Claudia was lost in her thoughts. How did the passage of time within this dream differ from in reality?
If there were dreams in which time flowed differently from that of reality, then there were those in which time moved the same.
But here in the world of sleep, Claudia had no means to know.
I have been here in the dreamworld for a week, she thought.
But then a voice interrupted her musings. “Hey.”
Still drowsy, Claudia rubbed her eyes with a murmur and slowly sat up.
She wore only the inner slip meant to be worn beneath a gown—a delicate, sleeveless chemise with thin straps looping over her shoulders. One strap had slipped, baring the smooth curve of her shoulder. She stretched languidly upon the chaise that served as her makeshift bed.
I still cannot wield magic, nor have I found a means to awaken. For the whole week, I have been confined to this castle, and although I can roam its halls, I have not been let outside of its walls.
“Hey.”
And yet...
She glanced up at the figure standing above her.
“Adelheid,” the figure grumbled, irritated.
The young man who was looking down at her was none other than Leonhard, this world’s Noah, who was now clad in a black cloak.
“Why do you persist in invading my chambers?” he demanded.
A soft serenity graced Claudia’s face; she was utterly unfazed by his ire.
“Welcome home, Leonhard.”
He frowned in displeasure before abruptly propping one boot onto the chaise beside her, his posture deliberately looming. His voice dropped to a growl.
“Leave. I do not recall granting you permission to enter.”
“But you see”—Claudia replied with a carefree smile, fully aware that it would only further anger him—“I am quite incapable of using magic. Without a dear, devoted attendant to tend to me, I cannot even light the fire in my hearth.”
Her words did not refer only to her Noah of the waking world.
For the past week, Leonhard has been absent during the day, only returning to the castle at night.
During those hours, she was left alone, abandoned within its empty halls.
While he is away, there is not a soul in this castle. His magic maintains the place, but even so... There’s something strange going on here.
After a moment of silence, Leonhard finally replied, “Then I shall place the same enchantment that heats this chamber on the room I have given you.” His obsidian eyes narrowed slightly. “Will that satisfy you? If so, take your leave.”
“Oh? But at present, it is you who blocks my way.” Claudia tittered softly before reaching out to tap the tip of the boot he had so discourteously placed upon the chaise. “Such a naughty little foot—tsk, tsk.”
Her deliberately childish reprimand only deepened the furrow in his brow.
“Do not treat me like a child. I am your elder.”
“My, my!” The assertion was unexpected, and Claudia could not help but laugh. “Me? Younger than you?”
His frown deepened, clearly unable to comprehend why she found the notion so amusing.
“It is hardly incorrect... Adelheid perished at eighteen, and even your current body is sixteen years of age.”
She chuckled. “Is that so? Perhaps you are right. After all, you are nineteen now, are you not? But to think that of all people, Noah would... Ah.”
Realizing her slip, Claudia pressed her hand to her mouth.
Even knowing full well that he is not my Noah, the name still slips so easily from my tongue.
The young man who stood before her had walked a different path, shaped by different choices. Though they shared the same face and the same voice, in the end, they were not the same person. The Noah she knew had devoted his life to her. Leonhard had been forced on to another path—one that led him to imprison her within this place.
“Adelheid.” His voice cut through her thoughts. “Is this ‘Noah’ a man you hold dear?”
Oh? What a curious question.
She narrowed her eyes, intrigued.
Perhaps he meant to gauge her reaction, to find a weakness he could exploit. Or perhaps, his interest stemmed from something else entirely.
But she would not allow him to pry secrets from her before Noah himself had heard them. Raising a single finger, she pressed it lightly against her lips.
“My apologies, Leonhard.” Tilting her head, she smiled mischievously. “That secret belongs to Noah alone.”
With a click of his tongue, Leonhard removed his foot from the chaise.
“Well, then... As you have posed a question to me, it is only fair that I ask you one in return.”
“You didn’t even answer mine,” he scoffed.
“Ah, but surely everyone has a right to withhold answers, hmm?”
Her teasing reply earned her another scowl. Undeterred, she asked, “Where has your cousin gone?”
The air chilled instantly.
A sharp glint flickered in his jet-black eyes, and before Claudia could react, cold steel came to rest against her throat.
