Chapter 1 - Part 1
Huge thanks to Esme for the kofi!
Bonus Chapter (2/2)
My Childhood Friends Are Trying To Kill Me now has extra chapters up on kofi-shop! Buy them now, only at https://ko-fi.com/rainofsnow/shop ! Tier 1 with 3 advance chaps is for 5$, tier 2 with 7 advance chaps is for 12$, and tier 3 with 10 advance chapters is for 18$~
***
Meanwhile, Ruth was having a good time with Julianna. The two had recently started dating, but had yet to officially reveal their relationship, so they were meeting secretly.
Princess Julianna made it seem like she had invited him to a tea party with the ladies.
However, there were only two people at the tea party – Ruth and Julianna.
A small garden decorated with a pretty tea table.
Even though it seemed sweet even without dessert, Julianna’s expression was not good.
That was due to the news brought by the servant this morning.
‘That’s ridiculous.’
It was okay to say that Cedric and Damien coerced Sir Raymond into a duel.
‘My brothers are on my side, too.’
Princess Julianna’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed as she listened.
“Sir Griffith suddenly showed up and said he would box them instead! But the princes’ were hit and collapsed…”
“No way! How dare he hurt the Imperial Princes!”
“Of course, afterwards, he cast a healing spell with divine power and went back…”
The servant replied, restless.
And yet, Julianna was dumbfounded.
[If he hadn’t used his powers, but left them alone to heal, would the crime have not disappeared?]
Hearing the story, Griffith must be mentally challenged, Julianna thought.
How dare he do something to the royal family?
Of course, she heard that he was also a member of the royal family, but this is the Aurarian Empire. How dare he do that to the princes of the Imperial City!
She was angry about it and was talking to Ruth.
Her heart ached at the thought of her brothers, who must have been hurt for her pride.
Ruth kindly consoled her and blamed Griffith together with her.
Then the story switched to Sir Raymond.
As the two decided to meet seriously, they decided to use honorifics when they were alone for the future.
Even though she was angry, Julianna spoke firmly in her language.
“What a loyal, cowardly man! I thought he was a good person. He didn’t even bother me, yet he called Griffith to insult them?”
“……”
She was so angry that she began to criticize Sir Raymond continuously, but there was no answer from Ruth.
‘You agreed with me when I criticized Griffith, didn’t you?’
“You’re on my side, right?”
Julianna became a little sulky. When she pouted and crossed her arms, Ruth panicked.
“Oh, no, no! It’s just that… Sir Raymond wouldn’t have thought much. Unlike Griffith, Sir Raymond is not such a bad guy.”
“… Do you really think so?”
“In fact, I had a lot of help from Sir Raymond before I confessed to the Princess.”
Julianna’s eyes narrowed at the words.
She urged him to go into more details. Ruth was embarrassed but gave a rough explanation of their meetings.
After hearing the whole story like that, Julianna laughed dumbfoundedly.
Now that she knew, she seemed to have completely misunderstood from the beginning.
Julianna’s face turned red.
But that didn’t mean Sir Raymond was a normal person.
He was shameless and a flirt.
A few days ago, Cecil, a maid of Julianna’s, suddenly came and cried.
Cecil had secretly had Sir Raymond in mind before the ball.
The reason why she cried, however, was because of a strange rumor.
She wondered if there was a secret rumor going around between Sir Raymond and Miss Grace, but it was a completely different one.
Instead, it was a relationship between Prince Romeo of the Roseberry Empire and Sir Raymond, who were staying as guests at the castle.
At the maid’s words, Julianna was devastated.
At the same time, she was reluctant to believe. So, she didn’t want Ruth to hang out with him anymore. But she was angry because Ruth kept taking his side.
Sir Raymond or her.
She wanted to tell him to choose right away, but Julianna held back.
Then, Ruth said, “Sir Raymond is not such a bad man, by the way. I was so thankful that I even gave him my favorite treasure. I was supposed to give it to you…”
“… What’s that?”
Julianna’s forehead wrinkled. He gave him what he was supposed to give her?
Don’t tell me, Prince Romeo is not enough, so he’s trying to seduce Ruth in a strange way.
