Around the same rectangle table, members of Purple Solanum have gathered around. Though there are only six people, only five are present. The last one, Aastha was in Isabelle's room.

"Vivian, were you having a relationship with the 121 sparrow's leader?"

"hmmm.....how did you find out?"

"The one who attacked you yesterday, he confessed everything"

"That was fast even if we go by your standards. I'm shocked"

"So, I will take that as a yes. The only thing I don't like in this is you hiding your relationship from us"

"It's my own love life, why should I tell yo—"

*Fwum!*

A small blade flew from beside Lilith, making a sharp noise in the air around

*SHLUCK!*

Vivian noticed the blade coming for her throat at the last moment, reacted quickly and caught the blade from the side with her left hand.

The moment the blade stopped, it was 1cm away from Vivian's throat. Blood from her palm staining the ground a little red, it seems like the speed and sharpness of the blade sliced Vivian's palm a little.

*Clang*

Vivian released the blade from her hand and started licking the blood on her palm clean, but contrary to Vivian getting mad, she just looked at the culprit with friendly and sleepy eyes.

"uuuuu, someone's mad. Do I smell 'Love' in the air?"

Emhel eyes which were Blurry just a moment ago turned back to normal and a little embarrassment crept onto her face

"Sh-...Shut Up!" said Emhel loudly and hid behind Lilith to hide her bashfulness

"haaahhh, stop teasing her, Vivian."

"Sorry, sorry, just felt like checking if her feelings are still violent. But they seem to have gotten worse, you should do something about that Lilith"

"Hmm...yeah, they have become more murderous...........but I prefer it this way. I like her being this violent for me"

"Well, as long as you can keep her under control that is. And that control doesn't seem to be going well" said Vivian while showing her bleeding palm to Lilith.

"Yeah, I may need to apply some strict methods" and Lilith started pondering for a little bit.

While Lilith was Lost in her thoughts

"You deserved that, you Nympho" (Charolette)

"Awww, even those words sound cute coming out of your sweet mouth, Little Char" winked Vivian to Charolette

Suddenly Goosebumps appeared on Charolette's body and she instinctively grabbed the hem of Lilith's dress, throwing a disgusted expression at Vivian

"Uff! You are making me sad little char"

"Miss Vivian, should I heal your palm? it looks painful" said Amanda with a concerned voice, both hands pressed against her chest

"Nope, no need to for you to feel pain just because of this small bleeding"

"But..."

"Ok! that should be good! Hm! AH! So! where were we?.....Ah! yes, yes, why did you hide the relationship? Vivian" spoke Lilith suddenly, cutting off the talk between Amanda and Vivian.

Amanda also went off to get bandages for Vivian's palm.

"Hmm, nothing special. Just wanted to give being in secret relationship a try" and Vivian rolled her eyes. Seeing which Lilith understood that her testing didn't go well.

"So, why did you leave him?"

"I got bored"

"..."

Vivian saw the 'Are you Serious' look on Lilith's face and slumped her head down on the table, her hands hanging loosely by from the chair.

"The thrill of keeping it a secret went away, he also kept nagging me about marriage and stuff. I got turned off by seeing him getting overprotective and obsessive over me"

"Hmm, the obsession seems much worse though. He even sent one of his people to kill you"

"I think, he just sent that person to kidnap me, so that he could lock me away"

"Then they would have gone a much safer and reliable route, he outright attacked you"

"Uhm, that's why they are dumb. It was even dumber of them to attack me so openly like that"

"No one can be that dumb seeing how you fight"

"Well, I never showed them that I could fight. I acted docile and weak in front of them. So they must have thought that directly attacking me like that would be easy.

"Why did you act docile and weak?"

Vivian raised her eyebrows, telling Lilith the obvious

"Wanted to give that a try as well, huh........ So, what do you wanna do now?" (Lilith)

"What are the options"

"That person is madly and selfishly in love with you, he won't stop coming at you until you accept his feelings."

"Right, and that's what is annoying me"

"So, we have two options. First, you can leave him as it is and deal with his goons as they come at you. Secondly, we go to their base and nicely ask them to leave you"

"And if they don't listen to the Leader's talk?" asked Charolette, while puling onto Lilith's dress.

