Chapter 347 19

Time goes back to when Ziel activated the world altar in the divine race hideout. Princess Freya, Clara, and the others sat relaxing in front of the cottage after they returned from the academy. Ziel had set up a large garden table for them to have an outdoor tea party while enjoying the view of the lake.

"Is your older brother all right, Freya?" Queen Helena sipped her tea and asked. For the past month, she had replaced Flavio as a homeroom teacher in class S.

Merlick had changed Flavio's position from teacher to the vice principal. He was busy traveling to the various kingdoms on some business for a few weeks and dumped all the academy matters onto Flavio.

Even though Queen Helena met Prince Fritz daily, they couldn't talk like a mother and son at the academy. So she found it difficult to find time to explain her divorce from King Leonida.

"My brother is fine, mother. He took the matter more calmly. But he still needed some alone time for now. So you don't need to worry about it." Princess Freya answered.

"I'm glad to hear that. I thought he would come at me angrily, but he hasn't seen me for the last month, which worries me a bit." Queen Helena sighed with relief.

"He's not mad at you, mother. He doesn't know what to talk to you about. Besides, it seems father didn't explain why you divorced him in detail. Because of that, my brother didn't come looking for Ziel to look for trouble." Princess Freya added another explanation.

"Fortunately, your father understands about it. In that case, I'll try to see Fritz tomorrow. I hope he wants to talk to me. Sooner or later, he will find out about my relationship with Ziel, and I will try to get him to accept it." Queen Helena smiled and sipped her tea again.

"Yes, you should do that, mother. If he found out about the matter from someone else, he would be furious and take it out on Ziel. Even though I know my brother can't do anything to him, I don't want their relationship to worsen." Princess Freya agreed with her mother.

"I will do it ASAP before he finds out himself. By the way, how long will Ziel be in the divine race hideout? He and Kalya went with Azalia to help transfer people of her race to another world, right? He's not going to stay long there, right?" Queen Helena already misses Ziel very much, even though she has only been separated from him for a while. She is like a lovesick young girl and thinks about him in whatever she does.

Queen Helena sometimes acts unnaturally because she longs for Ziel. Clara and the others considered it reasonable when they remembered that Ziel was Queen Helena's first love.

"Yes, he did say that. But I don't know whether Ziel will stay there or not. They might come back when their business is done. But they might be back at dawn for something else." Princess Aishia saw Queen Helena and teased her.

"Ooh, you can tease me already, Aishia? Don't you miss him? Don't you want to sleep with him tonight?" Queen Helena smiled and teased her in return.

In the past, Queen Helena knew Princess Aishia as her daughter's childhood friend; the other party always called her auntie. But after they became a part of the Ziel family, they were like siblings, and Princess Aishia didn't hesitate to tease Queen Helena.

"I... I miss him. Of course, I want to be with him tonight." Princess Aishia lowered her head and said in a barely audible voice. She hid her blushing face because Queen Helena's question made her remember her first night with Ziel.

"Ahaha…" Queen Helena and the others laughed after seeing Princess Aishia's cute reaction. This made her face even redder. But their laughter suddenly stopped after feeling someone break through the barrier covering the forest area.

"Who enters the forest area without permission? Is that the principal? Is it a teacher?" Princess Iris muttered.

"I don't think it's the principal because Kalya has warned him. I'm sure he won't dare to repeat his mistake." Princess Cordelia shook her head.

"Then a teacher?" Clara looked at the girls and asked.

"That's possible. But who and what did they enter this forest area for? Do you want to meet Kalya?" Kyouka guessed.

"How about we check it in person instead of guessing here?" Princess Irene smiled wryly and said. The girls looked at each other and stood up from their seats.

"You don't have to do that because those guys are headed this way. We'll find out soon enough." Queen Helena stopped the girls.

Clara and the others sat back and waited as Queen Helena had said. Shortly after, several people appeared across the lake, and the girls recognized them. The people who came to the forest area were heroes and royalty, including Prince Fritz.

"What are they doing here?" Princess Freya frowned when she saw her brother among the people. Kyouka and Princess Aishia had the same reaction when they found out the heroes were the ones who had come to their place.

"Let's go there and ask them." Queen Helena sighed and got up from her seat. The other girls followed suit since she was the temporary leader of the girls during Kalya, Azalia, and Lilith's absence.

***

"Are you sure my mother and sister are living here?" Prince Fritz looked at Megumi and asked. He was disappointed in his father and mother when he heard the news of their divorce. But Prince Fritz couldn't do anything because it was his parents' decision.

Prince Fritz reluctantly accepted their divorce and took the matter in stride. He has tried to accept his parents' decision for the past month. Because of that, he kept avoiding his mother even though he knew Queen Helena had become a teacher at the academy.

But then Prince Fritz felt guilty about it. He should have brought up the matter with his mother instead of avoiding it. So Prince Fritz looked for where his mother lived, and Megumi happened to know about it. But when Prince Fritz asked him to accompany him, Hikaru and the others wanted to come, and he couldn't refuse them.

"I'm sure. I found out from Kyouka." Megumi nodded in response to Prince Fritz's question. She was envious that Kyouka could live in such a beautiful place.

At first, Megumi also wanted to move to that place. But after learning that all the girls who live in the cottage have a special relationship with Ziel, she forgets that intention. Mentally she will not be strong enough to stay in that love nest.

"Do they live in the cottage across from the lake? Isn't the scenery here very beautiful and the atmosphere very calm? Living in this forest must be very pleasant. I can focus on creating new magic tools if I live in a place like this." Princess Rinne muttered while looking at the surroundings.

