"Who are you!? How did you get into this room?" King Leonida became alert when he heard the voice and quickly drew his sword. He didn't notice Ziel's presence until the other party spoke. King Leonida thought that Ziel must have an artifact that could hide his presence, which was the most reasonable explanation for the current situation.
"You don't need to be so wary because I didn't come to hurt you. If I wanted to do that, shouldn't you already be a corpse in your seat?" Ziel responded calmly and ignored the sword pointed at him. He walked over to King Leonida and sat in the chair next to him.
King Leonida raised his eyebrows when he saw Ziel's face because he was no stranger to the boy.
"Aren't you a friend of Freya and the butler of the noble from the Neigal Kingdom? What are you doing here? Can't you see that I'm having a private conversation with my wife? Don't you know that your actions are impudent?" King Leonida said unhappily. He is angry that Ziel suddenly appears and interrupts his conversation with Queen Helena. If the boy had not been a student from the academy, King Leonida would have killed him already, or so he thought.
"You are right. I am your daughter's friend and a butler of the Duke Castilene's house. About my actions suddenly appearing in this room, that thing is indeed impudent. But that applies if I have nothing to do with your conversation." Ziel answered casually.
"What do you mean by that?" King Leonida narrowed his eyes and unleashed his power to suppress Ziel. He didn't like how Ziel spoke to him. After all, he was a king.
Queen Helena felt nervous when she saw that the atmosphere in the room had become tense. She wasn't afraid that Ziel would get hurt. Queen Helena was worried that King Leonida would act recklessly and attack Ziel out of anger. It would only hurt himself.
Even though Queen Helena didn't have any special feelings for King Leonida, the other side had treated her well these past few years, and the two of them also had a son and a daughter. Because of that, she didn't want to see King Leonida get hurt. Queen Helena hoped their talks would go smoothly and King Leonida could let her go without any fights.
"Aren't you talking about Queen Helena's treatment of you?" Ziel smiled and asked in return.
"Did you eavesdrop on my conversation with my wife? Do you think I can't do anything to you because you're a student at this academy!?" King Leonida said angrily. He stood up and was ready to attack Ziel. But before he could move, Ziel pointed his finger at him, and King Leonida's power was sealed.
"What!?" King Leonida was shocked because he realized that he couldn't use aura.
"What are you doing to me!?" King Leonida looked at Ziel seriously. He was not stupid and quickly discovered that the boy in front of him was not as simple as he thought.
"I temporarily sealed your powers because I didn't want to cause a scene in the academy. Please control your emotions. I know you are king. But in my eyes, it is just a mere title. So, let's sit down quietly and talk about this matter." Zeel explained.
"Do you think I only rely on aura to fight? You are wrong! I am called one of the strongest humans not only because of my power but also my fighting ability!" King Leonida snorted coldly, and his figure disappeared.
"Wait!" Queen Helena stood up from her seat and intended to stop King Leonida, but it was too late because King Lonida had reappeared in front of Ziel and swung his sword.
King Leonida slashes his sword at full power because he believes Ziel is no ordinary boy and suspects he is a spy in the academy. Because of that, he didn't hesitate to attack Ziel. King Leonida was sure that Ziel would be hurt by his slash, but the reality was different from what he thought.
Clank!
Ziel blocked the sword with his index finger and sent King Leonida back from the impact.
(How could that boy be that strong!? How old is he now!? I thought he could seal my power because he used some trick. But I didn't expect him to be so powerful! Who the hell is he!?)
King Leonida was shocked, and his hands trembled after clashing his sword with Ziel. Even though he knew that Ziel was very strong, he couldn't give up in front of Queen Helena. Thus, he continued to attack Ziel and hoped to find an opening to land his attacks.
He swung his sword successively, but Ziel easily blocked it no matter how many times he slashed.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
"I want to accompany you to practice the sword. Unfortunately, I don't have much time." Ziel said indifferently and flicked King Leonida's body back to his seat. When King Leonida was about to stand up and attack Ziel again, a terrifying force pressed down on him like a waterfall.
"Ugh!" King Leonida gritted his teeth and tried to fight back against the suppression, but his efforts were in vain as the more he struggled, the stronger the pressure he felt.
"So, can we have a nice talk now?" Ziel smiled slightly and asked.
"Who are you!? I didn't know this academy had someone as strong as you! What is your purpose in coming to this place?" King Leonida gave up on fighting the pressure and glared at Ziel. He feared that Ziel's existence in the academy would harm Freya and other students.
"I don't know what you think of me, but I'm sure it's a misunderstanding. I am a student in this academy and have no ulterior motives here. So you don't have to worry that I will harm this academy." Ziel replied like he knew King Leonida's thoughts.
"If that's the case, why are you hiding your strength? Merlick never told me anything about you, which means he doesn't know about your existence either." King Leonida doubted that answer. Someone with that much power became the butler of a duke and came to the academy without any purpose. He couldn't believe it.
"That is my business, and you don't need to know the reasons. I don't care if you believe my words or not. It's up to you. Well then, can we talk about our problems? I didn't come here to talk about myself or my identity." Ziel didn't want to waste time answering King Leonida's question. He didn't care that King Leonida didn't believe him and suspected him of being a spy.
