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

 

 

Elshnain’s face turned white.

What was he talking about! She had to go to the New Year’s Festival with him!

“W-why?” she asked.

At her words, Kilian put his fountain pen down, and instead of an answer, it was a question that came out of his mouth,

 “Is there any reason why you should participate in the New Year’s Festival?”

Elshnain’s eyebrows slightly furrowed at the unexpected question.

A reason? Of course, she had one!

But it’s a reason I can’t tell you.

A reason, a reason.

She needed to quickly find a plausible excuse for her presence there.

Yes! That’s right!

She licked her lips and scratched her cheek lightly before saying, “W-well, wouldn’t it be a bit dangerous here without you? With all those blood slaves and even demons roaming around……”

“That’s no longer a concern.”

“Uh?”

At her confused expression, Killian raised his index finger and pointed down. And as Elshnain followed his movement, the floor beneath them started to sink.

“I’ve cast a spell over the entire mansion.”

“A spell?”

“Yes.”

After saying that, Killian fell silent.

Elshnain, on the other hand, was blinking, dumbfounded.

There was no mention of a spell being cast on the mansion in the original story.

 Maybe it’s because Killian always stayed by Arwen’s side?

However, while Elshnain was puzzled by the sudden deviation from the original plot, Killian seemed to have interpreted her questioning expression differently.

“The reason the demons were able to infiltrate the mansion… was due to the aftermath of a previous incident,” he explained.

“Aftermath?” Elshnain asked, pretending not to know, even though she was aware of the incident.

“Yes. I lost my powers for a while.”

What? Not just his senses but his powers altogether?

Elshnain’s eyes widened at the unexpected information. He was only unable to use his supernatural senses in the book.

Then, that meant he relied solely on his swordsmanship during their previous encounter with the demon?…….

What an impressive fellow.

Wait……No…. This was not the time to be impressed.

“Now that I’ve fully recovered, the barrier around the mansion is flawless,” Killian added.

Meanwhile, Elshnain very preoccupied, who forgot that Killian was looking at her, had a serious expression on her face.

Let’s put the power thing on the side for now; she said inwardly.

   I must find a way to follow him to the festival. How can I do that? Wait, maybe I could use the bracelet’s power……!

“……In other words, this mansion is the safest place for you, Elshnain,” Killian voice suddenly rang in her ears, taking her out of her head.

And at his stern tone, Elshnain had no choice but to abandon the plan she had briefly considered just now.

There seemed to be no imminent threat that would require her to hastily use the bracelet and teleport away from the house Killian deemed absolutely safe.

So, Elshnain, who was entertaining the thought of following along even if she had to make up some stupid excuse afterwards, quickly dismissed that thought.

“Why didn’t you answer? Is there any other reason besides safety for attending the festival?” he asked, looking straight at her.

His scrutinizing gaze was intimidating.

It was the same one he had during their confrontation with Helena; the same look he gave her when he was trying to confirm that she had truly lost her memories.

Ah, what should I do?

Elshnain felt awkward under the interrogating and probing gaze.

 Trying to avoid his eyes, she answered,

“Ahaha. No, there isn’t.”

* * *

It’s strange.

“This is the annex, Lady Elshnain.”

“Ah, I see.”

Mikhail, with a face full of excitement, was leading the way. He had a genuine desire to show the mansion to Elshnain who had forgotten about it.

As she followed behind him, Elshnain began to seriously think about her concerns one after the other.

Why did he lose not only his senses but all his powers?

  It was also weird that a second-class demon infiltrated the mansion instead of the premeditated third-class one.

Alternatively, while Elshnain was in deep contemplation, Mikhail was tirelessly prattling on,

“There is a large space specifically dedicated to Lady Elshnain, and your former comrades, the ‘Five Stars,’ in the annex.”

Elshnain nodded solemnly at Mikhail’s hopeful voice.

She was well aware that in her absence, a place had been created in this annex to commemorate their past accomplishments. It was mentioned in the original story after all.

“There is also a memorial hall in the Aeterna temple, but it is a bit……. um, how should I say it. It feels a little distant, like, um …….” the knight said, struggling to find the right words.

“Too unrealistic?”

“Yes! Yes, exactly. Haha! Mikhail laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

Although her memories were a bit blurry, Elshnain had read and seen the memorial hall through Arwen’s perspective.

It was described as an overly embellished, sacred, and heroic biography.

Maybe from the Holy Empire’s perspective, their story should be told in such extravagant way.

The Empire, which was driven to the brink of destruction, had barely survived thanks to Saint Arwen, Guardian Killian, and their companions.

However, the land that the people had cultivated with their blood and sweat, turned into ruins, filled with corpses of monsters and neighboring foes.

So, the fleeting joy of survival soon gave way to sorrow.

In order to rebuild the Empire and unite its people, the prevalent choice at that time was to create heroes that people could look up to.

The Aeterna Empire, saved by god’s chosen heroes, was a great civilization that could not be allowed to crumble away.

As they continued to spread such propagandas, the cheesy “Five Stars’ name, and memorial hall were born.

And as part of the reconstruction project, wizards were hired to quickly build a massive memorial hall.

Truthfully, we didn’t just fight for and save the empire, we did it for the entire continent.

