My Childhood Friends Are Trying To Kill Me

…

Kalix Ascard closed his eyes in the carriage while returning to his home country.

He also had lingering feelings of separation. However, they would meet again at the Dragon Slaying army in a few years.

In fact, there was something more troubling than that.

It was strange.

“What the hell was that dream?”

Last night, Kalix had a strange dream.

It was not just a dream, but a dream as vivid as reality, but that day…

It was the  day he first met Leo, the Crown Prince of Auraria. It was also the first time in his life that he’d ever been on someone’s back. But in the dream, the child didn’t show up. He was alone in the mountain, and suddenly a wolf came rushing towards him. He managed to kill the beast, but in the process…

He lost one arm.

Even though it was a dream, the pain was vivid as if it had actually happened. After that, a wizard appeared with sand, and trapped him somewhere.

It was morning when he came to his senses, and he was found by the priests. He also saw Griffith with a shocked face.

But he couldn’t find the child. The kid, who climbed up and down the mountain carrying him, was much smaller than himself.

He never thought he’d get close to anyone, but he made four friends.

“…”

A weird guy.

Kalix recalled Prince Leo, with whom he had been hanging around for several days.

Even a few days ago he showed his tiny face to him, near his nose. 

Leo pinched Kalix’s cheek and said, “Remember my face, Kalix.”

“What, what are you doing? Are you crazy?”

“Look at me, you idiot!”

Kalix blinked in bewilderment. 

White and small face. He could see the green colored pretty eyes, pretty nose, and pink lips.

Leo was exceptionally pretty even though he was a man.

The others were pretty, too, but Leo looked more beautiful, perhaps because he was small and weak.

“I’ve seen it, and I don’t know what to do.”

Having said that, Leo didn’t fall on him.

So I asked jokingly.

“What the hell are you doing? Are my eyes that pretty?”

Did he fall in love? Kalix pushed Leo away, who was grossly clingy.

But Leo’s reply was unexpected.

“Yes, it’s pretty. Your eyes are so pretty. It’s pretty now, but it’ll be prettier later.”

“What… are you crazy?”

He thought Leo ate the wrong meal. However, Leo shrugged, casually stroked his hair, and walked away. 

When Kalix recalled what happened at the time, he felt strange. 

And he thought it was because of the dream that he had yesterday, because of Leo, that his arm was fine. Thanks to him. 

‘What the hell was this dream?’ 

Kalix looked out of the window with a strange expression.

There were his uncle, aunt and their children in his home country, who were eager to kick him out. They wanted to push him away, who had the right to become the successor. 

“I’ll go on my own.”

He didn’t even want to be in an imperial family anyway.

When he said that he would leave the Imperial Palace and become a mercenary, all of his friends shouted. All opposed the idea, but Leo alone had a different reaction. 

“Kalix, you’re going to be a mercenary? You have thought it well! You will be a mercenary better than anyone else!”

‘I wonder if it was because of his words…’

In the past, Kalix would have felt a bit of fear, but he wasn’t afraid at all this time for some reason. 

Not uncle, aunt or their children, who were trying to kill him. 

Now, he didn’t have to be afraid of anything. 

If it was about himself, he had a guy, who could carry and walk him through the dark mountains on a dark night. 

‘And also, there is that stupid doll.’

Kalix laughed as he thought of the little rabbit doll in his bag. It was the first time in his life that he had a doll. 

Kalix smiled a little and looked out the carriage window. The sun was rising.

***

[I’m back.]

“That’s right…”

Lelia looked up at the little tower in a strange mood, it was where she spent her short life three years ago.

The tower was very small in area. Up to the second floor was the size of an ordinary hut, and above it was a spiral staircase leading to the top.

But the door to the top had long been locked. She had never been up there, but it probably boasts a pretty beautiful view.

In the first place, this tower was built by someone of the royal family to see the constellations.

However, it was easy to see stars without going up particularly high. It was because there were no trees in the middle of the forest and the sky was clearly visible.

When she was a child, she once wished she could eat while looking at the falling stars.

