“But for some reason, Reinard can’t act directly. Instead, he controls those of his blood as if they were extensions of himself.”
“Then the man who has taken the title of chief conjurer...”
“Is none other than Reinard,” Claudia murmured, suddenly feeling a great sadness. “My disciple. I suspect it is he, your ancestor, who is behind this.”
It was, as yet, no more than a theory. Nonetheless, Claudia couldn’t shake the sense that she was drawing close to the truth. She felt it in her bones.
Still... I have a bad feeling about this. If Reinard is the one orchestrating this, then Leonhard...
A sharp surge of magical energy pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Claudia, stand back,” Sieghart said.
“No, I’ll be fine.”
She had known he would come.
There was a crackling sound, like lightning coiling through clouds. A figure appeared and immediately grabbed Claudia roughly by the shoulders, pulling her close.
“Adelheid!” the figure exclaimed.
“My! You came quickly, Leonhard,” Claudia said, softly tittering.
Leonhard’s eyes bore into hers, cold as steel.
“I’m surprised you were able to move around so soon after recovering,” she teased.
“Come. I will no longer allow you to move about freely.”
The grip that Leonhard had on her shoulder was strong enough that Claudia would never have been able to break free of it without her magic.
But before she could respond, a voice stopped them.
“Let go of Claudia.”
Leonhard flinched at that name.
“Who’s pulling your strings, Leonhard?” Sieghart continued to press him.
“Shut your mouth,” Leonhard answered, finally turning to him. His eyes were wells of bottomless darkness as he looked at Sieghart. “Do not think that I have let you be all this time because I could not find you.”
“I know perfectly well that you have let me live,” Sieghart said. “And I do not deny that you are the rightful heir. I did not wish to oppose you.” He stepped toward Leonhard, facing him without fear. “But I cannot ignore your actions any longer. Tell me: What are your orders for after you take Claudia with you?”
“I do this under my own will,” Leonhard said coldly.
Claudia heard no hesitation in his voice.
And yet...
She frowned as she looked up at his profile.
If I focus, I can sense Reinard’s magic.
It was subtly mixed into the magic of his descendant, but she could sense it clearly now.
She reached out and gently brushed her hand against Leonhard’s cheek. “Leonhard.”
The touch made him tense, his brows knitting together in a scowl.
“Don’t touch me, Adelheid. And I thought I told you that I never gave you permission to call me by that name.”
The air grew sharper still, charged with magic, until even the surface of their skin began to prick.
“Very well, then...Reinard.”
Leonhard seized the hand she’d placed on his cheek.
“Claudia!” Sieghart shouted in a panic.
“It’s all right, Sieghart,” she replied calmly.
Now, both of her arms were in Leonhard’s grip. Still smiling, she continued, “If you would claim that is not your name, then deny it. Refute it. Say it is not so. Tell me I must not call you Reinard.”
He should have been able to reject that name just as he had rejected the name “Noah.”
“I...”
“That is,” she added with a faint smirk, “if the one controlling you isn’t wanting to hear Adelheid say that name one more time...”
Staring into Leonhard’s eyes, she laughed softly. “But it seems you cannot, can you?”
As if trying to shake something off, Leonhard pulled her closer.
“This isn’t of your own will, is it?” she challenged.
“You’re wrong. I... This is...”
“You can’t disobey.” She looked tenderly upon the man who shared the same soul as her dear Noah. “You’ve been bound by Reinard’s spell. No... There’s more.”
Leonhard grunted as if straining against a heavy weight.
“So... Please. Tell me why you cannot resist him. I will be returning to my world soon,” she pleaded, but she knew it would likely be impossible for him to answer.
“No! I won’t let you go...!”
It was a childish refusal. He said nothing more to negotiate, neither making further threats nor forcing her into submission.
Claudia glimpsed the torment in him—some deep, writhing anguish he couldn’t voice.
“Forgive me. You did ask sweetly, but I can’t grant that request.”
“Do you...think I’ll let you leave?” Leonhard panted. “Besides...there’s no way...for you to leave this world...”
“There’s no way in this world, no. But I’ve begun to understand there’s another way.”
She told him the answer her mother had left behind in her name.
“If the me in the real world becomes whole once again, that will be enough. When I was a child, you see, I left a portion of my magic with Noah. He only has to return it to me, and I will be whole again.”
“Even if you understand that... What of it?” His grip on her wrists tightened, cruel and desperate.
Sieghart moved to intervene, but Claudia shot him a glance, telling him to stay back.
“There’s no way to tell that to those in your original world,” Leonhard growled. “You’ll be trapped here...forever.”
“There’s no need to tell them.”
Leonhard’s eyes widened in surprise. He was at a loss for words for a moment.
“What...?”
“Because my Noah is there,” she said, voice brimming with confidence. A smile pulled the corners of her lips outward. “If I’ve reached this answer, then I have no doubt he will too.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
A deep fury flickered in his obsidian-colored eyes, but Claudia stood firm.
“Noah would never betray the trust I have in him. Never.”
Leonhard drew a sharp breath. His grip on Claudia loosened—just slightly.
I know... This isn’t the true world. It’s only a dream.
More precisely, this was probably a vision influenced by her mother’s magic.
Even so...
Claudia smiled at Sieghart, who had continuously tried to protect her. “Forgive me, Sieghart. I’ve dragged you into this mess with Reinard.”
“Claudia...”
In the true world, the Sieghart she knew was likely suffering the same fate as the Leonhard in this one.
“But I’ll take care of everything. That is why I must return to my world.”
“You speak as if that were possible...” Leonhard’s voice was rough, as though scraped raw from within.
“I only do what I wish to,” Claudia replied. That was something the legendary Adelheid had decided for herself when she had awoken as Claudia. “And Noah—he only ever does what I wish for. All I have to do is ask.”
“Lies. The world...doesn’t work that way...!” Leonhard said through clenched teeth, as if each word pained him. “You don’t know...how weak I am. How powerless I’ve always been...unable to protect anything. You know nothi—”
“No. I believe with all my heart that my wish will reach Noah,” she said, cutting him off. “And he will grant it with the strength he—no, you—gained through tireless effort and unbreakable hope.”
“What are you saying...?”
Leonhard’s strength drained from his hands.
In turn, Claudia lifted hers and touched his cheek.
“Don’t you dare underestimate my Noah.” Then, her features softening, she said, “Don’t you dare underestimate yourself.”