"Yes, they must be in that place. We checked the mansion over there, but no one was inside. So I think Kyouka and the others must live in that cottage." Hikaru said.

"Then let's go and check it out." Sintaro can't wait to meet Kyouka. Even though they met in class daily, Kyouka avoided him before Sintaro could say anything to her. Thus, he wanted to meet her at her residence. That way, Kyouka wouldn't be able to avoid him anymore.

"Let's go..." Prince Fritz wanted to cross the lake but stopped when he heard a familiar voice.

"Where are you going, Fritz?" Queen Helena appears together with Clara and the girls.

"Mother!"

"Freya!"

"Kyouka!"

"Older sister!"

Prince Fritz, the heroes, and Princess Rinne said simultaneously, and the latter had not expected that Princess Cordelia was also in that place.

"What are you doing here?" Princess Freya asked Hikaru and the others.

"We accompanied Prince Fritz to meet Queen Helena." Hikaru answered on behalf of the people who came with him.

"Is that true, Fritz?" Queen Helena turned her eyes to her son and asked. She was glad that Prince Fritz finally wanted to see her.

At first, Queen Helena wanted to find time to talk to her son. So she did not expect Prince Fritz to come to her. But Queen Helena didn't like it because she came into a crowd and disturbed the peace of the place. Fortunately, Kalya was not at the cottage. Otherwise, he might get angry with them.

"Yes. Can you take your time to chat with me for a bit, mother?" Prince Fritz nodded and looked at his mother.

"Alright. Let's chat there." Queen Helena pointed towards the cottage. She didn't know where they could talk alone in that forest area. If Ziel suddenly came back, she would try to explain it so he wouldn't get mad. Then Queen Helena looked at Hikaru and the others.

"You come with us too." Queen Helena secretly sighed in her heart.

Those who came with their son had acquaintances with the girls in the cottage. He couldn't kick them out and only allowed Prince Fritz to come to the Ziel residence. It is equivalent to favoritism, and they will be angry with his attitude. Because of this, Queen Helena reluctantly takes Sintaro and the others with her.

Princess Iris and the others didn't object to Queen Helena's decision as they understood her reasons for inviting Hikaru and the others.

"Thank you, Queen Helena." Megumi was grateful that they weren't kicked out of there because she had heard that Kalya was angry when King Leonida and the principal barged into her living area without permission. If it weren't for Prince Fritz wanting to see Queen Helena, she wouldn't have dared to come to that place carelessly.

After that, Princess Cordelia and the girls brought Hikaru's group to move to the cottage. Queen Helena and Prince Fritz are chatting inside, and the others are sitting outside. Princess Freya decided not to go with Queen Helena because she wanted to give her older brother time to chat with her mother.

Even though they sat together at the same table, they made their group chats. Princess Rinne asked about the reason Princess Cordelia was in that place. Kyouka talked to Megumi and the other two heroes.

Princess Freya and Princess Aishia responded to questions from Princess Reina and Prince Albert about the cottage. Meanwhile, Clara, Princess Iris, and Princess Irene were talking about other things in whispers.

At the same time, in the cottage. Queen Helena asked Prince Fritz to wait in the living room. Those in the front yard would not hear their conversation in that place. Not long after, Queen Helena came from the kitchen with two cups in her hand.

"So what do you want to talk to me about, Fritz? I thought you didn't want to meet your mother again.? Queen Helena said to Prince Fritz and gave him the hot tea.

"Can you not tease me like that, mother? I'm sorry for keeping away from you all this time, but that's because I can't accept your divorce from father." Prince Fritz said apologetically. He didn't dare to look into his mother's face because of his guilt.

"You don't have to apologize, Fritz. It is my fault for suddenly asking your father for a divorce. But I can't lie about my feelings. Have you heard from your father about why I asked him for a divorce?" Queen Helena looked at her son and asked gently.

"Yes. I have heard everything from father. But there is one thing that makes me curious. Can you answer it, mother?" Prince Fritz looked at Queen Helena seriously.

"If you want to ask about the man I have fallen in love with, I'm sorry that I can't say for now. But you will find out in the future, Fritz." Queen Helena was forced to hide it from her son because she felt it was not the time for Prince Fritz to know about it. She hoped her son wouldn't be angry after learning that the person was Ziel.

"I understand. In that case, I will wait until you are ready to tell me about that man." Prince Fritz nodded and did not force Queen Helena to answer his question because he understood how his mother was feeling.

"Thank you, Fritz." Queen Helena smiled with relief.

"Then, who owns this cottage? Why do you and Freya live in this place?" Prince Fritz felt the atmosphere getting awkward and tried changing the subject of their conversation.

"That is… huh!" Queen Helena wanted to answer that the cottage was Kalya's, but she stopped her words after feeling the place shaking violently.

Grggrgrgrgrgr!

"What has happened!?" Prince Fritz got up from his seat and said frantically.

"Let's check it out!" Queen Helena quickly left the room without waiting for an answer from her son as she was worried about the girls.

When she came out of the cottage, Queen Helena was shocked when she saw the sky had suddenly turned dark. Clara and the others quickly gathered around her after seeing her.

"Is this related to him?" Queen Helena asked in a low voice because her intuition told her that something had happened to Ziel.

"Yes. We also feel that way." Prince Irene answered on behalf of the girls.

"I hope nothing bad happens to Ziel and the others." Queen Helena said worriedly. The girls nodded and silently prayed for the safety of the man they loved.