262 Chapter 55
Right after leaving Ziel’s room, Azalia met Queen Jasmine and Princess Seira, who had just returned from outside. Ziel was taken care of in a room reserved for guests from the Elven Kingdom, so the two stayed with Kalya and the other three girls. Queen Jasmine also knew Kalya better since then.
“Hmm…Aze? Where do you want to go?” Princess Seira asked in confusion. Azalia asked her and Queen Jasmine to keep her whereabouts a secret because she didn’t want Raphael to find her. Because of that, Azalia didn’t come out of the room for the past few days. Besides being busy taking care of Ziel, Azalia didn’t want others to see her and report it to Raphael.
“I still have other things to do.” Azalia answered casually and intended to leave as soon as possible. But Princess Seira’s next question stopped her footsteps
“Other things? Is this related to the principal?” Princess Seira asked curiously. Princess Seira’s relationship with Azalia and the other girls in that room became very close after the few days they lived together. So she didn’t hesitate to ask about it.
“He’s awake, so I have no business in this place anymore.” Azalia smiled and tried to change the topic of their conversation.
“Eh? is it true?” Queen Jasmine said first before her daughter could speak.
“Yes. You must see him soon. Ah, I’m sorry, I was in a hurry and had to meet someone. In that case, I will take my leave now.” Azalia nodded slightly and left the two before they asked another question. Queen Jasmine kept staring at Azalia’s back until her figure disappeared.
“What’s wrong, mother? Why do you keep watching Aze?” Princess Seira asked after noticing her mother’s strange look.
“Nothing. Let’s go meet your aunt’s fiancé.” Queen Jasmine shook her head. She opened the door and entered the room leaving Princess Seira confused by her mother’s behavior.
After Queen Jasmine and Princess Seira entered the room, they saw a boy with gray hair and crimson eyes standing surrounded by Kalya and the other girls. Then the boy’s gaze turned to Queen Jasmine. When Queen Jasmine smiled and wanted to greet him, Ziel’s figure suddenly blurred and disappeared from there.
“Eh?” Queen Jasmine and her daughter were confused.
“Where is he going? Didn’t he just recover?” Queen Jasmine looked at Kalya and asked.
“He has a problem to solve.” Kalya smiled and did not explain further. Clara and the other girls also smiled. Kalya’s answer and the girls’ behavior made Queen Jasmine and Princess Seira even more curious.
***
Along the way down the corridor, Azalia kept thinking about the answer to the condition Raphael had given her a few days ago. Today was the third day, and according to their agreement, Azalia had to answer Raphael.
Azalia didn’t want to meet Raphael if that was possible because all she wanted from him was the world altar fragment. She wouldn’t hesitate to kill Raphael after getting what she wanted. But Azalia knew that Raphael wasn’t stupid. He would make a certain contract before handing the world altar fragment to Azalia.
“What should I do? Should I agree to the conditions and marry him?” Azalia’s face became gloomy after thinking about that. She doesn’t want to marry someone she doesn’t love. Azalia’s chest ached as she imagined she would have to leave Ziel.
“No! I can’t be selfish! I can’t think of myself! I still have responsibilities to do! The survival of the divine race in the Clorius continent is in my hands! So I can’t just think about my personal feelings!” Azalia shook her head and tried to get Ziel out of her mind. But the more she did, the clearer the man’s figure became.
Azalia couldn’t help but sigh after realizing how important Ziel was to her right now. She couldn’t deny that Ziel’s existence was imprinted permanently and deeply in her heart.
“Even if it hurts, I still have to do it for my race!” Azalia clenched her fists so tightly that her delicate palms were bleeding. Tears dripped from the corners of her beautiful eyes, but she quickly wiped them away, and her face turned cold.
It didn’t take long. Azalia had arrived in front of the principal’s office of the Arcuz Grand Academy. She raised her eyebrows after sensing the faint presence of someone other than Raphael in the room. Azalia couldn’t tell clearly because the room in front of her was covered in a barrier.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Azalia decided to knock on the door and ignored the person’s presence. She frowned when she got an annoyed reply from Raphael.
“Who is there? Didn’t I already say that I don’t want to be disturbed while having an important conversation?” Raphael’s irritated voice rang out from inside the room.
“It’s me, Azalia.” Azalia wanted to scream angrily, but she restrained herself and replied calmly.
“Come in!” Raphael quickly replied. His tone was different from before, and he sounded excited.
Azalia opened the door and walked toward Raphael. She saw that the person in the room with Raphael was King Regulus. Azalia also sensed that King Regulus was secretly watching her when they passed, but Azalia pretended not to notice.
When Azalia was right in front of him, Raphael started telling lies and nonsense. His words made Azalia’s face darken, and she wanted to punch Raphael until he was battered. She tried her best to keep her composure in front of Raphael. But after hearing his threat, Azalia almost lost control and couldn’t stop herself from killing Raphael.
But again, Azalia stopped her intention because she feared Raphael would destroy the world altar fragment. She could only sigh heavily in her heart. After hearing a brief greeting accompanied by nonsense and threats, Raphael finally asked Azalia for an answer on the conditions he gave her.
Azalia’s body stiffened, and her heart filled with sorrow. Even though she had made up her mind and given up her selfishness, she had difficulty answering that question. Azalia’s eyes were wet, and her chest was hurting even more, but she had to give her an answer.
“I…” Azalia squeezed her voice out and tried to say the answer to Raphael. But her sentence was interrupted by the familiar voice of the man who suddenly appeared next to her.
“Ken? What are you doing here!?” Azalia shouted in shock. She didn’t expect Ziel to appear in that room and interrupt the conversation. Ziel ignored Azalia’s question and looked at Raphael indifferently.
