Chapter 184 - 29
The night breeze cools the atmosphere in the castle of the Cirlus Kingdom. Although the garden behind the castle is a bit far from the beach, you can still see the beautiful view of the ocean at night. The Cirlus Kingdom purposely provides lighting so that the kingdom's residents can still enjoy the view of the sea even in the dark.
Clara and the other girls enjoy the view of the ocean at night from the garden behind the castle. Only Princess Freya, Princess Aishia, Princess Iris, Clara, and Lilith are at the table. Meanwhile, Dalvin, James, and Rhea returned to their room with the excuse that they were sleepy and wanted to rest early.
"This is warm honey ginger that can warm your body, my lady." Ziel came to their table and brought hot drinks for Clara and the girls.
"Thanks, Ken!" Clara and the girls smiled, showing their gratitude as they accepted the drinks that Ziel had served them. After tasting his honey ginger, the girls' faces became more relaxed and refreshed.
Ziel sat on one of the chairs between Princess Freya and Princess Aishia. He also began to enjoy the drink he made for himself. Not long after, Kalya came to their table. But she wasn't alone. She came with Princess Cordelia.
Initially, Kalya intended to go to that place secretly. But suddenly Princess Cordelia appeared behind her and said that she wanted to come with her. Kalya was surprised by Princess Cordelia's request because she didn't feel very close to her. Kalya couldn't think of anything else that made Princess Cordelia want to follow her. Kalya reluctantly had to agree as she also had no reason to refuse.
Ziel frowned because Princess Cordelia had kept looking at him with a strange look ever since she came. But Ziel pretended not to notice and kept enjoying the drink in his cup.
"I apologize for being late. I just finished with my dinner. Ah, Princess Cordelia is coming with me at this time, is that all right?" Kalya feels bad for suddenly bringing someone else there. So at least she wanted to get Clara and The girls' approval.
"No problem, miss kalya! Isn't Princess Cordelia the Princess of this kingdom? So, she can come and go to this place as she pleases. You don't need to ask our opinion. Besides, the busier, the better, don't you think?" Princess Freya smiled in response. Then she looked to the other girls for their opinion.
"I agree with Freya. Please have a seat, Princess Cordelia. We apologize if we are a bit noisy here." Princess Iris quickly agreed with Princess Freya's words. The other girls also gave their consent.
"Thank you for allowing me to join you here. I felt bored being inside the castle before. Luckily I met Kalya and came to this place. Don't worry, aren't girls a bit noisy when they're together?" Princess Cordelia sat on the empty chair next to Lilith. Kalya followed her and sat on another chair.
Then Ziel got up from his seat and served them both warm drinks. Kalya accepted it with a smile because she was used to it. In contrast, Princess Cordelia felt awkward when she received the cup. She can not directly drink a cup served by people she does not know. But after Princess Cordelia saw Kalya drinking it without hesitation, she also started tasting it.
"Hmm!" Princess Cordelia widened her eyes after tasting the drink that Ziel had made. She was confused because the girls were getting used to the drink. Princess Cordelia could feel that the drink was not only made of ginger and honey but also other ingredients that contained a lot of mana.
Princess Cordelia felt her body lighter and fresher. She also felt her strength increase slightly. It was because of mixing Leviathan's blood essence into the drink. The half of Leviathan's body that Ziel had saved had many benefits. That's why he didn't want to waste any of it. He extracted the essence of Leviathan's blood, bones, skin, and flesh until they were spotless.
"How did you make this drink?" Princess Cordelia subconsciously asked Ziel. She was very curious how Ziel made a drink that contained a lot of mana like that.
"With ginger and honey, of course." Ziel replied calmly. But Princess Cordelia's face twitched upon hearing his answer.
"I know about it. But can you be more specific? For example, the secret ingredient for that drink." Princess Cordelia asked him again. She tried not to get emotional with Ziel's previous answer.
"I apologize if I forgot to mention it, Princess Cordelia. I added hot water to both ingredients." Ziel answered her flatly.
"Cough!" Princess Iris choked while she was drinking. Kalya and the other girls even covered their mouths to hold back laughter.
"You! Are you kidding me!?" Princess Cordelia asked Ziel in a relatively high tone. Then she narrowed her eyes at him. She finally realized that Ziel had no intention of honestly answering her question from the start.
"I apologize if my answer did not meet your expectations, Princess Cordelia. But I answered honestly." Ziel answered casually. He wasn't affected by what Princess Cordelia had said earlier. Princess Cordelia realized that she had unintentionally raised her voice to Ziel. She quickly calmed her mind and returned to her usual self.
"Haa… I apologize for raising my voice earlier. I got a little carried away. It's been a long time since no one has dared to joke with me like that, so I'm a little sensitive." Princess Cordelia sighed lightly and then smiled at Ziel. But Princess Cordelia frowned as she didn't see any change in Ziel's facial expression.
"I am not kidding. The answer I have given you is the real answer." Zel shook his head. He usually only uses ginger and honey to make the drink, and Kalya knows that. But for today and the next few days, any food or drink he makes will have a Leviathan element.
"You!..." Princess Cordelia wanted to scream at Ziel again, but Kalya quickly stopped her. She felt that there would be a long debate if she didn't intervene immediately.
"Okay, we don't have to worry about that. What he said was the truth, Princess Cordelia. So please don't make it difficult." Kalya smiled and warned Princess Cordelia.
