Chapter 61 - 24

In a restaurant not far from the academy. Ziel, Clara, and Princess Iris who are about to eat are interrupted by the request of Princess Rinne who sits at their table with her friend Hugo. At that time, a new guest entered the restaurant. 2 beautiful girls and a handsome boy.

The long silver-haired girl entered first, followed by the girl and boy who had the same hair color and facial features. They are Princess Aishia, Princess Freya, and Prince Fritz. But the silver-haired girl was silent in front of a table occupied by 5 people. And tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Aisha, what's wrong?" Princess Freya who saw Princess Aishia suddenly fell silent and shed tears worried about her condition.

"Ah.... Nothing." She quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks. She doesn't know why she suddenly sheds tears. When she looked again at the boy. He wasn't looking at her anymore. It was strange that there was a boy who was not at all fascinated after seeing her except 'him'.

Meanwhile, Prince Fritz furrowed his brows, he looked at the 5 people sitting at the table. There, he did not see anything that could make Princess Aishia sad.

"Are you sure you're okay? If you're not feeling well how about we go back to the inn?" Prince Fritz looks very concerned about Princess Aishia, but on his face, he looks like he is curious about what made the cold Princess Aishia cry.

"I'm fine. Let's find our table." She shook her head and walked over to the empty table close to the one Ziel and the others were currently occupying.

"Ooh, Princess Aishia? You guys also came here? Wouldn't it be better if we went together from the start?" Princess Rinne greets Princess Aishia and the others who just entered the restaurant.

"If we knew there was nothing important in the principal's office, we would have gone with you. By the way, may we join you at your table? I think the busier it is the more fun it is." Princess Freya noticed that there was still plenty of free space on their table.

"I'm not the owner of this table, you can ask Princess Iris about it directly." She pointed at Princess Iris who was eating her food.

"You are Princess Iris? I am..."Princess Freya was a little surprised that there was another Princess in the restaurant. When she wanted to introduce herself. Princess Iris spoke first.

"I know, Princess of the famous Aurelia Kingdom, Freya Aurelia. And that guy over there is your older brother, Fritz Aurelia. The silver-haired girl is Aishia Argaint. You can join this table if you want." Princess Iris who was usually silent this time actively spoke.

"Ah...thank you." Princess Freya feels awkward because of Princess Iris' attitude. She sat at the table with Princess Aishia and Prince Fritz. Coincidentally, their position was sitting opposite Ziel who was eating. When Princess Freya saw Ziel's eyes, she was shocked. But then she grinned.

Ziel who was eating was disturbed by the strange look from Princess Freya. When he looked at her, Ziel could see she was saying something from the movement of her lips.

...I...Found...You...

Ziel narrowed his eyes at Princess Freya, but she just smiled and winked at him. Never would have imagined, the elegant and gentle Princess Freya would act like that. Luckily no one saw her at the table except Ziel. But, Ziel only glanced at her for a while and ignored her.

"Ah... Ken, you have to try this. I don't know why my food tastes so spicy." Clara took the food from her plate and placed it on Ziel's plate.

"Thank you, lady." Ziel eats the food Clara put on his plate.

Veins appeared on Princess Freya's forehead and the corners of her lips twitched when she saw that.

"Princess Iris, may I know who they are?" She pointed at Ziel and Clara who were chatting while whispering.

"She's Clara, daughter of a noble in this kingdom, and the boy next door is her butler, Ken. They're both my new friends." Princess Iris stopped eating and introduced them to her.

"Ken..." Princess Freya subconsciously said his name. She quickly covered her mouth to suppress her laughter.

"So you are enrolling in this academy too? Ah...Introduce, my name is Freya Aurelia. Feel free to call me Freya." Freya's suddenly changed attitude made the people at the table confused.

"My name is Clara Castilene, I'm glad to be your acquaintance, Princess Freya." Clara awkwardly introduced herself.

"I'm Ken Nijisaki, I'm Lady Clara's butler. I'm honored to be your acquaintance." Ziel introduced himself in a flat tone. Princess Freya didn't care about Ziel's attitude and just nodded slowly.

"Ken, we will be academy friends in the future. Please take care of me from now on." Princess Freya smiled widely and was very natural. This is the smile of a maiden in love.

"Cough..." Clara who was eating accidentally choked after hearing that. The people at the table could only open their mouths. Princess Aishia who saw the exchange of the two suddenly felt a pain in her chest without knowing the reason.

"Freya, what happened to you?" Prince Fritz, who had been silent with Freya's attitude, decided to ask her. Because of what he knows, his sister will always maintain her image when she is outside. But now, Prince Fritz didn't recognize his sister anymore.

"What's wrong brother? I'm fine..." She answered cheerfully.

"Haaa... Hurry up and order your food." Prince Fritz shook his head at his sister's attitude.

"Princess Aishia, have you thought about it?" Princess Rinne spoke quietly to Princess Aishia.

"Sorry, I don't think I can." Princess Aishia refuses Princess Rinne's request.

"Why!?" Princess Rinne slightly raised her voice.

