Chapter 99

She was so surprised that she couldn’t say anything with her mouth open.

Kalix approached her with his tongue clenched and looked her up and down.

His wobbly expression got worse.

“Hey, by the way… I think it’s pretty good. People might think you are a real woman.”

Meanwhile, Griffith and Romeo looked at Oscar over Lelia’s shoulder with cold eyes.

Lelia looked at her friends who gathered together again and soon touched her forehead.

[No… How… Why on earth….?]

She was glad to see them again, but… she had a headache when she thought of her grandfather, Uncle Carius, grandmother, aunt and Uncle Zenon.

[How can I explain this?]

And for now, more than that… How the hell did you guys get here?

“How did you know about this place?”

Lelia asked Romeo. He just shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.

“I’ll have to hear your explanation of why you left us like you were the only ones running away.”

Griffith, who was sitting still, answered the question with a cold voice.

“It’s not just the two of us who left… I left alone and Oscar followed me.”

Right then, Oscar’s forehead wrinkled near when she said “followed.”

“Then why did you leave alone? Is it because you’re hiding something from us?”

“……”

Griffith got up from his seat and walked toward Lelia.

Just as he was approaching, Oscar, who was standing behind Lelia, suddenly stepped forward and blocked him.

Oscar lightly pushed Griffith’s chest away as he was trying to get closer.

Griffith laughed as if he was dumbfounded.

Romeo’s expression also became serious from the way Oscar acted.

The air in the drawing room became heavy with unknown tension. Lelia’s eyes were also wide open in surprise, too.

Kalix was the only one free from the tension.

Griffith asked with a frown, “What are you doing, Oscar?”

“Stay away from her.”

“What?”

“Stay away from Lelia.”

Oscar murmured like a wooden doll, repeating the same thing.

When the two stared at each other with strange eyes, Lelia became embarrassed.

[Why, why… Now…]

[Why are you two fighting?]

Romeo, who felt worse, got up from his seat and changed the subject.

“More than that, Lelia, we noticed they were looking for you in the temple on your way.”

“What?”

“It looks like two people have accused you – Princess Julianna and Ruth Castril. That you made a fake sacred object and stole the real thing.”

“… Ha!”

Lelia was dumbfounded. She kind of expected it, but… she never thought they would file a complaint with the temple so soon.

“Maybe it’s because you’re disguised as a relative of mine, but they ran into me on the way and questioned me.”

“……”

Lelia passed Oscar and Griffith, who were still in a silent fight, and approached Romeo.

[Don’t tell me they are following Romeo from the temple.]

“I told them where you are. Sir Raymond has returned to his home country.”

“Oh…”

“By now, the temple must have left for the countryside of the Roseberry Empire.”

Lelia let out a sigh of relief.

“As expected of Romeo!”

Lelia held his hand with pure gratitude.

Romeo’s expression was very bright at the compliment.

“That’s why you left alone, right?”

“……”

Lelia nodded her head. It’s been like this for a long time, but Romeo is… she couldn’t fool him.

“Yeah, yeah, how hard it must have been. So why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Romeo sat Lelia next to him and tapped her on the shoulder.

Oscar and Griffith were staring at Lelia and Romeo.

Kalix approached Lelia and said, while plopping at the table in front of her, “Poor boy. Why didn’t you tell me? You’re my brother now! But why do you carry that heavy burden alone?”

“……”

“And… I saw it.”

Kalix lowered his gaze with a heavy expression.

[He saw it out of the blue… What?]

Kalix, who hesitated to say something for a while, soon raised his head.

It was then.

[Final quest complete!] ✧*.◟(ˊᗨˋ)◞.* Rewards are received!]

Messages popped up one after another, announcing the completion of the final quest.

She has completed Kalix’s likability quest to the end! Lelia looked with delight at the fading message window.

“You… left a bottle of medicine for me, didn’t you? What a loyal fellow.”

Kalix put his hand on her shoulder with a look of emotion.

