I'm the Friend of a Male Lead who went Crazy after the Female Lead Died

Thank you so much, A Voracious Reader, for the Kofi 😘.

 

 

These […] are flashbacks.

 

 

As Elshnain approached one of the portraits, Mikhail followed closely behind, saying,

“Yes. These are the portraits painted by the artist Lord Kilian urgently summoned shortly after the rift opened. Do you remember?”

“…….”

Shoot. I almost nodded; she thought, as she gulped nervously, and gave him a confused look, pretending not to understand.

Then, as she stared at the impertinent face in one of the portraits, a young voice echoed in her head.

[Elshnain, let’s come back one day. To this place.]

 The Killian in this painting was young, but his gaze was not.  Instead of the innocence of his age, a well-honed sharpness rested on his face.

He was a boy who carried the weight of the ‘Guardian title’ on his shoulders even before reaching adulthood, wielding a sword to save a whole continent.

Wasn’t it around the time when he had reached my height?

“I don’t remember. I don’t,” finally answered.

 “……I see,” Mikhail replied in a melancholic tone, then muttered: “The five of you used to gather in this room often. I had just started working as a squire under Sir Hillon then……. Ah, Sir Hillon is the former commander of the Haunbert’s knight order.”

Of course, Elshnain already knew that, but she still replied, “I see,” nodding her head.

“While I rarely had the chance to meet The Fives in person, I often heard stories about them from the knights,” Mikhail continued as he glanced at each portrait on the wall.

“Guardian Killian, Saint Arwen, Silver Mage Asherai, Divine Archer Peridot, and Purifier Elshnain.”

His gentle brown eyes lingered on the last portrait—the one depicting Elshnain.

Whether it’s back then or now, Elshnain’s appearance remained the same.

Her face showed no signs of aging. Yet, Mikhail showed no signs of surprise. Well, it was a natural reaction having witnessed her ageless appearance since his childhood.

I heard people at the Aeterna temple are still debating whether I was human or not; Elshnain briefly thought before going back to her portrait.

She remembered very clearly the day it was made.

[Hey, Peridot. What’s this? Are we being painted?]

 

[Asherai. That is called a portrait. Your lack of common sense never fails to amaze me.]

 

[Why do you always have to pick a fight, you halfwit?]

 

[Who are you calling halfwit, Halfwit?]

 

[Alright! Let’s settle things between us before we die, you rascal.]

As always, Asherai and Peridot started fighting as soon as they saw one another.

[Oh my goodness. To be able to capture Elshnain’s cuteness in a painting. What gave Sir Killian such a creative idea?] Arwen exclaimed as she grabbed Elshnain’s hands, blushing.

[So noisy,] Kilian said as he walked into the room, putting an end to the chaos.

But amidst the familiar pattern that had settled over the years, the atmosphere felt a bit uneasy on that particular day.

Even Elshnain, who never wavered despite knowing the future, felt somewhat unwell then.

 And well, she still wasn’t sure of the reason, but Killian’s eyes also looked a little sad that day.

 “Please have a seat for a moment. I’ll bring you some tea.”

As she briefly reminisced about the past, Mikhail, whose face seemed even more melancholic now, made his way to the kitchenette adjacent to the room where the portraits were.

In the center of the large hexagonal room, Elshnain sank into the plush looking sofa.

It really felt like she had gone back in time, sitting here like this.

Well, except for those portraits.

As she examined each of her former colleagues who were staring straight ahead, Elshnain stopped at one portrait.

It was Asherai’s; the one who gained the Silver Mage’s nickname because her long silvery hair would flutter whenever she used magic.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Elshnain’s mind.

Wait. With Asherai’s skills, can’t I fool Killian and escape on the New Year festival?

He possessed a power that was at odds with Killian’s divine power–Mana.

Since Mihail would be monitoring me, he could take my place while I follow Killian.

Elshnain, who had been calmly contemplating up to that point, abruptly stood up. And her loosely tied blue hair swayed from side to side because of the sudden movement.

Yes, that’s it!

With determination, she began walking briskly along the corridor.

“Mikhail! Thanks for the tour! I just remembered something I needed to do! I’ll go to my room first!”

“What? Lady Elshnain!”

Sensing Mikhail hastily following behind, Elshnain, in even more of a hurry, dashed towards her room.

* * *

As soon as Elshnain got to her room, she rummaged through the bag she had tucked away in a corner.

Hmmm, where is it?

 Since that incident eight years ago, she hadn’t been the only one who had concealed her presence.

Asherai and Peridot had also vanished from the continent.

