265 Chapter 1
The sun rises and brightens the Great Academy of Piqmentia. The light reflected beautifully over the surface of the lake. The chirping of birds in the forest of the academy area made everyone else happy to hear it. In that calming morning atmosphere, a boy was swinging a sword with a body drenched in sweat.
That boy is Ziel. He had been up since early morning and was doing his regular practice. Not far from him, a beautiful woman was sitting cross-legged with closed eyes. Green light enveloped her entire body. Her figure seemed to be at one with the nature around her and dazzled in the morning sun. That woman is Kalya, and she is practicing her spiritism.
Kalya looked much more beautiful and mature since she returned from the Beast Kingdom one month ago. Her current appearance was not inferior compared to Azalia. After a long time had passed, Kalya was still focused on her practice. Her face was solemn and filled with determination to become stronger. But not long after, her body trembled slightly.
“Haa…” Kalya opened her eyes and took a deep breath. The green light that enveloped her disappeared.
“Your strength has increased by leaps and bounds.” Ziel gave a sincere compliment and handed Kalya a bottle of fruit juice. He finished his practice earlier than Kalya and watched her from afar while resting.
“Thank you. But I think I still have a long way to go. Because of that, I have to try harder!” Kalya accepted the bottle with a sweet smile. She was pleased with Ziel’s praise of her. But then Kalya clenched her fists tightly after thinking her strength was insufficient to stand beside Ziel.
“Please don’t push yourself too hard. I don’t know what you and those girls think by training so hard. However, an instant increase in strength would not necessarily have a positive effect.” Ziel stopped his words and sat next to Kalya. He drank the fruit juice from the bottle in his hand to moisten his throat and continued his speech.
“You will only increase your attack power, and it will be useless if you have to fight an enemy with the same power level as you but with richer battle experience. So you still have to train your combat skills regularly in addition to increasing your power level.” Ziel stopped his explanation and pinched Kalya’s cheek gently.
Kalya pulled Ziel’s hand and put his palm on her cheek. She closed her eyes with a smile and seemed to enjoy Ziel’s gentle treatment of her, especially the direct skin-to-skin contact that showed their intimacy.
Kalya wasn’t the only one who had been training hard since they returned from the Beast Kingdom. Clara, Princess Freya, and the other girls around Ziel became even more challenging in training. Even Lilith, with the power of a true god, did the same with them.
The girls used to come to the lakeside near Ziel’s cottage to practice every morning. When Ziel asked why they were training so hard, Clara and the girls gave the same answer: not to be a burden to him and to be able to help when Ziel needed them.
Ziel couldn’t help but sigh at their firm answer. He couldn’t stop the girls’ intentions because it came from the determination in their hearts. On the other hand, Ziel felt warm in his heart upon hearing their answers.
“I understand. Did the girls not come today? The sun had risen high, but they still had not come. Even Lilith, Iris, and Kyouka, who usually had arrived before sunrise, had not been seen until now.” Kalya opened her eyes. She looked around but couldn’t find any girls who had usually been training there for the past month.
“They practiced until midnight. After that, I didn’t know what they were doing until dawn. The girls were probably still sleeping by now. That’s why none of them came here to practice.” Ziel sometimes monitors Clara’s situation to ensure her safety.
Kalya, Clara, and the other girls’ relationship is getting closer and closer for some reason. Ziel overheard that the girls made a specific deal, but he didn’t know the details about it and didn’t want to find out any further as it was their business.
When Ziel did his checkup last night, Clara was training with Princess Iris and the other girls. But after they finished it, they didn’t immediately rest and seemed to be doing something. After confirming the situation, Ziel stopped what he was doing and didn’t investigate further because it was their privacy, and it would not be polite for Ziel to see it secretly.
“Is that so? Doesn’t that mean no one will bother us this time?” Kalya whispered into Ziel’s ear in a soft and seductive voice.