Lilith showed a kind smile to Charolette and replied, "Then Char would have more things to practise her air distortion magic on"

Hearing that she could improve her magic, Charolette lost interest in what they would be doing if rejected and got excited over various things she wants to improve in.

"So, it comes down to killing in the —" (Vivian)

*SLAM*

Suddenly a door opened and from inside came a girl out, who looked a little older than Charolette, anger all over her face and said loudly

"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO KILL THEM!!?????" it was Isabelle

Lilith peeked the room and noticed Aastha sleeping and understood the reason for her coming out like this. 'She must be listening to our conversation from the start'

Emhel who was still squirming with embarrassment behind Lilith, lifted her arm to release the strings inside. Charolette started drawing a line on the thin air, but Lilith stopped them from acting and asked both of them to let Isabelle in.

Of course, Isaelle didn't notice the subtle warning Lilith gave others.

"So, girl. Why do you say 'No Killing'?"

"Isn't it this women's fault for playing with the man's feeling for so many years??!!" pointed Isabelle at Vivian, who just replied with a wave of her injured hand.

Seeing the blood, Isabelle's body crunched up a little. 'Don't fret! I have lived through much worse than that.'

"Little, girl. Come with me, let's talk properly this time" said Lilith and gestured Isabelle to follow behind. Isabelle showed hesitance on her face but got reminded of the slaps earlier and obediently followed.

Before Lilith left with Isabelle she gave her orders to everyone

"Vivian, Emhel, Aastha, get yourselves ready. Charolette, you stay with Amanda here and protect her.

A regretful expression surfaced on Amanda's face, but Lilith gestured Aastha to go and ease her mind.

"LIKE I SAID WHY AR—"

"Quiet girl! just keep up with me"

Isabelle's words got shot down immediately. Hearing the heavy voice of Lilith, more fear started wrapping around her heart.

.

.

.

For the first time since coming here, Isabelle walked out of the front door.

Seeing the surroundings, an intense feeling of creepiness crept inside Isabelle's mind. Surrounding her were nothing but dead trees, there was also a little fog enveloping the air.

Dry leaves covered the ground, a small crunching noise coming with each step Isabelle took. There was no sound around, even the sounds of insects were not audible. Only the crunching steps of Lilith and Isabelle could be heard.

Isabelle looked up and noticed the dim grey sky. No birds could be seen within the vicinity.

Looking behind, Isabelle got a look at the state of the house or more precisely the mansion. Broken windows, moss and dampness making the mansion look run-down and ugly. But the from the inside the mansion looked completely new, even the windows looked proper from the inside.

Was she just having an illusion or is everything inside the mansion is just fake looking?

Seeing the contemplated look on Isabelle's face, Lilith curved her lips a little and started talking, "Wondering about the contrast of the mansion?"

"Y..ye-yess"

"You don't have to be so wary you know. I'm not going to eat you up or anything like that or is this how the only princess of Nora empire treats people who help and save them?"

"..."

Isabelle didn't say anything and just looked down with a complicated expression on her face.

"We are a group of murderers"

Hearing Lilith downright admitting it, a dubious expression covered Isabelle's face, with her mouth opened wide with surprise.

"Now, now, the little princess doesn't have to act so surprisedly. I don't turn my face away from reality or make up petty excuses to deny what we are doing."

Seeing how openly and carefreely, this woman was talking with her, Isabelle started feeling a little less tense, even though the things this woman was talking about were far away from the normal everyday conversations.

"Little princess, let's start again. This time, try not to be so instinctive to act upon your emotions. So, what is the little girl's name?"

Isabelle now realized that lying would only make her situation worse but most importantly she didn't want to be slapped again.

"I..I-It's I..isabelle dusk..."

"*clap* *clap*, good girl. My name is Lilith Raven, you can just call me Lilith"

"Th-that would be ........Miss Raven ...i-is good for now"

Hearing Isabelle talking with less stuttering and much less tensely, Lilith closed her eyes with pleasure.

"So, little Isabelle, how did you manage to escape from the castle?"

Suddenly a shiver ran through Isabelle's spine and words got stuck in her throat, she stopped walking and just stood there with a face filled with despair, tears forming in the eyes.

But Lilith also noticed an intense fury mixed in, trying to come out but bound to chains instinctively by the little princess.

