I-" she was cut off. "You can call me Aslan, at least when it is just you and me." He said. "Aslan…I appreciate your feelings but cannot accept them, I am the kind of person that does not fall in love easily, even my marriage now was a marriage of convenience, but I am happy to be your friend." She said hopeful. He looked at her sadly. "I'll be more than happy to be your friend, however I will continue wait for you in case you ever change your mind." He said. She smiled at his stubborness. She was about to give him her phone number but remembered there was no such thing in this world. "We can write to each other, it would be nice to have a pen pal." She said. He smiled widely, his dimples peaking through. "Deal." He said. Thalia was crowded with the noble ladies, asking about her hobbies and how she was. "Lady Thalia, how have you been? With Lilith in the household she must be mistreating you." Lady Bernice said in a worried tone. Thalia shook her head. "No, she has been very nice to me, she has been spending a lot of time on her own though." The ladies looked confused. " So she hasn't been hovering around Vincent?" Lady Grace said. "No… she spends her day chatting with the maids or hunting." Thalia said. "Lilith? hunting? All she ever cared about was maintaining her figure and staying pretty, now she's hunting? A lady should never go hunting." Lady Bernice said. Thalia awkwardly chuckled. "I mean..is it that strange? She seems to really enjoy it…" Thalia said. "I bet she spends all day shopping and being lazy around the house." Lady Nicole said. Thalia thought about it, ever since Lilith has been at the mansion she was always doing something, be it sewing, hunting, reading, working with Sebastian. She wasn't one to sit for a long period of time. "No…she stays busy, i've never seen her bored." Thalia said. They looked at each other strangely. "It's like talking about another person, and she spends time with maids? Is she being petty and saying even maids are better than your company?" Lady Bernice said in a snarky tone. "Really…do you really think that?" Thalia asked sadly. "Well she is a horrible person, she's probably plotting something, there is no way that she would lay low for no reason, especially after bringing up her marriage at every given opportunity, but don't worry, Vincent will never fall into her claws." Lady Bernice said. Lady Nicole hummed, getting their attention. "Well…I saw Vincent ask her to dance, and they seemed pretty close, if anything her plan is probably already in action, she's probably acting sweet to manipulate him, be careful Thalia, that woman is a snake." Lady Nicole said warily. Thalia frowned. "I don't think she's doing it on purpose…maybe I just need to try harder to get along…I want us to be like sisters.." Thalia said as she watched Lilith walking in from the garden doors with the prince. Her eyes widened but she looked away quickly so nobody would notice. Lady Bernice sighed. "Heed our warning Thalia, that woman is up to no good." She said. Thalia furrowed her brows, so far Lilith hadn't done anything wrong, so why was everyone telling her otherwise? "But…why was she coming back from the garden on her own with the prince…." She thought. "She shouldn't be going anywhere without a maid or valet." Lady Bernice saw Lilith bowing to the Pharaoh , and rolled her eyes. "Look, she is already warming up to a pharaoh, and with his wife right there too." She said uncomfortably. "The queen is laughing though, she seems to like Lilith." Thalia said confused as to what the problem was. The noble ladies just looked at each and sipped on their champagne, Thalia felt saddened by the negative feelings the ladies had for Lilith. "I should help her…" Thalia thought, maybe then she could be Lilith's friend. It was 2am and people were starting to leave, Lilith bowed to the king and queen that were standing at the door to say their goodbyes to the guest. The kings and queens from other countries would be staying at the castle for a few days to rest from their long journeys. Lilith grunted as she sat down in the carriage, her feet were throbbing after all the dancing with Odette, and the Egyptian queen talked to her a lot. The queen was so kind, and even offered to gift her some of her favorite products straight from Egypt. She smiled softly, suddenly someone sat next to her and the smile immediately fell. Vanessa had sat next to her, bringing a suitcase with her, Vincent seemed to be in a sour mood as well. "My lady…I really missed you so much.." Vanessa said sadly. Lilith frowned, she knew what was waiting for her when they got home. She looked at Vincent, considering telling him she needed help, but she already knew that if she did, she could be punished for being an accomplice to bringing in a spy. Needless to say, the two hour ride felt like it lasted the whole night. When they arrived Natalie and the girls tried to follow Lilith to help her with her dress and bath, but Vanessa turned around to stop them. "No need to follow us, I will personally take care of my lady, she only needs me Natalie, as for you two young ladies, you are not assigned to Lilith, please just stick to the chores you were assigned to." Vanessa said firmly. Lilith frowned, stepping in front of Vanessa she placed her hand on Natalies shoulder. "It's okay, we'll figure something out." Lilith whispered to the girls sadly. They didn't like the vibe they were getting from Vanessa, and they were worried about Lilith, but they nodded and left sadly. As soon as they walked into her room and the door clicked closed, a harsh pain on the back of her knees dropped her to the ground. Lilith clenched her teeth to not make any noise, Vanessa had kicked her down. Vanessa sneered as Lilith turned on her back, she angrily stomped on Lilith's stomach and held her down. Lilith glared at Vanessa through the pain, Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Why haven't you been responding to the letters? Are they getting rid of them? And you, the only job you had was