Since getting her first experience in the Beast Kingdom, Kalya has become addicted to ‘do it’ with Ziel. She often looks for opportunities to be alone with him so they can love each other by uniting their souls and bodies. As an elf, Kalya had immense vitality and felt she could do that with Ziel forever.
Unfortunately, Clara and the girls are always bothering her as if they know what’s on Kalya’s mind and intend to prevent it. Princess Freya and Clara even came to Ziel’s cottage at night for no apparent reason to ensure that nothing happened between Kalya and Ziel.
The girls’ instincts were very sharp, and they should have noticed after seeing Kalya’s appearance and temperament change. Even so, they didn’t want to see Kalya continue to take the opportunity to be alone with Ziel and monopolize him. After that, Kalya and the girls finally made a secret deal. Even Ziel didn’t know about it.
Kalya’s face slowly approached Ziel. When their lips almost touched, Ziel flicked Kalya’s forehead.
Click!
“Uh! Why are you flicking my forehead?” Kalya asked in a spoiled voice while holding her forehead. Her behavior was ultimately the opposite of what she was used to showing in front of other people. Kalya looks free to express her feelings when she is alone with Ziel. Even with Clara and the other girls, she still had to control herself.
“I’m sweating. We can do that later.” Ziel couldn’t help but pinch Kalya’s cheeks after seeing her adorable face.
“I love the smell of your body odor because it makes me feel great ecstasy.” Kalya said shyly, and her face turned red.
“I didn’t know you were a naughty girl.” Ziel caresses Kalya’s cheek gently to prevent her from moving closer to him. Kalya’s body was shaking, and she stopped her movements.
“Do you hate it?” Kalya asked worriedly. She was afraid that Ziel would not like her overly daring act.
“Of course not. I can’t hate you just because of something like that. As long as you don’t touch my bottom line, I will never hate you.” Ziel shook his head and smiled. Then he stroked Kalya’s hair to calm her down after seeing the worry on her face.
“What is your bottom line?” Kalya asked curiously.
“Betrayal.” Ziel answered curtly. The atmosphere around them became gloomy and tense. But Kalya instead looked straight into Ziel’s eyes and spoke.
“I will never betray you! My soul and body are yours! I’d rather die than do that.” Kalya answered with determination.
“I believe in you.” Ziel smiled after hearing Kalya’s reply. He brought his face close to hers and kissed her forehead.
“Then, it’s fine if I become a naughty girl just for you, right? I can be even more naughty if you want.” Kalya teases Ziel with a voice full of sexiness.
“Okay. Let’s shower first because I feel uncomfortable with the sweat on my body. After that, we’ll have breakfast because it’s getting late, and I’m starting to get hungry too.” Ziel got up from his seat before Kalya couldn’t control herself in that place. Kalya pouted at Ziel’s actions. But suddenly, he raised his eyebrows after thinking about something.
“Hmm… can I take a shower with you?” Kalya asked with sparkling eyes full of anticipation.
“Of course.” Ziel reached out his hand to Kalya to help her up.
“Thank you!” Kalya accepted Ziel’s hand with a big smile on her face and gripped it tightly. The two walked towards the cottage hand in hand.
Kalya and Ziel’s life after returning from the Beast Kingdom looks like a newlywed couple. After they finished bathing together and had breakfast, Ziel and Kalya sat on a park bench by the lake not far from their cottage. Kalya rested her head on Ziel’s shoulder while intertwining her fingers with him.
“Next week, the academy will be closed for ten days due to the events of the Five Kingdoms Conference. Clara intends to return to her parent’s house, the residence of the Duke of Castilene. I had to go with him because I was her butler. Will you come with me?” Ziel asked.
Even though Kalya was Ziel’s fiancé, he didn’t want to force her if she didn’t want to come with him back to Duke Castilene’s residence. That’s why he asked Kalya about it first and asked for her opinion.
The Five Kingdoms Conference is a meeting of the five kings of the kingdoms in the human region that is held once every three years to discuss the problems that occur on the Clorius continent and find solutions.
