Chapter 60: The Confession (Misunderstood)

【Lilith PoV】

The moment had arrived.

After the dungeon, after the bridge experiment, after documenting Eksu’s miraculous defensive capabilities and his apparent mastery of the Reverse Void Counter technique, I had collected sufficient data to reach a conclusion. The hypothesis I’d been testing since our first meeting had been confirmed through rigorous observation and empirical evidence.

I was in love with him.

Or rather, my body exhibited all the physiological markers associated with romantic attachment—elevated heart rate in his presence, intrusive thoughts about his wellbeing, an irrational desire to monopolize his attention, and a compulsive need to ensure his survival even at the cost of my own safety.

The scientific method demanded I communicate my findings.

The sun was setting over the academy grounds, painting the sky in shades of orange and deep purple. I’d chosen this location carefully—the courtyard near the old oak tree where students rarely gathered after classes. The lighting was optimal, the atmosphere conducive to serious conversation, and the privacy ensured minimal interruption.

Eksu stood a few feet away, looking confused about why I’d asked him to meet me here.

He’d agreed readily enough when I’d sent the message through Siegfried, probably assuming this was another experiment. His guard was down, his posture relaxed, that perpetually bewildered expression on his face that I’d come to find endearing.

This was it.

I’d rehearsed the words seventeen times in my room, practicing tone and delivery until my roommate had threatened to set my notes on fire. The phrasing needed to be perfect, needed to convey both the depth of my feelings and the scientific precision with which I’d analyzed them.

I took a deep breath, centering myself.

“Eksu.”

My voice came out steady despite the unusual flutter in my chest.

He turned to face me fully, his attention focusing with that earnest quality that made him dangerous to my cardiac rhythm.

“You have become my primary catalyst.”

His eyebrows drew together slightly, processing the statement.

“Without you, my internal reactions are unbalanced. The chemical processes that govern my emotional state require your presence to achieve equilibrium.”

I stepped closer, maintaining eye contact the way the romance novels I’d secretly been reading suggested.

“The valence electrons of my being seek to bond with yours. I wish to fuse our elements, to create a compound more stable than either component could achieve independently.”

It was the most romantic thing I had ever said.

Every word chosen deliberately, every metaphor perfectly aligned with both my scientific background and the depth of feeling I needed to express. The fusion of elements, the creation of stable compounds through ionic bonding—it was beautiful, elegant, the perfect encapsulation of what I wanted.

Eksu stared at me for a long moment.

【Eksu PoV】

Lilith was talking about chemistry again.

Catalysts, reactions, element fusion—all terminology I vaguely remembered from the basic science classes at the academy. I wasn’t great at chemistry, honestly found most of it confusing with all the complicated formulas and periodic table memorization.

But Lilith looked really serious right now, almost worried.

Her usual calm expression had cracked slightly, showing something underneath that looked like genuine concern. She must be struggling with her coursework, probably falling behind in her chemistry studies.

That made sense actually, considering how much time she’d been spending on her weird experiments with me and Elizabeth. All that bridge-blowing-up and poison-making had to be cutting into her homework time.

Poor girl was probably failing.

“Sure.”

I nodded, trying to be supportive and helpful.

“We can meet up in the library. I’m not great at chemistry, but I can help you mix things if you need a lab partner.”

I’d done group projects before, knew how stressful it could be when you were drowning in coursework. If Lilith needed someone to hold test tubes while she worked through her assignments, I could definitely do that.

“Maybe we can find a study guide or something. The library has a whole section on basic chemistry if you need to review fundamentals.”

Her expression changed, something lighting up in her eyes that looked almost like joy.

“You agreed.”

“Yeah, of course. Friends help each other with homework.”

I shrugged, feeling good about being a decent person for once.

“We can start tomorrow if you want. How behind are you on assignments?”

【Lilith PoV】

He agreed.

Eksu agreed to mix our elements, to fuse our compounds, to meet privately in the library for intimate element bonding sessions.

He’d accepted my confession.

My heart rate spiked to approximately one hundred thirty beats per minute, a physiological response that confirmed the significance of this moment. He wanted to help me, wanted to spend time together working on our chemical fusion.

We were practically engaged.

“Tomorrow would be ideal.”

I managed to keep my voice level despite the chaos happening internally.

“I have extensive notes on our potential compound structures.”

“Compound structures, right. Chemistry stuff.”

He smiled, that genuine expression that made my carefully maintained composure threaten to crack completely.

“I’ll bring my textbook. Between the two of us we should be able to figure it out.”

This was better than any experimental outcome I could have predicted.

Not only had he accepted my confession, he was taking initiative in planning our bonding sessions. He understood the importance of preparation, of bringing educational materials to facilitate our fusion process.

“I will prepare appropriate materials as well.”

