Azzy never anticipated such a bizarre proposal, and that too, at such a place from Leah of all the people.
He couldn't help but remember the incident that occurred a couple of weeks ago when she suddenly pinned him to the wall and teased him like she was about to kiss him on the lips.
Did she has feelings for him or was she just crazy? Azzy bet on the latter for she knows about his love life very well.
Several thoughts came to his head but in the end, he replied with a simple statement, "I already have a girlfriend."
"I know. That's why I didn't say to date me or anything." Leah calmly responded while slowly walking toward him. She further said, "I don't have any luxury for romance. For me, the most important is securing the future of Camelot. For that, I wouldn't hesitate to become your second wife even when knowing that I won't be loved."
Azzy suddenly felt like there was something more to the story. As a guy who was looking forward to having a casual chat with Leah, he engaged in the conversation, postponing the battle for a while.
"Why, Leah? Everyone is entitled to pursue their own happiness," said Azzy.
For a moment, Leah halted her footsteps before she took a deep breath, steadied her emotions, and continued to walk toward him.
"Not everyone living in a palace has a happy childhood, Azrael." Leah let out a comment and then started explaining her story, "You know I had an older brother once, four years older than me. His name is Samuel and he was considered a step-child of the heavens.
He was a filial son, a kind-hearted prince, and my best friend. When we were children, I still remember his dream. It is to make my ancestors proud by reviving our lost empire. But, everything changed when I was eight.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtFrom the moment Excalibur chose me, our lives have changed in ways we never imagined.
My brother was supposed to be the next king of Camelot and the one my parents hoped to entrust Camelot's future to him.
However, because I awakened the Excalibur, the legendary Arcana that Emperor Arthur once wielded and used to unite the entire world, my parents stopped paying attention to him.
I became the center of attention. Our royal teacher put her entire focus on training me. Our relatives and ministers kept pestering my father to announce me as the next ruler of Camelot.
I and my brother became distant. He started taking on arduous tasks to prove his worth to everyone. That frustration only increased when I awakened my second Arcana at 12.
And that forced him to train a lot harder than before. To make a quick breakthrough to rank 7 and become the youngest royal prince to achieve that feat at the age of 16, he ventured into the wilderness of a level-4 region.
We were supposed to celebrate his 17th birthday but instead, we buried him on the same day.
That day, I made an oath to my brother. No matter what, I will diligently serve the royal palace, then, secure the future of Camelot, and revive the Empire of Arcana. This is my life goal and I would sacrifice my happiness to achieve it."
Azzy couldn't help but feel pity for her. Unfortunately for Leah, he still had his usual poker face. Hence, she didn't know how he took her story.
But then again, since she already reached her target, which is nothing but an illusion, she didn't even think of his feelings and swiftly ambushed him while pouring almost all of her soul energy into her hand.
With Azzy letting down his guard and Leah being just a foot away from him, he couldn't evade her hand.
As a result, her hand pierced his chest, then his heart, and he spat out a mouthful of blood onto her clothes. His eyes widened in shock, not expecting the situation would turn out like this. "You…"
Leah wasn't done with it. After retracting her hand, she threw all of her remaining 6 activated skill cards at him simultaneously while jumping away to protect herself from any reflex attack from the opponent.
It was at that moment the black crown made its appearance on his head. Life force gushed out of the gem and healed his injury in an instant.
In the meantime, the first activated skill card unleashed a torrent of electricity, which not only paralyzed his body and also induced second-degree burns all over his body.
It was followed by the second and third activated skill cards, which unleashed beams of intense flames.
The Jewel of life automatically unleashed a tremendous amount of life force to heal his injuries while the last three activated skill cards released a concentrated amount of ice energy, freezing him below the temperature of -220 degrees Celsius due to the combined power.
Leah was expecting to see Azzy with a hole in his chest, third-degree burns all over his body, and then face an instant death due to freezing.
However, nothing happened as she envisioned it. Instead, Azzy's body appeared to be perfectly healthy inside the ice.
"How is this possible?" She was shocked. "Just like I thought, the guardian god must have only used Azrael's body and speech. In fact, this must have been a supreme realm opponent."
While Leah lost her will to battle, the Reaper spoke in Azzy's mind, praising the girl to be quick-witted.
At first, Azzy was angry for being fooled but then after hearing out the Reaper, who suggested to not get influenced by emotions for they change by situations, he closed his eyes and used energy eruption to break the ice prison.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAzzy then charged forward while summoning a Protos spear in his hand.
"I'm done…"
Leah tightly shut her eyes when she saw that.
One second passed, two seconds, and even ten seconds passed but there was no strike. As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw Azzy standing right in front of her with the Protos Spear a few inches away from her neck.
Looking straight into her eyes, he opened his mouth, "Before I finish off you, I just want to ask one thing. Was there any lie in what you said until now?"
Leah thought that the guardian god might be testing her for the last time. She nodded, "Yes."
Azzy asked coldly, "what is it?"
If she tells that the touching story of her brother is nothing but a lie, then, he will be incredibly displeased and might not see her as a close friend anymore.
However, taking him by surprise, Leah replied, "I lied that I don't have any feelings for you and strictly expressed my wishes for the glory of Camelot. You were the first and only one I fell in love with. In the past 27 years, there was never a time I couldn't think of you, constantly wondering when I will see you again. That is why I thought if I could marry you, then, I will have my happiness and accomplish my goal."
Azzy silently stared at her, not knowing what to say after hearing those words.
The Reaper couldn't help but let out a chuckle and commented, "The Death clan's founder has married five outstanding women… It's not a bad idea..."
"Are you crazy? Wha… what do you take me for?" Azzy screamed in his head.
"Well, it's your past life, remember?" The Reaper countered him, almost immediately.
Azzy: "…"