Nevertheless, she had managed to stay in touch with both of them.

[Are you really going to do something so foolish, Elshnain?]

Due to Peridot’s disapproval of her plan, Elshnain didn’t get to see him often, but she still met with Asherai from time to time.

Well, that was because, to a certain extent, she needed Asherai’s help to revive Arwen.

  “Ah, here it is.”

The bag she had been rifling through originally belonged to Asherai.

 Now, it was hers.

And unless one was its owner, the bag would never reveal its contents.

After a short while, Elshnain finally retrieved what she had been looking for—a gray scroll.

[Elshnain. This is a summoning scroll. Call upon me once you reach the final step of your plan. Got it? Only when you think it’s the final part.]

She remembered how Asherai had handed this scroll to her with a pained expression on her face.

So, if I tear this up, I’ll summon Asherai, right?

 “Hmmm,” she muttered as she checked to make sure her room’s door was securely locked and closed the windows.

 Then, after taking a deep breath, she tore the scroll apart without hesitation.

Rip!

With a crisp sound, the scroll was torn in half, and a faint silver light immediately emanated from the shredded pieces.

D-Did I do it?

The cluster of light slowly spreads out in the air, forming a certain shape.

Elshnain gulped nervously as she watched the shimmering form with sparkling eyes.

watched with his eyes.

Huh?

However, the light suddenly wavered as if something had startled it, and with a snap, it disappeared.

“Huh?”

As a confused sound escaped her lips, the space next to her started to distort.

W-what is this?

And her eyes widened like saucers as a person walked through the distorted space–A man with slick back black hair, and red eyes.

“Elshnain?”

 It was Killian.

Shit.

Was this scroll supposed to summon Killian? She thought, greatly taken aback by his sudden appearance.

Stumbling on her words, she quickly hid the torn scroll behind her back, her hands trembling.

“K-Killian.”

 After inspecting Elshnain’s body, Killian looked around the room with his piercing and hostile eyes, before saying,

“The barrier was shaking.”

“Uh, uh-huh.”

Did the barrier sense the scroll’s magic?

Now that she looked closer, there was something emitting a white glow on Killian’s arm. It was a bracelet—one with the same design as the bracelet he gave her.

Oh. So, he can also teleport to me, Elshnain stated inwardly, realizing this new fact.

And truthfully, it wasn’t the most welcoming piece of information.

Smiling awkwardly, she circled around him.

“Ah, that’s……hmmm. I think it’s because I tore a scroll.”

“……The one you hid behind your back earlier?”

“Uh, yes.”

“What kind of magic was cast on that scroll?”

“So…. it’s…. hmmm a protective magic for the…. body?”

“…….”

At her words, Killian crossed his arms and stood there with a disapproving look on his face.

And it was evident, from the way he was tapping his index finger on his forearm, that he wasn’t satisfied with her answer.

“After losing… or rather erasing your memories, and being attacked by demons, it’s understandable that you’d be worried,” Killian admitted.

“Haha.”

“However, as I mentioned before, it would be nice if you could trust me when I say that you are safe now. My powers have all returned.”

Elshnain cautiously observed his reaction.

Luckily, he didn’t seem to have any questions regarding the scroll itself.

“Anyway. It’s great that we’ve coincidentally met like this. Now, we can wrap up our conversation before I leave for the New Year’s Festival.”

Huh? What conversation?

Elshnain sat down across from Killian.

 Did we have any unfinished conversation? She asked herself, blinking in confusion.

But the next words that soon came out of Killian’s mouth were even more surprising.

“The letter you wrote to yourself. What was written in that letter?” he asked.

Taken aback for a moment, Elshnain quickly turned away.

The lies she had hastily concocted back then were now forcing her to invent even more lies.

Flustered, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Oh, it was just explanations for the things I have in my bag.”

“…….”

Killian’s eyes narrowed.

 “Is that true?”

 “Yes. It really is. Trust me.”

Killian’s expression grew even colder as those words left her mouth. Staring intensely at her, he replied,

“I don’t want to trust you only to have the same thing happen again, Elshnain.”

His voice was dripping with hostility, causing Elshnain to tightly clench her fists as her head instinctively lowered in shame.

“So, don’t ask me to trust you.”

His whispering voice grew closer, casting a chilling shadow over her.

“If…If I were to trust you again and th…. and then something happens…….”

Huh?

The words were coming in fragments, barely audible, and disjointed.

Elshnain quickly jerked her head back up but only to find Killian staring down at her with eyes she never saw him look at her with.

Then, with a twisted smirk on his lips, he murmured softly,

“I don’t know what I might do.”