“Princess...” His voice was hoarse as he spoke the title he had used for her in childhood. “My princess.”
The moment the words left his lips, his vision filled with light.
In the next instant, darkness fell. Shadows consumed everything, reducing the world to an empty void.
A magical dimension...?
Both Claudia’s coffin and Claudia’s body were gone.
However, in the corner of his vision, a figure glowed faintly. Hair the color of milk tea caught the dim light.
“You’re Her Highness’s—”
“Tee hee.”
The woman who turned to face him bore an uncanny resemblance to the girl he’d known for so long.
“That’s right. I’m Claudia’s mother. And in a former life, I was the mother of Adelheid as well.”
He did not doubt her. “Lady Dorothea...”
It was just as King Volkhard had told him and Karlheinz.
When asked how she knew that she was to give birth to the reincarnation of the great witch Adelheid, she had told him that she had been the one to give birth to her in a previous life, five hundred years ago.
Her hair, the same soft color as Claudia’s, was elegantly tied. She wore a gown made of numerous layers of sheer, delicate fabric. In the darkness, she conjured a chair and sat down, a twinkle in her eye.
“Five hundred years ago, I was torn away from Adelheid. I never once had the chance to be a mother to her.”
Noah said nothing.
In all the stories that Claudia had shared of her past life, she had rarely spoken of any blood relatives. She more frequently spoke of her former apprentices, whom she remembered with fondness. Perhaps that meant she had no memories of family.
“Adelheid died for the world, trading her life for its future. My great—but dearly loved—daughter.”
Placing a hand upon her chest, Dorothea’s face softened into a tender expression. The likeness to Claudia was striking.
“When I was reborn and learned that I might bear her again, I swore to myself...this time, I would protect her.”
They truly are two of a kind.
Even their eyes—so beautiful, and strong enough to pin down any who stood against her.
“I will not hand her over. Not to you, Leonhard.”
Opal-colored eyes—just like Claudia’s—bore a hole straight through him.
“Ten years ago, I was teleported out of prison with someone’s help,” Noah said hesitantly.
“Yes. And without that help, you would have died, tormented and broken,” she replied, as if she had witnessed it herself.
“I believe that the one responsible is the chief conjurer of Lemilsia. However, I doubt it was their intention to send me to the forest that surrounded the tower where Her Highness was being kept.”
She laughed. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Sending a child who knew nothing would be useless. If they truly intended to use me to claim Her Highness, they would’ve needed to have trained and educated me first.”
Like what was being done with Sieghart now.
“I believe my destination was distorted by a spell you left behind.”
Dorothea listened to him silently.
“It was my passing across the barrier that triggered the return of Her Highness’s and His Majesty’s memories. But not only that...” Noah touched the base of his neck, where the cursed collar had once been. “I believe you anticipated that Her Highness would give me her magic. That she would save me.”
The curse had tried to resist Claudia when she had first attempted to destroy it.
And so she had overwritten it with her own contract instead.
But could the magical artifact used by his uncle truly have been powerful enough to defy Claudia?
Even as a six-year-old child, Claudia had recovered the memories of Adelheid. She had known her magic well.
“The man who pursues Claudia...” Dorothea chuckled bitterly. “His magic can steal Adelheid’s soul.”
“That’s possible?”
“The technique only works on someone who possesses the exact same magical signature as Adelheid,” she explained. She possessed the air of an expert.
“And that’s why you took a piece of Her Highness’s magic?” Noah asked. “And it was to that end that you placed me in her path?”
“If a child bound by a slave contract were to appear, she would save them no matter the cost—even if she had to use the acolyte contract that existed five hundred years ago.”
She knew the scope of Adelheid’s magical knowledge. She knew her daughter’s nature and the choices she would make.
“That’s simply who she is. That’s why she gave her life for the sake of the world.”
Within the dark, spell-woven space, Claudia’s coffin shimmered into view once more.
“To lose Adelheid... To lose Claudia again... To let her be taken and killed...”
Dorothea sank to the ground beside the coffin and gently touched her daughter’s cheek, which Noah himself could not touch.
“Wouldn’t it be better for her to rest like this, untouched by anyone? Just a long afternoon nap, safe inside this coffin?”
“I cannot agree with that.”
