How Lilies turn Black Chapter 54 - Blood Baptism (3)

His fingertips traced the thin trail of blood along her pale skin.

 

At the sudden touch, Liliana instinctively shut her eyes tightly.

‘What is he doing all of a sudden…?’

 

It wasn’t much different from when he had wiped away the smeared lipstick earlier.

But this act refused to become familiar… Unlike before, the touch gliding over bloodstained skin felt eerily vivid, turning her pitch-black vision stark white.

The heat rising to the top of her head was far beyond reason, impossible to suppress with willpower alone.

 

If it had ended there, it might have been fine. But then, a soft breath drew closer.

Theodoro bent down, approaching her.

“Liliana Moretti.”

“Hng…!”

 

As his low voice, laced with his breath, brushed against her ear, Liliana tensed her shoulders and curled in on herself.

At that moment, countless thoughts raced through her mind.

Hadn’t the ceremony already ended? Was he really about to kiss me on the cheek?

It was supposed to be just a nominal initiation—hadn’t they kept it brief, with only two declarations to recite? Why? Was a kiss really that important for the ritual?

 

Her uncontrollable revulsion manifested in full-body trembles.

As if amused by her shivering, Theodoro once again carelessly stroked the tip of her chin and smirked.

“What? Did you think I was going to do something?”

 

The hot breath spreading over her cheek. His rough, hoarse voice that somehow carried a hint of laughter. Her fine hairs stood on end, and a chilling shudder ran down her spine.

“If I wanted to do anything, I would’ve done it back when you offered up a piece of your heart. Why now?”

“Ah, no… I-I…”

“Just so we’re clear, Liliana Moretti. This isn’t for fun.”

 

The hand that had begun moving continued to absentmindedly brush the tip of her chin, as if driven by inertia.

The more it did, the more Lilianna felt a thick, scorching heat churning deep in her lower abdomen—but how would Theodoro know that?

 

“A kiss on the cheek between us means…”

 

He simply bowed his head indifferently, as if performing the last remaining ritual.

 

‘Ah, please…’

 

She would rather die than let an enemy press his lips to her. She felt like she might vomit right then and there.

 

But even so, she couldn’t storm out now—not after reciting every hollow word of the declaration. 

 

Not when enduring just this one thing would make her a full-fledged member of the Benedetti family.

 

Lilianna squeezed her eyes shut so tightly that not even a sliver of light could enter.

 

And Theodoro drew closer, even in the moment she could not see.

Close enough that his breath carried the faint scent of her skin.

Closer still.

 

“It means… trust.”

 

By the time he had narrowed the distance to less than a hand’s span, his shadowed eyes were filled with nothing but her pale, delicate skin—the soft peach-blossom hue of her left cheek, flushed near the curve of her cheekbone.

 

“…!”

 

Theodoro froze, unable to bring himself any nearer. Even the idle movement of his fingers, which had been absently repeating its motion, came to an abrupt halt.

 

The only thing still moving were his pupils, flickering restlessly, as if searching for an anchor.

 

Who could possibly know what thoughts crossed his mind in that moment? 

 

Only Theodoro himself could peer into his own heart.

 

Yet, the moment of chaos did not last long. He clenched his jaw until the muscles in his temples bulged, then shut his eyes—only to open them again.

 

The strange, flickering heat in his gaze had already vanished.

 

“…Remember that.”

 

And then he fully lowered his head.

 

Beneath the cast shadow, parched lips touched a soft cheek before pulling away.

With that dry kiss, the initiation ceremony came to an end.

 

Strangely, the moment his lips made contact, Lilia felt both revulsion and an overwhelming rush of pleasure.

A mafia’s kiss on the cheek was a sign of trust…

Meaning Theodoro Benedetti had decided to trust Liliana Moretti. When she thought of the day his trust would shatter, her chest swelled with exhilaration.

 

💫

 

“Ugh… I told you, it was nothing!”

 

Inside the bustling diner at midday, Lilia’s irritated voice cut through the noise.

How many times had she repeated the same answer? Unable to hold back, her voice rose sharply.

 

Yet Silvano’s lazy grin remained unchanged. 

 

Leaning back with his arms crossed on the mint-green enamel leather sofa, he simply shrugged, utterly unbothered.

 

“Don’t lie~ I saw your cheeks turn red earlier when you stopped talking. What happened with Theo?”

“I said nothing happened—how many times do I have to—”

“Did you sneak a kiss behind my back?”