"Oh, I understand. I don't know why my temper is a bit unstable, maybe because I'm a little tired. I apologize." Princess Cordelia smiles apologetically to Kalya and Ziel.
Clara and the other girls could finally breathe a sigh of relief as the tense atmosphere at the table relaxed. They were pretty surprised to see that Princess Cordelia was not the same as what was rumored. According to the stories they heard, Princess Cordelia was a beautiful girl. But, if you look closely, she is far more beautiful than the stories they hear. When other people said she had a good temper, it seemed different from reality.
"Princess Cordelia, may I know how you can be so strong at your age? I am one of the people who admire you!" Princess Freya tried to change the topic of their conversation.
"That's because..." Princess Cordelia began to explain a bit of her experience to Princess Freya. Then the other girls also asked her in turn. The girls were lost in their chatter and unaware that the drinks in their cups had run out.
After Kalya and the girls finished their drinks, Ziel quickly cleared their cups and took them away from there. The main purpose of clearing the cups was to quickly get out of the table where only the girls occupied. He didn't want to interrupt their conversation because he was the only man in the place. Moreover, he tried to avoid Princess Cordelia, who kept glancing at him from time to time.
Ziel took the empty cup to a place not far from the girls' table. He just had to put it on the table in that place, and the maid from the Cirlus Kingdom would clean it up. He didn't immediately return to the girls' table and decided to linger in that place to buy time until Clara, and the other girls were done with their chat.
"Ooh, what is the person who killed Leviathan doing in a place like this?" A girl's voice suddenly sounded from behind Ziel. Even without looking at her, Ziel already knew who the girl was.
"I don't understand what you mean, Princess Cordelia? After all, what did you come here for? do you want that drink again? If it's true, then I'll bring it for you there. You don't have to bother to come here yourself. But if you're still curious about the ingredients used to make the drink, I've already given you the answer." Ziel pretended not to understand the meaning of Princess Cordelia's words. He tried to shift the topic of their conversation to another matter.
"You don't have to pretend in front of me. I wonder why someone like you, who is strong enough to defeat Leviathan, would want to become the butler of a mere noble's daughter. I was also curious as to why you hid your identity from the academy people?" Princess Cordelia smiled teasingly at Ziel. She slowly closed the distance between the two of them.
"Did you perhaps mistake me for someone else, Princess Cordelia? I don't understand all of those words of yours." Ziel answered her calmly. Even though he didn't know how Princess Cordelia found out that he killed Leviathan, he couldn't just admit it.
"You can keep pretending like that. But I saw you fight against Leviathan this afternoon. I have eyes that can see objects far away and tiny objects. What's more, the object I see won't notice it because my vision is one with nature." Princess Cordelia subconsciously revealed her eyes' ability because she was a bit annoyed at Ziel with a straight face keep to pretend in front of her. She wanted Ziel to admit that he was the one who killed Leviathan. Ziel frowned after hearing Princess Cordelia's explanation.
"Hee… you have troublesome eyes, huh." Ziel still didn't admit that he was the person Princess Cordelia meant. Princess Cordelia's eyes are great, but not that amazing. Rhea's eyes that can see the aura or mana of others are more special than her. But because Princess Cordelia's eyes were one with nature and couldn't be noticed when she used them, it became more troublesome than Rhea's eyes.
"Of course, because this is my innate ability since I was born. So, you better admit it because I won't tell anyone either." Princess Cordelia puffed out her chest proudly. She no longer displayed the calm demeanor she had shown in front of the girls before.
"So, does your ability still function properly even without eyeballs?" Ziel extended his hand towards Princess Cordelia's eyes.
"What do you want to do to me?" Princess Cordelia's face became tense after hearing Ziel's question. She subconsciously stepped back in fear.
"I just want to know if the ability can still be used if I gouge out your eyeball." Ziel said indifferently.
"You! Don't joke with me!" Princess Cordelia wanted to fight Ziel using her power, but she was shocked that she couldn't release any mana.
"Do I look joking in your eyes?" Ziel casually asked her. His words made Princess Cordelia even more scared, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
"You can't do it! Otherwise, I will scream! Your employer, your teacher, and your fellow academics will know who you are!?" Princess Cordelia threatens to reveal Ziel's identity.
"You can scream as loud as you can. But I tell you it's useless. They won't notice you." Ziel didn't care about her threats. He even gave Princess Cordelia time to do what she wanted to do.
When Princess Cordelia looked around her, she realized that none of Kalya, Clara, or the other girls were paying attention to her. They completely ignored her, like they didn't see her at all. Ziel suddenly appeared in front of Princess Cordelia.
"Eh!?" Princess Cordelia froze with Ziel's sudden appearance. She intended to dodge Ziel's hand, but her body couldn't move as an invisible force locked her there. Little by little, Ziel's hand finally came right in front of Princess Cordelia's eyes.
"No! I beg you! Don't take my eyeballs!" Princess Cordelia screamed hysterically. She didn't want to lose the innate ability that the gods had bestowed on her. She also didn't want to lose her eyeballs and go blind. Ziel's finger slowly entered Princess Cordelia's eye socket and poked out her eyeball.
"Aaaaaaahhhh!" Princess Cordelia's scream echoed through the sky, and blood spurted from her eyes.