Erza stood in the doorway.
The Dragon Queen of Atlantis. Ruler of the most powerful kingdom in existence. And she was standing in a cramped college classroom, her violet eye scanning the room with cold, detached interest.
She was watching Yuuta.
Why? He didn't know. Couldn't guess. His mind was still reeling from her arrival, from Elena's entrance, from the sheer impossibility of this situation.
Then she looked around.
The noise in the classroom was loud—not the focused murmurs of students working, but the chaotic buzz of confusion and speculation. Whispers bounced off the walls. Questions flew between desks. No one knew what was happening, but everyone had a theory.
Erza's voice cut through it like a blade.
"Silent, humans."
---
One word.
Just one.
And the classroom went dead.
Not the kind of silence that comes from people choosing to be quiet. The kind that comes from people losing the ability to speak. Every mouth closed. Every throat tightened. Every pair of eyes widened with primal, inexplicable fear.
It was domination.
Pure and absolute.
Erza didn't need to raise her voice. Didn't need to threaten. Her presence alone was enough—a weight pressing down on every human in the room, reminding them of their place in the cosmic order.
She looked around. Searching.
Then Elena pointed.
"Mama!" Her tiny finger extended toward the middle of the room. "See that human? The one from the picture!"
---
Erza turned.
Her violet eye locked onto a girl sitting near the window.
Black hair. Amber eyes. Slim figure. Blushing in the photograph—blushing now, under the weight of that ancient gaze.
Fiona.
The name meant nothing to Erza. The face meant everything.
This was her. The one from the photograph. The one holding Yuuta's hand. The one making him smile like that.
Fire and snow.
That's what their eyes were when they met.
Fiona's amber—warm, human, uncertain.
Erza's violet—cold, ancient, absolute.
Erza moved.
She crossed the room in silence, her white dress flowing behind her like a winter storm. Students shrank back as she passed. Desks seemed to shift away from her path. The air grew colder with every step.
She stopped in front of Fiona.
Towered over her.
Fiona felt it immediately—the pressure. Not physical, but existential. Like standing at the edge of a cliff. Like looking into an abyss that was looking back.
She couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Could only stare up at this impossible woman and wonder if she was about to die.
Erza's hand shot out.
She grabbed Fiona's face. Fingers cold against warm skin. Held her there—trapped, helpless, nothing.
"So." Erza's voice was quiet. Intimate. Deadly. "You are the one who is close with that pathetic mortal."
---
The classroom heard.
Mortal.
The word registered in a dozen minds simultaneously. But no one could speak. No one could move. The weight of Erza's presence held them all in place.
Fiona trembled.
Her heart pounded. Her breath came in short gasps. Something in her eyes—something no one else could see—flickered with recognition. With fear.
"W-Who are you?" The words barely escaped. "And what... what mortal?"
Erza's lip curled.
She pointed. One elegant finger extended toward the back of the room. Toward a Yuuta. Toward the trembling figure standing.
"That mortal."
Erza's eye flicked toward Yuuta. Cold. Dismissive.
She pointed at him without looking away from Fiona.
Erza leaned closer. Her lips brushed Fiona's ear. Her voice dropped to a whisper that carried ice and fire in equal measure.
"I don't know what relationship you share with this mortal. But his life is in my hands." A pause. "And I do not want you close to him."
She pulled back slightly. Let her words settle.
"If you do not want to die..." Her voice was soft. Merciful. Almost kind. "Stay away from him. I am merciful enough to give you a warning."
---
Fiona shook.
Her entire body trembled. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She wanted to speak. Wanted to ask a thousand questions. But nothing came out.
Nothing could come out.
Erza held her gaze for one more heartbeat.
Then—the pressure disappeared.
Erza stepped back. Turned away. The invisible weight that had been crushing the room lifted like a fog burning away in morning sun.
The classroom exploded.
The classroom was alive again.
The invisible domination pressure was gone, and the murmuring started immediately—a wave of confused, frightened, utterly bewildered whispers that washed across every corner of the room.
"What's going on here?!"
"Who IS she?!"