My mind was already racing through possibilities, planning what I’d need for tomorrow.

“The fusion process requires careful preparation and optimal conditions.”

“Yeah, chemistry labs can be pretty strict about safety protocols.”

He nodded seriously.

“We should probably get permission to use the equipment after hours.”

After hours.

Private laboratory access.

Just the two of us mixing elements in an intimate setting with no supervision.

My face heated, a physical response I’d been experiencing with increasing frequency around Eksu.

“I will arrange access through Professor Valmont. She owes me a favor after I corrected her thesis calculations.”

“Cool, sounds like a plan then.”

Eksu gave me a thumbs up, completely casual and relaxed.

“I should get back though. Elizabeth wanted to spar before dinner and if I’m late she’ll probably track me down.”

He started to walk away, then paused and turned back.

“Thanks for asking me, Lilith. I know we got off to a weird start with the whole bridge thing, but I’m glad we’re friends.”

Friends who had agreed to fuse their elements.

Friends who would be mixing compounds privately in after-hours laboratory settings.

Friends who were practically engaged based on chemical metaphor acceptance.

“Yes. Friends.”

I watched him leave, my notebook already out and filling with plans for tomorrow’s fusion session.

【Lucifer PoV】

I was watching from my scrying cloud, the magical projection showing everything happening in the academy courtyard with perfect clarity.

And I was dying inside.

“FUSION?!”

My voice echoed across the demon realm, startling several lesser demons who’d been minding their own business.

“He wants to fuse with my daughter?! Mix elements?! Create compounds?!”

I knew what those metaphors meant, understood the implications of element fusion and chemical bonding. Lilith had just proposed, had used her characteristically scientific approach to confess her feelings, and that boy had accepted.

Accepted!

Agreed to private meetings!

Suggested using laboratory equipment after hours!

“Over my dead body!”

I slammed my fist against the cloud, which did nothing except make my hand go through mist.

My daughter was eighteen, legally an adult, but that didn’t mean I had to accept this. That didn’t mean I had to sit idly by while some boy with an annoyingly impenetrable defense agreed to fuse elements with her in private library sessions.

“My lord, are you alright?”

One of my demon advisors poked his head into the observation chamber, his expression concerned.

“I’m fine!”

I absolutely was not fine.

“My daughter just got engaged and the boy thinks it’s a chemistry study session!”

“That seems like a miscommunication issue, my lord.”

“Of course it’s a miscommunication issue! But she thinks they’re engaged now! She’s probably planning their wedding in that notebook of hers!”

I paced back and forth, my mind racing through increasingly dramatic intervention scenarios.

I could appear at the library tomorrow, disguise myself as a librarian and enforce strict noise policies. I could send anonymous warnings about the dangers of element fusion. I could create a natural disaster that forced the academy to close temporarily.

“My lord, you’re still grounded.”

The advisor reminded me gently.

“No scrying privileges, no interference in Lady Lilith’s personal life for three more weeks.”

I growled, low and dangerous.

The grounding was torture, absolute torture designed to prevent exactly this kind of necessary parental intervention. But Lilith had been clear—any further interference would result in extended punishment and possible restriction of my demon king privileges.

“This is unfair.”

I collapsed into my throne, feeling ancient and powerless.

“I just want to protect her.”

“Lady Lilith is quite capable of protecting herself, my lord.”

“That’s not the point!”

I gestured wildly at the scrying cloud, which was still showing Eksu walking away while Lilith stood there looking happier than I’d ever seen her.

“She’s my daughter. She’s supposed to stay my little girl forever, not go around proposing element fusion to boys with irritating defensive abilities.”

The advisor wisely said nothing.

I stared at the cloud, watching Lilith finally leave the courtyard with that determined stride that meant she was planning something elaborate. My daughter, my brilliant, socially awkward, occasionally bridge-exploding daughter, thought she was engaged.

And the boy thought he was tutoring chemistry.

“This is going to end in disaster.”

“Most likely, my lord.”

“And I can’t do anything about it.”

“Also likely, my lord.”

I sat there in my throne, the Demon King reduced to a worried father watching his daughter’s love life implode through a magical cloud while being grounded from intervention.

This was the worst timeline.

“Sir, you’re crying blood again.”

“I know!”

The tears dripped down my face, staining my royal robes.

“Fusion! Private libraries! After hours! He’s going to corrupt my innocent daughter with his textbooks and study guides!”

“I believe Lady Lilith is the one doing the corrupting, sir.”

“That’s even worse!”

I buried my face in my hands, feeling my sanity slip away one scrying session at a time.

Tomorrow they would meet in the library, Lilith with her romantic plans and Eksu with his chemistry textbook, and I would be stuck here unable to intervene because of a grounding that felt increasingly like cruel and unusual punishment.

Being a father was suffering.

Being a grounded father was hell itself.