Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 16: A Walk With Death

The gardens were not really that big, but they were large enough for a walk.

Located on the eastern side of the castle grounds, the gardens were his mother's pet project.

With hedges meticulously sculpted to perfection, a marble fountain in the middle, and the scent of fresh roses and lavender filling the air, the place was probably a peasant's imagination of paradise.

But despite the beauty surrounding them, Ren felt nothing but unease.

Lilith walked slightly ahead of him, her posture poised and her steps slow. She wasn't avoiding him, nor was she attempting to engage him. It was as if he didn't exist in her world.

That suited him just fine.

But how long could he keep it that way?

He cleared his throat. "I hope your journey was pleasant, Lady Lilith."

She glanced at him briefly before looking ahead again. "It was adequate."

Ren swallowed. Will not talking make her more irritable?

"Hmm." She hummed, looking around.

Ren blinked at that. Did she want conversation?

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"I've always found the gardens a place of peace." He said, filling the silence. "Do you enjoy them?"

Lilith stopped walking, turning to face him fully. "Peace?" She repeated, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly. "How curious."

She turned back to the flowers. "I find them... stagnant. Beauty with no purpose. Flowers bloom, only to wilt and die."

Ren felt a chill run down his spine. Something in her tone—something in her gaze—sent warning bells ringing in his mind.

The way she spoke, the way she saw things... he understood now why she had once become the Great Calamity.

But he couldn't let himself become a footnote in her history. Not now, not ever.

"Not all flowers die without purpose." He said carefully. "Some leave behind seeds. They grow again, stronger."

Lilith turned to stare at him for a long moment before finally speaking. "Is that so?"

Ren said nothing.

"I wouldn't have expected those words from you." She said without emotion. "After all, you're just like them."

She paused.

"Weak."

Shit. Ren felt his gut tighten. Here it is.

"How do you expect to stand beside me if you can't even carry your own weight?" She said coldly, her eyes like windows to a void where nothing existed. "A weak partner is a liability. And I refuse to be dragged down."

Ren exhaled slowly, keeping his expression neutral. Is this the conversation that results in my death?

He should've just kept his mouth shut. Even a fool can look wise by saying nothing.

He'd known that Lilith was ruthless, even at this age. He needed to play this carefully.

"Strength isn't always about brute force." He said casually, attempting a diplomatic approach. "Strategy, foresight. Those matter too."

Lilith scoffed. "And when you're bleeding out on the battlefield, will your foresight save you then?"

Ren forced a chuckle, as if to lighten the mood. "I'd rather not find out."

Her gaze darkened. "Coward."

Ren immediately regretted his words. This is getting dangerous.

He had to find a way out of here. Fast.

He winced, clutching his stomach. "Ah—" He groaned. "I think I ate something bad."

Lilith arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"My stomach." He groaned again, doubling over slightly. "I need to go. Now."

Before she could react, he turned and hurried away, gripping his abdomen as if truly suffering. He didn't dare look back to see her reaction. Just keep walking. Just get inside.

His death had come from an argument when they were in private. If he could avoid them arguing, he could pass this trial. As he was, he wasn't strong enough to do anything to Lilith.

As soon as he reached the castle halls, he straightened as he made his way to his room. He had bought himself time. All he needed to do now was survive the day without dying.

The hours passed in his room and in the course of a few hours, several servants had knocked on his door.

Each time they knocked, each time they relayed her request to speak with him in private, he declined, coming up with one excuse or the other. He stayed behind his locked door, waiting for the trial to end.

But it wasn't so simple.

Servants came in waves, their knocks becoming more insistent. "Lady Lilith wishes to speak with you." They repeated. "She insists."

Ren buried himself in one of the books he'd found in the room, pacing and glancing at the window where the moon had risen and the sky was getting progressively darker.

It was night.

Almost there. If he could endure just a few more hours, this trial would pass, and he'd pass unscathed.

Then, the knocks stopped.

Silence filled the room, feeling somehow unsettling and unnatural. He set his book down.

A part of him felt relieved. Maybe Lilith had given up.

Then—

The door burst open.

Ren jolted upright, his heart hammering against his ribs. There, standing in the doorway, was Lilith. Alone.

She did not wait for permission to enter. She stepped inside, shutting the door behind her with an ominous click.

The candlelight flickered as if it recognized power walking in.

He could see that Lilith's eyes burned with something he couldn't interpret. Was it curiosity? Anger? Amusement?

"You've been avoiding me." She said, her voice eerily calm.

Ren swallowed. "I—"

"Why?" She took a slow step forward. "Why are you avoiding your fiancee?"

His back met the wall before he even realized he had stepped away. He forced a laugh, feigning nonchalance. "I wasn't feeling well. I didn't want to—"

Lilith's expression didn't change. "Lies."

The shadows in the room seemed to grow deeper and the candlelight kept flickering like it was trembling in fear.

Ren clenched his fists, trying to steady his breathing as his head kept turning, searching for an escape.

There was none.

Lilith took a step closer.

"What are you hiding?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. "You're not Terence, are you?"

Ren's blood ran cold.

Impossible.