My Childhood Friends Are Trying To Kill Me

Last night Griffith had trouble sleeping.

His life here in the Superion estate was not bad. Although there was a slight shade, every time he saw Lelia happy, his heart felt full. But she can’t stay here forever. He thought it would be more comfortable to take Lelia to the temple as soon as possible and make her happy. Before Lelia changed her mind, he had to hurry.

Griffith left the room early in the morning to change the plan and tell her to leave quickly. He was smart. He arrived at Lelia’s door, knocked, and waited for a long time.

“…”

No matter how long he waited, there was no answer. He did the same after knocking a few more times. Lelia was on the sensitive side. Even though she slept deeply, she had never not responded. At that moment, anxious thoughts flooded his mind.

‘No way…’

He had an absurd thought. He let out a smirk. This place was not a castle. It was the home Lelia wanted to stay in forever. So she couldn’t run away with her own feet.

Griffith nodded and quietly grabbed the doorknob. The door was not locked.

As he slowly entered the room, he saw the sun shining down on the clean drawing room. Griffith walked slowly towards the bedroom. He saw a figure on the bed. Lelia was in a deep sleep, with the blanket pulled up to her neck. He let out a smile. She must be really sleeping. Her silver hair was beautifully scattered like waves outside her white blanket. Her sleeping face reminded him of their childhood. She looked naive.

“…”

Let her get some more sleep. He stopped as he was about to move towards her. As he turned his attention, he saw a small piece of paper on the table next to the bed. He stretched out his hand

“…”

The expression on his face as he read the short message was calm. He blinked his eyes for a long time, reading and re-reading the text. It was a familiar handwriting. And… Griffith shifted his gaze back to Lelia. He could easily guess the situation under the soft white blanket.

“Haha…”

A small laugh slipped from his lips. It was amazing. For a moment, the situation was so intense that his head felt dizzy. He seemed to know what was going on with his own eyes. It was a rage that was incomparable to the last time. This… Really…

The short note crumpled in Griffith’s hand. He bit his lip and his chin tightened. His blood split between his lips.

“…”

Forced? He thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. No, it couldn’t be. Oscar, no matter how crazy that b*****d was, he wouldn’t have done it. It was the same for everyone, including him. There was no way he could do anything that would make Lelia hate him. Then… That means.. That meant Lelia allowed it.

“… Lelia.”

He called out Lelia’s name softly as she slept and rubbed his wrinkled forehead with his fingertips. This isn’t it, Lelia.

“If you had Oscar…”

That’s a foul. Griffith wanted to wake Lelia up by lifting the blanket right away. He wanted to ask what this is. He wanted to shout, did she give that b*****d her heart and allowed all of this?

“…”

She did it. He seemed to understand why he wanted to share Lelia with everyone so that no one could have her. He knew instinctively that Lelia’s heart belonged to someone. So, desperately… like a climber…

Then, Lelia, who was sleeping soundly, twisted her body. The blanket that had covered her neck slid down, revealing her shoulders. Just by looking at her slightly exposed shoulders, he could get a glimpse of last night’s deed and affection.

“…”

Griffith turned away from the spot. The blood-stained eyes were crooked. He disappeared without a trace, as if he had never entered this room.

***

The closed eyes did not open until late in the morning. Lelia realized the empty space next to her, and she immediately opened her eyes wide.

“Oscar… !”

With a hoarse voice, she called out his name, but there was no answer. She looked around her and there was no sign of him. As if last night was a dream. The windows were closed, and there were no clothes spilled on the floor. Even her body was clean without any discomfort. Lelia looked down at her body. It proved last night wasn’t a dream with kiss marks mottled on her white body.

“… Where, where are you?”

Lelia ruffled her hair and blinked her eyes. Apparently last night, Oscar… He whispered in her ear with a hot breath. He promised something. She was so crazy that she couldn’t remember properly. But she remembered those words clearly.

“I’ll come back to your side…”

“I will be by your side forever.”

It was a voice mixed with pleading, as if asking for permission. Lelia tried to trace her memory, wondering if it was a dream that she had heard of it. The voice in her faint memories became clearer and clearer. It was definitely not a dream. So… he will come back. Even if he left for a while, he was sure to come back.

Lelia struggled to calm herself down.

“…”

So, she suppressed her anxiety and got her body up. Her whole body was numb to the point of being unable to walk, but she couldn’t lie down forever.

