I Couldn’t Stop my Childhood Friend from Turning Into a Villain

Lucy opened her eyes and found herself staring at a frightened Liel.

“I’m alive, right?”

She checked her well-being once again, and as if responding to her unspoken concern, Liel hurriedly took Lucy’s hand.

“I thought I was going to die, thank you for saving me…….”

Lucy hadn’t forgotten that Liel had pulled her out just before she passed out.

“I saved you?”

No, he wasn’t there when she was in danger.

Swallowing his words, Liel’s jaw tightened. Lucy’s eyes, no longer dull, came alive.

“If you hadn’t come, I would have been left there to die.”

“…….”

She wasn’t entirely wrong, as it would take days to clear the building’s rubble. Liel chewed on his lower lip.

The lip that he had been bitten so many times finally burst and bled.

“You’re bleeding from your lip…….”

Lucy pulled her hand away from Liel’s grip and looked at his busted lip. Despite his pale complexion, his lips were hot.

“Ah!”

As she was contemplating what to do about the blood on her thumb, Lucy suddenly stood up and exclaimed.

Startled, Liel grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Don’t force yourself to get up.”

“I’m feeling better than you think. By the way, where is Princess Chloe, and what day is it now, and how long have I been out cold?”

Questions poured out of Lucy.

She was relieved that Princess Chloe was safe, but she also wondered how long Liel had been away from the Academy.

Worry surged through her again, wondering if she’d caused Liel to miss another day of classes.

“The Princess is fine, and you were only knocked out for about three hours…….”

“Three hours?”

That was a relief. Lucy didn’t want to inconvenience Liel anymore.

Lucy pulled back the covers and checked her limbs. They were covered with small cuts and blue bruises.

“Liel, what did the doctor say?”

Lucy was sure that the doctor had come and gone after checking on her.

“…… They said you’re fine, just a few bruises.”

As expected, the doctor had come and gone. Lucy stared into space, trying to figure out what to do next.

She didn’t have long to think about it.

“Liel, for now, you should go back to the Academy. You came here for me, right?”

The sooner he returns to the academy, the sooner he can catch up on some sleep and join the training the next day.

Lucy planned to speak to the Empress about escorting him, just in case, and enlist the help of the Imperial Knights.

She was unnecessarily calm for someone who had been brought back from the dead. It was not a reaction one would normally expect from someone who had lived and died.

But if Lucy’s demeanor was any indication, Liel was a long way from the normal or average category.

“Go back?”

Liel asked, his brow furrowing. He seemed rather confused.

“I have to go see the Empress, so I probably won’t be able to return to the manor today.”

Nowhere in her words did she ask for him to take her home.

Why?

Liel had a fundamental question. Soon enough, he reached over and gripped her knee firmly, and muttered:

“I don’t understand.”

He couldn’t accept that he had been left out of Lucy’s plan.

“You just came back from the dead.”

He bit his bleeding lips and spoke again. His lips, which had been recovering quickly, burst open again.

“If you depend on me at all–-”

This time, Lucy didn’t wipe his lips; she just sat there wordlessly, listening to Liel’s words.

“Isn’t it right for you to ask me to stay with you?”

He murmured as he brushed his second finger across his lips, his icy gaze settling on Lucy.

Her expression, too, was rigid, as if she were holding something back.

“Liel.”

Lucy’s voice was different when she called out to Liel. It was more resolute than ever, but it also sounded distant.

“You ran all the way here because you were worried about me—”

In the back of Lucy’s mind was Liel’s hand, still holding hers. Or, to be more precise, his gnarled wrist that was connected to it.

He hadn’t once asked her to get her act together until she was in that position.

He had simply stood by her side for over a month in silence.

“I can’t rely on you anymore.”

That was enough.

It was enough for Lucy that when he heard about what happened to her, he came running to her in a hearbeat to pull me up from the rubble where she’d nearly died of neglect.

To ask for more than that would be nothing but whining.

Lucy’s gaze drifted to Liel’s bloodied index finger, where a new nail had just grown.

