100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 710 - Reward

Lucien leaned closer.

Then Lilith opened her eyes.

For a heartbeat, neither of them understood what had happened.

Lilith found Lucien’s face only inches from hers, close enough that she could feel his breath. Lucien, meanwhile, found himself staring directly into a pair of startled eyes that were supposed to remain closed.

Their gazes locked.

Lucien stopped moving. Lilith did the same.

The peaceful atmosphere they had built throughout the entire day shattered into an awkward silence.

Color rapidly climbed across Lilith’s cheeks until even the tips of her ears were red.

Lucien felt heat rising to his own face too.

He jerked backward and somehow managed to choke on his own saliva.

"Sorry. I thought..."

His explanation died before it could become any worse.

Lilith coughed lightly and looked away, clearly just as confused as he was.

Before Lucien could attempt another explanation, she spoke first.

"Sister Seraphine told me that when the sun was about to disappear, I should turn toward you and close my eyes."

Lucien became very still.

He slowly turned toward the horizon.

Only a thin sliver of sunlight remained.

Then he looked back at Lilith.

Understanding arrived with painful clarity.

Lucien had spent the entire day thinking Seraphine had merely given Lilith permission to ask for whatever she wanted.

Apparently, she had also given instructions.

Extremely misleading instructions.

Lucien resisted the sudden urge to curse the woman he loved.

Anyone would have misunderstood that.

He had almost kissed Lilith because Seraphine had apparently taught her the most universally suspicious sunset behavior imaginable.

Lucien looked at Lilith again.

Her embarrassment appeared completely genuine.

That made everything worse.

Lilith was extraordinarily capable when it came to forging, construction, leadership, fighting, and turning impossible designs into working artifacts.

Romantic schemes were another matter entirely.

If she wanted something, she normally said it.

Subtle manipulation simply was not her preferred battlefield.

Lucien should have remembered that before assuming she had deliberately invited him closer.

He rubbed his forehead.

His heartbeat still refused to calm down.

That was another problem he preferred not to examine.

Lilith’s embarrassed expression was strangely adorable.

Lucien immediately disliked that thought.

He lightly knocked his knuckles against his forehead as though that could put everything back in order.

He had principles.

Seraphine was the woman he loved.

Whatever confusing feelings had surfaced today did not suddenly erase that.

Lucien drew a quiet breath and prepared to say something that might rescue both of them from the situation.

Lilith moved first.

Lucien barely registered the shift.

For someone who had spent the entire day acting unusually maiden-like, Lilith remained terrifyingly fast.

One moment, she was sitting beside him.

The next, her lips met his.

Lucien’s thoughts vanished.

He could have moved. Some distant part of his mind knew that. His instincts were more than capable of reacting.

Yet his body remained still as surprise overwhelmed every prepared response.

Lilith kissed him with far more courage than skill.

There was nothing calculated about it.

Her first touch had been almost too forceful, followed by an awkward hesitation before she seemed to decide that retreating would be even more embarrassing.

Then she kissed him properly.

It was warm, clumsy, and unexpectedly earnest.

For several seconds, Lucien forgot that the world contained anything beyond the woman sitting beside him and the fading warmth of sunset around them.

When Lilith finally pulled away, she did so slowly.

Her breathing had become uneven.

Lucien stared at her without knowing what expression he was making.

The maiden-like nervousness remained for only a moment.

Then Lilith’s familiar confidence began rebuilding itself.

A mischievous smile appeared.

She lightly touched her lips, trying very hard to look pleased with herself.

Lucien might have believed the performance if he could not hear her heartbeat.

It was pounding almost violently.

She was just as flustered as he was.

That realization somehow made the entire thing more dangerous.

Lilith grinned.

"I’ll accept that as the final part of my reward."

Lucien opened his mouth.

He never got the chance to respond.

Lilith rose and stepped backward from the edge of the Stillness Palace.

Then she simply allowed herself to fall.

Lucien immediately leaned forward.