"Because this is a gift from a person who is very precious to me." Princess Aishia gripped the bracelet on her wrist and put her hand on her chest. She smiled slightly without her realizing.

"Cough..." This time Princess Freya who was drinking her tea choked.

"Freya, are you okay?" Princess Aishia was worried to see Princess Freya suddenly choked.

"Ah... I'm fine." Princess Freya wiped her lips with a handkerchief then she looked at Ziel who was eating. But she was disappointed that Ziel didn't seem to care. But she quickly shook her head to shake off her disappointment.

It wasn't long before the food finally come. They enjoyed their meal in peace. Princess Freya occasionally sees the exchange between Ziel, Clara, and Princess Iris. Meanwhile, Princess Aishia was confused by the uncomfortable feeling in her heart right now.

"May I know what the value of your power measurement was during the second test? Ah, I didn't mean anything. I just wanted to compare it from each tower." Prince Fritz who had been silent all this time suddenly smiled and asked Ziel and the others.

"48,875." Princess Iris answered briefly.

"I'm 46,773." Clara was a little afraid to answer a question from a Prince.

"40,100." Ziel also only answered as needed.

"Ooh is that so? It turns out that everyone who enrolls in the academy is an extraordinary person." Although it sounds like praising there is a sense of superiority in it.

Princess Iris who heard it frowned. She looked at Prince Fritz with disdain.

"Brother..." Princess Freya who understood the situation was embarrassed by her older brother's words. But Prince Fritz ignored her.

"Hey, can't you lend it to me even if it's only temporary?" Princess Rinne who was previously depressed because of Princess Aishia's firm refusal had regained her composure. She hadn't been listening to their conversation since earlier because Princess Rinne was depressed and Hugo calmed her down. She still insists on researching Princess Aishia's artifact.

"Sorry I can not." Princess Aishia started to get annoyed at Princess Rinne's insistent request.

"Then can you lend me yours? I'm sure yours is almost the same in terms of materials and workmanship as Princess Aishia's." Princess Rinne looked at Clara. And hoped that Clara would lend it. This time she put on a sad face. So, Clara will feel sorry for her. But her words were like dropping bombs on the people eating at the table except for Hugo and Ziel. They were stunned that there was another similar artifact in the possession of the girl in front of them.

Princess Freya's face showed jealousy. She looked at Ziel and puffed her cheeks. Meanwhile, Princess Aishia couldn't believe what she heard. She looked at Clara and saw the leaf-shaped hairpin on her head. Previously she had not paid much attention to it. But after she saw it, it seemed to be made of the same material as her bracelet.

"Where did you get that from?" Princess Aishia's voice trembled when she asked that. Clara didn't know how to answer her question. She was afraid that if she answered truthfully, it would bring trouble to Ziel.

"I gave that thing to her, Princess Iris. I bought it from a gray-haired guy with red eyes while on a night walk in moissan city." Ziel helps Clara give answers to Princess Aishia. If Princess Aishia knows that 'ken' is Ziel. Things will get more troublesome.

"Is that so..." Princess Aishia's face looked disappointed when she heard Ziel's answer. She slumped in her chair like she had lost all her strength

"Then I'll buy it from you. Whatever you sell I'll buy it." Princess Rinne was happy with Ziel's answer. She thought she could get it if she put a high price on it.

"Sorry, but I'm not selling it. Iris, Ken, I'm done eating how about we head back soon?" Clara was annoyed by Princess Rinne's words. She stood up from her chair and took Iris and Ziel back to the inn. She wanted to leave the restaurant immediately.

"I'm done too. Let's go back soon." Princess Iris was the first to stand up, she also felt the same way as Clara. After paying for the food, they walked away from there.

"Yes, My lady." Ziel followed them from behind. But as he passed Princess Freya, she whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"We will meet again." She smiled slightly as she said it.

Princess Aishia just watched the 3 people leave. For some reason, her eyes were glued to the boy named 'Ken'. And this was realized by Prince Fritz who could only grit his teeth. Meanwhile, Princess Rinne was depressed again because of the repeated rejection she received. And Hugo couldn't help but calm her down again.

***

Ziel and Clara escorted Princess Iris to her inn. The inn looks quite large and luxurious. Several knights in front of the inn seemed to be her guardian. But they kept their distance from Princess Iris. Their faces were filled with fear when they saw her.

"Iris, I'm going back to my inn. Have a good rest. We'll meet again tomorrow." Before leaving they held each other's hand.

"Yes Clara, you be careful on the road. We will meet again tomorrow. Ken, please take care of Clara." She seemed reluctant to let go of Clara's hand.

"Yes, Princess Iris." Ziel just nodded slightly at Princess Iris.

The two of them finally left the place and headed to their inn.

"Ken, do you think I'll pass the exam?" Clara thinks if she fails then all her efforts will be in vain.

"I'm sure you'll pass, My lady. I can confirm that." Ziel looked at the setting sun in front of him. Clara nodded slowly looking at Ziel and walked down the city street back to their inn.