Chapter 177: My Closest Friend

The silence between us stretched until it almost became tangible. Neither of us spoke.Neither of us looked away.

The man standing behind those iron bars searched my face as though desperately trying to place a memory that refused to belong to him. Perhaps, there had once been a time when that gaze would've made my heart race.

When I would've mistaken his attention for affection... When a single smile from him could have brightened my entire day... Now, I simply looked back.

Without resentment. Without longing. Without love.

It was a strangely liberating realization.

The heavy iron gate closed behind us with a deep metallic clang. The sound echoed throughout the detention grounds before gradually fading into silence. Only then did I realize I had been holding my breath.

I heaved out a sigh.

The cool evening breeze brushed against my face, carrying with it the familiar scent of pine drifting from the forests surrounding the Golden Eclipse territory. It washed away the stale air of the prison, and with it, something else seemed to leave me as well.

A weight.

One I hadn't realized I had still been carrying.

For several moments, neither Lucretius nor I spoke. Our footsteps fell into the same calming rhythm along the stone pathway, our hands still intertwined just as they had been before we entered the detention grounds.

His thumb slowly brushed across the back of my hand. The familiar gesture was gentle. Questioning, not demanding words. Simply asking whether I was alright.

I smiled faintly. "I'm alright, hubby."

"I know." His answer came almost immediately.

I turned toward him and slightly tilted my head. "You do?"

He nodded. "You would've squeezed my hand if you weren't."

A soft laugh escaped me. "You've become rather good at reading me."

"I've had several lifetimes to practice, wifey." He winked at me.

The corners of my lips lifted despite myself. This man... No matter how heavy a moment became, he always somehow found a way to make it lighter.

We continued walking beneath the shade of the towering pines. The detention grounds gradually disappeared behind us until the stone walls were no longer visible through the trees.

Only then did Lucretius finally break the silence again. "Do you feel better...?"

I thought about the question. Really thought about it. Did I? My gaze wandered toward the path ahead, where scattered patches of sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead. "I do." The answer surprised even me. "There wasn't any anger." I smiled quietly. "I kept expecting to feel angry." Or bitter. Or resentful. Instead... "I only felt..." I searched for the right word. "...finished."

Finished.

Not because Redmund had suffered and I had won, but because I no longer carried the version of myself who had loved him so desperately. She had finally been allowed to rest.

Lucretius slowed beside me. When I looked up, I found him watching me with an expression so impossibly gentle that my chest tightened.

Without warning, he lifted my hand and pressed another lingering kiss against my knuckles. "I'm proud of you."

Without fanfare or praise, yet somehow... They meant more than any grand declaration ever could.

Heat blossomed across my cheeks. "You always say the right thing, hubby."

"No." His smile softened. "I simply say what I feel."

I laughed beneath my breath. Of course he did. That was my husband.

We walked a little farther before I found myself slowing once more as my steps gradually came to a halt and Lucretius immediately stopped with me.

He didn't ask why and simply waited. His patience had always been one of the many reasons I loved him.

I drew in a slow breath. "There is..." My fingers unconsciously tightened around his. "...one more person."

His expression changed almost imperceptibly. He already knew. The softness lingering in his freckled hazel eyes gradually sharpened into quiet vigilance. "Lilith..."

I nodded. For a moment, neither of us spoke. The breeze stirred the branches above us, scattering a handful of pine needles across the path between our feet.

Finally, Lucretius stepped closer, close enough that our shoulders brushed. His free hand rose to gently tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "You don't have to." His voice remained calm. "There is nothing left to prove, wifey."

"I know."

"And if seeing her would only reopen old wounds..." His thumb lingered briefly against my cheek. "...then let's go home."

Home.

The word almost tempted me. Almost.

But I reached up and covered his hand with my own. "It isn't for her." He held my gaze. "It isn't even for revenge." A small smile touched my lips. "It's for me."

Silence enveloped us. Then, very slowly, Lucretius nodded. "As you wish, wifey." He turned toward the guards stationed nearby. "Take us to Lady Lilith."

The command was simple. And the effect was immediate.

The guards straightened. "Yes, Alpha."

As they began leading us toward another section of the detention grounds, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of woman I would find waiting behind those iron bars. Because the Lilith I remembered had died the moment she chose betrayal.

The woman I was about to meet would merely be the one left behind to live with it.

The second detention wing stood noticeably quieter than the first. The farther we walked, the fewer voices remained until even the sound of the guards stationed throughout the corridors seemed to disappear into the distance. Only the rhythmic echo of our footsteps accompanied us.

The guard leading us eventually slowed before a solitary cell positioned at the very end of the corridor.

He stopped and bowed deeply. "Alpha. Luna." He gestured with his hand as he continued, "This is where Lady Lilith is being detained." Without another word, he stepped aside.

