[Vol. 7] Chapter 239: The Real and Fake Princess
If Ismael really didn’t know anything about the secrets of this world, telling him too much would only mess up his current stable life. It would be better to stay quiet and keep watching for now, waiting until everything becomes clear before making any decisions.
That’s why the key to solving this mystery now lies with someone else, someone who also has two souls inside her, who might also be a traveler from another world, and who is clearly much more special than Ismael. That person is a certain princess who has become the center of this whole event.
According to Violet’s guess, the biggest difference between Ismael and Carinvega compared to Minchen and his group is this. Minchen’s group came from the mysterious game world called [Illusory World]. For some reason, when they arrived in this world, they got brand-new bodies that were linked to their game data.
But for people like Carinvega, it was different. They came into this world purely as souls, without a body. Their foreign soul from another world mixed with a naturally-born soul from this world, both living inside the same body. Yet, for some strange reason, the two souls didn’t merge or fight each other. They just stayed together as they are now.
The biggest difference between these two types of travelers might be whether or not they had contact with [Illusory World], the game filled with mysteries.
But if we follow this idea, another strange problem appears when looking at Carinvega.
According to the information the priestess Violet gathered, Princess Carinvega survived an assassination attempt over four years ago, when she was 12 years old. After that, she went to Frederick Royal Academy to recover her health. That’s when she started showing amazing talent and abilities, and her reputation began to rise.
That was more than four years ago, and it just happens to be around the same time Violet herself arrived in this world.
To most people, this change might look like the princess was simply growing up and maturing. But no one goes from being average to a genius overnight. Such a sudden change probably means that, around that time, a second soul from another world entered the princess’s body, bringing new knowledge, memories, and some special powers.
In other words, Carinvega and Violet may have come to this world at the exact same time, or at least during the same period in this world’s timeline.
But that brings up a confusing problem.
Because Carinvega Frederick was born with different-colored eyes, and that trait appears because she has two souls inside her, that means she should have had those memories and special powers from birth. So how could she have lived quietly for 12 years without showing anything unusual?
There was only one possible explanation. Maybe the soul transfer had already happened a long time ago, it’s just that…
Thoughts like that flashed through the black-haired girl’s mind, but she quickly pulled herself back to the main topic.
“Alright, alright, no need to be so nervous. No matter how this talk ends today, it will stay completely secret. Unless you let it slip, I won’t say a word, I’m not the gossiping type, okay?”
The priestess raised one hand to her lips, showing a mysterious smile. Then, with a slightly aggressive energy, she leaned forward just a little.
“Let me guess, you’ve always thought that you crossed over into this world four years ago and took the place of Carinvega Frederick. That you’re just a fake… and that if anyone finds out the truth about your identity, you’ll be hunted down or even erased… Right?”
“I-I…”
The girl with the different-colored eyes wanted to say something, but Violet had no intention of letting her speak. Her nervous, uneasy face had already given away the truth clearly.
“You’re wrong.” The priestess smiled faintly and gently shook her head.
“You, yes, you’re a traveler from another world. But you were never pretending to be someone else. From the beginning, there has only ever been one Carinvega Frederick in this world. You might think that your arrival replaced or even killed the real princess and stole her identity and life, but that’s not the truth.”
“Your Highness… you are Carinvega Frederick. The true royal heir of the Austre Empire. You just happen to carry some extra memories and abilities from another world. These didn’t wake up until you were 12 years old. It wasn’t some cruel takeover like you imagined. Do you understand now?”
“If you hadn’t crossed over, Carinvega wouldn’t even exist. In other words, you were born as the empire’s princess. You didn’t just arrive later and steal someone else’s place. And those naturally different-colored eyes? They’re the best proof of that.”
Ahem… Just so you know, this is all my personal guess, so don’t blame me if I got anything wrong, okay?
Not knowing about that last unspoken sentence in the priestess’s heart, the girl with heterochromia, who had been completely overwhelmed, suddenly froze, then quietly muttered in confusion.
“…Huh?”
“I… I am Carinvega? I’m not a fake princess?”
The princess seemed to perk up a little, but she quickly realized something strange in what Violet had said earlier.
“Wait, didn’t you say I have two souls inside my body? If I was born as Carinvega, then who is the other soul?”
Oh wow, this girl’s pretty sharp, she can still think clearly even in a situation like this...
But Violet wasn’t ready to tell her the full guess just yet. First, she wasn’t completely sure herself, and second, the truth was just too shocking.
Thinking that to herself, the black-haired girl shook her head.
“I told you, normally two souls can’t exist together in one body. If they do, they usually merge into one. So if something strange like this is happening, it means what you’re sensing isn’t really a second soul, not in the way you think.”
“It’s more like… a reflection in the mirror. It looks close, like you can touch it, but you never really can. As for what it actually is…”
Violet looked into the princess’s silver eye for a moment, then smiled and said with a mysterious tone.
“That’s something only you can find the answer to.”
“Eh…”
This kind of riddle, half-answer and half-tease, left the princess a little disappointed. She opened her mouth to argue, but the priestess didn’t give her a chance to continue. Instead, she quickly changed the topic.
“Besides that, I wonder if Your Highness has noticed something, there’s actually someone else very special in the Frederick family besides you. I have reason to believe he might also be a traveler from another world.”
“Eh… wait, could it be…?”
Seeing the princess had taken the bait, the black-haired girl smiled and nodded.
“So you’re not as slow as you look. That’s right. I don’t fully understand how yet, but from what I’ve seen, there are at least three people like you, people who’ve come from another world, and all of them are in the Austre Empire.”
“Besides you, and the one I mentioned earlier who lives in Sainz City… the third one is none other than the founder of the Austre Empire himself.”
“The one who, over a hundred years ago, led this country with amazing speed and strength, conquering everything in his path, and creating the vast empire that exists today.”