Suddenly, she felt anxious.
“It’s… it’s actually something I’ve cherished since I was a kid, but it’s a temple item.”
Ruth began to elaborate on the gift he had handed over to Sir Raymond.
While listening to the story, Julianna’s expression darkened.
“But if it’s a holy item, it’s worth giving to the temple! How could you give a gift to such a man?!”
“I know, but at the time, I thought I should give it to him for some reason..”
“If you had given it to me, I would have kept it dear and donated it to the temple. But Lord Raymond might sell it to a stranger. What if they go and hold Sir Ruth accountable at the temple?”
“……!”
Ruth’s expression crumpled at the words. There was a sudden surge of anxiety in him.
Julianna agonized for a moment and whispered to him.
***
She couldn’t believe she had to take these four men to the Superion estate.
There was a lot of work to be done at the estate.
First of all, there was grandmother, grandfather, aunt and uncle.
Yet in the midst of that, she can’t believe she would have to pay attention to these four.
She had a lot on her mind. On the other hand, her heart thumped as if pleased.
To be honest, she was worried but happy.
[I don’t have to be away from my friends.]
Until she earns 100 billion shillings, it would be better if her friends could stay with her without doubting her.
At that time, Romeo, who stopped quarreling with Kalix, said, adjusting his clothes,
“Oh, by the way, there’s a strange rumor going around between you and me.”
“What?”
Lelia asked in bewilderment.
Romeo was clearly pointing at himself with his fingers.
[Romeo and I have a strange rumor?]
“You and I like each other.”
“……!”
When surprised by the words, Kalix giggled and laughed.
“No way! You two?”
“I know. Anyway, don’t laugh at me for a while. I understand that you smile when you see me because I’m so handsome, but don’t do that, okay?”
At Romeo’s request, Lelia nodded unexpectedly.
Griffith also crumpled his brows as if he was offended.
“I think it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman.”
At that time, Oscar, who sat next to Lelia, said in a nonchalant voice.
At that point, Kalix and Romeo leapt away from Oscar. Griffith also looked at him with a grimace. But Oscar smiled at Lelia with a nonchalant face.
“By the way, is Lelia your real name?”
“…Yes.”
Kalix, who was pretending to be nauseous, was surprised and sat down at the table.
“What? Poor thing! Ah…! Your mother gave you a womanly name because she had to hide you since you were a kid!”
“…Yes.”
“But, well, it’s not bad! It sounds like a man’s name, but it’s okay. Don’t be discouraged.”
Kalix reached out and disheveled her hair as if comforting her.
When Oscar asked with his eyes what the story was about, Kalix posed, saying, “Ah!”
He was trying to talk in earnest.
Lelia touched her forehead in advance.
Kalix began to speak about the unfortunate past of Lelia.
Lelia’s mother gave birth to a baby and raised her as a daughter because she was afraid that her son would be harmed by the then precarious throne.
What a sad story to tell.
When she saw the pure and innocent Kalix, Lelia sighed.
After talking about her childhood, Kalix brought up the story of Lelia being suspected before the emperor.
“Then! Suddenly, what she did was!”
Then he extended his forearm and began to elaborate.
“Hey, how big is he? I don’t think I can take off my pants in front of the Emperor! Can you take it off? Huh?”
Everyone shook their heads at his words.
Lelia wanted to faint.
“Who knows if he’s really Leo’s brother?”
“……”
Throughout the story, Oscar was smiling, covering his mouth with his large, white hand.
Lelia felt uncomfortable with Oscar’s eyes. Because he has eyes that can see through everything.
He may have noticed all the facts. If it were just that, she’d rather say to Oscar, “Thank you for recognizing me.”
But she didn’t feel that way at all.
Oscar’s eyes watching her seemed to be filled with betrayal and hatred. So she felt uncomfortable.
“Anyway, we better leave the Imperial Castle as soon as possible.”
Lelia leapt to her feet, avoiding Oscar’s gaze. She felt like she was getting more and more strangled by his star, and she wanted to avoid it.
“Yeah, well, let’s leave tomorrow at latest.”
At Romeo’s words, Lelia nodded her head and ran to her room as if to run away.
***