***

After breakfast with her family, she heard a sound like a clear crack.

“Griffith, do we have to go now?”

Griffith nodded his head with a puzzled expression.

“It looks like something urgent has happened. I can’t relax any more.”

“Ha, but mother…”

“I can come back anytime as long as I complete the urgent work. Besides, there’s Romeo, right?”

At those words, Lelia swallowed the words she was about to say. Griffith was right. Even if she had to go to the neutral zone anyway, with Romeo’s help, she could come back soon. But leaving her family behind so quickly made her stop.

Griffith acted as if something really urgent had happened. And that they would be in trouble if they didn’t leave right away for the temple. Lelia eventually went to her grandfather and explained everything briefly.

“I’ll be gone for a day or two and then I’ll be back.”

“Lelia, have you already made a decision? The thing is…”

“Not yet. Nothing has been decided yet, so don’t worry too much. It’s just something urgent that came up and I have to go.”

Lelia spoke firmly to reassure her grandfather. Griffith said so too, so she wasn’t wrong.

“Okay, then…”

“I don’t think I can say goodbye to others because time is running out. He said we could come tomorrow night at the earliest… Don’t worry too much.”

“Okay, don’t worry about your mother. Okay?”

“Yes, Grandpa…”

His old, wrinkled hand brushed Lelia’s cheek. After Lelia said goodbye to her grandfather, she went to Griffith’s room. Griffith’s room was also accompanied by a grumbling Kalix and Romeo.

“No, what the hell is this urgent?” Romeo said angrily.

Lelia was reassured that she was going with Griffith as well as Kalix and Romeo. Her doubts quickly dissipated. She was a little sorry that she had doubted Griffith.

“Lelia, let’s go.”

Ignoring Romeo’s grunts, Griffith grabbed Lelia’s hand. As always, there was warmth.

***

If she didn’t follow him right away, he would pretend that something big would have happened… When she got there, there was nothing she could do. Lelia was sitting blankly in the white room she had been in last time. The room was just as spacious, clean and cozy as it was back then. No matter how much she looked around, it was all white, and she felt strange… It wasn’t bad.

“…”

As she sat still for a while, her frustration came over. She’d rather go out, but she remembered what Griffith had said earlier.

“I’ll be here soon, so stay in the room for a moment. Don’t come out if you don’t know, got it?”

“Okay.”

She might run into the priests. Lelia looked at the gold bracelet wrapped around her wrist. She took it off when she was in the estate and then put it back on… It’s been a while since she’s been here, so she thought it was strangely heavy. It made it difficult. The bracelet was like a shackle to her. Lelia still had it in her head what he had said.

‘Is this the only way? I’m sure there must be another good way…’

‘Wait, maybe…’

Lelia paused. She turned her head and looked at the closed door. For some reason, she suddenly thought that if she turned the doorknob, it would be locked from the outside. It was an ominous feeling that Griffith might have imprisoned her. It’s absurd, but… She kept getting those thoughts. Lelia cautiously walked towards the door. After a moment’s hesitation, she gathered her courage and placed her hand on the handle of her door.

Shudder

Turning it with her strength, the door opened easily. She closed the door again, feeling a sense of relief. Yeah, it can’t be. While she moved away from the door, she heard a knock. She was startled, but cleared her throat and replied they could come in. It was Griffith who opened the door.

“Griffith… What’s going on? I, what can I do?”

“…”

Griffith walked over without a word and sat down on the sofa. Then he beckoned Lelia to sit down as well. A few minutes passed without a word, and soon a servant brought the food cart. Lelia was fiddling with the warm mug, then she asked again in annoyance.

“Griffith, you said it was urgent.”

“… Yes, that’s right. I just kind of got it done.”

Griffith’s expression was calm. He was calm, as if nothing had happened. Lelia’s brow wrinkled.

“… ? Then why am I here…?”

“Lelia.” Griffith called her name in a heavy voice.

At that moment, she felt her heart pounding without knowing why. She didn’t know why Griffith’s voice was cold, unlike usual. Lelia blinked her eyes and looked at Griffith. What is he trying to say? Unable to control her panic, she made assumptions, but after a while Griffith opened his mouth again. The words that came out of his mouth were completely different from what she expected.

“You, last night.”

“…”

“Did you do it with Oscar?”

His tone was calm. It was an unbothered voice, as if asking about the weather.

***