Chapter 56 — What Happened to Leo
Chapter 56 — What Happened to Leo
Translation: Godtl
An old conversation passed through the four people's minds.
"By the way, whose birthday is it? A secret girlfriend?"
"What girlfriend! It just is. A very precious friend."
"More than... us?"
"How could that be... hmm. Maybe it could be. Since I've known them since I was very young. But you don't need to feel slighted. Oscar, you're also a precious friend to me."
Lelia quickly read their expressions.
The blade that seemed like it would cut her throat at any moment slowly lowered.
The silver-haired man had a confused expression.
As a way to explain came to mind, Lelia spoke immediately without thinking.
"Y-You're Leo's friends, right? I was very close to him. S-So I heard a lot about you all."
"......"
Griffith glared at Lelia with sharp eyes again. It was a look that said he absolutely couldn't believe her.
"Then what about the fountain pen? Why do you have it?"
Romeo asked.
It hurt to lie again in front of her friends, but she couldn't help it now.
'First, I need to survive.'
"Leo... gave it to me before he died. The rabbit doll too!"
"......"
At Lelia's words, Griffith, Romeo, and the silver-haired man's expressions became subtle.
Just then.
Kalix, who had been in the corner and hard to see, walked over.
He narrowed his eyes and glared at Lelia.
"......"
Lelia stared blankly at his entire face, then gazed into Kalix's eyes.
'So it ended up like that.'
In the original work, Kalix lost both eyes in a battle with the mad dragon. This time was no different.
"Kalix..."
When Lelia murmured his name with pity, surprise filled their expressions.
"How do you know my name?"
"...That's."
Lelia explained while holding back tears that felt like they would burst.
"Leo... told me. About his friends. After returning from the temple, he talked about those times every day."
The real Lelia couldn't tell anyone the truth.
But if she had someone to talk to, she would have held onto them and only talked about those days.
Like someone who lives their whole life with memories of those days.
Lelia slowly looked at their faces and called their names.
"Kalix, Romeo, Griffith, and..."
"......"
"Um... Oscar... isn't it?"
Lelia asked cautiously.
The silver-haired man glared at her without answering, then abruptly left the room.
Bang!
Lelia shrank her shoulders at the sound of the old door slamming roughly.
Griffith snorted at Lelia and muttered.
"You could have heard the names anywhere. Now anyone can know those names."
"True... but more importantly, why did Leo send your name in a letter?"
Romeo asked, looking very suspicious. Lelia explained earnestly.
"...Maybe it meant to ask you to take good care of me?"
Actually, she had trusted Griffith and Romeo...
Lelia continued speaking.
"Leo... said that even when he was at the temple, he always celebrated his friends' and my birthdays together. That's how much he cherished me..."
Lelia's words had sufficient credibility. Romeo and Griffith's furrowed eyebrows twitched a little.
The fact that they celebrated that birthday together every year was a story only the five friends knew.
If Leo hadn't told her, she could never have known.
Lelia glanced at Kalix.
'It doesn't seem like his eyesight is completely gone yet.'
Kalix closed and slowly opened his eyes as if in pain. He seemed to be struggling from the sudden pain in his eyes.
"How can we believe your words? Then tell me. Why exactly did that guy die. Who, why, killed him. Where is that culprit now."
Kalix spoke with tension in his jaw, barely pushing through the pain.
Lelia slowly traced her memories. She had to tell only the truth as much as possible.
She recalled what she had heard from her grandfather and uncle belatedly and spoke.
"Count Heter... had a grudge against Emperor Lydios. So he poisoned Crown Prince Leo, and Emperor Lydios, knowing this, brutally slaughtered Count Heter. Right after that, the rebellion occurred."
"...Poor guy."
Kalix covered his face with his palm as if in pain.
Seeing that, Lelia's heart ached sorely.
"I still can't believe your words."
Romeo said, distorting his eyes. Lelia thought again.
What words would make them believe this?
"...Leo told me everything about his time at the temple. Almost dying from wolves on the mountain, learning to swim together, everyone calling him 'Captain.'"
"......"
Their solid doubts began to crack.
Even Oscar, who was sitting outside the door listening.
"...He told you about what happened on the mountain?"
Kalix asked.
"...Yes. That the one who sent the wolves was the Emperor of the Ascard Empire, too. And that they agreed to keep that fact secret."
