Chapter 9 - Progress

Raymond did not respond for a couple of seconds, he looked down at the book that she made a fuss about before looking back at Lilith. Her arms were crossed and she was scowling at him. There was no way she would be able to see the situation from his viewpoint. She was stubborn and would not admit that she was in the wrong.

"What did you mean by original?" he asked. He lifted the book in line with her eyes. "What other version of the book would be there other than the original?"

She was not expecting him to ask that but quickly answered. "There was another version of the book from where I come from."

"I personally know the author and am not aware of the other version you speak of."

That was definitely not in the plan. There was no reasonable way she would be able to lie out of this. Why did he have to be so meticulous and pay attention? Can't some things go over his head?

Lilith stumbled on her words. "Then- then I must have taken the book for another." She looked closely at the book. "Oh, yeah, yeah, this is not the book I was talking about, I must be mistaken."

Lilith turned around before her flustered face could give away that she was lying. She picked up the duster and back back to brushing the books, trying to act like she could not feel Raymond's body heat on her back.

"Are you playing a game with me?" Raymond pulled Lilith around. He was trying reel in his patience. "I will lock you in the cells until you tell me the truth about everything."

"I swear, I swear, I am mistaken, I was thinking about something else when I saw the book." she waved the duster in her hands.

"What? What was the book that you were thinking of?"

There had to be someone with a similar name to Noland Glad, so that she would be able to lie again. "I was thinking of Noah Glass. He's an author from where I was born. I guess I was not thinking and said the first thing that came to my mind."

"And where are you from?"

"Martease."

First thing that came to her mind and it was a good thing too. The country was on the other side of the planet and she knew a bit about it to sound like she had actually been there. There was no way he would go all the way to Martease to figure out if she was lying or not so that country was a good choice.

"It's a country off the coast of Eubain, a country located in the western hemisphere."

"And how did you get here from there? Your parents have to have been from Creona for you to be able to have entered."

"Yes, I remember them telling me when I was young. They are no longer with me, but it was after they died that I decided to visit here and see what could have been if I came here with them."

Her story seemed to make sense, for now, but he still could not figure out if she was lying or not. But since her answers were clear he decided to believe her for now. She suddenly seemed to want to tell him the truth. He was unsure if his anger was what brought it on, but he would not have the chance.

"Why did you have such an expensive dress. Are you in any way related to royalty? Why did you come to the ball? Did anyone invite you? And why did you ask me what year it was?" he pressed on, wanting to keep the answers coming.

Taking almost a minute, Lilith formulated an answer in her head. She should have thought ahead and planned out the answers to all the questions he would have wanted to know. Her plan was to just evade him until he got sick of her and let her go. Or until he turned his back and gave her a chance to run away.

"The dress... it came from an abandoned castle in Martease. It's off-limits to the public but I went in one day and found the dress there. The royal family was overthrown and the castle was raided and all that. The dress was pretty well hidden. I found out about the ball when I first came so I decided to have my bit of fun and try on the dress before I sold it, which I already did."

"And why did you ask me about what the year was?" he took a small step forward. It seemed that was the question he answered the most. For whatever reason.

"I asked because of the Silver Moon. I was interested in it and with all that happened I forgot about the moon, but when I came out I saw it and asked you what year it was just to jog my memory of when it was supposed to appear."

After that, Raymond backed off, not even asking how she knew that he was Prince. He could be taking it a bit at a time and not rushing to get all the answers he wanted at all the same time. But she knew that it was probably the biggest question he had, besides him wanting to know why she asked him the date. It definitely was the most important.

Lilith went back to dusting and Raymond went back to work. She hoped that this may let her off the hook a bit and that she would eventually be able to leave his manor. If she behaved well then he would eventually have to release her.

But the problem was that she only had the lie about the rumor when he asked her why she knew that he was a Prince. He had not believed her in the past, so would he believe her again, once he asked her again? There was no way she would be able to change her story now, so she would just have to wait and see.

Raymond watched Lilith for the following set of days to see if she was acting in any way suspicious. She got along well with the servants in his house and she cleaned her areas in silence. But he would hear a little whine or complaint from her mouth every so often.

She seemed to be acting a little too well and Raymond knew that it was in his best interest to keep an eye on her for the time being. He still needed to know how she knew that he was Prince. If what she said about living in Martease was true, then she should not know anyone in Creona to tell her about him. Her parents could have, but it was highly unlikely since he knew about all the people who worked in the castle. His only hope would be to catch her off guard and see if she does anything to make him even more suspicious.

If it got out that he was a Prince then it would be bad on so many levels. He would be targeted by people trying to get to the King. His brother would blame it on him, saying that this was his way of rebelling against him taking the throne. And the last thing Raymond wanted was to take the throne and he even less wanted any interactions with his older brother.