Chapter 25

Father was not expecting Claudia herself, but rather the situation that would arise from proving Claudia's magic.

(The main topic this time is to expose the fraud that Queen Ilmela committed during my magic appraisal six years ago. -- And, as a result, to have Ilmela exiled.)

Claudia was exiled from the royal castle because she was determined to have no magic in the appraisal conducted immediately after her birth.

The mastermind behind this was Ilmela, but the king at the time overlooked it. Probably, for him at that time, it was a trivial matter.

However, the current king, Volkhardt, dislikes Queen Ilmela.

(But Ilmela is a princess from a powerful country, and she and my father were married for political reasons. To expel her from the royal family, the side of her homeland must believe that "the divorce is due to her fault.")

Otherwise, it would lead to a war over the divorce.

Even the cruel-looking king would want to avoid a troublesome war.

(That's why he has his eye on me. Magic, except for exceptional cases like Noah, who has a contract with me, remains constant from birth to death. If I have magic now, it means the appraisal at birth was forged.)

The half-siblings I met today are all excellent magic users.

It is unlikely that Claudia, who shares the same father, has no magic at all. It seemed that the king had such calculations in mind.

(The queen, who had ignored me for so long, might have come to kill me because she realized the king's intention to expel her. At first, she just found my existence unpleasant, but after six years, it has become a matter of her own position.)

If it were just a divorce, it would be one thing, but if the forgery of the magic appraisal is proven, Ilmela would be treated as a criminal.

Even if she were sent back to her homeland, at best she would be confined, and at worst, she might be sentenced to death.

(My existence is evidence of Ilmela's wrongdoing. She must want to kill me as soon as possible to ensure her own safety.)

While walking on the grass, holding Noah's hand, I thought:

(The best opportunity for Ilmela is while I am in this castle. She will surely come to kill me, and at the same time...)

What came to mind was the back of King Volkhardt as he left.

(This is also a good opportunity for the king. If he keeps me in the castle, the anxious Ilmela might slip up in her attempt to kill me.)

As expected, he doesn't think of Claudia as his daughter at all.

"Hehe. Hehehehe."

"Princess?"

"I'm starting to enjoy this. Maybe it's fine to go this far?"

Claudia and the others stood on a gentle hill a little away from the courtyard.

The surroundings were covered in green grass, and the sky was clear blue at the beginning of winter. In the middle of this, they faced each other and started a secret conversation.

"Hey, Noah."

When Claudia told Noah her thoughts, Noah frowned deeply.

"That's the situation. Of course, I might be wrong, but..."

"...We should discuss how to proceed next with Karlheinz."

"That's necessary, but first, let's clean Noah's clothes. Wait here. I'll clean them with magic right now."

"No."

Before Claudia could reach out, Noah covered his hand.

Then, a soft light appeared. Purification magic emerged, enveloping the mud stains on Emilia.

The light quickly disappeared.

After that, there was no trace of mud, and the clothes were as clean as before.

Noah then looked Claudia in the eye.

"I can do this much on my own."

"..."

His expression was still childish.

Unable to hold back, she giggled, and Noah's face became even more bitter.

"...To you, I'm just a child, aren't I?"

"I'm a child too."

"The real you is different."

Claudia smiled faintly.

Without saying anything, she chanted a spell in her mind.

It seemed Noah also noticed that she had cast a vast barrier. Claudia took the opportunity to cast another spell.

It was a spell to change the scenery of the hill.

"...!"

The hill, covered in grass, was suddenly filled with colorful flowers the moment Noah blinked.

"Ready, roll!"

She grabbed Noah's hand, pulled him, and tumbled into the flower field created by magic.

When they rolled together, a sweet floral scent filled the air.

Claudia and Noah lay facing each other in the flowers.

Noah, lying down, still had a protesting look on his face.

"Princess... You wasted your magic again."

"Aren't the flowers beautiful?"

She hadn't decided on the types of flowers, so they bloomed in various colors.

Red, pink, light blue, purple like a sunset, and yellow like the sun. The bright colors suited Noah's black hair and eyes well.

Claudia, very satisfied, reached out to Noah.

"...I did that on purpose just now."

She touched Noah's abdomen, which had been dirty and was now clean.

"So, you didn't have to protect me."

"I know. ...But I couldn't help it."

"Besides, why didn't you use magic to avoid it? I've taught you plenty of ways to avoid such things."

When she asked, Noah said with dissatisfaction:

"I want to know the reason."

"...Noah"

"Why have you been doing such things since the appraisal earlier? That's why I didn't want to use magic. You are deliberately trying to draw the king's attention to me."

His obsidian eyes stared straight at Claudia.

"...As if my existence is more important than yours as a princess."

"..."

Indeed, Noah must have noticed from the beginning.