“You should choose your words with care,” Leonhard said coldly.
Oh my.
Once again, Leonhard had acted in a way that the real Noah would not.
“Do not provoke me lightly, lest I find it necessary to use force to get you to tell me everything you know.”
“Oh?”
He was hiding something after all.
Nonetheless, he is not my Noah. No matter how I wheedle him or command him to do so, this boy will not bare his soul to me.
She’d already known this, of course. Yet, it still left a bitter taste in her mouth. Far more so than she had expected. She suddenly realized that she was upset.
“I find myself rather lonely,” she murmured at last.
“What?”
Rising gracefully to her feet, Claudia turned toward the window.
“I wish for some fresh air. Open the window for me. It is frozen shut, and I cannot open it myself.”
Leonhard hesitated for a moment before grudgingly casting a faint spell. A light traced along the window frame, melting the ice where it touched.
Claudia stepped forward, throwing open the panes to gaze down upon the world below. It was not quite as lofty as the tower in which she had lived with Noah, but it stood at an impressive height.
Noah...
She narrowed her eyes against the stark white of the snow-laden ground far below.
If I am to see you again soon, then a few experiments may be in order.
“Hey,” Leonhard growled from behind her. “It’ll get cold. You shouldn’t leave the window open for long.”
Claudia ignored him.
“Surely even you realize that you’ll freeze in such attire.”
Claudia took a deep breath.
When I was six, I reawakened only when...
“No, wait...” Leonhard must have sensed something. His hand shot forward, reaching to seize her shoulder, but he was too late.
Claudia had already cast herself out the window.
“What are you—?!”
Claudia felt her body float in the air for a brief moment before she plummeted toward the ground with terrifying speed.
It was thanks to falling from my tower that I regained my memories.
And it was also then that she had gained free use of Adelheid’s magic.
This is only a dream, shaped by my sleeping mind, but if I die here...I fear I will never wake again.
Still, she had no other choice. She had to try.
Her milk-tea-colored hair whipped wildly in the wind, the hem of her thin gown fluttering as the world blurred around her. She began to close her eyes, but before she could, a hand grasped hers and held it tightly.
“Enough! Cease this madness!” he grunted.
“Leonhard?”
“Have you lost your mind?!” He pulled her into his arms, trying desperately to slow their rapid descent with magic. “Without magic, a fall from this height will—!”
“Thank you for trying to save me,” she said softly as they tumbled toward the ground. “But I’m afraid...”
She seized his wrist, leveraging the natural mechanics of the human body to break his grip.
“I did not grant you permission to touch me.”
“Wha—?” He froze in shock.
Claudia pushed herself away from him, their bodies separating in midair. Leonhard reached out once more, desperate to reclaim her hand, but his fingers grasped only empty air.
“Damn it!” His breath caught in his throat as he saw a faint smile on Claudia’s lips.
Now then...
Let us see how this body responds to the threat of death.
Leonhard cursed again under his breath and began casting another spell, but it was too late.
In mere moments, Claudia would crash into the frozen earth below.
She shut her eyes.
It’s no use. There’s not even a stirring of my magic. Leonhard won’t be able to save me in time. I wonder if this is truly the end.
In her final moments, she thought of Noah. She reached out toward the sky—when familiar magic suddenly enveloped her, stopping her fall.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw eyes as black as obsidian staring down at her.
Noah?
She realized that she was being cradled in someone’s arms.
“Hey...are you all right?” a low voice asked.
No... This isn’t Noah. This is...
She opened her eyes fully, blinked, and then looked up at the person holding her.
She was no longer outside. Instead, she found herself within an unfamiliar room, likely transported here by the magic of the young man who now held her.
“Why on earth were you falling from that castle?” the young man asked.
“Sieghart...”
The name escaped her lips in a whisper.
Stunned, Sieghart drew in a sharp breath. “How do you know my name?”
“Oh?” Claudia smiled. “Perhaps you saved me without knowing who I am?”
“It’s not like I had the time to ask someone,” he said without hesitation. “I was surveilling the castle when I saw you suddenly falling from the sky.”
Claudia didn’t detect any deception from him.