"What does she mean by 'mortals'?!"
One girl clutched her friend's arm, her voice shaking. "Did she just threaten Fiona?! Did you see that?!"
The boys in the back were completely lost. They stared at Erza like she was a creature from another world—which, technically, she was. Their mouths opened and closed, but no coherent words came out.
Professor Melory stood frozen at the front of the room. His lips moved. His throat worked. But whatever force had silenced them still clung to him like a physical weight. No sound escaped.
---
Meanwhile, Erza surveyed the chaos with cold disinterest.
She turned to Yuuta. Her violet eye fixed on him like a predator watching prey.
"So." Her voice was casual. Almost bored. "This is the college you spoke of, mortal?"
Yuuta nodded frantically. "Yes! Yes, Miss—Your Highness—this is the college!"
Erza's gaze swept the room again. Taking in the desks, the books, the terrified students.
"Interesting."
---
The whispers continued. Growing bolder now that the pressure had lifted.
Wild theories. Impossible speculations. Students trying desperately to make sense of what they'd just witnessed.
"She must be some kind of actress, right?"
"Did you see her eyes? That's not normal."
"Maybe she's from one of those rich families that never leave their estates?"
"Look at her dress. That's not modern fashion."
One girl—blonde hair pulled back, sharp eyes behind glasses—murmured to her friend.
"Okay, this is going to sound crazy." She bit her lip. "But what if... what if Yuuta slept with her when she was drunk? And then ran away? And now she found him and came for revenge?"
Her friend's eyes went wide. "That's insane!"
"I know! I'm just making assumptions!"
---
Erza's head turned.
Her violet eye fixed on the blonde girl with laser precision.
"You are correct."
---
The classroom went silent again.
But this time, the silence was different. It was the silence of shock. Of disbelief. Of minds struggling to process information that made absolutely no sense.
The blonde girl stared. Her mouth hung open. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates.
"I—I was just—" She pressed both hands to her mouth. Her voice came out muffled. "I was making assumptions! I didn't actually—oh my god."
The room erupted.
"HE DID WHAT?!"
"YUUTA?! OUR YUUTA?!"
"WITH HER?!"
"No way! NO WAY!"
"She's saying he slept with her and ran away?!"
"That's insane!"
"How is that even possible?!"
Fiona sat frozen at her desk. Her amber eyes had gone wide. Her face was pale. She stared at Yuuta like she'd never seen him before.
Yuuta wanted to die.
---
Professor Melory finally found his voice.
"SILENCE!"
The word boomed across the room like a thunderclap. Years of commanding unruly culinary students finally paid off—everyone froze instantly.
Melory's face was red. His hands trembled slightly against his podium. But his voice was steady, controlled, professional.
"Someone—" He looked at Erza. At Elena. At Yuuta. Back to Erza. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Someone had better explain what is going on here. Now."
Then Professor Melory finally stepped forward.
He'd had enough. The chaos, the whispers, the utter disruption of his carefully planned lecture—it was too much. The veins near his temple pulsed faintly beneath his glasses.
"Yuuta."
His voice was stern. Sharp. The voice of a man whose patience had evaporated entirely.
"If you are orchestrating this absurd prank to escape my lecture, you will stop it immediately."
Yuuta shook his head quickly. Panic flickered across his face like lightning.
"It's not a prank, Professor. I promise. I wouldn't do something like this."
The professor's expression hardened. His eyes narrowed behind those thick lenses.
"Then explain it to me." The demand cut through the air like a blade. "How is it that a third-year student in my class is suddenly married and has a child? Do you take me for a fool? You have the audacity to stage this during my lecture? There will be consequences."
The accusation hung in the air like smoke.
---
Erza's expression changed.
Subtle at first. A tightening around her eyes. A slight stillness in her posture.
Then her gaze shifted toward the professor.
Cold.
Merciless.
How dare this human raise his voice at her human?
In her presence?
Her fingers lifted slowly.
Not dramatically. Not with flair. Just enough.
The air around her hand shimmered faintly. Thin frost formed at her fingertips—delicate, beautiful, deadly.
