Be more confident!

   The park was quiet, the kind of stillness that only nights could bring. The faint rustle of leaves and the soft chirping of crickets filled the silence between us. I studied Lilith’s expression under the pale glow of the lamps—she looked distant, still carrying the weight of her own story.

   “So… your mother—”

   “She’s alive.”

   I blinked, surprised.

   “Luckily, we were still in the hospital when it happened. The doctors managed to save her, but… they couldn’t save her right eye. She’s had to live with that scar ever since. And I…” her voice wavered, “…I’ve lived knowing that it was my fault. If I had done things differently, none of it would have happened. That curse… still follows me.”

   I leaned back against the bench and let out the biggest sigh I could muster, the kind that carried frustration, weariness, and something heavier.

   “Hey, Lilith. Do you remember our first meeting? When I told you that you reminded me of someone?”

   She looked up at me cautiously, then nodded. “Yes. You said something like that before.”

   “There was a girl I used to know,” I began slowly. “She was popular, pretty, and especially kind to everyone. The kind of person who’d light up a room just by being in it. Always smiling, always helping. To everyone else, she looked like the perfect girl—the kind you couldn’t help but admire.”

   Now that I thought about it, maybe that was what caught my interest in the first place. Maybe that was why I let myself get pulled into her orbit.

   She ended up becoming my first girlfriend. Though calling it that might be generous. We weren’t really in love after all.

   So why didn’t we break up right away? Convenience, I suppose. I wanted a girlfriend because of social pressure—everyone around me was dating—and she wanted someone who could support her.

   She carried an overwhelming sense of justice. She’d spend her days running around town, involving herself in other people’s problems. Helping stray cats stuck in alleys. Standing up for bullied kids at school. Bargaining with old shopkeepers who were being cheated out of money.

   And sometimes, she picked fights with delinquents far stronger than her. That’s where I came in. I was her bodyguard, doing the heavy lifting when her justice led to fists being thrown. It wasn’t fun, but… it was a change from routine, so I went along with it.

   But then my father’s company went bankrupt. Our lives crumbled overnight, and I had neither the time nor the energy to play the role of her guard anymore.

   That was when she told me she wanted to break up, saying she found someone else.

   It made me wonder: if she really was so devoted to helping people… why hadn’t she thought of helping her own boyfriend?

   That was when I realized the truth.

   I exhaled, turning my gaze upward toward the dark canopy of trees.

   “At the end of the day it was more or less a facade. She wasn’t helping people out of kindness. She was doing it for herself. To maintain her image. To feel like a saint. She was nothing but an egoist in disguise.”

   The silence after my words was heavy. Lilith finally spoke, her voice trembling. “Are you… trying to say that this girl is like me?”

   I glanced at her, then shook my head. 

   “Not exactly. From the looks, though—your faces, your voice, the way you speak—it’s uncanny. You’re almost identical. But in terms of character…” 

   I let the words hang for a moment before adding, “…I’d say you’re worse than her.”

   Her lips parted, her breath hitching. I could see the sting of those words written across her face. But I didn’t stop.

   “That girl—selfish as she was—had ambition. She never backed down on it. You on the other hand act like you’re testing the waters, half-assing everything, just to see how far you can go before everything falls apart. You do have goals—I can see that. You love your family. You care about this territory. You want to protect it. But when push comes to shove, you freeze. You lack the confidence to act. Maybe it’s because of that incident, and the fear that your decisions might hurt someone again. That’s why you cling to your Sacred Eyes as a crutch, letting them guide you. But that’s wrong, Lilith. You can’t let someone—or something—make your choices for you forever.”

   Lilith’s hands tightened in her lap. Her voice was small, but honest. “I know that… I know it better than anyone. But I can’t stand the thought of being the reason someone suffers again. I just…”

   A quiet silence stretched between us. The night breeze stirred the leaves above.

   Then, out of nowhere, I asked. 

   “Don't you resent your mother?”

   Her head jerked up, eyes wide. 

   “What… what kind of question is that?!”

   “I mean... She was the main reason the incident even happened. If she hadn’t spoiled you rotten all your life, keeping you wrapped in cotton like a doll, you would’ve understood the world sooner. You wouldn’t have been naive enough to think she’d just kill a man in cold blood at a hospital. That would be a scandal. He would be taken to a court of couse, and then you could ask your mother to help him. That way, the whole shooting wouldn't have happened in the first place.”

   Lilith’s lips quivered as she tried to deny it, but no words came out.

   “Don’t misunderstand,” I added firmly. “I’m not saying it’s her fault, or yours. I’m saying you’re not the only one cursed by that day. Your mother is too. Think about it—if she were still the same as before the incident, she’d never let you leave the mansion ever again. But she hasn’t done that, has she? She lets you go out, lets you take risks. Why? Because she believes in what I just said, that it was her fault. That's why she wants you to grow. To be free. To be more than what you were.”

   Lilith’s crimson eyes shimmered with uncertainty, but also something else—hope. 

   “Then… what should I do now?”

   I smiled faintly and pointed at her. “Only you can know the answer to that question.”

   Leaning back on the bench, I folded my hands behind my head and gazed at the stars. 

   “Although, if I can suggest something… why not start with being a little more confident in yourself? I’ve heard somewhere that confidence makes a woman much more charming.”

   “Confidence…?”

   "Yeah! For example—?!"

   A sudden wave of killing intent slammed into me like a blade against my throat.

   My instincts screamed.

   “Get down!” I barked, grabbing Lilith and shoving her off the bench. We hit the ground hard, just as an invisible force ripped through the air.

   CRACK!

   The bench where we had been sitting was cleaved in two, splinters scattering across the path.

   Lilith gasped, eyes wide at the destruction. “What… what was that?!”

   I rose to my feet in one smooth motion, planting myself firmly between her and the direction of the attack. My pulse quickened, but a smirk tugged at my lips.

   “He finally showed up,” I muttered.