Chapter 22: Lilith’s Claim
[One month passed. And with your progress moving faster than before, all thanks to the new kind of food you had started eating, you had now reached 4% of the Vital Purification stage.]
[Another month passed, and your relationship with Selena deepened further... until, at last, you crossed that final line.]
[When you returned home, Lilith, who somehow knew, looked stunned. Then, as if something inside her had snapped, she began pulling at her hair while screaming: "Am I not enough?"]
[You tried to talk things out with her, but after hugging you tightly and feebly punching your chest with her fists as she cried, Lilith eventually retreated to her room and refused to see you.]
[Four months passed. With your current progress speed in the Blood Refinement Path more than double what it had been before, you continued growing stronger. Now, you had reached 12% of the Vital Purification stage.]
[But you couldn’t feel too satisfied — during those months, you had barely spoken with Lilith.]
[It was during that time, while you were wondering if you should try a different approach with her, that she herself came knocking on your door.]
[You welcomed her in with a smile full of joy. And Lilith, with her hair messy, and appearance unkempt, hesitantly stepped inside.]
[You exchanged a few awkward words, before Lilith, her voice trembling, finally said: "I thought you already knew about my feelings... I thought your behaviors were signs that you felt the same way toward me too... was I wrong?"]
[You stayed silent at Lilith’s question, your eyes falling to her fidgeting hands, her nervous gestures. You studied her expression for a while before finally apologizing — that your feelings were probably not the same as hers.]