Lilith went near Isabelle and put her hand on top of her head, smoothly rubbing it. Lilith moved her lips near her ears and slowly whispered with a resolute tone

"You are safe now"

Isabelle's eyes opened wide, her heart getting swarmed with a false sense of ease. She knows that she shouldn't feel confronted like this by a group of murderers, but her heart has been begging for someone to rely on ever since brook helped her escape.

Her entire life, she has lived depending on others. But she got the taste of loneliness or the taste of trying to survive on her own in the forest for a few days and she didn't like that feeling one bit.

She despised the idea of making it in the world on her own because she knows that she doesn't have it in herself to survive on her own. She may be able to learn it in the future. But this habit has stuck with her since birth, and it's not going to so easily fade away.

Or Isabelle just doesn't want this habit to fade away, maybe that's why right now she is crying her heart out, buried in Lilith's chest, staining Lilith dress with her tears, and feeling happy about being soothed by someone...even if the person responsible for it is a criminal.

.

.

.

A few minutes passed, Isabelle's eyes are red with crying. Her face, a little embarrassed from crying out like that in front of a person she just met.

Lilith having an all-knowing smile on her face.

"Feeling better?"

"Y-yes..."

"Good, then let us play a game. I ask a question, you answer honestly, then you ask and I will answer" though Lilith left the 'honestly' part behind in her but Isabelle didn't notice and nodded her head.

"How did the little princess manage to escape?"

Again heavy feelings surfaced inside Isabelle but she tried her best to suppress these feeling and answered "Brook...the gardener helped me escape"

'He clearly didn't do a good job by leaving her in the forest like that' but Lilith didn't voice her opinion and just complimented Isabelle for answering the question

"Now, you ask"

Immediately Isabelle voiced the question that she been thinking about ever since the attack on the castle happened

"Why?......why was the castle attacked...."

Lilith saw the raw anger trying to surface on Isabelle's face and showed a satisfied expression

"Your father was an evil man, he ruled this Nora empire with cruel tyranny. He was hated by almost everyone inside the empire. Accumulation of countless curses people threw at him, voodoo magic people tried on him and finally, Timothy of neighbouring Nova Empire colluding with the people, your father was killed"

Lilith didn't sugar coat anything and told Isabelle the cruel truth, even though what she told was just a little overview

"My father wasn't evil!! he was an excellent father!!!!" shouted Isabelle, trying to deny the reality. But Lilith didn't allow her to escape into fantasy so fast.

"The king may be a good father, but he was an incompetent ruler. More than half of this empire's population has suffered because of his rule and are even suffering today. You can try to deny it all you want, but if the little princess would have left the castle walls even for a day and witnessed the outside world, you would know the reality."

Isabelle tried to open her mouth to deny Lilith's words.......but she couldn't come up with anything and even if something came, it got stuck in her throat. After all, what Lilith was saying is the truth, she never left the castle walls. She was not allowed to leave those walls, and the outside world in her mind was what her parents have told her.

She didn't want to believe that her parents lied to her since birth, but then there would be no logical reason as to why the castle was attacked and why they were killed so cruelly...the scene of their death was just like someone releasing their year-long hate on someone.

It was a death given to someone they despised from the bottom of their heart.

"Little princess, you can escape from reality as much as you want. But one day you will have to face it no matter what you want. Right now, you are safe, no one can hurt you......so it's better to accept the reality while surrounded by people you are safe around, rather than being forced in the future to accept it"

Isabelle understood the meaning behind Lilith's words, but still wasn't prepared to just accept it like this, "I-..- want to witness it myself"

Lilith showed a satisfied smile as if expecting this answer, "Alright, I promise to show it to you. Then! going on with the game, the next question is mine. What does the little Isabelle want to do?"

"I......don't know.......I thought I wanted revenge, but I'm not capable of it. I thought I could forget it, but that doesn't happen. I thought of just killing myself to end it all, but that also failed several times"

'No, you died. I personally killed you' thought Lilith and decided to tell Isabelle about her anomaly after she notices something strange with her body...like not needing to eat food anymore.

"I see, well you have your whole life ahead of you. You decide whatever is it you want to do" lied Lilith with a straight face.

But Isabelle still being a child didn't see any lie behind Lilith's words and felt happy hearing this.

