My Childhood Friends Are Trying To Kill Me

***

Kalix spoke confidently, as if he had nothing to fuss about. Lelia wrinkled her eyebrows as she gazed at him. Is Kalix really crazy? Kalix even returned the magic scroll he stole back to her hand. Then he patted her little shoulder and said, “Go and get him.”

“Uh, Kalix…”

“But if he doesn’t come, you will marry me.”

“…”

“Answer me.”

As Kalix pressured her to answer, Lelia felt uncomfortable. Kalix is ​​arrogant, but he had never demanded something like this forcibly. Besides, with such a terrifying expression…

“You have to take responsibility for touching me.”

Kalix said, lightly touching her cheek. Contrary to his terrifying gaze, his gestures were friendly. After that, Kalix turned around and strode out.

“…”

Lelia, who was left alone, was confused for a moment, then slumped in her seat.

[‘Let’s all three of us get married.’ I think you’re really crazy.]

Lelia wondered how Kalix had become like that, but she sighed as she remembered that she had secretly snatched his first kiss away.

[At that time, I wasn’t doing that… I was asking you to let me explain it to you calmly.]

Of course, she didn’t know if that would have worked.

Anyway, with just one short kiss, Kalix became like that… She never thought he would. Lelia shook her head. Her first priority was to visit Oscar.

A bad thought flashed in her mind. Oscar may be afraid as he was when he was a child and alone in his pain. Her eyes went dark as she imagined him groaning without making a sound even though he was sick. Lelia closed her eyes, remembering the room where she had stayed with Oscar, just as Romeo had told her. She tore the scroll without hesitation.

***

When she opened her eyes again, it was the room she had stayed in until yesterday.

The windows that had been completely torn out were now repaired to their original condition. It was not known if Oscar had used his hands or if it was fixed by the staff. However, she was certain that Oscar was still staying here. Oscar’s characteristic scent lingered on the tip of her nose. Her heart became set at his scent that she had strangely missed.

[But where did Oscar go?]

Inside the room was empty. She looked all over the drawing room, bedroom, bathroom, and even the wardrobe, but there was no one there. The only thing she could see was the bottle of poison that was lying on the floor. Lelia bit her fingertips nervously.

As she opened the window and looked outside, she saw the setting sun. People were busy, but in the meantime, Oscar was nowhere to be seen. Lelia stopped as she tried to close the window again.

Tap, tap.

It started raining from the sky. In an instant, dark clouds covered the entire sky. Rain poured down onto the darkened street. The raindrops became so thick that the people on the street were drenched. Lelia closed the window.

Anxiety began to creep on her like a mouse in a corner. As the storm hit, loud thunder started to sound as if the sky was collapsing. It felt as if the sound was scolding her. It seemed to blame her for leaving Oscar in the first place. Oscar is afraid of rainy days.

Lelia wrapped her arms around her shoulders as the temperature of the room suddenly cooled. It’s raining like this, where did Oscar go? Where did he go in the meantime? Can’t I find where he went?

[Maybe he went to the Hraesvelg Empire?]

If so… It was a place she had never seen before. Magic scrolls can only move to places in memory. She thought that if Oscar was really going back to his home country, she wouldn’t be able to find him any time soon.

[No, he’ll still be around here.]

Oscar’s scent still lingered in the room. Lelia held on only to her hope, and she strode towards the door and went out. Oscar didn’t come back to the room, and she wondered where he might be shivering in the rain. She had to find him. She was in fear, and only the thought that she had to save Oscar was full in her head. Lelia began to walk in the rain, forgetting the cold. Everyone went inside the buildings to avoid the rain, and there were only a few people wandering the roadside.

“Oscar!”

She called out his name without receiving an answer.

A woman who was organizing her things in front of her fruit shop looked at Lelia wonderingly. She clicked her tongue as she watched the mother go looking for her child in the rain.

Lelia ran, watching the alley carefully. It was raining so hard that she couldn’t see properly. She thought, ‘It would be rather safe if it rained when I was with Oscar.’ Even though it was something she couldn’t help, her regrets flooded in. She could have hugged Oscar as an excuse. She knew that she had been wandering around for a while, and then she realized that it had become too dark all around her.

“Oscar…”

As she muttered in a trembling voice, her eyes met a stranger. They were shabby-looking people who were sheltering from the rain at the mouth of the alley. The men had sullen expressions and looked at Lelia soaked from the rain. Dissatisfaction came over her, as if dissecting her, at their blatant gaze. Lelia turned her head and started walking.

“Hey, hey. Miss! Where are you wandering like that in the rain?”

“Why don’t you stop walking around all wet and take shelter from the rain with us together?”

