CH 156

“What is this bulls**t, tell me straight away.”

“Emperor Perseus is suffering from madness. He has gone crazy. What would you do if he found out that Lelia’s mother is still alive in that situation?”

“…”

“…”

At Griffith’s words, Romeo and Kalix said nothing. Griffith calmly watched the two of them react and continued.

“He is going to take Lelia’s mother, and Lelia too… Will the Duke of Superion stand still? Well, of course there will be war.”

Griffith spoke lightly, as if speaking to someone else.

“Lelia should keep an eye on it. Isn’t it too harsh?”

“Nevertheless…”

“This is the best way to keep Lelia from being swayed by Emperor Perseus.”

There was silence for a moment. The one who broke the silence was Kalix, who had only blinked his eyes the whole time.

“We just have to kill Emperor Perseus.”

Romeo’s forehead wrinkled at those words. The idiot was giving ideas again. Griffith laughed out loud.

“You idiot… Do you think Lelia would like that if she found out? Will she find it cool, and stay unbothered?”

“…”

At Griffith’s words, Kalix wrinkled his brow.

“You might be a simple man, but… it’s not the case with Lelia. She is very complicated, unlike you.”

Griffith explained step by step, demonstrating his kindness.

“If the Emperor dies suddenly, she will be devastated, but she will also suffer from her guilt. She would think it was her fault that he became crazy. And you are planning to kill him?”

“…”

“And what does killing make a difference? Or maybe you don’t want her to become the Empress of the Hraesvelg Empire?”

Kalix and Romeo shut their mouths as Griffith poked at the issue. Gradually, Griffith grew annoyed.

“You think I did this just for me? It is also for you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You want Lelia, too.”

But to achieve that, the four men would have no choice but to point their blades at each other.

He came up with such a peaceful solution, but he can’t boast.

“You will thank me.”

Griffith licked the corners of his lips and smirked.

***

It was that afternoon.

Griffith, who came suddenly, said, “Lelia, Romeo and Kalix are here. Let’s go to the estate together.”

“… What?”

Lelia blinked her eyes at the unexpected remark.

“You must go to the estate and see your mother. I will go with you and wake her up.”

Griffith smiled warmly and held out his hand. Lelia, who had been anxiously worried about her mother the whole time, took his hand. As the warmth from his body spread, her mind began to settle.

“However… I thought I had to stay here for a while.”

Griffith laughed at Lelia’s words. In fact, he planned to do so, but he changed his mind.

“Obviously, it will be for a while after it starts, but not yet.”

Lelia swallowed her saliva. She seemed to have expected that she would be imprisoned here without even realizing it. She was afraid to walk out the door. It was because she thought it would be difficult if she ran out of the door and ran into the priests. Griffith said she’d be fine if she didn’t lose the bracelet on her wrist, but nevertheless she was worried. She was guilty of deceiving the priests on a subject that she didn’t believe in.

“Let’s go.”

As Griffith dragged her hand, she nodded her head. She felt grateful for his favor. Maybe it was because she was in a predicament, she even thought that she was sorry for doubting Griffith.

***

“Are you okay?”

Romeo, seeing her again, looked at her anxiously and asked. Lelia nodded her head. Next to him stood Kalix with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

“… Let’s go.”

Kalix nodded without saying a word. She was worried about what would happen if Kalix brought up the last conversation they had, but he was happy. So after a while… Lelia had returned to the Superion Territory again.

“Grandfather.”

“…”

Her grandfather had a bad complexion. He was worried about his daughter who hadn’t woken up this whole time, and he even heard the news of Lelia being at the temple.

“Are you injured anywhere?”

Her grandfather looked at Lelia with zeal. Lelia nodded her head.

“How is mother?”

“… Ah…”

Saying so, her grandfather looked at Griffith, who was standing behind Lelia. Griffith

bowed his head silently, and it made Lelia slightly uncomfortable. After that, Lelia went to visit her mother, who was still asleep, with her grandmother. Griffith had also gone with Lelia.

“I’ll check by your side. Don’t worry, I’ll go,” Griffith said, holding Lelia’s hand.

Lelia nodded her head and went in with her grandmother. Seeing her mother lying there pale, anxiety flooded her. She didn’t know if Griffith would be able to wake her mother up… but, he seemed to be able to do anything Lelia asked. Lelia stood at the door for a while, before she went back to her grandfather. She had something to say.

After a while, as before, her family gathered in a conference room inside the office. With the exception of her still feeble grandmother, her aunt and uncles, her grandfather and Lelia sat down. Lelia carefully brought out her story.