to give your father copies and information we could use for the weaponry." Vanessa said, applying more pressure to Lilith's stomach. Lilith's eyebrow twitched, but otherwise she didn't respond to the pain. "I simply don't want to help. The Grimrose people are NOT my family. So I will not help, no matter what." Lilith said through her struggle. Vanessa scoffed, getting her foot off Liliths stomach. "I see, well the good thing is, you don't have a choice." Vanessa said, while Lilith was getting up a pain in the back of her head knocked her out. Vanessa started taking Liliths clothes and jewelry off, tying her wrist and ankles. Lilith woke up slowly, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, she groaned in pain and she realized she was tied with her arms above her head. Wearing only some trousers, her naked chest pressed against the wood, and her hair had been done in a braid, looking around she saw Vanessa holding a whip, Lilith sighed. "Her favorite tool…" she thought. She had been tied to one of the pillars of the bed frame, her knees on the cold marble floor. "Where do they have the documents?" Vanessa asked. Lilith glared, she didn't even know since it was Sebastians job to turn everything in at the end of the day, but she knew saying she doesn't know would end in the same results. A crack came from the whip as it struck her back, she clenched her jaw and shut her eyes, a small grunt escaping her. Two more followed, her legs trembled from the pain, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She released a sharp breath through quivering lips, she felt a warm liquid dripping down her back, and she smelled a familiar scent. Blood. Vanessa was a smart woman, she would only hit Lilith were clothes covered, so no one would notice and took extra care to her wounds to make sure they wouldn't scar with an ointment she got in the black market. "So? Are you going to say anything?" Vanessa said. "I have no information to give you, I don't know where the documents or files are, it's Sebastians job to finish that, I spent everyday outside, and keep myself busy with other things." Lilith said. Vanessa whipped the back of her legs, Lilith flinched at the pain. "That's no good…" Vanessa said, putting her pointer finger on her lip to think. "Until you decide to help, I will not feed you, or give you water, I will spend every waking moment with you until you agree, is that understood." Vanessa said grabbing Liliths hair and pulling her head back. Now that her face was in front of her, Lilith spit on her face. Vanessa got back up and whipped her five more times, Lilith smiled through the pain since she was satisfied with spitting in Vanessas face. Morning came and her stomach grumbled as she groggily got out of bed, flinching with every movement. She felt a little thirsty but didn't say anything since Vanessa wasn't going to give it to her anyway. Vanessa applied a healing ointment on her wounds that would prevent scarring since she still needed Lilith to look good. Then she moved on to applying makeup on Lilith's tired eyes so nobody would question if she wasn't sleeping well. Lilith was excited to spend some time away from Vanessa since was going to be working with Sebastian for about 4 hours. As she walked in to the office Sebastian smiled softly, organizing their paperwork. He did a double take when he saw her and he looked concerned. "Are you alright my lady? You seem tired…" he said walking over to her. Her heart skipped a beat. "He noticed immediately…." She thought. He waited for her response. " I'm fine, I danced a lot last night so i'm a little tired…" she said patting his shoulder. He relaxed and put her paperwork on her desk. After an hour of working Lilith's stomach growled loudly, her face and neck turned red when Sebastian looked up at her with wide eyes. "The maid should be here any minute with snacks…did you have breakfast?" he asked. Sebastian knew Lilith loved to eat so he always had a maid bring in snacks an hour into working since he liked watching her eat so happily. "No…but it's fine, i'm just excited to see what snacks she brings…" Lilith said shyly. The door opened and the maid walked in with mini sandwiches and tea. Vanessa was sneaking around the mansion to look for documents, files, or spy on the dukes meetings so she would never know if Lilith was eating at the office. The maid gave her one mini sandwich and tea, bowing to exit the office. Lilith tried eating slowly and sipped her tea, finally some liquid for her parched throat. Sebastian noticed her eyeing the rest of the sandwiches, he got up and served her a plate full of mini sandwiches and poured her more tea. "What about you?" She asked. "I had a heavy breakfast, you seem to like these so I don't mind you eating more." He said. She could've sworn she saw angel wings and a halo, this beautiful man was making sure she was being fed. She smiled as she bit into the sandwich, the crunch of the lettuce and bacon was delicious. "Let's take a 10 minute break." He said. She thought it was strange, they never took breaks, he grabbed his plate and walked over to her. Sitting on the edge of her desk he made sure she finished all her sandwiches. There was a warmth in the air, she couldn't explain, the sunbeams coming in through the windows adding an angelic light on Sebastians hair and face, his long thick lashes fluttering when he blinked. "…beautiful…." She whispered, he looked at her shocked, realizing what she said she blushed. "Oh…sorry…It slipped it out…" she said. She needed to fix the habit of staring at beautiful men. A red hue covered the tips of his ears, he cleared his throat but left it at that, not wanting to pry. When the work hours ended she felt disappointed, the small moment of peace ended and Vanessa walked in to get her. "My lady, it's time to go back." Vanessa said respectfully. She needed to keep the image of being a good maid in public. Lilith was thankful the other maid had cleared the cart and plates, if not Vanessa would have made her throw