But the hand was tapped by Oscar, who suddenly appeared next to them.

Kalix smiled at Lelia, regardless of whether Oscar liked it or not.

“……”

But Lelia’s expression was not good. Her forehead gradually became distorted.

Each passing moment… There was despair appearing on Lelia’s face.

At that moment, Lelia jumped up, wrapped her hands around Kalix’s cheeks, and put her face right in front of him.

“……!!”

Next to him, she heard Romeo gasping for breath in surprise.

Romeo was surprised thinking that Lelia was about to kiss Kalix.

The surprise was the same for Oscar and Griffith.

But Lelia, holding onto Kalix’s face, approached closely and looked into his eyes.

It was as close as her nose could reach.

The most surprised was Kalix.

“……”

Kalix also thought that Lelia was trying to kiss him.

No matter how much he thinks of him as his own brother….

Kissing? That’s not right, is it?

He wanted to push her away, but…

He couldn’t move at all.

[T/N: Don’t move! >.>]

As Lelia’s eyes searched Kalix’s, he felt suffocated.

No, why is he so powerful…

Her heart pounded.

Lelia, who surprised everyone with her mysterious behavior, soon bit her lips hard. Her expression was distorted with pain.

By the time Oscar couldn’t take it anymore and tried to separate the two, Lelia opened her mouth.

“… You can’t see through your left eye right now, right?

“….”

Kalix’s face, as she hit the nail on the head, hardened like ice.

***

The atmosphere was heavy. Outside the window, it began to rain. As the sky darkened, the servants in the castle hurried to light everywhere. Lelia leaned against the window in the drawing room and looked at her friends sitting with serious looks on their faces. After she recognized Kalix’s condition and spoke about it, Kalix remained silent like a clam.

“It’s suspicious that every time I ask you, you say you’re fine.”

Romeo mumbled, touching his forehead.

“Come with me to the neutral zone and find a way.”

Even at Griffith’s suggestion, Kalix remained still. Oscar also had a mixed look on his face.

As she glanced at them, Lelia glared at the screen in the air. The darkest expression in the room, by far, was Lelia’s.

Just a moment ago, Lelia checked the production of the recipe as a reward. To fix Kalix as soon as possible, she had to hurry up with the production.

Immortality Eye Recovery Medication

– List of materials required

– Decision of kiss of love (0/1)

What the hell is ‘Decision of kiss of love’?

The ingredient was weird.

She tried to enter the special store, but it didn’t open after the update notice was posted.

Lelia glanced at Kalix with an uneasy look.

[I don’t think I’m gonna get an item by kissing Kalix. No, right?]

“……”

Lelia turned a blind eye to the system window that appeared in front of her. She didn’t think it would help much.

As if it read her mind, Alchemy posted a series of message windows as if she were protesting.

At that moment, a larger message window appeared with a terrible sound effect.

Maybe it was because of the rain outside, but she suddenly felt scared.

[… I didn’t ignore your advice. So what advice are you gonna give me this time?]

[Let’s see.]

She kind of expected it, but… Recognizing that it was a real situation, her heart became heavier.

“……”

Lelia turned her eyes towards the outside of the window.

Kalix was in worse shape than she thought. To fix his eyes, as soon as possible…

[Kissing?]

[Oh, is the cheek or the back of the hand okay?]

“……”

At the confirmation from Alchemy, Lelia put her forehead on the cold window and closed her eyes.

***

Kalix remained silent until the end, and Lelia saw a carriage approaching her place through the window.

She hurried to her friend’s.

First of all, just in case…

As Lelia was about to say something, Romeo spoke first.

“Don’t worry. You can just introduce us to your family as your friends. As a matter of fact…”

“……”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of everything else.”

Lelia was relieved by Romeo’s assuring words. Kalix was pouting his lips with a sulky look.

It seemed to be Uncle Carius who came back in the carriage.

“Lelia, you have a visitor?”

The door of the drawing room burst open, and her uncle, whose shoulders were slightly wet in the rain, entered.

***