It was her story about the emperor Perseus that she had heard in the temple. Her family’s eyes widened as they heard that he was suffering from madness.

“Then… father… What should be done?”

Uncle Xenon and Uncle Karius’ expressions became serious. They seemed to have expected that he would take away Lelia and her mother by force.

“…”

Her grandfather didn’t look as good as she had in mind. But there was no other option than war. Even that was dangerous. Because Emperor Perseus has a powerful army of wizards.

“I have a good way.”

Lelia brought out the idea carefully. She honestly was still unsure, but, as Griffiths said, she couldn’t come up with a better way. It was as if she had been brainwashed, but even if she knew, she couldn’t help it.

“What do you mean by temple, Lelia? If you go there…”

“I  will have to stay in the neutral zone for a few months, but other than that, I can come and stay here.”

Lelia told her family the same story Griffith had told her. When she finished talking, she felt more reassured for her family, just as Lelia had been before. Still, she was in the opposite position.

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t think of another way…”

Her family seemed to be the same. In the end, the conversation ended in the direction of thinking about it a little more. Everyone went out, and only her grandfather and Lelia were left.

“Lelia.”

Her grandfather called her cautiously. Lelia looked at her grandfather with blank eyes for some reason. The Duke of Superion hesitated for a long time, then brought up the story.

“… Sir Oscar, the young man…”

When Oscar’s name came out, Lelia’s expression turned pale in an instant. Looking at her swaying eyes, Duke Superion had a foreboding of something.

“You didn’t mean it at all? Maybe you too…”

“… I do not know. I don’t know, Grandpa.”

As if holding on to a thin string and losing it, something suddenly broke. Unknowingly, she cried. Lelia shook her head, weeping incessantly. She kept muttering words that she didn’t know. Lelia was scared.

When her mother wakes up, her family finds peace, she finds herself going to the temple…  Her friends are staying by her own side…  It seemed that there would be no Oscar in her future. It seemed that everything would be resolved, but even if she found the peace she had so longed for, it seemed that Oscar would not be there. And then she found she was scared…

***

Her grandfather left first. Lelia barely stopped crying, and she was the last to leave the office. She tumbled toward the room. But the more she climbed the stairs, the more she felt the noise inside of the castle. As she looked around in bewilderment, Romeo found her from afar and approached her.

“Lelia, your mother is awake!”

“…What?”

Romeo grabbed her hand and led her straight away. Lelia hesitated in front of the room’s door. Romeo hurried her, opening the door first. Inside, the family had already arrived and were gathered together.

Lelia moved her steps slowly. Griffith, with a tired expression on his face, sat by the bedside. And her mother…

“…”

She had an expression on her face that she didn’t understand the situation, as she only blinked her eyes in surprise and confusion.

“Elizabeth… Elizabeth…”

Her grandmother muttered her mother’s name and sobbed as she grabbed her mother’s hand. Her grandfather, uncles, and aunt were also weeping and crying. Lelia slowly walked towards her bed. Her mother’s expression brightened when she discovered Lelia belatedly. She was happy to find the only face she knew.

“Lelia! What the hell is this…? I, why am I here? I was obviously…”

Her expression wrinkled. It seemed that her last memory had come to mind. Lelia looked like she was about to cry, but she held it back and looked at her family. Perhaps he noticed her will, as her grandfather took her family and went out.

“…”

She met her mother again, who had just woken up… She felt guilty for kicking her family out, but she couldn’t help it. Because Lelia hadn’t told her why she didn’t wake up or what happened. All her family left, and finally Griffith came to her.

“Thank you, Griffith.”

“… It was nothing.”

Griffith tucked his hair behind his ear with a tired look on his face. Then he briefly kissed her on her forehead and left. When he left, only Lelia and her mother were left in the room.

“Lelia… Why am I…”

“Sena.”

Lelia walked over to her side, sat down, and grabbed her mother’s hand.

“Am I, am I dreaming? I’m definitely dead… I thought I was dead.”

“Do you remember?”

“…”

Sena’s forehead wrinkled as she recalled her last memories. The wounds that appeared all over her body. She trembled and looked at the clothes she was wearing, but there were no wounds from the sword. There was no trace at all. Is it a dream? Was it a nightmare? But the memory of that pain was so clear.

“I, I had a nightmare… I think I died.”

“… Did you have a dream that someone ran to you to hurt you, Sena?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Then… Can you remember the face of that person from the nightmare?”