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Princess Eva didn’t even look surprised after hearing what I said. Still, since she stayed silent, it seemed she was at least somewhat interested, so I continued.
"The real Seraphina Viviana ran away. She fled this world after witnessing you devour a god."
"Hm?"
"She inserted another soul, one from a different world, into her body and escaped. That soul… is me. I’m not Seraphina Viviana."
"You say that, but you do look a lot like my Sera."
"I inherited her memories and have somewhat assimilated with her, yes. But the fact remains, I am not the real Seraphina, I’m a soul from another world."
Trying to provoke Princess Eva, I raised my voice and shouted.
"The real Sera ran away from you! She’s gone from your side forever!"
"……"
After I said that, Princess Eva remained silent for a long while. Somehow, her silence felt ominous.
"At first, I suspected you were lying. But you’re not the type to spout nonsense."
"Everything I said is the truth."
"…So my Sera has left me in the end…"
She spoke in a low voice, sitting on the couch beside me. Her expression was one of deep sorrow and misery, as if she were the tragic heroine abandoned by her fiancé.
"I’m a little hurt. To think Sera betrayed me… It wasn’t long ago that she followed me around so adoringly…"
"That was only because you manipulated her mind!"
"Hmmm… But you really do resemble the original Sera in many ways."
"I keep telling you, I’m a completely different person!"
"Still, my Sera chose you to be the new Sera."
"…What?"
"Yes. So, in the end, haven’t I obtained Sera after all?"
The moment I met Princess Eva’s violet eyes as she said that, chills ran down my spine.
"If I keep you by my side, then in a way, I still have Sera. Because from now on, the one known as 'Sera'… is you."
"…Have you ever heard of the Ship of Theseus?"*
"What matters is that I’ve decided to see you as Sera."
At that point, I realized there was no reasoning with this woman. I gave up trying to persuade her and bit my lip hard.
"Sera… Aren’t you curious why I fell in love with you?"
At that, I looked silently at Princess Eva. Truthfully, it was something I’d wondered about.
"I fell for you not just because you were lovely… But because of your uniqueness."
"Every human is special in their own way."
"Haha, not like that."
I replied sharply, and Eva waved her hand dismissively as she continued.
"Let’s see… I’m someone abandoned by the Creator from another world. But you, Sera… you seem to exist right on the boundary between this world and another."
"…What?"
"It’s like you possess the power to rule over both worlds. That’s why I fell in love with you. And now that Sera has truly crossed over to the other world… in a way, I’m happy."
And in that moment, a long-forgotten memory returned to me.
It was the story of when I first met Princess Eva.
***
"Her Highness, the little sun of the kingdom, Princess Eva Vivaldi, enters!"
With a small tiara resting atop her dazzling golden hair, Princess Eva entered the banquet hall. Her gown was a splendid masterpiece, starting in a soft lavender and deepening in color as it flowed downward, a beautiful and ornate dress.
With the king and queen no longer making public appearances, Princess Eva was, in practice, the one holding real power in the kingdom. Naturally, all eyes turned to her.
"Wow…"
I, who had just finished my debutante season, was chatting with the other young ladies who debuted alongside me. Even I couldn’t help but gaze at her.
"Is that Princess Eva? She's so beautiful…"
"Hehe, she’s the idol of all noble ladies."
One of the debutantes, known for her wide social circle, fanned herself gracefully as she spoke.
"She’s not just gorgeous, she’s a genius inventor too!"
"Yes, and an incredible light mage on top of that!"
"Oh right, she’s also an inventor!"
"She’s a true modern woman."
"Wow…"
Back then, I couldn’t use magic. So I deeply admired Princess Eva, who stood out not only with her magic, but also her inventions.
She seemed like someone from another world, so far above me that I didn’t even feel jealousy. From the very first moment I laid eyes on her, I admired her.
"I want to become elegant and beautiful like her…"
"Hoho, many young ladies feel that way."
From that day on, I often lingered near Princess Eva, secretly admiring her from afar.
Then one day, to my great surprise, I was given a chance to talk with her.
"Madam Rosa."
I was chatting with Rosa, a young noblewoman who had recently married and who had once been a friend of mine, when Princess Eva approached us to congratulate Rosa on her wedding.
After giving her kind words to Rosa, Princess Eva turned her gaze to me.
"A face I don’t recognize."
"I-I’m Seraphina of House Viviana. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness."
"Hehe, there’s no need to be so stiff. I get the feeling you’re often called cute, Lady Viviana."
Her compliment made my cheeks flush red. I didn’t notice that she was already observing me as if dissecting every detail.
"House Viviana… that’s a family of mages, isn’t it? Do you also use magic, Lady Viviana?"
"Ah… I can’t use magic…"
"Really? But that hardly matters, Lady Viviana is this beautiful, after all."
To my surprise, Princess Eva showed great interest in me.
"I’d like to know more about you, Lady Viviana. Shall we chat over a glass of champagne?"
"Y-Yes, of course!"
And just like that, we stepped out onto the terrace. With only the two of us there, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Blushing, I opened my mouth to speak.
"T-To be honest, I’ve admired you for a long time, Princess Eva… You’re just so perfect…"
"Oh my, is that so?"
The look Princess Eva gave me was strangely gentle.
"Lady Viviana, ah, may I call you Seraphina?"
"Of course!"
"Alright then, Seraphina… I’d love to know more about you. What do you usually do with your time?"
"I enjoy reading books on the humanities. I find languages and history fascinating, but I’m especially interested in philosophy."
"Hm, I see…"
Princess Eva gazed at me with an unreadable expression, but at the time, I was still lost in awe.
"You seem like a very special person, Seraphina... Would it be alright if we became close?"
"That would be such an honor!"
***
As I recalled that memory, I finally understood why Princess Eva had approached me.
Even before it was formally named 'Humanities Magic,' Seraphina had already begun to wield it to some degree.
Through her study of the humanities, she had instinctively grown closer to becoming a magician and had begun to approach the very borders of this world.
It was Princess Eva, not Seraphina herself, who realized this first.
And so it was because of that Humanities Magic that Eva had taken an interest in her. Now, even as I, a soul from another world, inhabit Seraphina’s body, her interest remains. To her eyes, I must seem just as unique.
In fact, once her obsession with Seraphina began, she even manipulated hormones to make Seraphina fall deeper in love with her.
Damn it. No matter how I look at it, there’s just no way to escape her obsession.
I stared at Princess Eva in stunned silence. She let out a soft laugh and rose from her seat. Then she stretched out her hand and opened a door on the wall, revealing a connected room.
It was a small space, decorated entirely to Princess Eva’s taste.
"Seraphina, let’s live here together."
Led by her hand, I was pulled into the room. I didn’t even have the strength to resist, no, I knew resistance was meaningless.
"Once I finish reorganizing this country a bit more, only the useful people will remain. And in my perfect nation, we’ll live together."
"…You’ve got to be kidding me…"
As Princess Eva slammed the door shut behind me, locking me inside, I muttered in a daze.
"How the hell am I supposed to beat that?"
🍓; *They’re often setting up a deep question about what makes something (or someone) truly itself, despite change.
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