Lelia covered her ears and ran as she heard their sultry voices. She began to hear several footsteps following her behind her. They seemed to be following her. Fear creeped in. As she walked a little faster, something happened.

Thump!

Involuntarily, her wrist was caught. She was startled and turned around, pulling her arm back. Just as she was about to scream, her eyes met a pair of red eyes.

“Os–Oscar?”

It was definitely him. The rain-soaked Oscar looked down at her with his cold eyes. Lelia turned her head and she looked behind him. No one else was following her.

“Oscar, are you okay?”

Lelia asked, stopping the rain that kept blocking her eyes. The sound of rain was so strong that her voice seemed inaudible. Oscar was just holding on to her as if angry with her. Because of that, it was difficult to tell whether the appearance in front of him was a fantasy or not.

“…!!”

Meanwhile, Oscar grabbed Lelia and hugged her in an instant. Lelia unwittingly wrapped her arms around Oscar’s neck. She felt like she wanted to cry in his arms. It was fortunate that Oscar was unharmed. Oscar immediately returned them to his room to escape the rain. As soon as she entered, Oscar put Lelia down in his arms. Lelia’s arms, wrapped around his neck, slowly fell.

“Oscar…”

“Are you crazy?”

As if he was angry, Oscar grabbed her shoulder. A tendon bulged in his forearm as he struggled to keep his grip.

“Why are you back? Why?!”

“…”

Oscar cried out. His expression contorted with anger. Lelia looked at him with fearful eyes. Tears welled up in sorrow. Even though Oscar was angry with her, he looked as if he had been saved from hell.

“Hey, I was worried… that you felt sick. So…”

“Are you worried about me?”

“…”

“Are you worried about me?” Oscar said scornfully.

[Why are you saying that? Why are you suddenly so cold?]

“I brought you into this mud, are you still worried about me?”

“… What do you mean?”

Oscar mumbled an unfamiliar sound. Lelia looked at Oscar confused, and impulsively grabbed his waist. The bodies of the two, wet from the rain, collided. Through the damp cloth, she felt a firm and warm body.

“Oscar…” Lelia sobbed and muttered his name.

Just then, the window lit up. The sound of thunder that came after was enough to tear the eardrums. Lelia was afraid that Oscar was afraid, so she hugged him tighter as she held him by the waist.

“…”

Oscar looked down at Lelia as if nothing had happened to him. She just continued to hug him at the waist, but her limbs seemed to be tied and she couldn’t move. Lelia softly said, holding him, as she confessed, “I… I cannot abandon my family.”

“…”

“I’d rather have you. Leave everything and come to me.”

“…”

“Then I also… I think I can accept you. So if… If you could give up the throne… and come to the Superion Territory…”

The words did not stop. Oscar dropped Lelia with a resolute touch. Lelia looked up at Oscar with her dazed eyes.

“Your acting improved.”

“…”

“… I almost fell for it.”

Oscar laughed, ruffling his wet hair.

“Stop lying. You said you won’t fool me anymore, right?

“Oscar, I…”

“You begged me to let you go. Why did you come back?”

“…”

“I told you to get lost, so why…”

“Why are you doing this? Why all of a sudden…?”

“…”

“You, you said you’d take me. Why are you telling me to go away, now? Why are you playing with me?”

Oscar didn’t answer. Lelia couldn’t control the emotions that were rushing through her.

“Why, why are you—”

Big strides.

Oscar, who came towards her in an instant, made Lelia swallow her saliva. A flash of light outside the window announced the thunder that would follow, and soon the sound of the earth cracking came.

Without any movement at the sound, Oscar grabbed Lelia’s cheeks and savored her lips. Even though her tears were mixed with rainwater, it was sweet. He dug roughly, swept through the soft mucous membranes, and swallowed them. He rushed in as if he were begging while acting as if he were going to eat her alive.

“Ahh…”

A shaky breath escaped Lelia’s mouth. In the moment of pain from her suffocation, her lips that were pressed against his fell apart. It was then as she was barely holding her breath.

“Well, what are you doing…?”

Lelia watched Oscar’s action with a dazed expression on her face. Oscar, who had been kissing her a while ago, reached out to the air and drew a circle. A crack was created.

“…”

A familiar landscape could be seen through the round crack. Superion Territory. It was her room.

“Oscar…”

Will you come with me? She was just about to ask. Oscar tapped her back. By a strong force, Lelia moved through the crack. She sat weakly on the floor and looked back.

“… Oscar!”

As it was, the crack disappeared. Just before disappearing, Oscar was staring at her with empty eyes. It was a firm gaze as if it were the last.

***