KNIGHTS 05

In the Five Knights' mansion, Aza sat straight on a single sofa, her gaze fixed on the five knights before her. She felt like she was being interrogated for a crime she didn't commit.

She wondered why only Raizen Titus Yvanov was seated while the others, like Ash, stood beside and behind him. Aza thought it was because he was a prince, hence their positions.

Psh, there's discrimination happening here! Aza thought. Ash, my crush, might get tired from standing. And why did he change clothes so quickly? I was enjoying looking at his abs— Aza quickly shook her head, scolding herself for the thoughts that came to mind.

"Am I already being a perv?" Aza whispered to herself, disturbed by her own thoughts.

"Speak, woman!"

Aza flinched slightly at the sound of Raizen's voice. She could feel his authoritative aura.

"H-huh?" Aza stammered, noticing Raizen's emotionless gaze fixed on her.

Ugh, I hate that look. He really is the Cold Prince. Aza thought, feeling the coldness in Raizen's gaze, lifeless and colder than ice.

"Are you going to speak or will I have you thrown out of this house?" Raizen declared, his words causing Aza to feel fear at his display, which Ash noticed.

"Titus, don't scare her." Ash tried to stop Raizen, who just snorted in response. Aza secretly smiled, relieved that Ash had saved her from her friend's outburst. Ash then turned to her with a smile, and Aza felt her heart flutter for the man she admired.

"Could you please introduce yourself to us?" Ash asked calmly and kindly.

"Yeah, who are you? Why were you running on the road? Was someone chasing you?" Onyx asked in rapid succession, making Aza turn to him.

"Ah, because—"

"Are you running from someone? You must be a criminal, right? But you don't look like an escaped prisoner. So who are you?" Tomi interrupted, cutting off her response. Aza panicked slightly because of the two's rapid-fire questions, unsure who to answer first. Her gaze then landed on Zild, who was silent, standing still.

"D-do you have any questions?" she asked, to which he just shook his head. She nodded before turning back to Raizen, who was still giving her that cold look.

"D-do you have any questions, your highness?" Aza asked, noticing Raizen's brow furrow when Tomi spoke.

"How did you know Raizen is a prince?" Tomi asked, followed by Onyx's question.

"Do you know us? You're a spy, aren't you?" Onyx accused, causing Aza's eyes to widen slightly.

"S-spy? W-wait, no!" Aza quickly denied, prompting Ash to step closer to the two and pat them on their shoulders, making them turn to him.

"Don't bombard her with questions. Let her answer us one by one. You're just scaring her!" Ash reprimanded the two, making Aza breathe a sigh of relief before slowly standing up from her seat, causing Onyx to turn back to her.

"Ahmm, F-first of all, my name is Azalhea Liem Mcphee. I'm 21 years old, and I live in—"

"Stop it!" Raizen hissed, interrupting her, making her flinch slightly where she stood.

"We didn't ask for your personal information, and we don't f*cking care about that! Just answer what we asked you." He snapped at her, making her nervous and teary-eyed from Raizen's outburst.

"Titus, you don't have to sho—"

"Shut up, Davis! She's a total stranger to us. How do we know she's not using a modus? She deliberately made sure Samaniego saw her and brought her here. We all know that girls are dying to see us, flirt with us, and seduce us for their personal matters!" Raizen declared. His words replaced the fear she felt with anger because of his assumptions about her.

"You're so judgmental!" Aza complained.

Yes, I have a plan to attract one of them, but I'm not a flirt. I'm doing this for Oz's sake! Aza added in her thoughts.

Ash shook his head at the kind of attitude Raizen was showing towards Aza. They knew he was grumpy, but he didn't expect him to be so harsh with her.

"Why, am I wrong? The f*cking prove it, speak! What's your real motive?" Raizen asked seriously, his sharp gaze fixed on Aza while Ash and the others watched, making Aza unable to help but glare at Raizen.

"I'm not a bad person or part of a gang for a modus! I didn't mean for Onyx—" Aza began to explain, pointing at Onyx.

"—to see me. I didn't plan that, okay! Someone was chasing me at that time, and all I could think about was escaping, so I didn't notice I was already on the road. And—" Aza immediately turned her gaze to Tomi.

"—I'm not an escaped prisoner. With my beauty, do I look like a prisoner? And the reason I know that grumpy guy—" Aza said emphatically, pointing at Raizen, who furrowed his brow at her action.