(Did he overhear my conversation? Could it be that he misunderstood our relationship!?)
Azalia wondered about Ziel’s muted response to her. She broke out in cold sweat, fearing that Ziel would misunderstand after hearing her conversation with Raphael.
“Ken, it’s not what you heard. I…” Azalia intended to clarify the misunderstanding, but Ziel turned to her and smiled.
“I know. So you don’t have to explain anything to me.” Ziel answered softly. The two’s intimate exchange did not escape Raphael’s sight, and it made him angry with jealousy.
“Who are you!? I bet you’re not a student from this academy! How dare you enter my office without permission and seduce my future wife!” Raphael got up from his seat and roared.
(Who is he? Since when has he been in this room? I don’t feel his presence at all! The most important thing is his relationship with Azalia? They seem very close!)
Raphael was currently burning in jealousy after seeing Ziel and Azalia’s intimacy. He lost his composure and failed to identify his opponent. Raphael forgot that Ziel could enter his office without him knowing. Moreover, Raphael couldn’t measure Ziel’s strength.
If Raphael were in his normal state, he wouldn’t have acted rashly like that. Unfortunately, the possessiveness that grew in his heart because of Azalia’s beauty had blinded his judgment.
“What are you saying!? Don’t talk nonsense! Since when did I become your future wife!? I haven’t even accepted your terms yet!” Azalia shouted angrily because she didn’t accept Raphael’s words. Her reaction seemed exaggerated for fear of Raphael’s words causing Ziel to misunderstand.
“You… you deny that because of that man?” Raphael looked at Ziel coldly and intended to attack him. But before he could do so, Ziel had already made his move.
“Haa…” Ziel sighed and disappeared. He reappeared right next to Raphael and strangled his neck. Then Ziel released a gray light from his hand and enveloped Raphael to prevent him from using his power.
“Ugh!” Raphael struggled to breathe and tried to escape from Ziel’s stranglehold. But his efforts ended in vain as his powers could not be used. He was currently like a child being strangled by a professional wrestler.
“Eh!?” Azalia was shocked when she saw Ziel’s sudden action. In the blink of an eye, he had moved closer to Raphael and was strangling him.
“Ugh! Please… let me go! I…promise…not bother Azalia again. I will also give… that fragment.” Raphael stammered. Finally, he realized what kind of existence he was dealing with.
“No need. I can do it myself.” Ziel extended his hand to the area next to Raphael. Then the space rippled, and Ziel’s hand went into it.
“You!” Raphael was shocked as Ziel forcibly opened his space storage. Azalia also could only open her mouth wide at the absurd sight.
Normally, forcibly opening someone else’s space storage was impossible as it would cause the space to become unstable and then crumble, and the items stored in it would be lost. But Ziel did it smoothly as if the owner had opened it.
“This is for you.” Ziel pulled the world altar fragment from Raphael’s space storage and gave it to Azalia.
“Uh, thanks.” Azalia was still confused but accepted it with a smile like a blooming flower.
“Ugh! You’ve got what you wanted. So, let me go!” Raphael struggled to free himself. He thought that Ziel would release it after getting the fragment. After that, he could devise a plan for revenge against Ziel in the future.
“I never said I would let you go.” Ziel said coldly.
“You! What do you want to do to me!?” Raphael screamed in fright. He hoped someone would hear him. Unfortunately, the room was enclosed with a barrier so no one would hear how loud he shouted.
“Ah, I want to try something I just got. But I haven’t mastered it at all. So I will use you as an experimental subject.” Ziel stretched out his left hand, and a sphere of black light formed above his palm.
“That is!” Azalia and Raphael shouted in surprise at the same time. Ziel ignored the reactions of the two and slammed the black sphere at Raphael.
“No! Wait! We can talk about this! No! Nooo…” Raphael struggled with all his might to escape Ziel’s stranglehold, but he couldn’t move at all, and his figure vanished without a trace in the black light.
“You don’t mind if I kill him, do you?” Ziel looked at Azalia, who still hadn’t regained her senses after seeing Ziel’s attack.
“You! Haa… Of course, it doesn’t matter. Instead, I want to thank you for killing him.” Azalia couldn’t help but sigh heavily and didn’t ask about Ziel’s power any further.
“You better get out of this academy as soon as possible. Because after this, you might be under suspicion after the principal of this academy disappears.” Ziel warned Azalia. Then he slowly walked towards her.
Azalia would be a suspect in the disappearance of the principal of the Arcuz Grand Academy as she was the last person to be seen meeting Raphael by King Regulus. The academy will have great chaos once they realize their principal has disappeared.
“I did intend to leave this academy because I already got what I wanted here.” Azalia felt a little reluctant to leave the academy because she had made good friends there. But she couldn’t linger in that place because she needed to get the last fragment in the Rubelia Kingdom soon.
“Ah, I remember I promised to give the two fragments in my hand after surviving against the Sacred Demonel. This is…” Ziel was about to take out the two world altar fragments from his space storage, but Azalia made her move first. She wrapped her arms around Ziel’s neck and kissed his lips.
Ziel was stunned by Azalia’s sudden action, but he returned her hugs and kisses. They kissed passionately for a very long time and finally had to separate, leaving a string of liquid between their lips.
“You must return it to me after I retrieve the last fragment in the Rubelia kingdom.” Azalia smiled coquettishly and said breathlessly. Her face was red, and she felt like her heart was going to explode because the beat was so loud and fast.
“I understand. You have to be careful.” Ziel replied calmly. Even so, his breathing seemed a little unstable.
“I understand. I love you, Ziel! See you again!” Azalia smiled beautifully, and her figure disappeared from the room before Ziel could reply.
“See you later.” Ziel smiled slightly and shook his head, then disappeared from the place.