up anything she ate. "My lady, tomorrow I have a meeting out of town with the duke, and the day after another, so you don't need to come in those two days." Sebastian said as he organized their finished paperwork. Her heart dropped, that meant she would have no food for the next two days. She followed Vanessa, who made her go back to her room, trying to think of ways to get rid of her. Vanessa kept a good eye on Lilith to make sure she didn't sneak in any food or water, every chance Lilith got when Vanessa would leave to spy, she would write down in her diary every detail of what Vanessa said and did. Every whip, every kick, every punch, the hours started feeling longer and she wasn't allowed to leave the room even to walk in the garden. The next day, Lilith was sitting on her window bench, letting the breeze and sun caress her face. Her stomach was grumbling and she felt like her mouth was full of cotton. She watched the birds fly freely in the sky, and she wished she could join them. In her military days whenever she had to spend a week in the forest or in a desert, she always had gel packs with electrolytes to keep hydrated, and small protein bricks packed with nutrients, they didn't taste great but they kept her full. Vanessa was talking about overhearing the dukes meeting, thankfully he didn't mention the weaponry and they were just talking about the estate they were going to buy. "I think they are on to me, they haven't mentioned much about the weaponry. I just need to break into the dukes office tonight." Vanessa said as she paced back and forth. Lilith sighed, she wasn't interested in that at all, what she wanted was a feast, lamb chop, pork chop, tomahawk, chicken, turkey or quail. Her mouth couldn't even water because she was dehydrated, the sun was the only thing that helped her feel at ease at this moment. Earlier in the day, Thalia had sent her a cranberry pie through a maid, but Vanessa just put it in a container and wouldn't let Lilith even sniff it. Just sending a thank you note with a bouquet to keep up appearances. Looking back out the window, she saw Vincent and Cyrus walking together. "Oh yeah…their sword training is about this time, ugh I wish I could watch." She thought. "I'm going to investigate a little more, I will know if you ate something, and your punishment will not be light." Vanessa said. When she walked out Lilith almost heard angels singing, finally she could at least go watch the two brothers spar. Moving quickly she closed the window and looked in the mirror, her skin looked dull and she felt deflated, but overall she still looked good since Vanessa made sure to apply make up and dress her. She left the room and her stomach growled as she walked, but she wanted to reach the training grounds first. She was on the 2nd floor walking in the bridge that led to the second part of the mansion, and she heard the clashing of swords. There some pots of bushes and flowers she hid behind, and when she finally looked down to see them her heart fluttered. The two men were shirtless and their skin was glistening from the sweat, making it looks like they were shining. She blushed at the sight, Cyrus was a bit taller than Vincent, and more muscular, but even so Vincent wasn't so far behind. Even though Cyrus was bigger, she preferred Vincents body type, he was muscular but also lean. Which made him light in his feet and he was able to move faster, as she observed him she noticed he had a sleeper build. His body looked softer, but when he flexed the muscles were really noticeable, his concentrated face reminded her of Miyano. He always furrowed his brows and had a habit of pressing his lips together when he started struggling with his homework, and when he played any sports his face was determined, intensely focused, his eyes watching his objective intensely. "I miss him…." She thought. Even though he would get shy around her sometimes, he was never the first to walk away, they could talk about anything and hours felt like minutes. Vincent stopped and looked up, his eyes softened and a warm smile spread on his face, a quick wave as a greeting. "What a precious smile…" she thought as she followed his gaze to see who he was greeting. Thalia stood on the other side, waving back, Lilith felt lonely, it would be nice to be smiled at like that. The life she had in her real world wasn't perfect, but even with the struggles, she loved it. She didn't get to see her parents often now because they were traveling but they never failed to send postcards of the places they visit with ' we love you' written on the back. The day before she woke up in the novel she woke up with Yukis foot on her face, since Yuki like sleeping over a lot she often ended up wearing Estellas clothes. She wasn't ever really alone, like she was here. Her eyes teared up a bit as she remembered that day, it seemed so distant now, like she was never going to return. Thalia walked away in the opposite direction with two maids following her holding a light pink cotton parasol over her head. She always had people surrounding her, people loved her just for being herself, a sweet, innocent person. "What are you doing here my lady…" a familiar voice asked. She turned around to see Natalie carrying a basket of laundry. Lilith smiled as she stood, feeling a little embarrassed that she got caught watching the two men spar while shirtless. "I just needed some fresh air…." Lilith said. "You seem different my lady…" Natalie said as she watched Lilith, she looked weak and tired. "Yes…I am…i'm so tired…" Lilith said weakly. "Would you like to eat something my lady?" Natalie asked, she knew food always made Lilith happy. As she thought, Lilith perked up at mention of food, immediately holding onto Natalies arm and pressing her cheek against hers. "You always know how to make me happy." Lilith said as they walked together. Giggling at how serious Natalie always was. Natalies stoic expression never changing, except for the left side of her lip slightly lifting in an attempt to smile.