"Now, it's the little princess turn"

"Why...ar-are you going to k..k..k-ki--kill! that sparrow group..? even though it's your member who's at f-fau..fault..." Isabelle immediately blocked her face with her hands, anticipating another slap to come from Lilith for asking a question like this

"Hahaha, no need to be scared Little one. Yes, I agree that it's Vivian's fault"

"Th-then ...why?"

"They won't leave her until she finally agrees to marry their boss. That's just how men obsessively in love are"

"B-but it's that Vivian woman f-f-fault for making him like this"

"Yup! but what can we do after everything has happened? No use in dwelling in the past and forgetting about the present you know. Now, we can only think about solutions to fix this problem. He won't back away, Vivian wouldn't apologize and it has to end sometime, so need to drag it too long."

"B..but, isn't there some better method?...."

"Yup, there must be. No single solution to a problem you know, but the only method I know of is to just eliminate the problem itself. It always proves fast and efficient"

Isabelle should have felt scorn towards Lilith, for doing things so brutally...but she didn't. The only thing she felt was curiousness and why they are doing stuff so openly and violently

She even barged inside the room so suddenly because she couldn't comprehend how they so easily talked about killing, and not because she was feeling some sense of justice, it was just pure curiosity.

'Maybe, that's the dusk blood at work here...' hypothesized Lilith

"Is...there any other r-rea-reason?"

"If I have to say then, Yes. The people inside my group are more close to me than the family I despised. I will slaughter an entire empire if they try and harm one of my people. I don't mind doing anything I can for them, their safety and well being is the only thing important to me"

"Ev-even if the things they do are w..w-wrong or e-vv-vil?.."

"Yes. They are free to do whatever they want, I won't chain them down. My only job is to make sure that they return back to me safely"

"B-but aren't they at high risk of d..-dying. Co.-cONsidering how may e-n..enemies they must have made"

"Yes, and that's from where the thrill and excitement come from. By protecting them amidst the danger, makes me feel things I have longed to feel since childhood"

"T-then ar..aren't you just us-using them...?"

"Correct, we all are just using each other for our own good and everyone knows and acknowledges it, except Charolette. That girl doesn't even understand the concept of using others for your own benefit, she's the only one who feels real and genuine care for us. All the others feel fake but genuine care for each other. We have lied about our feelings to each other so many times that they feel more real than the real thing now"

Isabelle just tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what has just been said.

"hahaha, you will understand when you grow up. For now, just think of us a group of individuals who can do anything to protect each other and satisfy their needs"

"I-..-i..see. So, you are going to kill them, no matter what"

"Yes, though if you have a better solution then do tell. Do you?"

"N-No...I don't. Also......where is this place?" the game already over, it was just a trick Lilith applied to get Isabelle to loosen up and start talking.

"Right now we are inside Silva forest. This mansion, this forest belongs to one of our members, Emhel Silva's father. Your father ruined the entire Silva household. But luckily for you, Emhel's grudge against the king has faded, so she doesn't feel any grudge against you, his daughter."

Isabelle just looked down, maybe trying to deny the reality again

"This forest is located just north-west from the capital city of dusk in Nora Empire. It is also called the Forest of Tranquillity because no monsters or animals live or fly around here"

"I-..see. Can Miss Raven..tell me more about your group....?"

"Hmm, I named it Purple Solanum when I formed it 10 years ago with Emhel. We were only 13 at that time, our first member was Vivian who joined after a few months. Then came Aastha, after her Amanda who came 5 years ago. Then Charolette, who I picked up 3 years ago."

"Wh-what do you all do....?"

"We majorly just do whatever we want. But to do that coins are needed, so we take assassination contracts and sell drugs by the side"

Still, Isabelle didn't feel any contempt against them. Seeing which, Lilith became more interested in the girl in front of her

Before Isabelle could continue her barrage of questions, the front door opened and from inside came four women, completely geared up

"Sis, we are ready" (Emhel)

"Alright, let me get prepared too. Sorry, little princess, it seems that our talk has come to an end for now"

"I..it's alright.."

Lilith started walking and reached the door but before going inside she glanced back at Isabelle, "Little Isabelle, what are you doing? Come inside and get properly armoured"

"Huh?...why?" Isabelle just tilted her head in confusion

"Hehehe, Princess is also coming with us"

"... huh?...."