Claudia, now in the form of a six-year-old girl, stroked the head of a large snake as she sipped her coconut water.
She had made a habit lately of visiting Naila’s garden in the guise of the child Adelheid. She once again confirmed that the water flowing through the channels in Naila’s garden was indeed brimming with special magical energy as she soaked her small, bare feet.
Just as I suspected. This water is identical to that in my palace. It flows along a ley line of pure magic within the earth.
Even if the curse of gold were to taint everything around them, staying near this water would likely provide protection for a short time.
But only for a short time. Its strength is insufficient to wholly undo the curse.
Naila, who had kindly provided Claudia with sweets, was off in the corner of the garden, quietly practicing her archery.
Her golden, bird-shaped bow gleamed as she loosed an arrow into her target. It was just as beautiful as it had been the last time Claudia had seen it.
The harem girls claim the barrier was reconstructed only once in the past, and that was before Ashbal was even born. If that is indeed the case, and it hasn’t been altered in recent years, then how did a young Ashbal manage to stumble into the harem after being injured?
The barrier had been constructed with a single rule: The entry of any man or magical beast, save for the king himself, was forbidden.
And it would seem that assuming his fox form would make no difference. I took the shape of a cat and sought to slip through, yet the barrier repelled me with such force that I was singed.
Pouting, Claudia twirled the damaged tips of her hair between her fingers.
She could have easily mended her hair on her own, but she intended to leave it as it was. After all, she preferred to have Noah tend to it when they met.
And then there remains the matter of Ashbal’s mother having escaped the harem. Had she been frequently summoned to the king’s chambers, she might have found an opportunity to slip away using magic. But that wasn’t the case. She visited the king only once. If there had been a second time, the entire harem would have surely been aware of it.
Claudia understood firsthand how much attention was drawn to a member of the harem being summoned by the king.
Likewise, the king visiting the harem was never a secret. The matter of royal heirs was far too important for such things to be discreet.
That leaves a single explanation.
As she placed the plant stalk straw back in her mouth once more, she reached her conclusion.
The one who cast the current barrier was none other than Ashbal’s mother herself.
If she had been the one to cast the spell, she could have undone the barrier at will, just long enough to escape, and then recast it before anyone noticed. Under the cover of night, when the harem was fast asleep, she could have slipped away in mere moments.
However, that would suggest she possessed exceptional skills in barrier magic. Could she have been a princess from the royal lineage of some foreign kingdom?
And even if that were the case, one issue remained unresolved.
It still fails to account for how Ashbal, as a child, was able to pass through the barrier. Perhaps his mother taught him how to undo it and restore it? No, that couldn’t be.
While magical abilities were often hereditary, no child could perfectly replicate a parent’s magic.
And yet, Ashbal came and went from the harem freely for years, even before becoming king. It’s unlikely that he would have been able to sneak in secretly using the method his mother had used to leave.
Claudia frowned, gazing up at the sky.
The barrier, like a thin film of glass, stretched overhead. Though it was transparent, she knew it was there. She could see it.
I suppose...even I am unable to fully analyze the structure of this barrier.
That was something she experienced very rarely in this life or the last. It intrigued her.
The one who cast this must have been a formidable sorcerer. If they poured all their strength into sealing something away, then even I might struggle to see through it.
Claudia released the straw from her lips and turned to glance at Naila, who had lowered her bow and stood still, staring absently at the sky.
“What’s wrong, Naila?”
Naila startled at the sound of Claudia’s voice, her eyes widening. She hastily wiped a bead of sweat from her jaw, as if to conceal her moment of distraction.
“It’s—” she hesitated a moment before continuing “—nothing. I was just thinking about how tonight is a full moon.”
“Why are you thinking about the moon?”
“Ah, well...”
Naila looked progressively more uncomfortable as Claudia watched her. The moon clearly carried significant weight for her.
“It’s just that he...”
Naila rarely referred to him by name, but Claudia knew exactly who she meant.
Ashbal.
“For the past year, he’s only visited me on nights of the full moon. I thought, perhaps, he might come again tonight.”
The full moon?
That caught Claudia’s attention.
But more than that, it was Naila’s expression that unsettled her.
It couldn’t be...could it?
Naila’s lips trembled as she pressed them into a thin line. Her body was equally tense. She looked uneasy. She gripped the golden bow fervently as though in silent prayer.
Is this truly the face of a woman eagerly awaiting a visit from her beloved betrothed?
Still, Claudia pretended not to notice as she adopted an innocent smile. “Tee hee. Are you excited to see the king?”
Naila tried to look happy, but her lips twitched, the expression strained and brittle.
“I don’t think he wants to see me.”
“Naila?”
She was trembling.
It almost seems as though she’s afraid of Ashbal.
A troubling suspicion coiled in Claudia’s chest. She kept her tone lighthearted as she cheered, “I think I should go home now! Let’s play again soon!”
“Adelheid?”
“Thank you for the snacks!”
Gathering the remaining sweets and coconut shells into a neat pile for the servants, Claudia sprang to her feet and dashed away, her mind racing.
If my suspicion is correct, this is the worst-case scenario. And if I’m right, there’s not a moment to lose.
She ran out of Naila’s palace and ducked around a corner before shifting back into her adult form.
Ashbal has visited her only on nights of the full moon... If that holds true for this evening as well, then I need to take action before the sun sets.
Even at the 157 centimeters of her adult form, there was no way she could look over the harem walls to see Noah in the palace, but she had to find him. The actions she could take from here were limited.
Our usual excuse for a nightly visit won’t suffice. We cannot afford to wait until nightfall. And even if I send a letter, there is no guarantee that it will reach him in time.
Asking for the king to visit was a common occurrence in the harem. Even if she marked her request as urgent, a servant might ignore that and decide to delay its delivery.
I wished to avoid this, but it seems I may have no choice but to shatter the barrier myself—
A shout interrupted her thoughts. From the main street of the harem, a flurry of voices arose. However, Claudia soon recognized that the voices weren’t raised in panic.
“His Majesty! His Majesty has come to the harem!”
Surely, it couldn’t be...
Claudia slipped from an alley onto the main stone path leading to the harem’s gate.
And there she saw the straightforward obsidian eyes so familiar to her.
Noah.
He wore the embroidered, high-collared jacket of the king, set off by a colorful mantle. He looked resplendent.
Noah’s eyes met Claudia’s. She broke into a run, and he reached out for her without hesitation. She leaped into his arms, and he held her firmly.
“Dia.”
A chorus of delighted gasps and shouts of joy rippled through the women around them.
Then, in a low voice, meant for her ears alone, Noah murmured, “Forgive my forwardness, Your Highness. I bring urgent news.”
His voice was deeper, rougher than she remembered from his childhood.
Claudia laughed softly, tightening her arms around his back. “Take me to the royal chambers, Your Majesty.”
Noah’s sigh when he heard her request didn’t seem like an act for those around them. Still, without another word, he swept her away.