Piqmentia Grand Academy is a five-kingdom project from the Five Kingdoms Conference three years ago in the Neigal Kingdom. The conference this time will be held in the Aurelia Kingdom. Because of that, the academy gave students ten days off, and the Five Kingdoms Conference was held for three days in the middle of the holiday.
The princes and princesses must return to their kingdom. Even the heroes will attend the event and have to return to the Rubelia Kingdom along with Princess Reina and Prince Albert.
“I’m sorry, Ziel. I would love to go with you there, but I have to return to the Elven Kingdom for the time being. But it was only three days. After that, please pick me up in the Elven Kingdom.” Kalya said in a weak voice and looked at Ziel’s face, fearing that he would be disappointed with her answer.
“I understand. But, did something happen in the Elven Kingdom that made you have to come back suddenly?” Ziel replied calmly. He didn’t mind it because Kalya must have a reason behind her words.
“My return has nothing to do with the Elven Kingdom. A few days ago, I got a letter from my younger brother, Zenoa. He said he got a whole month off after the past few weeks they were busy taking care of the academy due to their principal suddenly disappearing.” Kalya said while glancing at Ziel. He knew that Ziel had killed Raphael for Azalia.
“So you want to meet your brother?” Ziel asked.
“Yes. Besides, I also want to meet Laurel and Dryad.” Azalia confirmed. She also misses her friend, Laurel. Another thing Kalya wants to do is meet with Dryad because there is an important matter that Kalya wants to talk to her about.
“You also want to meet Dryad?” Ziel raised his eyebrows because he didn’t expect that one of Kalya’s purposes for returning to the Elven Kingdom was because she wanted to meet Dryad. He remembered that Kalya and Dryad’s relationship was not very good. Whenever they met, Kalya always showed hostility towards Dryad.
Ziel didn’t have time to talk about the aphrodisiac that Dryad gave to Kalya and asked the reason behind her action. Dryad should have known that Kalya didn’t like her. Ziel thought he could ask her directly when he stopped by the Elven Kingdom to drop off Kalya.
“Yes. There’s a matter I want to talk to her about.” Kalya answered honestly, but she didn’t go into more detail about it, and Ziel didn’t ask further if Kalya didn’t want to say it.
“Alright. The day before I leave, I will send you first to the Elven Kingdom. Three days after that, I will pick you up.” Ziel still didn’t know what excuse he would give to Duke Castilene when he returned and brought Kalya. But he would probably ask Clara for help about it.
“Thank you, Ziel!” Kalya smiled widely and kissed Ziel on the cheek.
“Hey! What are you guys doing outside!” A girl’s voice suddenly sounded from across the lake.
Ziel and Kalya turned their gaze towards the voice. The one who shouted was Princess Freya. She didn’t come alone because Clara and the other girls had come with her. Ziel and Kalya could only smile in response.
One week quickly passed, and the Piqmentia Grand Academy students would be on vacation from today until the next ten days due to the Five Kingdoms Conference.
Ziel sent Kalya to the Elven Kingdom last night but didn’t get to meet Dryad because he didn’t want to appear when Ziel came to the world tree. He thought that Dryad was deliberately avoiding him. Ziel also didn’t meet with Zenoa because he was out at the time. So Ziel didn’t linger there and returned after greeting Laurel and Queen Jasmine.
The Princes, Princesses, and the heroes had returned to their respective kingdoms simultaneously. The atmosphere when the girls parted was depressing even though they knew it was only a ten-day vacation. Currently, only Ziel and Clara are left in the academy. They intended to return to the residence of Duke Castilene today.
“Is everything ready, my lady?” Ziel waited for Clara in front of the carriage.
“Yeah, I’m sure there’s nothing left!” Clara answered excitedly.
“Okay. Then, we must leave now.” Ziel reached out his hand and helped Clara into the carriage.
“Let’s go! I can’t wait to meet mom and dad because I already miss them so much!” Clara took Ziel’s hand and entered the carriage. After that, Ziel followed her and closed the door. The horse carriage departed and left the academy to take them to Moissan City, where Duke Catilene’s residence was located.