Noah’s answer was firm. Dorothea narrowed her eyes in displeasure.
“A dangerous man is hunting my child. Do you think I would leave her defenseless? A mother’s duty is to protect her child from harm.”
“But it is not the path Her Highness would choose.”
Even if the path she would choose would lead her into danger.
“I understand what must be done,” Noah said. “I will now return the magic Her Highness entrusted to me.”
Dorothea looked down at her sleeping daughter. “No, you mustn’t. Did you not hear what I said? If she becomes whole again, her soul can be stolen.”
“I must. If I do not return her magic, then she will never awaken again.”
Glowering, she stood and turned to Noah. “Then you must destroy Lemilsia first so that they can never take her. This world must be safe before I’ll allow her to wake.”
Noah was stunned into silence for a short time. At last, meeting the force of a mother’s love head-on, he said, “Her Highness would never desire such a thing.”
“What did you just say?”
Dorothea’s iridescent eyes, which shifted color with the light, flickered faintly.
“If she were the type of person who wished to hide away while the others fought for her, then she would never have sacrificed her life for this world.”
“But...”
“She would want to know who’s targeting her and why. She would want to understand Sieghart’s reasons. And then, she would want to make her own decision.”
Claudia had told Noah this many times. Noah knew better than anyone what Claudia truly desired.
“She only does what she wishes to do.”
“You mustn’t return her magic to her,” Dorothea murmured, her voice now fainter than before. “If she becomes Adelheid, her soul will be taken. That’s worse than any sleep, worse than any death.”
“Lady Dorothea,” Noah said, kneeling slowly before her. “She will not become Adelheid.”
She raised an eyebrow at his words.
“The magic she gave me has merged with my magic within my body,” he said, laying a hand upon his heart in the formal gesture of one addressing a noble lady. “She and I were bound in an acolyte’s contract. I do carry her magic within me, but it is no longer identical to that of Adelheid’s.”
Dorothea’s eyes widened in realization.
“Judging by your reaction, I’d guess that my theory isn’t too far off.”
“But... Whether or not it will succeed...I cannot say.”
“I am her servant. My only purpose in life is to do as she wishes. Know that I will do anything to make sure that this succeeds.”
Perhaps Dorothea heard the steely resolve in Noah’s voice as he said that. Her eyes widened slightly.
“Everything I do is for her.”
Dorothea exhaled a small breath at last.
“I see. Then, I suppose she no longer needs my protection,” she said with a smile that was the spitting image of Claudia’s own.
There was sorrow in her voice, but also relief.
“Forgive me, Leonhard. In all the futures I foresaw, you were always the greatest threat.”
All of them worlds where I never met Her Highness...
Worlds Noah didn’t even want to imagine. Yet, Dorothea had witnessed them countless times.
“That’s why I wanted you to grow at Claudia’s side. Not just for her sake, but for yours.”
Noah’s eyes widened at the admission.
“Don’t get me wrong. I did it for my daughter. Because of my plans, she was separated from Volkhard and grew up all alone in that tower...”
Dorothea had likely foreseen the hardships Claudia would face, but maybe she believed that there was no better alternative available to her.
“Lemilsia is invading, yes? You know, I swore that this time I was going to give her a happy life...” Dorothea said, stroking her sleeping daughter’s hair. “But in the end, I couldn’t protect her.”
Noah had tried to remain silent, but he could no longer restrain himself.
“Thanks to the years of preparation that you gave us, our kingdom now stands ready to repel their attack. We have gathered allies from across many nations.”
Those opal eyes blinked in surprise.
“Because of the spells you cast and the plans you laid, Her Highness has remained beyond their reach, allowing her to sleep peacefully. Though I must admit, I’ve long harbored frustration, wondering whether there could’ve been a safer way...” He rose, gaze fixed on the sleeping form of his liege. “But it was because of your plans that I was brought to her side, and that is a debt I will repay by protecting her for all eternity.”
Dorothea blinked slowly before she smiled. “Thank you, Leonhard.”
“My name is Noah. And I am here as a symbol of Her Highness’s peace.”
“I see... Noah...” She stroked Claudia’s hair one more time. “Naptime is nearly over, my beloved Adelheid... Rather, Claudia. My sweet girl.”