Several students felt their breath hitch.
Yuuta felt it too.
The intent.
Sharp.
Decisive.
Fatal.
---
Before Erza could complete the motion, Yuuta reached up and grabbed her wrist.
"My Queen."
His voice was quick. Desperate. He forced warmth into it—forced himself to sound casual, affectionate, normal.
"Did you miss me that much while I was gone?"
---
Ba-dump.
Ba-dump.
Erza's heart beat.
The shift was immediate.
She froze.
Her raised hand trembled—not with power this time. Not with killing intent. With something else. Something unfamiliar.
Color bloomed across her pale cheeks.
A deep, visible red.
She stared at him as though he had spoken a forbidden spell. A spell that rose the long-forgotten thing buried beneath centuries of ice.
Feelings.
"I—"
The word caught in her throat.
Her composure fractured. Just for a heartbeat. Just enough to see.
She pulled her hand back slightly. Her eyes flickered away—anywhere but his face.
"W-What?" Her voice was no longer perfectly steady. "W-What are you implying, Peasant?"
Her cheeks flushed even deeper. Almost the color of a ripe apple.
---
Then—
The moment shattered.
Something shifted behind her eyes. The warmth drained away. The cold returned—deeper than before, harder than before.
Without warning, her hand shot out and grabbed his neck.
In front of everyone.
In front of the entire class.
"What the hell did you do to me?!"
Her voice was ice. Fury. Confusion. All wrapped into one.
Yuuta choked. His hands came up to her wrist—not fighting, just... holding.
"Your Highness—" His voice was barely a whisper, meant only for her. "Please calm down."
---
The classroom erupted.
No one could hear Yuuta's quiet plea. All they saw was the terrifying woman with her hand around their classmate's throat.
"What's happening?!"
"Is she killing him?!"
"Someone do something!"
Professor Melory opened his mouth to shout—
"SILENT."
Erza's voice cut through the chaos like a blade through flesh.
One word.
Absolute authority.
The classroom went silent again. Completely. Totally. Not a single whisper, not a single breath.
This time, Erza was serious.
---
She released Yuuta's neck. Turned to face the class. Her violet eye swept across them like a predator surveying prey.
"You disgusting humans." Her voice was cold. Controlled. Royal. "Listen to me carefully."
She paused. Let the silence stretch.
"Whatever you think about me and this human's relationship, I do not care." Each word was precise. Deadly. "But you will not speak about it in my presence."
Her gaze landed on a strong-looking guy sitting in the back. The one who'd been whispering the loudest. The one who'd made the crudest jokes.
His face went pale.
Erza smiled. It was not a kind smile.
"His life belongs to me." She gestured at Yuuta without looking at him. "He is mine. His future is sealed. His fate is in my hands."
She took a step toward the back of the room.
"So if I find any mark on him—"
Another step.
"Any bruise. Any insult. Any harm—"
She stopped directly in front of his desk. Looked down at him.
"I promise you." Her voice dropped to a whisper that somehow carried to every corner of the room. "You will never see tomorrow morning. Again."
---
The guy didn't breathe.
Didn't move.
Didn't even blink.
He just sat there, frozen, as the most terrifying being he'd ever encountered delivered a death threat with the casual ease of discussing the weather.
Erza straightened. Turned away. Walked back to the front of the room like nothing had happened.
Erza straightened. Turned away. Walked back to the front of the room like nothing had happened.
Like she hadn't just threatened an entire classroom. Like she hadn't just claimed a human as her property. Like this was all perfectly normal.
Elena tugged at her sleeve.
"Papa!" She waved at Yuuta. "Come home!"
Yuuta didn't move.
He couldn't. He was still on the floor, one hand pressed to his throat, gasping for air. Her grip had been powerful—not enough to kill, but enough to remind him exactly who held his life in her hands.
Elena tilted her head. Confused.
"Papa? Are you not coming?"
Erza glanced back. Her violet eye flicked to Yuuta—assessing, dismissive.
"Elena. Come here."
"But Mama—"
"He is in the middle of his academy." The word came out awkward, unfamiliar. "The idiot will come back later."
