Fermina proceeded to take her bath as promised, leaving Princess and me waiting in the quietude outside the door. It was a silence punctuated only by the soft sounds of water and the muffled rustling of fabric, but in my mind, it was anything but peaceful.

  I could not quell the unease gnawing at my thoughts. This newfound alliance between Princess and Fermina was necessary, yet fraught with uncertainties. I had to remind myself that I was nothing more than a vessel—an instrument to fulfill Princess’s will. This was her body, her fate to steer, and I, for my part, had to adhere to what was best for her. And yet, in my darker moments, I would indulge in minor vices, mere remnants of a life once lived, for sanity’s sake. Perhaps Fermina’s reminders of my ephemeral existence were meant to keep me grounded in this new reality—a net positive, I supposed.

  Upon our return, Rascal raised no queries regarding our delay, nor did she remark upon Princess turning away to afford Fermina privacy while she changed. She accepted our claim of fatigue and our desire to retire early without protest. Equally docile, Rascal complied when Fermina gently requested that she seek out Lord Niyulgen immediately after we awoke the next morning.

  The task was bound to be a tedious, busy endeavor—tracking down the elderly man, ensuring he was properly groomed, and then persuading him to remain on standby while she returned to retrieve us. No doubt, it would take her considerable time, which was Fermina’s meaning.

  “Good. That should keep Riatna busy. I am talking to Dubart, correct?” Fermina’s voice broke the quiet once we were alone.

  “That would be me, yes,” I confirmed. “Oh, Princess says ‘good morning’,” I informed her since I could see a mirror.

  “Good. In that case, we have much to discuss, D-Dubart.” She hesitated over my name, a vestige of her disbelief in this bizarre situation. “This is… bizarre, and I can’t believe this is happening most the time; I am still half-hoping that I am going crazy and that you are only Aufelia playing a prank on me, and this is all stupid and nonsensical!”

  “I understand, and I would gladly provide any proof within my capabilities if that would be of assistance,” I said, offering a reverent bow with my hand over my heart—a deep gesture not customary for women—greeting her formally for the first time as of today. “As long as we do not overextend, which would invite headaches, I would be pleased to perform a few hexerei.” The single Sigil of Flame from last night had not caused any symptoms. “Beyond that, I can offer my handwriting, my skill in painting, and my expertise on any topic you wish to discuss, including, but not limited to, anything we may have conversed about that Princess would not be privy to.”

  Fermina, however, was not interested in such displays. She nodded hurriedly, pressing me to conclude. “First of all, I would like to make a few things clear, if you don’t mind. Dubart, believe me, I am sorry, but you are dead. Your body died; you are now only a spirit. Do you understand this?”

  “A spirit?” I pondered about the curious notion. “No, I would not think so. It all, of course, depends on what definition you would like to employ, as there are several pantheons regarding spirits in different forms, but as I understand it, they are supposed to be incorporeal and yet have a sort of presence within…” I stopped myself as Fermina was growing impatient. I apologized by hanging our head down.

  “I don’t care about specifics and don’t want to argue. Please, don’t fight me on this.”

  “U-understood. Spirit it is.”

  “Thank you. I am still mourning and will never forget you, but that doesn’t change anything. You have died, and you’re… no longer my Master. My vow to you was severed. Can we agree on this? I don’t have to obey you anymore. Please don’t think you have any power over me.”

  Her words were blunt, but truthful. I could still consider myself Dubart Cafligen, but I could hardly claim to be a Baron, a Lord, or even a member of the Cafligen family. I signaled my understanding of her point.

  “This may be new for you, but you are the one who has to obey now,” she explained after the premise was accepted. “You are not a servant, but I have your word that you will do whatever benefits my sister, whose body you’re… usurping. As she said, we’re sorry it ended like this, but we need you out. You really should not have toyed with forbidden powers.”

  “I do not regret what I did, as the pain of my existence has finally ended. These last few days have been bliss,” I replied, though seeing the displeasure on Fermina’s face, I softened my stance. “But you are, of course, correct. It is not fair for Princess to suffer for the consequences of my actions.”

  “That leads me to my next point. We… allowed you to do as you pleased while you were alive; we had to. Could you stop your demeaning, mocking nickname for my sister?”

  “Princess?” I questioned meaninglessly; she could be referring to no other. “I… see. It was not my intent to offend. Of course, I shall address young Lady Aufelia how she deserves.” At least outwardly. To me, Princess would forever be Princess.

  “And that other one you used so often—‘Rascal’,” Fermina’s scoff punctuated her disapproval. “Half the manor calls poor Riatna that silly name because of you. It is not proper for a Lady to be addressed so, even by the servants. I understand the damage is done, but please, do your part to correct it.”

  “But… Rascal is… what I always call her,” I weakly voiced in a barely audible whimper. That name was a sign and constant reminder of my friendship with the happy girl. It meant she was lively, joyful, quite a prankster, carefree, and a shining ray of light to my otherwise boring existence. “No, no. You are right,” I accepted. “I suppose things change. Rascal is all grown up now; I shall… cease calling her that.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Thank you. Next, we have to discuss how poor your behavior has been. Dubart, you may be only a spirit, but you still consider yourself a man, do you not? Y-you can’t spy on ladies changing! I won’t allow it! From now on, I am the only one who will change and bathe my sister’s body. You should not have problems with it since I have been changing and washing you for years.”

  Her admonishment was unnecessary at this juncture, but not something I felt strongly enough about to argue. “Right, of course.”

