Chapter 169 - 14

Princess Irene's condition slowly recovered, and her consciousness began to return. When she opened her eyes, what she saw for the first time were three strangers she didn't recognize.

"Ugh! Who are you!? Where am I right now!? Where is my brother!?" Princess Irene frantically looked around her and forced herself to stand up. She thought Ziel and the others were currently kidnaping her.

"You don't need to be afraid, Princess Irene. We didn't do anything bad to you. We brought you to this place only to heal your internal wounds." Kalya tries to calm Princess Irene.

"Eh? Do you want to heal my wounds? Even my father and mother have been searching for years but still can't find a way to cure me. Do you think I will trust you? Tell me, what do you want from me!?" Princess Irene narrowed her eyes at Kalya.

Princess Irene became wary of Kalya because she thought Kalya was lying to her. But before Kalya could answer her question, Ziel had already walked over to Princess Irene. He put his hands in his pockets like he was about to take something out.

"What do you want to do? Do you want to kill me!?" Princess Irene was shaking with fear. She thought Ziel would take out a knife to kill her.

"Look at your face. You look fresher than before, don't you? You should also be able to feel the condition of your own body. I'm sure you'll notice the changes." Ziel took out a small mirror and made Princess Irene see her face. He didn't want to argue with her right now because Prince Viron had woken up from his stupor. The heroes will return and look for Kalya to inquire about princess Irene's condition.

"You are right! My face looks fresher! My body also feels lighter! Did you heal me?" Princess Irene was shocked after seeing her face in the mirror. Then she started moving her limbs to make sure her body was in good condition. Not long after that, she finally began to believe in the words of Kalya earlier.

"We did heal you. But we have also limited your abilities." Ziel answered honestly about what he had done.

"What exactly are you saying? I don't understand what you mean at all." Princess Irene was confused after hearing Ziel's answer. Kalya and Princess Freya also feel the same way with Princess Irene. They only know that Ziel healed Princess Irene and did nothing else to her.

"You know what I mean. The Demon Kingdom or I should say your father and mother know that you have special abilities. But unfortunately, your abilities are not accompanied by sufficient strength. They keep force training to increase your strength. However, the training weighs on your body and slowly breaks it down. That's why we put a limit on your body. If your body starts to feel burdened because you've exceeded your limit, your mana flow will automatically be cut off, and you can't use that ability for a while until your body returns to its normal state." Ziel explained to Princess Irene.

Princess Freya and Kalya thought Ziel would only heal Princess Irene. They were surprised because they didn't realize that Ziel had done other things while recovering Princess Irene. Kalya and Princess Freya don't understand why Ziel did it to that extent.

Princess irene quickly tried to use her ability to the limit. But, what happened was as Ziel had said. When she created a fifty-layer barrier, her mana flow was cut off. The barrier did not form and eventually disappeared. She tried again and again, but the result was the same.

"You!… You're limiting my abilities!? Then, what is my value to the Demon Kingdom!? People will leave me! My mother and father won't even care about me anymore if I'm not special! Please give me back my abilities! Take off that ridiculous barrier!" Princess Irene screamed hysterically. She was involuntarily crying, and her face had a terrified look.

Kalya and Princess Freya feel sorry for her current state. They did not expect that Princess Irene would choose to live like that only to be cared for by others.

"I'm sorry, but we can't. There's no point in us healing you if you keep pushing yourself and hurting your body again." Ziel firmly refused Princess Irene's request. If he complied, then what they were doing would only be for nothing. He didn't care about Princess Irene's tears and the terrified expression on her face at this moment.

"Then return my body to its previous state! I don't need your help! I don't need you to heal! I want people to still think of me as special and not leave me!" Princess Irene stubbornly kept asking Ziel to return the freedom to use her abilities. Ziel frowned upon hearing what she said.

Princess Freya and Kalya were silent and could not say anything seeing Princess Irene, who was willing to return to her previous state because she wanted her abilities back. They pitied Princess Irene because she did that to get the attention of those around her.

"Do you think someone will only be of value when they are special? Do you think you become useless just because you lost that ability? Is the attention you get from those people sincere from their hearts? is that really what you want?" Ziel coldly asked Princess Irene. He glared at Princess Irene and frightened her. Princess Irene was silent and couldn't immediately answer Ziel's question.

"I… I don't know. Even if it's fake, at least I have people who care about me!" Princess Irene wept bitterly. Her heart ached after listening to Ziel's question.

"You are just a tool to them. Is that what you want? You will be thrown away when you are useless. Is that what you want? Is that why you want to return to your previous state?" Ziel keeps suppressing the stubborn Princess Irene. Ziel would grant her wish if she persisted in restoring that ability.

"I do not know. I do not know. I do not know." Princess Irene kept repeating her words. She keeps crying while lowering her head.

"At least, there are strangers who care about you here regardless of whether you are special or not." This time Ziel said softly to her. Princess Irene's body trembled. Then she raised her head and looked at Ziel.

"Why do you care about me?" Princess Irene asked with a trembling voice.