⁂

For a moment, a stunned silence fell between them. Lucy, noticing the growing coldness in Liel’s expression, unconsciously patted his arm.

Soon, Liel’s voice broke the silence.

“Why can’t you?”

He smiled, as if he didn’t understand. During the silence that followed, his lips cleared.

“Just do it.”

I told you so many times. You can do that.

Lucy’s brow furrowed slightly at his next words.

“Go get your nails fixed.”

Lucy spoke curtly to the bluntness in his voice.

“I’m almost healed.”

Liel said, bending his index finger, which was still not fully healed. She heard his bones snap as he cracked his fingers.

Lucy’s eyes narrowed as she held back the smile that nearly followed her at the sound. At her quirked brow, Liel spoke again.

“You know.”

“…….”

“That I heal quickly.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt—”

—That’s not right.

Lucy didn’t finish her sentence. Liel interrupted her, cutting her off.

“I honestly don’t understand.”

Perhaps he wouldn’t understand her attitude no matter what she said.

“Why are we even arguing about this?”

“…….”

“Right now, who wouldn’t be worried about seeing you like this?”

Is it weird for me to do this?

Lucy finally looked away from Liel, who was saying all the right things.

Casting her gaze into the void once more, Lucy gently closed her eyes to soothe her tired eyes.

He must be worried.

But despite Liel’s worries, Lucy was in better shape than he thought. Not in need of anyone’s care, and well enough to start work tomorrow.

Liel wouldn’t mistake that, as he knew that she was worried about him and that was the only reason why she was contemplating what to say.

It’s not that I don’t understand…….

Lucy hesitated, contemplating what words to use to persuade him to return to the academy.

Now, as if to end this pointless exchange, Liel spoke up.

“Lucy, I want you to put yourself in my shoes.”

Ah……. At the familiar sound of the words, Lucy knew she was about to lose this fight.

“Can you just walk away and leave me hurt?”

He stared at her intently, knowing what the answer would be.

A grunt escaped Lucy’s mouth, unable to withstand Liel’s stare.

“You……. from last time…….”

Liel definitely knew how to win Lucy over. It was obvious since he had been catering to her all his life.

When she couldn’t think of anything else to say in retort, she raised her hand and raked it through her hair.

Then, with a snap, her hand dropped down and she glared at Liel.

“Do you want to be mean?”

“What?”

He tilted his head in confusion. As if convinced of his victory, the muscles in Liel’s face slowly began to relax.

His cold eyes slowly filled with warmth, and soon he was smoothing Lucy’s tangled hair with the hand that was clasped in his lap.

His touch was soothing.

“Come on, I haven’t heard the answer yet.”

Even as he moved his hands diligently, he insisted on her giving him an answer he hadn’t yet heard.

Seeing that he had finally returned to his normal, languid Liel voice, Lucy finally let out the sigh she had been holding in and spoke.

“…I can’t go back. If it were me, the moment you told me to go back because you were okay, I would have rolled my eyes and jumped around the room.”

Lucy assessed herself soberly this time. Still, his gaze swept across the room where she might have run.

“I’d like to see that.”

Show it to me later.

Liel lowered his hand and felt for the spot where Lucy’s gaze had swept.

Lucy’s lips curled up into a smile when she realized she had interpreted Liel’s words differently.

“Does it sound like you’re saying you’ll do the same to me later?”

“Not at all, and if I were you, I’d be begging you not to leave me alone when I’m sick.”

He smirked, his face full of mischief. He was relieved that Lucy had so readily admitted defeat.

“To exaggerate…….”

The corners of Lucy’s mouth twitched upward as she realized that despite his whiny tone, it wasn’t so bad to have him backing her up.

But after what she’d just said to Liel, she jerked her head to the other side, trying not to show her frustration.

She regained control of her expression and turned to face Liel.

Then, as if waiting for it, Liel’s golden eyes touched the small of her back pressed against the pillow.

Why do you keep drawing lines with me?

Liel, who had been smiling as if relieved, silently wiped the smile off his face.

✧