The heavy iron bars offered an unobstructed view of the small prison cell beyond. I looked inside. For a long moment, I simply stared.

The woman seated near the narrow window barely resembled the one preserved within my memories. Lilith had always carried herself with effortless confidence. Her posture had been impeccable.

Her military uniform had always looked immaculate, every button polished, every strand of blonde hair carefully arranged before inspections. She had been the sort of woman who never allowed herself to appear anything less than perfect.

The woman before me looked tired. Spiritually. Her once carefully maintained blonde hair now fell loosely around her shoulders, lacking the shine it once possessed.

Dark circles lingered beneath her eyes. The military insignia that had once rested proudly upon her uniform had long since been removed, leaving behind only plain fabric where symbols of rank had once belonged.

She no longer looked like one of the kingdom's most admired female officers. She simply looked like another prisoner.

Almost... ordinary.

The scrape of one guard's boot against the stone floor finally drew her attention. Slowly, she lifted her head, and her eyes found Lucretius first.

Immediately, she stood. "General." The title escaped instinctively. Old habits. Her posture unconsciously straightened despite the chains fastened around her wrists. For the briefest moment, hope crossed her face.

Not hope for freedom.

Hope that perhaps... someone had finally come to hear her.

But that fragile expression disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived. Because Lucretius never looked at her.

Not once.

His attention remained entirely upon me, standing quietly beside me. Exactly where he intended to remain.

The realization slowly settled across Lilith's features. Confusion replaced hope. Only then did she finally notice me. Her brows drew together. She studied my face carefully.

Once.

Then again.

Longer this time.

Something inside her expression gradually shifted. "Who..." Her voice faltered. She frowned. "Who are you...?" Silence answered her. She continued staring. Her breathing became noticeably slower and uneven as though something buried deep within her refused to let the question go. "I..." She shook her head once. "...This doesn't make sense." Her eyes remained fixed upon mine. "I've never met you... Have I?"

I didn't answer immediately. Instead, I quietly observed her.

The woman who had once called herself my closest friend. The woman with whom I had shared countless meals, laughter, secrets, and dreams. The woman I had trusted enough to stand beside me on battlefields. The same woman who had smiled while ordering someone to hand me poisoned tea and assassinate me while my husband was away with the military affairs.

How strange.

Standing before her now, I felt remarkably calm.

There was no anger clawing beneath my ribs. No hatred. Only a quiet sadness for a friendship that perhaps had never truly existed at all.

Lilith shifted uneasily beneath my silence. "Why..." She swallowed. "...Why are you looking at me like that?"

My lips curved ever so slightly. "Because..." My voice remained soft. "...I was wondering if you still remembered what genuine friendship looked like."

She froze as complete confusion crossed her face. "I don't..." Her brows knitted tighter. "I don't understand."

"I know." I took one unhurried step closer to the bars. "So let me remind you." My gaze never left hers. "There was once a woman..." I smiled sadly. "...who loved you enough to call you her sister."

The corridor fell silent as Lilith stared. The color slowly began draining from her face. Not because she understood, but because somehow, those words hurt deeply without knowing why.

"They grew up together." I continued. "They laughed together. They trusted one another with everything." I tilted my head slightly." "And one day..." The smile disappeared from my face. "...one of them decided that betrayal was worth more than loyalty."

Lilith's breathing hitched. "No..." she whispered instinctively. "I... I wouldn't..."

"You did."

The words weren't loud. They didn't need to be.

I stared intently at her. "You betrayed her with the man she believed she loved. You stood beside him while she mourned. You handed her a cup of tea..." My eyes remained unwavering, recalling that memory that still pained me even to Lucretius. "...knowing exactly what had been mixed inside it."

For the first time, real fear entered Lilith's eyes. Her lips parted. "How..." She stumbled backward a single step. "...How do you know about that?"

I watched her quietly as the panic slowly spread across her face. Then, I rested a gentle hand against my abdomen. The gesture was small, almost delicate. "Our unborn pup." My voice lowered. "You took our child before he ever had the chance to take his first breath."

The words echoed softly throughout the stone corridor. Behind me, I felt Lucretius's hand quietly find mine. His fingers intertwined with my own, offering a silent support.

Lilith looked between my face and the hand resting over my abdomen. Her breathing grew noticeably uneven. "I... No..." Her voice trembled violently now. "Who..." She stared at me as though the answer terrified her more than any punishment ever could. "...Who are you?"

For several long moments, I simply looked at her. Then, very softly, I smiled. "You already know."

The corridor became deathly silent. And for the first time since we'd arrived, I watched genuine terror bloom across Lilith's face. Not because she recognized my face, but because somewhere deep inside her soul, her guilt finally had.