"What do you mean our problem? I never had direct interaction with you. So how come you and I have a problem?" King Leonida was confused by Ziel's words. He believed he never spoke directly to Ziel; they had only met face-to-face a few times without saying anything.
"Can you tell me about the reason you married Queen Helena? Did your relationship begin with love or something else?" Ziel ignored King Leonida's question. If he continued responding to his words, he would be in the room longer, making Queen Helena even more anxious.
"Why do you ask that matter? I don't need to answer that because it's none of your business!" King Leonida said angrily because Ziel had inquired about his matters.
"You don't seem to have realized your current position. You just need to answer my questions and be quiet when I don't ask. Do you understand?" Ziel said coldly, and the pressure King Leonida felt became stronger and stronger.
"Argh!" King Leonida looked at Ziel with bloodshot eyes but could only nod his head at his current situation.
On the other hand, Queen Helena felt anxious when she saw that scene. She wanted to say something, but Ziel turned his face to her and smiled to tell her everything would be alright.
Queen Helena became more relaxed, and her heart calmed down when she saw Ziel's smile. She trusts him completely because Ziel will keep his word. He would not harm King Leonida and settle the matter amicably. Queen Helena wants to get divorced from King Leonida immediately, give up her title as queen and live happily with Ziel and the others.
"Then, please answer my question." Ziel smiled and released King Leonida from his suppression so he could speak properly.
"I married Helena for political reasons. But I've had a special feeling for her for a long time. I used political reasons to ask for her hand. After several years, I feel she has started to love me and respond to my feelings." King Leonida explained.
"You misunderstood, Leo." Queen Helena quickly denied King Leondia's words because she worried Ziel would be jealous.
"What do you mean, Helena? Have you not loved me all this time? Then why do you treat me so well?" King Leonida said in a trembling voice.
"I'm sorry, Leo. I treat you well because I respect you as a husband and my children's father. I like you as a life partner because you are good to me, but I can't love you as a man. I'm sorry." Queen Helena said and lowered her head. Even though she felt guilty after hearing that from King Leonida, she couldn't lie about her feelings and love for Ziel.
"You're lying to me, right? You weren't serious about what you said, were you?" King Leonida asked in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Leo. Even though I tried during our years together, I couldn't love you." Queen Helena didn't dare to look directly at King Leonida.
"Then let's start over from the beginning! I will try so that you can love me! I will treat you better! So please don't treat me coldly." King Leonida stood up from his seat and said frantically.
"I can't do that, Leo. I'm sorry." Queen Helena shook her head. She was certain she would never be able to love King Leonida even for another hundred years. Even though Queen Helena has not known Ziel for long, her love is not inferior to Kalya and the girls in the cottage, and she does not want to be separated from the man she loves, even if she has to die.
"Why?" King Leonida said in a hoarse voice.
"I... I have fallen in love with someone else." Queen Helena answered.
"What!? You're not kidding, right? How can you fall in love with someone else when you haven't stepped out of the palace for several years? Did you find a man in the academy?" King Leonida felt insecure after hearing Queen Helena's words.
King Leonida thought that he would have an advantage if he had to fight over the love of Queen Helena because he had lived with her for so many years. But he didn't expect his wife to find the man she loved after staying in the academy for more than one month.
"I'm serious with my words. I have found the man I love in the academy. He will misunderstand if I continue treating you as usual even though I know you are still my husband. Therefore, I must keep my distance from you. I can't be with you anymore, Leo. After all, this political marriage is no longer useful since my family fell a few years ago due to a magical beast invasion." Queen Helena said firmly.
"But what about our time together these few years? Will you leave me? Are you leaving our son and daughter?" King Leonida tries to convince Queen Helena not to leave him.
"Didn't I say that already? You are my husband. That's why I am with you, but it doesn't mean I love you. I once thought of spending my life with you if I didn't find the man I love. I didn't think I would find that person after coming to the academy. You don't need to worry because I will tell them about this matter. I'm sure they'll understand since they're adults now." Queen Helena explained.
She couldn't say that Princess Freya had agreed to her relationship with Ziel for fear that King Leonida would blame her daughter. Princess Freya accompanied King Leonida for a chat yesterday but didn't talk about Queen Helena. His father would be mad at her after knowing that.
"But... but... I'm sure they would never accept that their mother loved another man. Can't you think about it again? I will try to make you fall in love with me. So please forget what you said earlier and return to the Aurelia Kingdom together now." King Leonida said with a bit of force.
"I'm sorry. I can't be with you anymore, Leo. I love him so much and want to spend my life with him." Queen Helena quickly refused.
"I can't accept this! Who is the man that has made you fall in love!?" King Leonida shouted angrily. But before Queen Helena could answer, someone spoke up and interrupted them.
"Have you forgotten that I'm still here? Didn't I tell you I came to this room to discuss our problems?" Ziel got up from his seat and approached Queen Helena. He stood beside her, looked directly into King Leonida's eyes and said.
"I am the man she loves." Ziel smiled and held Queen Helena's hand gently.