  “I will not be too harsh on all you have done until now. I understand you are used to being a Lord, the son of a powerful Duke, and used to getting your way. All of that is over. No more of this ordering people around to undress for your amusement. I didn’t speak up about it when it happened to Riatna in that incident that I’m sure you remember, but I strongly disapproved and won’t let it happen again.”

  “I believe in having already agreed to it, but if I must, I shall reiterate: Yes.”

  “No talking back, please. I know this is hard on you, but we don’t need that attitude right now.”

  Her tone was sharper than warranted, but I reminded myself that Fermina was a woman thrust into unfamiliar waters, doing her best to safeguard her sisters. Moreover, I loved her for the kindness and gentle demeanor she had once shown me when I still had a body. Perhaps she was right—perhaps I had grown too accustomed to being listened to, and being in a position of subservience was an adjustment I had yet to fully accept.

  “I apologize, then,” I submitted with the tone a servant would use when speaking out of term.

  “Apology accepted. Now, if you could explain a few things to me. How did this actually happen? Why are you in my sister’s body, gaining control over her with each passing day?”

  The control had not intensified, at least not that I could discern. Aside from the shift in our day and night cycle, we were no further than when we began, save for that one incident we had yet to replicate. It seemed that physical contact or proximity to a crystallized soul had allowed said soul to invade a body. I had no way of knowing this when I commenced the experiment. In truth, I had not expected to survive a failure. My intention was to dissipate into nothingness, but instead, the blue smoke coalesced into a jewel.

  I had been attempting to transcend my mortal form, to become an ethereal being of pure energy. It was a theurgic ritual—a fabled process thought to be myth by many practitioners of arcana, or at the very least, lost to the annals of time. It was alchemy’s equivalent of creating an elixir of eternal life, or magians harnessing their powers without sigils or incantations. The Ritual of the Transcendent Soul.

  “Now you see why humans should not meddle with such evil rituals,” Fermina scolded after I had detailed my failed endeavor. “What were you planning to do as a ‘being of pure energy’?” She mimicked my earlier phrasing.

  “It is irrelevant. The experiment failed because I was missing something, or it was impossible to begin with. It does not matter anymore,” I hoped to avoid, as Fermina would definitely take umbridge with the plan I had devised out of desperation and yearning.

  “Fine; don’t tell me. I probably don’t even want to know.” Sharp as ever. “Do you know how to reverse it? What have you been trying to do until now?”

  “Well, if nothing else, I have learned how to expel a soul from a body. I could even recreate the process if I had the right materials and ingredients, most of which should be in my room. The main issue is that you would remember what happened to my body after I was done with it. I did not perish because I was a delicate freak with a weak constitution. I perished because the process was utterly lethal. Princess would not survive having blue fire spewing from her mouth, sealing her throat shut, as all her insides burn and burst while-”

  “I get it! Please, shut up!” Fermina implored, covering her ears and closing her eyes, as if trying to block out the grisly imagery. She took a moment to collect herself, breathing steadily before speaking again. “Alright, so doing it the way you did before is not going to work. Where does that leave us?”

  “If I had my notes, now that I can attest to the results, I could likely determine what went awry or how to alter the outcome. Beyond that, you may recall what Princess… err, Lady Aufelia, mentioned regarding our visit to my father’s office. Invaluable tomes were kept there, and even a cursory review significantly altered my fundamental understanding of arcana as a whole. I have been misguided in my approach all this time! If I could only study those volumes, I am certain it would make a profound difference.”

  “You ask for very difficult things. Your notes have either been destroyed by Master Kyolhan trying to protect your memory from your sins or at least hidden away, and the books are in a private place the Lord Duke keeps under lock and key. It could be dangerous to try and get either.”

  I could have contested the matter, but I doubted any good would come of it. Instead, I chose to move on, accepting that if Fermina was unwilling, it simply would not happen.

  “Beyond that,” I continued, “we journeyed to Bernan and combed through the libraries for anything of use. We uncovered a few manuscripts, nearly finished with my study of them. One, in particular, references a sigil I was previously unaware of; I could potentially decipher it, solve the equation, and add it to my collection.”

  “Does that help us?” she pressed.

  “No, I am afraid not. The sigil creates turbulence in various fluids and liquids directly in front of the using magian. I can see several applications, but nothing that would fix our current situation.”

  “In other words, you have no idea how to get out of my sister,” Fermina sentenced with an accusation.

  “Without my notes or my father’s books, no. Not at this time,” I reminded her, underscoring that there were still avenues, though she appeared reluctant to explore them.

  “They’re your notes! You wrote them! Can’t you remember what they said?”

  “They are years of observations, experiments, and thousands of calculations leading to results I could not hope to memorize. Some of the resulting expressions are lengthy enough to be considered a small book. I could recreate them if I had the source material and enough time, but said material is in my chambers as well, assuming it has not been destroyed. They are the sort of books and scrolls I never wished to have within my section of the library.”

  “I remember them,” Fermina replied, recalling the tomes that had often needed assistance to be placed on my bed so that I could turn the pages. My relatively small bookcase had housed all the things I had always wanted by my side. “Where does that leave us, then? What are you going to do?” she demanded once more, seeking answers I could not provide.

  “In the simplest terms, I need more knowledge,” I stated, surmising what we had been discussing. “We know where I can acquire some, but you deny it is possible, as it is your right. We searched Bernan to no avail. I should be the one asking, as I am not making the decisions. Where should I search for the knowledge I lack, Fermina? Another town? Another Lord or Lady’s estate? I am yours to command.”

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