‘By the way, no one seems to have maintained it.’

There were weeds growing around the small tower. Perhaps the inside would be even more horrifying.

[Let’s start with cleaning.]

Lelia bravely kicked the door.

“Ugh!”

As expected, the inside was like a dusty den. First, she opened the window, then moved aside. 

She had been dusting, sweeping, scrubbing, and using a hand pump to draw water from the faucet. 

She washed the old futon clean and dried it in the sun. Water finally trickled down from the dried futon on the ladder.

It looked like she would lose weight if she had worked the whole day.

“I have to sleep without a futon today.”

A 10-year-old girl ran around the tower.

Lelia sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

When she finished cleaning, she felt a lump in her throat as she felt proud. It was fair to say that this looked prettier than before.

It was easy to clean while she was in the temple, probably because she grew taller and stronger.

For Lelia, it was her home where she could return to, her hometown, and a haven to live in.

[Until I went into exile.]

From the earliest time she could remember, Lelia stayed here.

Perhaps until Iris was alive, Lelia was also an ordinary royal family. But not since the death of Empress Iris and the rebellion.

The people of the Imperial Palace were replaced and killed in large numbers, and the current emperor Lydios had no interest in his nephew, Lelia.

Emperor Lydios decided to repair the entire building where his late sister lived and make it a villa for the Empress.

In the process, Lelia and her nanny were driven out to a small tower. She had been here ever since.

Then one day, the nanny who was taking care of her suddenly disappeared overnight.

Since then, maids have sometimes come to feed them. However, most of the maids made her starve because they were not interested in Lelia either.

It was no different from abandoned dogs wandering along the street.

Still, Lelia was relieved that she had a house to return to.

***

After a few days. 

Lelia woke up in the soft blanket.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a cute rabbit doll. Even though she had no one who would take care of her, she had nothing to regret about.

Because she had a number of reasons…

First, she realized her past life. If it weren’t for her, she wouldn’t have been as determined as she is now. She probably would have been crying like a child.

Another reason was because of the food she had secretly gathered from the temple. If she saves it properly, she would have enough food for the rest of the winter.

And the last reason was this rabbit doll.

She said, “You did a good job by buying this doll.”

Even though she was alone, it was nice to keep it by her side as she felt like it was her friend, and felt like her friends were with her. 

“I slept well. Although it was a bit cold.”

Lelia jumped up and cleaned up the blankets and washed them.

The weather was cloudy and looked like it was about to snow. If she held on a little more, winter would be over.

And just before spring comes… 

‘When Prince Leo dies, the emperor will change.’

Prince Leo was steadily intoxicated and killed by Emperor Lydios’ closest aid.

The emperor was angry at the fact and tried to find his killer… 

Before searching for the culprit, Perseus’s soldiers would storm the castle.

‘It’s going to be a hell of a mess….’

Lelia looked at the scenery outside her peaceful window.

Honestly, she wanted to run outside the Imperial Palace right away, but she couldn’t.

It was dangerous for a 10-year-old girl to wander around the streets. It was hard to find a guardian to protect her until she was an adult.

‘Let’s wait patiently until the Emperor changes and everything becomes quiet.’

In fact, she was going to visit the secret cabin as soon as she got here, but she gave up.

This was because she confirmed that there were soldiers watching her while picking up branches in the forest for a few days.

‘I was going to bring some food from there….’

It would be better not to do anything suspicious until spring comes.

If she moved now, she might die due to suspicion of the Emperor.

Lelia sat at her desk and took out an empty sheet of paper from the temple with a fountain pen.

After Prince Leo dies, she won’t even be able to send them letters.

[I’ll try my best until then.]

Since she arrived here, she kept her letters well hidden, which she had given and received for several days. In fact, it would be safe to burn it down… but she couldn’t do that here. 

‘If they hear the news that Leo is dead, they will be sad…’

It was this problem that mentally bothered Lelia. 

But to save Prince Leo… It was already out of her hands. 

And if she spills the truth, she will vomit blood and die.