The day wolves appeared on the mountain and they almost died.
What happened that day was a secret only the five knew.
"Why did Leo tell you such stories?"
"...Because Leo and I were very close. We were precious cousins to each other."
Of course, it was a lie.
In reality, Leo used to run at Lelia whenever he saw her, saying he'd practice his kicks on her.
But the lie had an effect.
Now they seemed to somewhat believe Lelia's words.
"Then you're saying that sending your name really meant to ask us to take care of you?"
Griffith still seemed suspicious.
Lelia nodded uncomfortably.
"Probably..."
"...You didn't somehow find out Leo's secrets and then kill him?"
"......"
"Count Heter? The fact that we haven't been able to find out that name while investigating all this time, doesn't that mean you're lying?"
Lelia sighed deeply.
"Only some high-ranking nobles would know about Count Heter. Since an implicit gag order was issued about everything that happened during Lydios's time as emperor, everyone would have avoided speaking about it."
Lelia's words were true. Even after arriving in Auraria, the four couldn't uncover exactly what happened back then.
Moreover, Emperor Perseus killed all of Lydios's people without a shred of mercy.
It was safe to say that almost no one knew specifically about what happened then.
"...Then what's the probability that Emperor Perseus is the culprit who killed Leo?"
Griffith asked.
"...That's not likely. Count Heter was not at all Perseus's person. It was because of his grudge against the former Emperor Lydios."
What Lelia was saying was all true.
It was a story she heard from her grandfather's mouth.
Perhaps Lelia's words were persuasive. Before long, the ropes binding her hands and feet were untied.
Lelia received dozens more questions after that.
As she recited stories that only five people could have shared, the suspicion on their faces gradually began to fade.
However, Oscar and Griffith still seemed to view Lelia with suspicion.
Lelia even showed the fountain pen she had kept in her bosom.
"If I had killed Brother Leo, wouldn't there have been no need to cherish these things so preciously...?"
At those words, Griffith could say nothing.
Unsatisfied with just that, Lelia returned to her quarters and showed them the rabbit doll and letters as well.
The items containing memories with friends were clearly well-maintained. One could tell at a glance how carefully she had cherished these things.
Seeing items far better preserved than their own, they erased their remaining suspicions.
However, cold suspicion still lingered in the corners of Oscar's eyes.
Thus, five hours after leaving her quarters, Lelia was finally able to eat brunch as originally planned.
A small brunch cafe tucked away in an alley.
Inside the shop, decorated with a cozy and charming interior, several large men were gathered and seated.
Not only was everyone carrying swords at their waists, but one man even had an enormous greatsword casually draped across his back.
The shop owner kept glancing nervously at them, worried they might cause trouble.
"Leo was truly a good guy...."
"Poor fellow."
Lelia stuffed bread into her mouth while listening to yet another compliment about herself.
She was happy and glad to meet her friends, but she had been so hungry she couldn't take it anymore.
Perhaps because she had starved so often as a child, Lelia found hunger the hardest thing to endure.
Beyond the four men's gloomy faces, only Lelia diligently worked her fork.
"I heard your life has been quite tumultuous as well."
Kalix said, looking at Lelia. She merely nodded.
Earlier, overwhelmed by her friends' barrage of questions, Lelia had told them her story.
It wasn't about the Perseus Emperor, but simply about why she had fled the imperial castle as a child.
"After Leo died... while I was grieving, a rebellion broke out. Emperor Perseus hated me, and so did the princes.... I ran away because I was afraid of being forced into a political marriage with an older noble."
Hearing that, the four of them cursed Princes Cedric and Damian for a while.
As Lelia finished her meal, Kalix, who had been contemplating, spoke up.
"Alright. The captain must have cherished you enough to leave your name in his final words. It was surely meant to ask us to protect you."
"...."
When Lelia glanced around cautiously, Kalix surveyed his friends' expressions as if asking for their agreement.
Romeo, Griffith, and even Oscar nodded slightly.
Kalix placed his large hand heavily on her shoulder and spoke. The hand was so heavy her shoulder seemed to sink.
"If you're Leo's little sister, then you're our little sister too. You can call us your brothers."
"...."
A vein bulged on Lelia's forehead.
What...? Call them what?
The emotion of reuniting with friends was brief.