Although Greg had exposed Lilith's hidden feelings in front of everyone to help the sisters be honest with each other, now that he had calmed down and thought it over, he realized that, effective as it might have been, he had publicly humiliated a girl as prickly and proud as Lilith.
At that thought, an unexpected pang of guilt rose in Greg's heart. Perhaps his approach had been too blunt.
Since she had come in disguise this time, Greg decided not to expose her for now, leaving them both some room to maneuver.
"Oh, it's you, Lily."
Greg released her and stood up, scratching his head with a slightly awkward expression.
"I thought some idiot thief had sneaked into my camp. Sorry, I was a little rough."
"I-it's all right..."
Lilith scrambled to her feet and brushed the dust off her cloak. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and her voice was much softer than before. For once, she did not lose her temper. Instead, she admitted somewhat awkwardly,
"I-it was my fault... I didn't tell you beforehand that I was coming today, and I sneaked in... I was in the wrong too."
Nightmare, who had just arrived at the edge of the camp, sat gracefully on a flat stone, her eerie green eyes studying the boy and girl with interest as a peculiar tension hung between them.
To her, this was far more entertaining than trying to scoop those slippery fish out of the Dark River with her paws.
These hesitant interactions between humans, full of awkwardness and tentative probing, were always a pleasure to observe.
"Well... um, right!"
Greg cleared his throat, trying to break the strange atmosphere with the safest topic he could find.
"Anyway, would you like something to eat? I've come up with a few new