"—is a prince is because I read an article on the internet where there were pictures of you and information about you. And why would I seduce you? Are you guys even handsome?" Aza finished her explanation with a rant, making Ash unable to help but laugh at what he heard.

"You actually asked if we're handsome? Can't you tell?" Onyx commented with a smirk at Aza's words.

"We are handsome, Ms. Azathea. No joke. You must have read it in the article you mentioned, right?" Tomi said with a frown, making Aza turn to him.

"It's Azalhea, not Azathea!" she corrected, making Tomi shut up and hide behind Zild.

"Do you want me to believe your statement?" Raizen asked seriously, making Aza cross her arms in front of him.

"I didn't say you had to believe me, okay? I'm just explaining myself here. If you don't believe me, I won't force you, jerk!" Aza replied, meeting Raizen's serious gaze with her own.

Aza looked at Ash when she saw him walk towards her. She just looked at him until he reached her and guided her to sit on the sofa, sitting beside her, making her face slightly blush, which Raizen noticed, narrowing his eyes.

"Can you tell us who was chasing you and why?" Ash asked softly, making Aza quickly avert her gaze from him because she didn't want him to see her blushing.

"Because… a man wants to marry me, so I had no choice but to run away from him. I don't want to marry a man I don't love." Aza replied, making Tomi sit beside her, causing her to turn to him.

"Why is that man forcing you to marry him?" he asked curiously, making Aza slightly lower her head, thinking if it was okay to tell them the reason. But she knew she had no choice but to tell them the reason for them to believe her.

"Because the truth is, our company is losing money, so my friends had no choice but to agree to let me marry the man chasing me. We're doing it for Oz, but I just can't do it."

"Oz? Is that Oz Advertising Company?" Tomi asked, confirming, making Aza nod.

"The stupid Advertising company." Raizen commented with a cold smirk, making Aza glare at him.

"Hey, that's harsh! Yes, our company is losing money, but our Ads aren't stupid! It's just that yours are popular and sought after by sponsors and investors. If we're given a chance, we can show that we can keep up with your Ads." Aza snapped, stopping slightly and wincing when she realized what she said to Raizen, who just snorted at her statement.

"If that's the case..." Ash said, making Aza nod.

"Yes, to save Oz, I have to marry that rat. He's the only one we see who can help us." Aza admitted to Ash.

"Surrendering yourself for a fcking marriage just to help your company is a fcking pathetic and absurd." Zild suddenly declared, making them all look at him except Raizen, whose cold gaze was still fixed on Aza.

Zild silently climbed the stairs, while Aza watched him, slightly stunned by what Zild said to her and what she said. She thought he was mute because she hadn't heard him speak before. It seemed the site she read was right about the descriptions of the knights.

"Zild really just surprises you when he speaks, huh?" Tomi said, agreeing with Ash about Zild's words.

"Zild's right. You shouldn't agree to that, Aza." Ash said, secretly making Aza's eyes sparkle when he called her by her name.

"If that man who wants to marry you is chasing you, what will you do now?" Onyx asked, crossing his arms and not moving from his position behind Raizen.

"My friends told me to go home to our province first, but I don't know if that's right because I know he'll find me there." Aza replied, thinking about the condition of her friends, making her worry.

"If that's the case, and you're not sure if you're safe when you go home to your province, then you can stay here. And don't worry, he won't find you here." Ash suggested with a smile, making Aza turn to him in surprise.

"Are you sure? D-don't I seem unwelcome here?" Aza said, glancing slightly at Raizen, who was coldly looking at her. She immediately averted her gaze from him and turned to Tomi, who smiled at her, before turning back to Ash, who nodded with a smile.

"I won't let you get married if you don't want to, so it's okay with me. The Knights Mansion is big, there's still space next to Zild's room, so your problem is solved." Onyx declared, unable to help but smile when he turned to Raizen, who stood up from his seat.

"What can I do? Three out of me?" Raizen said, glancing at Aza, who quickly averted her gaze from him, making him just snort before walking back to his room.

"Welcome to our house, Aza. Feel free to stay. And don't mind Titus. There's nothing he can do because we're the ones who want you to stay here for now." Ash explained with a smile, making Aza nod.

"Thank you guys. I never thought you had golden hearts."

"You're welcome." Ash said with a smile, making Aza smile widely.

I'll stay here. This is my chance to make Ash fall for me! Aza encouraged herself, because from that day on, she would be living under the same roof as the five knights who could help with the problem facing Oz....