My Childhood Friends Are Trying To Kill Me

The door to the drawing room opened and the brown-haired woman entered while supporting an elderly woman. As soon as she saw the old woman’s face, Lelia’s body turned stiff. The old woman’s eyes were red at the edges. 

“… … .”

The weak-looking old woman stopped walking as soon as she saw Lelia. She narrowed her eyes in disbelief. Soon after, the Duke of Superion also entered the drawing room. The old woman, with her luscious red hair, inhaled deeply and rushed towards Lelia. 

“Oh, Elizabeth… my daughter… Elizabeth… .”

Seeing Lelia gave her strength and she hugged the little child. 

“Elizabeth… my daughter…”

Lelia, who was blinking rapidly, finally couldn’t hold back her tears and began to sob and cry. The old red haired woman began to sob and cry as well. She murmured incessantly as she hugged Lelia’s back in an unstable way.

“My daughter… my daughter… .”

“What is going on Father?”

The brown-haired woman is Atias, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Superion. She looked at her father with a confused expression.

“Father… ?”

Atias turned to look at the Duke of Superion. She couldn’t believe it. Was her father crying right now?

The Duke of Superion was a very cold-hearted person. He would show weakness in front of his wife, but never in front of his children.

Atias looked at the little girl her father had brought back, unable to comprehend.

‘She’s Elizabeth’s… ?’

Elizabeth was her deceased older sister. Her memory of her was hazy, as she had seen and met her only when she was very young.

She said, “Is she a look-alike?”

Atias tilted her head. It may be that her father had purposely brought a child who looked like her dead sister.

Maybe her mother was not in good health after all.

Her mother’s health began to deteriorate after the death of her older sister, Elizabeth, who had gone to the Imperial palace.

Duchess Lysandra, who had been holding Lelia the whole time, turned her head to look at the Duke.

She said in an ecstatic voice.

“Honey, Elizabeth is back! See, my daughter couldn’t have died. She came back so healthy.”

Lysandra wiped the tears from her wrinkled cheeks and looked at Lelia.

With a gentle touch she stroked Lelia’s cheek.

“My daughter, isn’t it nice to be back. I’m really happy. This mother can’t ask for anything more. Right?”

Lelia’s face, which had been tearful before, became increasingly hard.

Lelia looked at the Duke of Superion, who was crying silently, with a questioning expression.

The ignored Atias walked towards the Duchess.

“Mom, calm down. Please sit down first. It’s not good if you get excited.”

“Yes… It’s all right now. Now that Elizabeth is back, everyone is fine.”

“…….”

“Doctor, I’m getting better soon, aren’t I?”

The Duchess murmured tonelessly. Atias seated her on the sofa as if she were familiar with it.

When Lelia saw the interaction and realized.

[She has dementia.]

Duchess Lysandra wasn’t mentioned in detail during the original, so Lelia had thought she was already dead.

Once again, tears welled up.

The Duke of Superion said to his daughter; “Atias, when your eldest brother arrives, send him a message asking him to come back to the castle.”

“Yes, Father…”

“Ask him to not bring his wife and children, have him come alone.”

“I know…”

Atias nodded her head and left her seat to send the letter.

She glanced at Lelia, as if she couldn’t understand.

“My daughter, come and see me. Why are you so fat, huh?”

Lysandra pulled Lelia towards her and made Lelia sit on her lap. Then she started stroking Lelia’s head and cheek.

As Atias left the drawing room, Duke Superion came closer and sat across from them.

“Grandfather…”

Lelia looked at the Duchess as she called to him, he nodded his head slightly.

“Yes… she’s your grandmother. After she lost Elizabeth, she became sick.”

“Ethereal disease?”

“Yes, it is a disease that often occurs in older people. Since it cannot be cured even by divine power, it is called Ethereal disease.”

“…”

Lelia narrowed her eyes.

The divine power with the magic of healing was not omnipotent, as previously thought.

