“From the moment you were declared Adelheid reborn, your very existence gained special significance—something beyond just magical potential.”
“I suppose that’s to be expected. I imagine there are nations that still revere Adelheid in this world, yes?”
That would explain her father’s choice not to conceal her identity from foreign powers. It was a shrewd diplomatic strategy.
“Every nation sought to ally with your kingdom to foster goodwill. And through those alliances, Avianoia gained substantial power in the international sphere.”
“That does sound like my father,” Claudia said with a knowing smile, ready to guide the conversation back to the heart of the matter. “Still, I can hardly imagine that Leonhard would want me just for that. Does he truly wish to possess the reincarnation of Adelheid?”
A pensive expression settled upon Sieghart’s features. “Publicly, he never seemed particularly interested. When he first ascended the throne, the kingdom was still in chaos. My father’s rule had left deep scars, and the coup didn’t help matters.”
“That’s understandable. Leonhard was a mere child at the time. For a nine-year-old to replace the king—especially in that way—it would be nearly impossible to maintain diplomatic relations with other kingdoms.”
“And yet, despite that, Leonhard managed to rule with integrity. Had I been the one to inherit the throne, I doubt I could have restored the kingdom as he did.”
Present-day Lemilsia had achieved a certain degree of stability. Claudia had always known that her adorable Noah possessed the qualities of a king, and this proved it. Had he inherited what was rightfully his in her original world, she did not doubt that he would have been able to stabilize his homeland.
“At the time, I had come to realize that I was living a life stolen from him,” Sieghart said. “I thought it was only proper for him to reclaim Lemilsia in the name of the people—even if it meant I would remain in exile.”
He then lowered his eyes as though he were a defeated man.
“But you were right. His true aim wasn’t to stabilize Lemilsia and rebuild its strength,” he said with a strained voice. Claudia looked down and saw that he was clenching his fists. “Over the next ten years, Leonhard rebuilt the Lemilsian military with a goal to invade Avianoia.”
Claudia closed her eyes as she gathered her thoughts.
“He put his plan in motion three years ago,” Sieghart continued. “He sealed the borders of the kingdom with a powerful barrier—no one was allowed to enter or leave.”
The same as in my world. The only difference is that there, Sieghart was the one who gave the order.
And she was sure that the reason for that difference was the allegiance of the chief conjurer. His choice of ally had changed the course of history.
“The actual invasion occurred about a month ago. Lemilsia emerged victorious, and you fell into Leonhard’s hands.”
“What of my father? And my brothers?”
“They fought by your side to the end. They gave their lives for you.”
Claudia exhaled softly and took a second to compose herself.
Finally, she asked quietly, “And what has Leonhard been doing since taking me?”
“He’s been handling both domestic and international affairs with his usual composure. The reactions from other nations have been varied. Some condemn him for seizing Adelheid through force. Others already seek to curry favor. Many fear this could ignite a worldwide war.”
“You fear that as well, don’t you?” Claudia asked, forcing a smile. “Now that you no longer believe in Leonhard’s good intentions, you’ve abandoned your loyalties and are waiting for an opportunity to remove him to fall into your lap.”
“Precisely. And then you fell from the sky.” His face twisted into a sardonic grin, present on his face only for a moment before he sat next to Claudia. “According to the information I gathered, Princess Claudia—despite lacking magic herself—was said to be protected by a powerful ward cast by her late mother. Supposedly, the spell activated just before Leonhard seized you.”
“My mother cast that...?” Claudia brought her hand to her heart and blinked slowly. “I see... It was a spell that induced a state of false death, yes?”
Claudia had awoken to this world from inside a coffin. She had been laid out like a corpse and surrounded by fragrant lilies as white as snow.
“Precisely so. It sealed away your soul to protect it from anything that would do it harm.”
Claudia had used a similar spell in her world.
This vessel that I inhabit could not withstand the full force of Adelheid’s power, but it wasn’t merely the fragility of a young body. Something else must have helped create that situation...
At thirteen, Claudia had not reached a tenth of the magical strength Adelheid had possessed at the same age. Time and again, she had fallen asleep after using her magic.
To prevent the destruction of this vessel, I needed to reinforce and rebuild my body by cycling magic through it. To be able to withstand that, I used a spell that put myself into a state of false death. The reason I failed to awaken from it and am now trapped in this dreamworld...
No, the problem went much deeper than that.
It was already strange that Claudia, who was of royal blood full of magical potential, could not endure Adelheid’s soul.
In Sharavia, the last nation that Noah and I visited before I cast the sleeping spell on myself, we saw a statue of a goddess.
Even Noah, who had watched over Claudia since she was a child and knew her better than anyone else, admitted the statue bore a striking resemblance to her.
In my world, my mother concealed her powerful magical ability, yet in this world, she cast a powerful ward on me that would activate in an emergency. It even had the same effect as the one I used.
Additionally, there was the fact that the statue had come to Sharavia alongside a cursed artifact that had brought ruin to the royal families of two nations.
“Does the Kingdom of Sharavia still exist in this world?” she asked.
“No. Regrettably, it fell three years ago.”
“Hmm...”
Claudia closed her eyes, then she slowly reopened them to look at Sieghart. “There is something I would like you to tell Karlheinz.”
“How do you know of my connection to Lord Karlheinz?” he asked, surprised.