 

At that, Lilia quietly set down the sandwich she was holding.

 

“…Silvano.”

 

Her head lowered, she slowly raised her eyes. Her icy blue gaze gleamed with a chilling light.

No further words were needed—Silvano couldn’t possibly miss the warning in her tone.

 

Finally clicking his tongue a few times, he uncrossed his arms, his playful demeanor gone.

“Tsk… You’re no fun.”

“I didn’t go through the initiation ceremony for your entertainment.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

Honestly, what an insufferable man.

 

Anyway, I guess we won’t bring up the initiation story again. 

 

Finally feeling unburdened, Lilia picked up her sandwich and took a bite.

 

On the other hand, Silvano had nothing left to do there—his share of the burger had long since settled in his stomach.

 

Was there at least a drink left?

 

No, not that either. He had downed his cola the moment they entered the café, leaving not a single drop behind.

 

So, with nothing else to occupy him, Silvano sat across from Lilia, who was busy eating her sandwich, and mindlessly flicked a bottle cap back and forth.

 

For some reason today, he didn’t seem interested in the jukebox he usually loved so much. On any other day, he would’ve already gone back and forth multiple times to play songs.

 

“This is unbearably boring.”

 

Her heart sank at his repeated muttering.

 

This wasn’t just him complaining about the tediousness of the initiation’s aftermath. There was no way she couldn’t tell that his grumbling was directed at the “boring routine” itself.

 

The sandwich that had been going down smoothly suddenly felt stuck in her throat, leaving her unsettled.

 

‘I had a feeling he’d say something like this sooner or later…’

 

The timing was just earlier than expected. It hadn’t even been a full week since the chaos in West Peal, and he was already bored.

 

Despite having a contract with Silvano, Lilia couldn’t shake the anxiety that he might run off at any moment. 

 

Their bond wasn’t deep yet, and he was an unpredictable man to begin with.

 

The only way to prevent that was to keep feeding him the kind of prey he enjoyed at the right moments, but—

 

‘Sigh… Honestly, the problem is me.’

 

She had a plan in mind. 

 

One that had taken shape ever since that night when she had discussed things in detail with Theodoro. She knew herself that the plan was ready to be brought up to Silvano right away. 

 

The only reason she hadn’t was that she still hadn’t steeled her resolve.

 

‘Or maybe it’s the last shred of my conscience, you could say…’

 

Liliana stared at the half-eaten sandwich with a sullen face. Her appetite was gone, and she had no desire to take another bite.

 

Just then, a rough voice slithered into her ears once again.

 

“Got anything fun going on? I’m so bored I could die. Feels like I gotta stir up some shit to get this itch out, y’know?”

 

Yeah, now her appetite was completely ruined.

 

Liliana tossed the sandwich back onto the plate and fixed Silvano with a sharp look.

 

“Silvano.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

“How do you expect fun things to happen every single day? You wanna turn the whole city upside down or something?”

 

“Wouldn’t be too bad.”

 

As he grinned, a vein-like wrinkle formed on Liliana’s forehead.

 

“Be patient for once. I’ll give you something big, so just wait.”

 

“How exciting could it possibly be?”

 

Despite his words, Silvano didn’t look particularly thrilled.

 

After relentlessly tormenting a bottle cap, he suddenly flicked it away and leaned across the table. The way he smirked was almost unnerving.

 

“Even if there’s nothing fun, I can make it fun. Interested?”

 

A creeping sense of unease made her lean back instinctively. She knew—she had to say no, even if she was curious.

 

“I’m not, Silvano. Stop talking nonsense.”

 

But as she retreated, Silvano leaned in even closer, his upper body nearly on the table.

 

“C’mon, listen. Don’t you think you owe me a little reward? Thanks to me, West Peal got sorted out just fine, didn’t it?”

 

“No—”

 

“What would you have done without me, boss?”

 

Yeah, without Silvano, none of it would’ve been possible. Liliana knew that better than anyone.

 

“…I know. Without you, West Peal would’ve never fallen into our hands.”

 

“Huh, thought you didn’t realize.”

 

“Of course I do. You were the one who did the most. I’m well aware.”

 

The praise seemed to please him, as the corner of Silvano’s mouth curled lazily. But at the same time, the warmth drained from Liliana’s expression.

 

“But what kind of reward are you talking about? We don’t have money to give you, and our agreement never mentioned any rewards to begin with.”