It was difficult to resurrect the dead, regenerate amputated limbs, or cure long-standing diseases.

Mental illnesses related to the brain also could not be cured, and this caused heretics to doubt the divine power since a long time ago.

The temple coined the word ‘Ethereal disease’ to avoid suspicion.

It is not God’s will to resurrect the dead, and it is God’s will not to be able to regenerate the body.

In the past diseases that could not be cured by divine power were considered “God’s punishment”.

Mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, and dementia, also couldn’t be cured by divine power, so they were all considered “Ethereal disease.”

It’s not God’s punishment, but it’s an inevitable disease fated by God.

As a result some people really fell into heresy.

There were many people, with incurably sick family members, who studied or believed in alchemy. 

They met with a lot of alchemists to try and find a way to cure their family members, but there was no way.

[T/N: I think Ethereal disease refers to incurable illnesses. That it is believed to be fated by God, thus it can’t be cured by divine healing or alchemy.]

The same was true of the Duke of Superion.

He was a man of great power, so it would not have been difficult to avoid the eyes of the temple and contact alchemists.

Lelia looked worried, and the Duke of Superion smiled kindly, telling her not to worry.

“I thought you’d know at a glance after my wife saw you…”

When Lelia heard his words, she turned around and looked at Lysandra who was holding her.

Her red hair had strands of gray hair and her face was wrinkled. Still, she was very elegant and beautiful.

Lelia gazed at Lysandra and looked for her mother.

The Duchess is probably the most similar to her mother left in this world.

Lelia hugged Lysandra with a strange sense of envy and happiness.

“All right, my daughter. Your mother missed you a lot. How are you here now, eh?

Lysandra seemed to have returned to when Elizabeth was Lelia’s age, soothing Lelia and putting her lips to her forehead.

Lelia enjoyed the happiness without worrying for a while.

Before she knew it; the Duchess, who was holding Lelia, fell asleep.

Lelia got down carefully from her knees.

“You must be tired from crying a lot.”

The Duke of Superion nodded at Lelia’s words.

“Hey, Grandpa. Are you planning to tell my mother’s brothers the truth?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. It will not be known to Emperor Perseus.”

“…….”

“I can never let you go to him… He’s a man who doesn’t deserve to be a husband, nor a father,” declared the Duke of Superion. 

There seemed to be a lot of resentment towards Emperor Perseus.

Lelia thought for a moment.

“Grandpa, can I stay here until I grow up?”

“You’re asking me the obvious. I have no intention of letting you go, even after you become an adult.”

Lelia was relieved by those loving words.

One of the things she had made up her mind to do when she left the palace had come true. 

To survive safely until adulthood.

There’s only one goal left for Lelia.

That is to find the other half of the sacred object that the original stories “Hero” will get and remove the magic of the Golden Words.

[T/N: The previous paragraph is referring to the sacred object, the watch, which Lelia found in her mother’s cabin.  Lelia has a half of it, and the hero of the story has the other half.]

After that, she wanted to visit her friends, confess the truth and ask for forgiveness.

[But in order to do so…]

Lelia looked at the strong and most reliable Duke of Superion.

[The future of the original story must be changed.]

She had already prevented her own death, so this is also possible.

Lelia knew the reason why the Duke of Superion was considered immortal and called the “Indestructible Fort”.

[T/N: By indestructible fort it means, he was very strong and powerful.]

The Duke of Superion patted her head pitifully at the look on her worried face.

“Don’t worry about anything. This old man will protect you at the risk of his life.”

“Yes, Grandpa…”

Lelia nodded her head and made a vow.

She will break the magic spell of the Golden Words and protect her family’s future at the risk of her own life. She wanted to change the future as soon as possible and meet her friends. 

[Don’t be too sad and wait a little bit, guys. I’ll make sure to ask for forgiveness.]

Sending heartfelt thoughts to her friends, Lelia fell into the arms of her grandfather.

Her grandfather and grandmother’s hug felt as warm as her mother’s, to the point where she wanted to cry.

***