She was already diving toward Lootwell with the ease of someone who had absolutely no fear of the distance below.

Her laughter drifted upward.

Then came another sentence, spoken quietly enough that she probably believed distance would save her.

"Next time, I might ask for a baby as my reward."

Lucien heard every word.

His expression became completely blank.

He decided, with great conviction, that he had heard nothing.

The evening wind moved past him.

Lucien remained seated.

For some reason, he felt a chill despite the lingering warmth on his lips.

Lilith had escaped before he could respond.

’Coward.’

Lucien refused to acknowledge that he might have done exactly the same thing.

He was still trying to reorganize his thoughts when footsteps approached from behind.

Lucien’s body stiffened.

He did not need to turn around to recognize the first presence.

"Did you enjoy your day?"

Seraphine’s amused voice reached him.

Lucien slowly looked over his shoulder.

Seraphine stood a short distance away with a smile that immediately told him the question was dangerous.

Eirene stood beside her.

Lucien’s guilt arrived far faster than reason.

He scratched the side of his head.

Answering truthfully seemed dangerous.

Answering falsely seemed even worse.

Seraphine waited.

Lucien endured the silence for several breaths before finally giving up.

"Sera, would you believe me if I told you that I’m usually not like this?"

Her smile widened.

"I would."

Lucien studied her face carefully.

There was amusement there, but no anger.

That confused him more.

"You’re really not angry?"

Seraphine shook her head.

"Not about this."

Lucien frowned slightly.

"There was a reason you were more affected today than you realized."

His suspicion immediately sharpened.

Seraphine reached into her sleeve and produced a small glass vial.

Lucien stared at it.

"A perfume?"

"A new one."

Her expression became slightly more careful before she continued.

"I used traces modeled from my own pheromonal signature while developing it. It cannot force attraction or override someone’s judgment, but it heightens awareness of attraction that already exists and makes familiar emotional responses easier to notice."

Lucien’s eyes slowly narrowed.

Seraphine added, "Sister Lilith was wearing it today."

Everything became quiet.

Lucien looked at the vial, then at Seraphine, then back at the vial.

He placed one hand dramatically against his chest.

"Heartless woman! You experimented on me."

Seraphine rolled her eyes.

"I knew exactly what the perfume could and couldn’t do before today. You were never going to lose control of yourself."

"That does not make me feel less betrayed."

"You spent months pretending certain feelings did not exist because examining them was inconvenient."

Lucien’s accusation weakened considerably.

That sounded unfairly accurate.

Seraphine smiled.

"Besides, nothing happened that you didn’t choose."

Lucien considered defending himself.

Then he remembered leaning toward Lilith before she opened her eyes.

He wisely abandoned that strategy.

Seraphine’s amusement deepened.

"You didn’t exactly lose out either."

Lucien stared at her.

"You even got kissed by a beautiful woman. How was it?"

That question was clearly designed to embarrass him.

Lucien decided he deserved at least a small amount of revenge.

"It was soft and sweet."

Seraphine’s smile stopped changing.

Lucien saw the irritation appear in her eyes.

Victory felt wonderful...

...for approximately one second.

Then Seraphine stepped closer.

Lucien immediately reconsidered whether honesty had been worth it.

Before either of them could continue, Eirene finally spoke.

She had remained unusually quiet throughout the exchange.

"Luc?"

Lucien and Seraphine both turned toward her.

Eirene stood beneath the gathering moonlight in her Stillbloom Moonbody, her expression calm despite the faint hesitation in her voice.

Her fingers were loosely clasped before her.

"Can I ask for a date as a reward too?"

Lucien’s mind stopped.

Beside him, Seraphine’s expression changed.

This time, the amusement disappeared for an entirely different reason.

Eirene looked between them with complete sincerity.

Lucien slowly turned toward Seraphine.

Seraphine slowly turned toward him.

For the first time that evening, they were equally unprepared.

Somewhere far below, Lilith was probably still laughing.

Lucien suddenly suspected that one peaceful day had created considerably more problems than it solved.