Karlheinz was not only the commander of the mage knights but also Avianoia’s chief conjurer. For Noah, however, he was more than that—Karlheinz had been his master for the past ten years. Since the age of nine, Noah had learned the art of the blade under his tutelage, training to protect his princess.
And two years ago, Karlheinz had also become his superior.
“You are no longer a mere servant, Noah. You are the captain of a chapter of royal knights.”
The rise of a nameless orphan, once nothing more than a servant, to the rank of captain in the king’s service was a story known across the realm. The only person to whom he could even be compared was Karlheinz himself, who had likewise risen from orphanhood to claim the title of chief conjurer, a tale so famous that it was known even to those outside of the kingdom.
Noah, however, could not have cared less about such things.
“I have fulfilled all my duties without issue,” he said.
“If your subordinates are concerned for your well-being, then you are still lacking,” Karlheinz countered. “You work without rest, and it weighs on them.”
“I recall thinking the same of you when I was a child, Lord Karlheinz.”
“Perhaps it seemed that way because you only saw me when I was working with Her Highness. Her orders took priority over all else. There was no one else who could carry them out.” Karlheinz leaned back in his chair and looked up at Noah. “I understand why you’re restless. Three years have passed since Princess Claudia fell into her slumber.”
Three years ago, Claudia had cast herself into a deathlike sleep, a spell that used her own life as a component.
“I must reconstruct this body,” she had told Noah before casting the spell.
Claudia’s soul had not been hers alone but also that of Adelheid, the legendary witch from five centuries before. Particularly, Adelheid’s vast magical power had been too great for the vessel of Claudia Nathalie Breitkreuz’s body to contain.
Yet, Claudia needed that magic, for in this world there existed a malevolent type of magic known as a curse.
It was the same vile magic that had once driven Adelheid, the greatest witch of her time, to sacrifice her life in a desperate struggle to protect the world.
And now, in the era in which Claudia had been reborn, cursed artifacts bearing that same magic had begun to spread once more into the hands of royal families across the world. Among those involved in this dark tide were Noah’s homeland, the Kingdom of Lemilsia, and his cousin, Sieghart.
“Sieghart has been obsessed with me ever since he first laid eyes upon me as a child,” she had said. “Right now, he’s sealed the borders of his kingdom for his father’s funeral rites. But three years from now—when the mourning period ends—he will come for me with everything he has.”
She had then smiled sadly at Noah.
“My body cannot withstand the magic I wield. As I am now, I can neither destroy the cursed implements nor stand against Sieghart when he comes for me.”
“Then allow me to be the one to do so,” Noah interjected. “Your Highness need not burden yourself with such matters. I shall see to them in your stead. So please—”
“I’m sorry, Noah.” She shook her head, and Noah knew that there was nothing he could say to change her mind. “There’s no one else I can entrust this to. Will you listen to my wish?”
Noah’s breath caught. She knew that he couldn’t resist her when she spoke like that.
“The spell I will cast will consume my life. With that death, I will unleash the magic necessary to reconstruct this body anew. It is what one might call a false death. I shall die, yes, but it will not be a true death. When the reconstruction is complete, my body shall awaken once more.”
She tilted her head, her milk-tea-colored hair spilling over her shoulder.
“Please...wait for me, Noah.”
“Your Highness,” he said, taken aback.
“If I know you’re waiting for me, my dear Noah, I know I will wake again.”
And then, just before she fell into her long sleep, she told him her wish: that no matter what should happen, Noah must remain true to himself, and that he must stay the Noah she had always known.
It had been a wish born of guilt that she’d carried from her previous life—guilt for the disciples she had left behind when she had last perished as Adelheid.
She had told no one but Noah the details of this plan.
“You may go, Noah.” In his office, Karlheinz sighed, dismissing him with a wave.
Noah gave him a knight’s salute. “By your leave, Lord Karlheinz.”
He turned on his heel and strode out of the commander’s office. The room he was heading to contained wards against teleportation, so he silently walked the crimson-carpeted halls.
Claudia’s words ran through his head: “Stay as my precious Noah. Kind, honest, and stronger than anyone else I know.”
The small chapel at the heart of the royal castle was unlike the grand sanctums meant for ceremonies and festivals. It was a private place of prayer, reserved for the royal family alone, but Noah had been granted special permission to enter.
A red carpet ran from the entrance to the altar at the heart of the chapel, and on top of that altar lay a coffin of the darkest black.
The countless white lilies that filled it reminded him of undisturbed snow, and the body within had skin that was just as pale. The only hint of color was on the lips, painted apple red.
Noah stood before the coffin and called to his motionless liege.
“Princess.”
She remained unchanged, as beautiful as the day she had fallen asleep.
Claudia had not stirred in three years.
Noah had seen women like this before as a child—those who had fallen victim to a curse in the distant Kingdom of Klingate, condemned to lie in eternal slumber.