Lelia said a little sullenly, â⊠If you donât help, Iâll take care of it.â
âBy yourself? Are you saying you want to go to the Hraesvelg Empire alone?â Griffith replied in a slightly angry voice.
Romeo also messed up his hair as he was in a bad mood. âLelia, I want to help, but⊠As you know, he canât be traced by Griffithâs divine power or my magic. Not even sure if he is in the Hraesvelg Empire.â
âHoweverâŠâ
It was then that Kalix, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.
âHe is not far away.â
âWhat?â
âOscar⊠heâs not far away.â
Griffith and Romeo looked at him as if they werenât going to listen to all his bullsh*t.
Lelia then asked Kalix, her eyes shining, âWhat do you mean, Kalix? Please tell me more.â
âJust⊠I can smell it.â
âWhat are you talking about, that pervert b*****dâŠâ
Romeo murmured as if he felt Kalixâs answer was pathetic. However, his expression soon turned dark. That madman found Lelia by sheer sense. In his own words, it was through smell, but he does not know exactly what it is, whether through sense or an instinct. Anyway, no matter how different his physical abilities are from normal humans, it was a lot.
Romeo turned his gaze to Lelia with a hardened expression. He had a look that Lelia was certain of something.
â⊠Okay.â
After answering that, he calmly began to drink his tea. Griffith and Romeo exchanged glances at each other, and Kalix pinched his nose and started eating dessert.
***
After tea time.
Lelia ran out of time talking to her friends, and they had a late dinner together.
âWhy do you guys eat so late?â
During the meal, Uncle Karius entered the restaurant. Her uncle also seemed to be having a late dinner. So the five of them had dinner. Karius seemed excited today, and it turns out that he and her mother went for a walk alone.
âNow I feel a little more comfortable. Thatâs natural. Because I was the closest to my sister.â Karius said with an excited expression.
âGood luck, Uncle.â
âItâs all thanks to you, Lelia. I reallyâŠâ
Uncleâs eyes began to turn red as if tearing up again. But, perhaps because it was in front of her friends, he was holding back the tears as hard as he could.
âThank you, Griffith.â
At Uncle Kariusâ words, Griffith laughed, saying it was nothing. At one time he felt deeply betrayed by Griffith, but his family now appreciates Griffith again. It was all because of Lelia.
It was not Griffithâs will, but the temple, which she explained to be a misunderstanding. In actuality, she was confused too. She still didnât know if it was a real misunderstanding or not. However, she didnât want her family to hate Griffith, who was responsible for waking her mother up.
âYeah, itâs not like this⊠I canât stand still on a good day like this. You should have a drink. Letâs drink together, how about you?â
Guess Karius was in a really good mood, he suddenly had a servant fetch him a bottle from the cellar. Unlike the sweet scent, it was a very strong drink.
âIsnât this what father really loves? He wonât leave me alone if he finds out Iâve opened it.â
Even as his uncle said so, he poured the drink without hesitation. Kalix started drinking excitedly, probably because he and his uncle had become friends through alcohol on the battlefield. Romeo and Griffith drank with their uncle, but put down their glasses when they started to get drunk. Yet, Lelia hasnât spoken since she took a sip. Her uncle encouraged her friends to drink, but he did not force Lelia.
After dinner.
The servants moved the drunken uncle, and Romeo looked at Kalix with a disappointed expression. Kalix was drunk and lying on the table.
âIâll take Lelia and come, you move.â Griffith turned to Romeo and stood up sullenly. Romeo had an angry expression on his face, but he quickly dragged Kalix away. So, Lelia walked up to the door with Griffith.
âThank you, Griffith.â
âAre you thankful for just this?â Griffith asked with a smirk. His ears were red, probably because he was a little drunk. Lelia shook her head.
âNo⊠Thank you so much for waking up my mom.â
âDo you know what time it is?â
â⊠Still.â
âIf you really appreciate itâŠâ
Griffith looked down at Lelia with a burning gaze, and lips set in a straight line.
âIs it because of the alcohol? It looks like she might cross the line.â
âNo.â
As Griffith shook her head, Lelia spit her words out, as if nervously.
âIf you have anything to ask me, please tell me. If itâs your request⊠I can listen to anything. Unless itâs weird.â
â⊠Weird? What do you mean?â
When he dared to ask, Leliaâs forehead wrinkled. Griffith could barely hold back the urge to laugh out loud. But it was hard to bear the smirk.
