I Am the Real One

Chapter 8

“Is she ill?”

That was the simplest reason Ludwig could think of to explain why a person would miss a morning audience for the first time in her life.

Standing by the grand duke’s side, the aide reported, “The princess was spotted running down the corridor in her nightgown approximately one hour ago, Your Grace. It appears she is in perfect health.”

“In her nightgown? That’s very odd.”

Keira had always been the very picture of perfection. She obeyed the rules of proper conduct to a tee. Ludwig could hardly picture her wandering in her nightgown.

But Ludwig was not one to waste time. Rather than trying to picture the impossible, he returned to matters at hand.

“…….”

Would that he were able, alas. Ludwig kneaded his furrowed brow. The aide caught this sign of agitation.

“Shall I send someone to look in on the princess?” he suggested.

“No. If she’s running in the corridor at the break of day, she must be fine. I don’t feel my best today due to a strange dream last night.”

The aide would have been less alarmed if Ludwig had professed concern for the princess’s health, as his master was not the sort of man to put stock in something so arbitrary as a dream. Knowing his master, the aide was shocked. What dream?

Curiosity triumphed over fear of admonishment.

“You must be exhausted, Your Grace,” the aide began, feigning sympathy. “I’ll order a potion at the apothecary. It must have been a dreadful nightmare?”

“I… don’t remember it.”

“Sir?” the aide responded with pure disbelief.

Ludwig ignored his aide and pretended to read his documents. He tried to think about the dream. All details of the dream had evaporated, save for the fact that it was a horrific nightmare. That being said, there was a very real sadness of his heart splitting in two. He could not put it out of his mind; he felt that he had forgotten something imperative.

“Water.”

“Certainly.”

At Ludwig’s word, the servant poured him a glass of ice water, which he emptied at once. It did nothing to ease the tightness in his chest. Time ticked by as Ludwig stared down at the same document. What was wrong with him today?

“Send a healer to the princess.”

He gave this uncharacteristic order after declaring just moments earlier that there must be nothing wrong with her health. Ludwig shut his eyes tight. Scenes from the dream continued to evade him, remaining just barely out of his grasp.

Unbeknownst to him, he had indeed forgotten something he must remember.

* * *

Keira returned to her study connected to her bedchamber.

She had no intention of getting killed like a meek lamb this time around. To avoid such a fate, she had to keep a record of what had happened.

They said that two elementalists spelled disaster, but what did she care? The almighty grand duke and his precious daughter would handle it. She was disgusted and exhausted by all of it. She had already devoted one lifetime to pleasing her father, and one whole life was more than enough. She cleared her morning schedule and settled down at her desk.

Today is August 13, 1295...

It was an opportune time to revisit, but at the same time, it presented some issues.

This was approximately two months before Zeke’s eighteenth birthday, at which point he would become of age. It also happened to be the day Cosette first appeared before Keira.

Cosette had made the bold choice to introduce herself to the town at Zeke’s birthday fête, where the most powerful nobility had gathered. Count Weinberg, Cosette’s uncle on her mother’s side, had escorted her to the ball. It was the most expedient way to make Cosette’s presence known throughout the capital. He must have been aware.

Keira was revolted at the thought of reliving the experience. I could say I feel under the weather and miss the ball. She shook her head.

It’s Zeke’s birthday ball. I must attend and celebrate with him.

Besides, Keira’s absence at the scene of Cosette’s first appearance meant Cosette would have all the attention. That would be starting the game with a bad move. Keira could just imagine Cosette waltzing around the hall as though she was the rightful heir of the grand duke.

Cosette would obtain her position two years from now when she turns 22.

Keira’s hand suddenly stopped mid-sentence. She remembered the last words Cosette whispered in her ear just before she died.

“The truth is, you are the real one.”

What did that mean? If she were telling the truth, Cosette was the imposter.

So why did she have the ability to connect with Beatrix the Great Spirit of Water, a power bestowed only to the blood heir of the grand duke? On the day Cosette turned 22, she asked Ludwig for a test, which she passed by connecting with Beatrix in the presence of the town.

Keira would never forget that moment when she felt as if the ground had given out beneath her.

I also have the power of an elementalist? But the oracle said there was only one elementalist in this generation.

She recalled what she had seen before she died: water spirits like sculptures made of water. Cosette had said that the ability to see the spirits was also part of an elementalist’s power. If she was right, there was another problem: if she was the “real one,” then how did the “fake,” Cosette, use the power?

Finding a girl that took after the patriarch of Parvis was difficult, but not impossible. Handling Beatrix, however, was out of the question for anyone but the true blood kin of the grand duke.

This left Keira with a few scenarios.

Perhaps the oracle was wrong?

But the oracle had never been so clear in its several thousand years of prophesies. For once, the prophecy was not delivered in verse, which was often open to misinterpretations. It said unequivocally that there was just one elementalist in this generation.

There was, of course, a second scenario.

Cosette was lying.

Cosette had always been hostile toward Keira and a chronic liar. Her lips said she wanted to befriend Keira as her eyes gleamed with malice. Keira could not rule out the possibility that it was a cruel trick to cause her one final despair. Perhaps some elementalists were capable of creating illusions? Such a trick would have been characteristic for Cosette.

I couldn’t very well just ask her.

An exasperated sigh burst out of Keira.

What’s more, she wasn’t sure why she had been brought back to the past. Inexplicable luck had a way of making its recipient nervous.

Keira had received thorough education on many things, which included magic. Even so, she had never heard of magic that could turn time. It was unimaginable.

“That is preposterous,” is all she would hear if she were to consult the magic tower on the matter.

Keira set aside the problem that would yield no answers and began to write down the most detailed account she could manage of the events to come. This was the best she could do for now.

First, I must find out what it is I saw just before I died.

She needed to know if she did have the powers of an elementalist or if Cosette had lied.

If she was telling the truth, I need to find out how she was controlling the water spirits.

Keira had previously been lost and unsure. What if she is really Father’s daughter? What if I turn out to be a fake daughter? She was still afraid that she would be accused of being a fake daughter to her father, who, despite having no kind words for her, was no doubt her blood relative.

The fear had clouded her thoughts and made her blind to the schemes Cosette carried out one after the other. She was always unnerved around Cosette, unable to hide her panic. This only deepened the suspicion in those around her.

Now Keira felt changed.

What does it matter if I am accused of being an imposter? I can always assume a disguise and run away if it comes to that.

She knew the exact date on which Cosette would reveal her power. If Keira could not resolve matters before that date, she had the option of escaping to a faraway land where no one knew her.