Chapter 86

Noah opened his eyes wide and looked at Lewis.

"An immortal being...?"

Noah, who had muttered these words, seemed to be rapidly grasping the situation.

"Of course, you were my former disciple. Should I call you Seawell?"

In response to Claudia's call, Lewis smiled very happily.

"It doesn't matter how you call me. As long as you call me, anything is fine."

Seeing Lewis's demeanor, Noah frowned uncomfortably.

"Your Highness Lewis. Are you not going to deny the princess's words?"

"If she has uncovered the truth, then we have no choice but to accept it, don't we?"

"..."

"She alone is right. That's fine. ...I think you understand this feeling, Noah."

Lewis, squinting his eyes, smiled at Claudia, whom Noah was protecting. He then looked at them with eyes that seemed to be both dawn and dusk.

"I have survived these five hundred years to meet you. Using the technique of barrier magic, I kept my soul from being separated from my body and changed my body with magic..."

"Right. Let's hear your wish."

Claudia sat down in the chair Noah had pulled out and took her seat at the tea table.

"To resolve this, we need to know it."

"My wish is you, Claudia. Because I finally understood."

Lewis, still smiling, tilted his head slightly and said,

"At first, it was strange. ...You, who laugh innocently in front of me, should not resemble Her Highness Adelheit at all. Why do you remind me so much of her?"

Of course, they were not alike. Claudia had made an effort to act childishly and behave innocently and brightly.

"But I gradually understood. You are undoubtedly the one I have been waiting for all this time."

Lewis, with a happy look in his eyes, said to Claudia,

"You are undoubtedly the only person who changed my fate."

"..."

He had said the same words to her in the dining room when they were alone.

'You are undoubtedly the only person who changed my fate.'

Claudia formed a smile on her lips.

"I really kept you waiting for a long time. But when you heard the children in the town below talking about Adelheit, you said, 'It's meaningless to cling to a legend,' didn't you?"

At that time, Lewis, unaware that Claudia was Adelheit, was speaking about his beliefs.

"If you were Seawell, you wouldn't say such a thing. That's why it took me some time to be certain that you were Seawell."

"That statement was never meant to belittle Her Highness Adelheit. Because, although Adelheit is a great witch, seeking the phantom of someone who died five hundred years ago is futile. ...What's important is the people living in this era."

These were the same words Lewis had spoken when they went to the town below. Now, with a full understanding of the situation, she could see the true intent behind them.

"Yes, what's important is the future. In other words, it's not about dreaming of the miracles of the Adelheit who has already passed away, but about meeting the living Adelheit. ...It's about finding the soul that has been reborn."

"..."

Claudia took a small breath and leaned back in her chair.

"The first princess fell into a deep sleep eight years ago. ...Noah, what do you associate with eight years ago?"

Claudia asked Noah, who was quietly making tea for two at the table.

"Eight years ago, it was the year the princess was born, wasn't it?"

"Hehe, you're always thinking about me. ...But you're right."

"No way."

Noah, frowning, seemed to realize what Claudia was implying.

"Lewis, you have been watching for five hundred years since my death, haven't you? Watching for a child with the same soul as Adelheit to be reborn in this world."

"Indeed, you are the reincarnation of Adelheit. No one else could understand my thoughts like this."

Lewis, smiling, spoke with the perfect face of a prince.

"After you were gone, I studied a lot of magic. One of them was to cover the entire world with a thin barrier and investigate the souls of the people inside."

"..."

Noah's wide-eyed reaction was understandable. The magic Lewis described was one that even the great witch Adelheit of the past would have found exhausting.

"Of course, it was extremely draining. And I had to do it while keeping my own soul bound to my body. When I sensed your soul returning to this world eight years ago, I was so happy I almost cried..."

Lewis, as if sharing a minor failure, smiled sheepishly and said,

"But I lost consciousness and couldn't pinpoint the location. It was an unforgivable mistake, but at least I knew that she was in this world! So, I decided to wait and prepare until I found her reincarnation."