âDonât make fun of me. I just said thank you, but youâŠâ
âIâm sorry, Lelia. Anyway, if youâre really going to ask me⊠Iâll put that off for a while. Iâll tell you later when I really need it.â
â⊠Okay.â
Griffith stared at Lelia with a smirk, then gently reached out his hand.
ââŠâ
His warm hand caressed Leliaâs ear. Despite his warmth, Lelia felt strangely cold. Lelia took a step back and opened her door.
âThen I will go to sleep. You go back to your room.â
â⊠Yes, good night Lelia.â Griffith said, hiding his disappointment. Heâd like to be a little more sassy, but itâs probably dangerous right now. He didnât want to ruin their current relationship by making a mistake.
âYouâll get it soon anyway, so itâs better not to be hasty.â
His head was dizzy from the drink. It was difficult to drive out drunkenness even with divine power⊠In the first place, he had never had such a strong drink. If it wasnât Leliaâs uncle who offered the drink, he wouldnât have drank it.
âOh, andâŠâ
Before the door closed, Griffith caught Lelia. Lelia lifted her head and looked at Griffith.
â⊠Sooner or later, we will have to return to the neutral zone again.â
â⊠Okay.â
At Griffithâs words, Lelia nodded obediently. At that moment, Griffith almost couldnât resist his urge. How lovely it was the way she nodded her head with an attitude as if she would obey whatever he wanted.He tightened his clenched fists. He immediately wanted to drag Lelia into that room and dispel his urge to kiss her first. He wanted to push her to the point where she canât even breatheâŠ
Lelia looked anxiously at him, and then she closed her door. Shudder. When she escaped his vision, Griffith regained his sanity. He stood firm in front of the door for a long time, then left his regret behind and moved on.
***
Lelia entered her room and went straight to her bathroom. She drank only one sip and she remained a little drunk. Coming out after washing with cold water, her drunkenness disappeared. After she dried her hair, she walked in her room for a while before she stopped as if she had made up her mind.
âAlchemy.â
Yes
âI canât pretend to sleep⊠No. Is there any medicine that can keep me from falling asleep?â
Of course she is used to going to bed late, but lately she canât fall asleep easily⊠She was planning to stay up all night today. To do that, she needed some help.
Oh! ( êȘâêȘ)!! Itâs exam period, and youâre still playing? Are you falling asleep while your boss is watching?! If so, I recommend the âsuper-strong caffeineâ! (ă»_ă»)/
Lelia murmured âThank you,â and went through the recipe list. She had a lot of recipes, so she was quick to get help from Alchemy. She made sure that she had the ingredients, and she made the alchemy potion straight away and took it from the inventory. And as soon as she poured the pills into her mouth, the message appeared.
*(Side effect: I canât sleep for 3 days haha)*
No, why now⊠Lelia frowned and looked at the empty vial. If she knew itâs effectiveness, she would have drank a little⊠She chuckled for a moment, and then she lay down on her bed.
The efficacy was certain. Even though she was lying on the bed, she was clear of mind without feeling tired. She knew that, and as she tossed and turned for a while she thought about this and that, so she got up to lay down against the wall with the painting.
It was a picture of a beautiful landscape, and it has been hanging in Leliaâs room since her childhood. Lelia closed her eyes after she stared at the picture for a long time. She had her back facing the window. She pretended to be asleep, so she closed her eyes and increased her sense of touch. She tried to lower her steady, even breathing. Then, through her closed window, she began to hear a slight breeze, the sound of grass and bugs. She was sensitive to even the slightest sound. What she was waiting for was the invader of dawn.
âHe will definitely come.â
That day, after hearing Kalixâs words, Lelia was convinced. The scent of Oscar she felt in the morning was not a dream. As Kalix said, Oscar is not far from her. She thought that he would come to her room today, just as he did last night. Please, please. Lelia closed her eyes and clasped her hand as she longed and prayed. And at some point.
SshhhâŠ
The window opened silently, and the cold air of the dark night seeped into the room. A dark shadow slowly approached the bed. The movement was so quiet not even the slightest footsteps could be heard. But Lelia could notice the faint scent seeping into the tip of her nose.