Chapter 90

"Ugh...!"

"...That's...!?"

Noah, who had stepped back in caution, positioned himself in front of Claudia, shielding her as he readied his sword. Looking down at the suffering Louis, Claudia spoke calmly.

"...The magic to change one's physical age was something only a few wizards could handle even five hundred years ago. Seville wasn't among them."

"So, the child's appearance wasn't changed by magic...?"

"To infiltrate by brainwashing the royal family, there was no need to become a child. Seville's child form was not intentional but a result of necessity."

"Ugh...!! Gah, ah...!!"

Louis curled up, pressing his forehead against the snow. Claudia lowered her eyes and spoke expressionlessly.

"Having lived for five hundred years by force, the soul, which had worn down, could no longer maintain its shape. ...The body shrank to match the eroded soul, confined in a distorted vessel."

"...It's absurd. What kind of strain...?"

"Ugh, Claudia...!!"

With a distorted face from pain, the former disciple called out to Claudia. His fingertips, like ice, shattered, yet he still reached out with great effort.

"Please see my magic, Lord Aderheit... I want Claudia to stay by my side...!!"

Louis's shattered fingers were reconstructed by magic.

"...Really, how twisted."

Around his neck, a silver choker was embedded.

"If I can't have it... If I'm left behind again, even against all odds..."

"Princess, please, grant me permission to fight Seville!"

"No, Noah. You must not move beyond protecting yourself."

Claudia adjusted her cloak and gracefully descended from the chair.

"---I will discipline that child."

"...Ah! Aderheit...!!"

The moment Louis, with a gleam of joy in his eyes, shouted this,

Crack! The ground split open.

At the same time, countless chains burst from the frozen ground, attacking Claudia.

"Princess!"

"..."

The chains, as if they had a will of their own, were connected to magical shackles. They bit into Claudia like fierce beasts, latching onto her in various places.

Ankle shackles, wrist shackles, and a collar.

Bound by the chains extending from the ground, Claudia could not move at all. She looked down at her restrained body and narrowed her eyes.

"Aderheit. Claudia...!"

(...An advanced form of barrier magic.)

The magic was intricately woven. Of course, Claudia's physical strength alone could not break it, nor could magic easily dispel it.

The chains entangled the frozen trees, roses, and various other objects.

The tightly stretched chains formed a cage around Claudia.

(The chains and shackles are controlling my magic. ...If left as is, in a few minutes, the magic will surge and I'll lose consciousness.)

"Damn...!"

Noah, having realized this, tried to grab the chains with his bare hands. Claudia reprimanded the servant who was about to disobey her orders.

"No, Noah. You must not come."

"But...!"

"Even if my magic is sealed to some extent, it won't be a problem for a short time."

Originally, the soul bound to this body possessed a vast amount of magic that the young body could not keep up with.

(I want to say, 'Let's quickly break it...')

This was clearly not a simple barrier magic.

If magic was used to interfere, the chains would immediately absorb that magic and tighten even more.

"Your magic cannot break this. I studied and perfected the magic of the legendary Aderheit, aligning it with all the wavelengths. Aderheit's magic cannot counter this barrier magic."

Louis, kneeling on the snow and breathing heavily, said this.

(Indeed, it's not that simple.)

Claudia smiled and told Noah, who looked ready to tear the chains with his sword,

"Noah? Be a good boy and wait."

"...Yes, Princess."

"Now, Seville. You're a bad child, making such a mess of the castle grounds."

While having this conversation, she analyzed the magic of the chains.

The garden, once covered in snow and ice, now had the ground where the chains emerged completely gouged out. Despite the beautiful garden, Claudia had chosen this place.

"Choosing this Stuart garden for our tea was the right decision. If we were in a more robust barrier, no one outside would notice the abnormality."

"...?"

Louis slowly raised his head, his face contorted as if he were seeing something unbelievable.

The chains binding Claudia's body began to emit a soft light. Louis, struggling to stand, said in a trembling voice,

"Why...? ...Why are there cracks in the chains...?"

"By the way, Stuart's eyes are as rare as Noah's and Seville's. A stubborn yet pure magical nature... a silver, diamond-like color."

"Despite spending five hundred years perfecting the barrier magic to control Aderheit's magic, I couldn't have made a mistake in Aderheit's magical composition...!!"

"...Well then."

Claudia raised her gaze and focused on one of the chains stretched out in front of her, like a cage. Even with the ankle shackles on, she could reach it. She stretched up on her polished shoes and closed her eyes.

Then, she kissed the chain.

"Unbelievable...!!"

Crack! A loud noise echoed, and all the chains shattered.

Claudia, who had broken the barrier, turned the chains into ice and shattered them.

The chains, transformed into ice crystals, sparkled like stardust and disappeared in a blink.

"Theoretically, it shouldn't be possible. It shouldn't be possible, yet you still managed to do it."

Claudia, with her milk tea-colored hair gently swaying, smiled calmly at Louis.

"They call this 'diamond dust.'"

"...You are always, so beautiful...!"