But the Holy Empire packaged the whole thing as being about their chosen civilization only.

When only Kilian and Arwen were humans out of the ‘Fives.’ Tsk.

Even though Elshnain was human in her first life, and was familiar with human’s way of thinking, she was no longer one of them.

So, she didn’t find it pleasant to be exploited for such propaganda by the Empire.

“Compared to the memorial hall in the temple, this place… it feels more affectionate.” Mikhail remarked.

Affectionate, uh?  I suppose it’s quite fitting for Killian.  Elshnain thought as she walked through the door Mikhail opened for her.

  It made sense for it to feel that way, since Killian was the one who built it.

Even though one of those comrades was his 12 year-long friend who kidnapped the woman he loved in the middle of a crucial and violent fight, and made it impossible for him to revive her.

As they passed through a short corridor, Elshnain asked in a casual tone,

“By the way, Mikhail.”

“Yes?”

“I heard that Killian was wounded in the kingdom of Dairn, and that injury was quite serious?”

If he truly had lost not only his sensory abilities, but also all of his powers for a while, she would need to seriously worry about the divergences from the original storyline.

She had to confirm it.

“Ahhh,” Mikhail let out as he turned his head slightly, scratching his cheek with his rough index finger. “It was such a mess that day.”

“Were there too many demons?”

“No, that guy was no match for Lord Killian . . .”

“What then?”

Did a stronger opponent than the one in original work appear again? Elshnain’s eyes narrowed as she recalled her previous encounter with Helena.

“Right after getting rid of the demon that had possessed the King’s body, Lod Killian suddenly . . .” the knight trailed off.

“Suddenly what?”

Mikhail’s complexion turned pale as he recalled the event. His shoulders even trembled slightly, as if the memory was dreadful.

“He unleashed all his divine power?”

“What?”

“Well, um,” Mikhail discreetly observed Elshnain’s reaction, before adding. “You’ve done something similar before. I was wondering if you felt some, well, side effects. And in the end, thanks to that we were able to find you, my Lady. Even though you have lost your memory, Hehe.”

As Mikhail continued to talk, Elshnain’s face turned a shade paler.

Unleashing one’s powers—it was secret technique only priests or paladins would perform at the risk of their lives. Without being crazy, no one would ever engage in such a thing.

Ah, he’s already gone mad.

If it’s the demon who had taken the king of Dairn’s appearance, then it must be the place she saw when her consciousness went to Killian.

Speaking of which, she was unable to tell him exactly where she was at that time since her soul was dragged back.

 Did he do that because of me?

He almost lost his life because of her, didn’t he?

When one unleashes their divine power, they temporarily deplete said power in exchange for a sudden and significant increase in their abilities for a moment.

But those abilities are simultaneously lost during the recovery of divine power.

So, he unleashed his powers to increase his abilities just to not lose my trail.

Elshnain’s face turned even paler.

That’s how strong his obsession with Arwen was.

Ultimately, things ended just like in the book, only the demons didn’t cause his injuries; I did.

With a touch of remorse, Elshnain lowered her head as a distant shape gradually drew closer. They seemed to have covered quite a distance.

The original story keeps changing ever since Arwen failed to wake up. What is going on?

Elshnain rolled those thoughts in her head before letting out a long sigh.

Let’s first think about how to go to the New Year‘s Festival.

Stressing over it now wouldn’t bring her an answer, anyway.

First, she had to take care of the New Year’s party.

To know your enemy was to vanquish them, so let’s try to gather information from the person who knew Killian best.

If it’s this guy, given his simple nature, he shouldn’t take her questions too seriously.

“Mikhail,” she started. “Suppose you have a very compelling reason.

“Yes?”

“If, for a very valid reason, you had to secretly follow Killian to the New Year’s Festival, what method do you think you would use?”

Mikhail grinned.

“Follow Lord Killian without him knowing? There is no way to do that, Lady Elshnain.”

“…….”

I see.

Elshnain’s fist, which had been clenched slightly, loosened with resignation.

Then, Mikhail chuckle, and cleared his throat to say,

“Speaking of the festival, Lord Killian actually mentioned it twice. He said to diligently guard the Lady while he is away for the ceremony!”

 Oh, really? Elshnain’s face stiffened.

“So, I will definitely accompany you wherever you go! Give me a chance to make up for not getting rid of the blood slaves last time!”

“…….”

“I swore to serve Lord Killian when you saved me in the past, but I also made another vow that day. I pledged to protect you with my life!”

He did? she thought, surprised.

“So don’t worry! I won’t let even a single worm bother Lady Elshnain!” Mikhail’s said with a strong determination.

So strong, it made Elshnain’s face stiffen even more as she felt her plan to secretly follow Killian fade further away.

That cunning jerk. He intends to use the naïve Mikhail to keep a close eye on me.

“Oh, we’ve arrived. This is the place, Lady Elshnain!” Mikhail’s cheerful voice exclaimed, signaling the end of their walk.

It seemed there wasn’t another door to open, as a large pentagonal room immediately appeared before her eyes.

There were five portraits adorning the walls of the room.

And those portraits depicted faces that were very familiar to Elshnain.

“These paintings…….”