Elena considered this. Then she brightened.
"Okay, Mama!" She turned to the frozen classroom and waved enthusiastically. "Bye bye, humans!"
She skipped toward her mother.
Erza didn't look back. She simply walked out—Elena trailing behind her—leaving chaos in her wake.
The door slid shut.
Silence.
---
Yuuta stayed on the floor.
His heart pounded. His hands shook. But beneath the fear, beneath the chaos, beneath the absolute impossibility of this situation—
Something else stirred.
What's wrong with her?
The thought surfaced unbidden.
She'd threatened them all. Made it clear she would kill anyone who harmed him. But she'd also made it clear she would kill him at the end of the year.
It didn't make sense.
It sounded like defending. Like claiming. Like...
Like a serial killer who doesn't want anyone else to play with their toy.
He shuddered.
He didn't know what to do with that. Didn't know what it meant. Didn't know if it changed anything.
But for now—
He had to face the classroom.
The movement door slid shut behind Erza and Elena.
The moment they were gone, the classroom exploded.
Not with noise—not yet. With movement. Students turning in their seats. Eyes locking onto Yuuta. Whispers building like a wave about to crash.
And then—
The wave hit.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Yuuta, who WAS she?!"
"Did she just say she owns you?!"
"Is that really your wife?!"
"Is that really your CHILD?!"
Questions flew at him from every direction. Too many. Too fast. He couldn't process, couldn't respond, couldn't do anything but stand there as they circled him like sharks sensing blood.
Then he saw Fiona.
She was still seated. Still frozen. But her eyes—those amber eyes that usually held warmth, curiosity, something—were fixed on him.
And they were filled with betrayal.
---
Yuuta's heart cracked.
Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just... a small fracture in the already-broken thing that was his emotional stability.
She knows. She heard. She saw.
And now she's looking at me like I'm a stranger.
The whispers around him shifted. Changed. Became uglier.
"So he really did sleep with someone and run away?"
"With a woman like THAT? How?!"
"Look at him. He's nobody. How did he land someone like her?"
"And he's been chasing Fiona this whole time? What a creep."
"Cheater. Probably cheated on that woman with Fiona."
"Or maybe he got that woman pregnant and abandoned her."
"Disgusting."
The word hit him like a slap.
Disgusting.
He'd heard it before. In his own thoughts. In his own self-loathing. But hearing it from others—from people who didn't know, couldn't know, would never understand—
It cut deeper than he expected.
---
Yuuta looked at his classmates.
At the disgust on their faces. At the way some of them physically moved away from him. At the whispers that grew louder, bolder, crueler.
His secret was out.
And in their eyes, he was guilty.
Guilty of sleeping with a woman and abandoning her.
Guilty of chasing Fiona while hiding a family.
Guilty of being exactly the kind of person they'd always suspected he might be.
He opened his mouth to speak. To defend himself. To explain.
But what could he say?
Actually, I didn't know she was real. I thought she was a dream. I was Sixteen. She was drunk. It's complicated.
No. That wouldn't help. That would make it worse.
So he said nothing.
---
Professor Melory's voice cut through the chaos.
"ENOUGH."
The command was sharp. Professional. The voice of a man reasserting control.
"Whatever personal matters exist between Yuuta and... that woman... are none of our concern." He adjusted his glasses. "We are here to learn culinary arts, not to gossip like common tabloids. Is that understood?"
Grudging nods. Muttered agreements. The class slowly, reluctantly, returned to their seats.
But the damage was done.
Yuuta could feel it in the way people looked at him. In the empty seat beside him that no one wanted to fill. In Fiona's continued silence—her refusal to even glance his way.
He sat down. Opened his notebook. Stared at the page.
The words he'd written earlier—extra butter, garlic, rosemary, thyme—blurred before his eyes.
One year.
He had one year to survive.
One year to convince Erza not to kill him.
One year to earn the right to keep breathing.
But right now, sitting in this classroom full of people who now saw him as a monster—
He wasn't sure he wanted it.
---
TO BE CONTINUED