"You are wrong. Not me, but those two who care about you. Besides, some people wish you well outside this hut. One of them is your sparring opponent, miss Kyouka. Aren't they all strangers to you?" Ziel answered her honestly. He did all this for Clara and the two girls behind him who cared about Princess Irene. Ziel himself didn't care at all about Princess Irene's condition even though she died in the sparring match.

"Is that true?" Princess Irene looks like an abandoned puppy and stares at Kalya and Princess Freya behind Ziel. They smiled gently at her gaze.

"What he had said was true. We do care about you. It's not just us, but some people out there are worried about you." Kalya approached Princess Irene and held Princess Irene's hand to reassure her.

"So you don't have to be afraid if no one cares about you. Because we are with you." Princess Freya held her other hand. Their actions made Princess Irene calmer.

"Why do you care about me? Haven't you guys known me for a long time? What if I'm the bad girl?" Princess Irene asked the same question she asked Ziel before. Princess Freya and Kalya looked at each other then smiled.

"I do not know. But does caring for others have a reason? If so, then I'm just following my heart." Kalya rubbed Princess Irene's hand.

"Although we just met you, we believe you are not a bad girl." Princess Freya added Kalya's words.

"Thank you!" Princess Irene was touched and started crying again for another reason. She had hugged Princess Freya and Kalya without her knowing it. They also hugged her back until Princess Irene calmed down and stopped crying.

After that, they introduced themselves to each other. Princess Irene was shocked after finding out that Princess Freya and Kalya were princesses. When she heard Ziel introduce himself as a butler, she felt confused. Why would a butler be with two princesses in that place? Princess Freya and Kalya also looked very obedient to him. Ziel had also lectured her before. What he had done made Princess Irene's feelings complicated.

"Okay. We have to get out of this place right away. It looks like your brother and the heroes have finished their conversation and are heading to this place.

"Eh? How do you know? Are you a type of mage who specializes in detection?" Princess Irene suddenly became curious about Ziel. Princess Freya and Kalya chuckled after hearing that.

"Whatever." Ziel sighed heavily and ignored her question. Ziel and the other two girls walked out of the hut. Princess Irene chased after them and kept urging Ziel to answer. She finally stopped bothering Ziel when she came out of the hut and met up with her brother.

***

Time went back to when Princess Irene had just woken up. At the same time, Princess Viron has also been healed by Megumi. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the heroes in front of him.

"Ugh! What do you want to do to me!?" Prince Viron said frantically. He quickly stood up even though his whole body still ached.

"Please be careful, Prince! You just recovered!" One of his men shouted and helped him up.

"What happened to me? Why are those humans here? Where is my sister!?" Prince Viron looked around where he was standing but couldn't find Princess Irene anywhere. Princess Irene is very precious to his father and the Demon Kingdom. If his father finds out that he lost Princess Irene because of his carelessness, Prince Viron will be severely punished.

"That is..." Prince Viron's subordinates tried to explain, but Princess Reina spoke first.

"Megumi has healed you. Instead of saying thank you, you shouted at them harshly. Has the Demon Kingdom never taught you manners?" Princess Reina sneered at him. She always felt annoyed whenever she saw Prince Viron's face.

"What are you saying?" Prince Viron narrowed his eyes at Princess Reina. Then he looked at his subordinates.

"Is what she said true?" Prince Viron coldly asked one of the demon race boys.

"What she said is true, Prince!" The demon race boy answered nervously.

"Damn! You are useless! Then where is my sister!?" Prince Viron slapped the demon race boy and then looked at the rest of his men.

"She is with one of our teachers to be healed." Kyouka answered Prince Viron's question first before his men could say anything.

"You know her condition!?" Prince Viron glared at the heroes. He seemed to be preparing to attack them at any moment.

"We know. That's why we want to cure her." Hikaru replied nonchalantly.

"Cure her? Hahaha! Stupid! We from the Demon Kingdom can't even heal her. You, humans, say you can heal her!? What a joke!" Prince Viron snorted and mocked Hikaru's words.

"It wasn't a human who was healing her, but someone from the elven race!" Megumi answered in a rather harsh voice. She was annoyed after hearing Prince Viron despise them.

"Someone from the elven race? Who's she? Can she heal my sister? If anything bad happens to my sister, my father will not spare you and this kingdom!" Prince Viron raised his eyebrows after discovering that the person healing Princess Irene was someone from the Elf race. But he still couldn't believe them.

"She is our teacher. She said she could cure her with the healing arts passed down to high elves." Kyouka repeated what Kalya had told her before.

"High elves? Take me to meet my sister. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes!" Prince Viron still doesn't want to believe them. He insisted he wanted to see Princess Irene immediately.

"Okay. Follow me!" Kyouka walked to the hut not far from that place. Kalya had informed Kyouka that she would take Princess Irene to that place for treatment. Kyouka also saw Clara and the other girls chatting not far from the hut. Clara and the other girls noticed the appearance of Kyouka and the heroes. They stopped their conversation and walked over to Kyouka.

When they reached the front of the hut, the door opened before knocking.. Prince Viron and the heroes were stunned after seeing Princess Irene coming out of the hut in good condition.