CHAPTER 183

CHAPTER 183


Ileus' POV

Actually... I saw that dagger.

In fact, even before seeing it, I could feel it where she had hidden it around her waist when I wrapped my arms tightly around her.

When I closed my eyes, I could feel the tip pointing straight at my chest... but somehow, through it all, my wolf remained calm and I was sure I wasn't going to die that night because I trusted her despite everything. I trusted that she wouldn't kill me just like that.

No... Lilith wouldn't have done that.

That was why I acted like I was clueless and enjoyed the steamy sex with her. But by midnight, I woke up, searched the drawers by the bedside, and found it there.

When I saw it... my chest twisted with pain. Immense pain like never before, not because of the fact that she had attempted to kill me, but because of the several questions that crashed down on me one after the other.

Did she love me at all?

Or maybe, she had been an assassin all along and only pretended to love me?

The thought scared the hell out of me.

Wait... did she know who I was from the very first sight and position herself the way she did just to get close to me? To make me trust her and rely on her?

Was it a personal vendetta she had against me or maybe... someone sent her?

Initially, I had been wary of her. I knew there was something suspicious about her beauty and perfection, but when I asked a guard to investigate her, he discovered nothing. That was why I lowered my guard.

The thought that everything—her love, her care, and even her staying by my side through my darkest moments—might have been a lie scared the hell out of me.

As much as I wanted to wake her up and scream in her face to tell me the truth, I didn't. I forced myself to hold back for reasons I couldn't explain.

Maybe—just maybe—it was because I was scared of the truth. I'd rather live happily in a lie I had curated for myself than be destroyed by the truth I might hear from her.

Which was why I kept the dagger. Right in my wardrobe... and then went back to bed while acting like nothing mattered. I saw her panic and her fear as she looked for the dagger.

Then I ordered a personal guard to keep an eye on her throughout the day and report everything to me. For now, nothing significant had come up, except Ryker going in and out of her room more times than usual, which I found questionable, but there was nothing I could do other than watch.

Another strange thing was that for the past two days, I had asked about her and Ryker claimed that she was sick. It wasn't the sickness that worried me. It was the fact that she said she didn't want to see anyone, including me.

The man she claimed to love.

If there was anyone who should be by her side, then it should be me. ME!

And that was when I knew she wasn't sick. She was hiding from me because she probably didn't know how to face me after discovering her missing dagger.

I even gave her the benefit of the doubt and asked for her to be examined by the royal physician. The physician claimed that she was sick, but then he couldn't find anything wrong with her. That was ridiculous!

Still, I held back because the truth was that I was giving her a chance. A rare chance to realize that I had discovered everything and that she should just come and tell me the truth herself.

But still, she hadn't.

And that made me restless.

Even so, I remained calm and focused more on my war plans against the Northern Province.

The craziest part of it all was that despite knowing she must have been a spy sent to end my life, despite the fact that she had deceived me all along and was still deceiving me, I missed her.

The nights had become lonely and dark... it almost felt like a death sentence.

I was already depressed because of my little princess and the fact that she was out there, probably crying nonstop because of me.

Only then did I realize how much Lilith's presence had been holding me together all this while since Reika wasn't here.

A knock came on the door, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Come in,” I called out before turning away from the window, walking further into the room, and lowering myself onto the couch with my arms spread over the backrest.

The door creaked open and Vincent stepped in, his sword slung around his waist.

“Greetings to you, Your Majesty,” he said with a deep bow.

“Greetings to you too.” I gestured for him to raise his head. “How about the task I gave you? Any progress yet?”

“No, Your Majesty, there is no progress yet.” His expression dimmed. “But I'm keeping an eye on Archer and everyone around him. A short while ago, I found his friend Logan collecting a letter from a courier on his behalf. At first, I wanted to ignore it, but then I took the letter from him.”

My brows knitted together.

“And where is the letter?” I asked, my voice turning serious.

He reached into his guard uniform and retrieved a parchment, extending it toward me.

“I thought you might be interested in this.”

I couldn't even help but snatch the letter from him.

With quick, urgent hands, I broke the seal and my eyes darted across the contents.

“Alright then, I will give you a week to finish up the task. If you don't finish it before then, then you can assume that your people are already gone, including the innocent little one. And again... make sure that you keep me informed about the war.”

My fingers tightened around the parchment.

The paper crumpled violently in my grip as I sprang to my feet so abruptly that the couch nearly tipped backward.

My wolf slammed against my chest with a furious growl.

My eyes darkened.

“What?!” I thundered so loudly that even Vincent flinched and stumbled back in fear.

The windows rattled.

The air inside the room turned heavy.

Even without a name written on it, I knew exactly who had sent this letter and who it was addressed to.

Every word felt like a knife being driven deeper into my chest.

Lilith...

She was working for Kael.

Not only that.

She had been feeding him information about the war.

She had been reporting to him this entire time.

The woman I had trusted.

The woman I had loved.

The woman I had allowed into my bed, into my heart, and into the darkest corners of my soul.

She was working for my enemy.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

Then another.

And another.

Before I knew it, I was laughing like a madman.

The sound echoed through the room, dark and broken.

Vincent remained frozen where he stood.

“Your Majesty...” he called cautiously.

I ignored him.

My chest heaved violently.

My hands trembled.

Because suddenly, every single thing made sense.

The missing dagger.

Her panic.

Her avoiding me for days.

Her refusal to see me.

She knew.

She knew I had discovered something.

And she was terrified.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

For one foolish second, I had wanted to believe she loved me.

For one foolish second, I had wanted to believe there was another explanation.

But this letter...

This damned letter had destroyed every excuse I had made for her.

When I opened my eyes again, the last trace of warmth inside them was gone.

“Summon Ryker,” I ordered coldly.

Vincent stiffened.

“Your Majesty?”

“Now!” I roared.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

He hurried out of the room.

The moment the door slammed shut behind him, I looked back down at the letter.

My grip tightened even more.

Kael.

Lilith.

Betrayal.

The three words merged together until they became one ugly reality.

And for the first time in days, I finally stopped doubting myself.

I had given her chances.

Far too many chances.

Now...

I wanted answers.

And this time, I was going to get them.