Chapter 276 - Was I Worth Something?

Between my arms was the figure of Lilith, whom I've never seen like that before. I could feel her fingers gripping my shirt firmly while the soft noise of crying was reaching my ear. I was caressing her hair with my other hand.

"I'm just glad… for a moment, I thought I lost you." She said in her weak voice as she looked at me with half-open eyes. Reaching for my face, her hands held them gently as she added, "Please don't do something… like… that."

What was this?

She was worried about me?

From her trembling voice and firm grip on my shirt, I could tell that she was indeed worried and wasn't acting to be concerned. But I could never imagine Lilith shedding tears for someone else.

That seemed quite out of the ordinary, since she wasn't the type of person to worry about others. But since it was me, whom she considered as quite a useful tool, it was natural for her to be desperately worried for me.

Though, looking at her weak and pale face, I held her hand and asked in a plain tone, "Are you out of mana?"

"N...No." She replied hesitantly, snatching her hand from my grip and looking at me with an awkward smile. I sighed, "You definitely are."

"Just tell me, what did you do? I'm not in the mood for your games here."

"I… kind of got scared and... transferred my mana into." She replied while taking heavy breaths, as I narrowed my eyes at her, "You did what?"

"It doesn't matter whatever I did. You're fine now, so shut up." 

"You're looking just as weak as you did a few weeks ago."

"No… I'm better than before." She said, increasing the distance between us, as I got this sudden thought in my mind, "And tell me one thing…"

In front of me was the person who was responsible for all the problems in my life. Whom I despised quite a lot, yet looking at the wry expression on her face, I could make myself hurl those words of hatred towards her.

"Yeah…?"

But I was right about one thing.

"I'm quite a useful tool to you, aren't I?" I asked, as a stiff expression formed on her face, and I continued, "That's why you went to those extents to save my life."

"Isn't that true?"

Her silence was enough to answer my questions.

Nothing like unconditional love existed in this wretched world.

"Well there is no point in lying to you." She replied in a low voice and, staring into my eyes, she spoke, "You're very useful to me. I value you more than I value myself, right now."

As those words left her mouth, I kept staring at her in silence. There was a strange sense of validation in those words. I heard those words for the first time in my life that day and honestly did not know how to react to them.

"I can't afford to lose you." She whispered those words in my ear as I found her arms wrapped around my head, which was sinking into her soft chest.

As an individual, I stopped expecting validation from others at quite a young age. But now that there was someone who actually was making me feel useful and appreciated, I couldn't help but feel warm inside my mind.

Was I worth something?

"For me, I can't estimate your worth. After all, I was a self-centred bitch." She pulled me away from her and smiled while gazing into my eyes.

I found it difficult to move my arms and legs as Lilith helped me sit on the bed. Sitting beside me, she was still taking heavy breaths, as her own condition wasn't the greatest. There was an eerie silence in the room.

My eyes were wandering around, as she fell on Lilith for a moment, and she was already staring at me with a strange look in her eyes. This person sitting in front of me was someone who was using me.

She was bringing all sorts of problems into my life, yet she was the first one to shed tears when I got hurt because of her.

I absolutely despised the fact that I was a tool for her.

I noticed Lilith moving closer to me and got a pretty good idea of what was about to happen. My heart started throbbing as I gulped down and stared into her crimson eyes, closing in on me.

One of her hands held my face gently as she closed her eyes and tilted her head. Before I could realise it, her soft lips crashed against mine and I leaned back a bit as she moved forward.

I absolutely resented this person.

For the first time ever, I noticed how pretty she actually was. Her pale skin really complimented her silver hair and red eyes. My left hand raised up and reached for her neck as my fingers brushed against her silky hair.

I don't know what I was feeling for her at that moment, but I was sure about one thing.

And it was that I despised this woman.

As soon as my fingers made contact with the skin of her neck, I felt a jolt of pain in my arm. Lilith also winced in pain as we moved away from each and I noticed the mark on my hand was glowing brightly, while the curse marks on her neck were also visible and glowing.

The mark on her neck seemed to separate from her skin and started revolving around her neck. In a split instant, the entire thing disintegrated with an irritating noise that hurt my ear.

Lilith looked at me with a confused look on her face, as we kept staring at each other in confusion. A lot of things happened in the past few minutes, which was a lot for our minds to comprehend.

Did I just break her curse?

I noticed my mark, and it was glowing rather aggressively. I glanced up and caught Lilith's gazes which were on the mark as well. That mark on my arm had far more relevance than I imagined. That's why it piqued Asmodeus' attention as well.

I also won't ignore the fact that I kissed her.