Of course, he could still not forgive him for putting Tiararose in such a dangerous position.
"Let"s just go to the prison. …Ah, and take this."
"Hm?"
Grail threw something small towards Aquasteed.
Aquasteed caught it with both hands. His eyes widened in surprise.
The thing that Grail had given him was a ring that was clear as the sky. It was wide, and he could see that it was an opal that was carved into a ring.
But, the important thing was-.
"Grail, this…"
"Is the ring of the Fairy King of the sky."
"Why me?"
Considering what Grail had said just recently, this was not something to easily pa.s.s on to anyone. It wasn"t something to just toss into the air like that.
"Tiararose received Pearl"s ring, so I just thought that you might as well have one too."
"…I am grateful."
He received the ring and put it on the thumb of his right hand.
He immediately felt a chill and had to wrap his arms tightly around his body. This was an even bigger power than when he had been blessed by Grail and by Pearl.
He hadn"t realized just how great it would be, and sweat ran down his forehead as he thought.
-Yes, I can see why it would be bad to remove it before it has settled.
Aquasteed now realized that Tiararose had been incredibly lucky to have only just fallen into sleep.
"Now, let"s go."
"Ahh!"
Grail took Aquasteed"s hand, and the two of them rode the wind.
The board prison.
It was a place that the kings once used to set up their forces. But there was no need for it now, and the Fairy Kings themselves had nearly forgotten about it.
And yet, somehow the villainous daughter-Olivia Ariadale was waiting there.
"I am shocked. How can a human enter this place."
"So that is Lady Olivia?"
The prison was shaped like a sphere, and terribly cold water ran down the bars. It floated in the air, and there was a plant with a single fruit inside of the prison…as if a small sign of mercy.
"…Who are you?"
Olivia turned around and looked at Aquasteed and Grail.
What should have been luscious, rose red hair had lost its l.u.s.ter. The honey green eyes that look out from her rimmed gla.s.ses seemed to—be filled with a will to live.
"…Ha….!"
Olivia"s eyes widened. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand and then fell to the ground.
Aquasteed thought this was very strange, but he called out to her.
"…I am Aquasteed Marineforest. Are you Lady Olivia?"
"Ye-yes…I am Olivia Ariadale."
"Why are you here…is that blood?"
Blood was dripping from Olivia"s hands.
She had not been injured a moment ago, he thought, as they both rushed towards her.
Before they could ask if she was alright, Olivia pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood away.
"I am very sorry to have shown you something so terrible. I am fine now, Prince Aquasteed, King Grail."
"I…see…"
Olivia held the handkerchief to her nose and bowed to Aquasteed and Grail. She could not move as she would have wished, since she was in prison, but she had not lost her gracefulness.
But more importantly…
-So her nose was bleeding.
"If you are fine, that is good."
It seemed that she had become very excited, and as she insisted that she was alright, Aquasteed decided that it would be better to not pry any further.
Grail, who was behind Aquasteed, now walked up to the prison and stared hard at Olivia.
"Olivia Ariadale. How did you know my name?"
It didn"t make sense that a mere human would know the name of a Fairy King. Olivia shivered under Grail"s glare.
"I, I…"
"What?"
"I am honored that you spoke my name…!"
She could die from happiness! Olivia held the handkerchief against her nose again. Grail winced and took a step back.
"Aquasteed, this child. She is strange."
"…Yes."
"I don"t think we can talk to her. Maybe we should leave it to Levy."
Grail snapped his fingers, and the wind gathered and teleported Levy to where they were.
In spite of it being so sudden, Levy was quick to understand his situation-and ran straight for Olivia.
But Aquasteed would not allow it.
He unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Levy"s neck. He glared at Levy coldy, promising to slice his throat if he took a single step.
"Why, if it isn"t Prince Aquasteed."
"You seem quite confident for the position you"re in?"
"Oh, you misread me."
Levy said with a smile. But his eyes weren"t even looking at Aquasteed. He stared straight at Olivia.
It was obvious that he wanted nothing more than to meet her immediately.
But such emotions had nothing to do with Aquasteed. A drop of blood appeared at Levy"s throat, where Aquasteed held his sword.
"…Give me the ring."
He said in a chilling voice.
Aquasteed himself was surprised at how much emotion he was showing at that moment.
If he did not give him the ring now, Aquasteed would kill him. And so Levy said, "Of course." And raised both hands in a show of surrender.
Levy took the ring out of his inner pocket and gave it to Aquasteed, who handed it to Grail.
This was because as a Fairy King, Grail would likely be able to tell if it was the real one.
"…It is real."
"I see."
Aquasteed sighed and let Levy go. He did not want to forgive him, but continuing this fight would mean that it would take longer to return to Tiararose.
He held back the urge to kill with reason and put his sword back in its sheath.
Levy quickly ran, and his hands grabbed the bars with a loud ring.
His fingers gripped the bars as he shouted Olivia"s name.
"Olivia…! Thank G.o.d you are safe…!!"
"Levy! I, I…!"
Olivia and Levy"s hands touched through the bars. But they did not weep tears of joy over reuniting.
"I was able to meet Prince Aquasteed and King Grail! I am so happy that I could die…"
"I am happy, if you are happy, Olivia."
"I got stuck in this prison by mistake at the Lapis holy place, but what luck…! Oh, Levy, your hands are too cold!"
Olivia wrenched her fingers away from him.
Levy"s hands had become cold because of the water that was pouring. If he kept his hands there, they would become numb and useless.
Thankfully, Olivia had pulled away, otherwise, he would have likely held onto them for eternity. Yes, Aquasteed was certain of that.
"Uh, Aquasteed."
"What?"
"I don"t quite understand what is happening here."
"What a coincidence. I was just thinking the same thing."
Olivia Ariadale. The sequels villainess.
Her hobby was to visit famous event spots.