49 Turning Gears

"What.. do you mean by that?" Estelle halted in her movements, shocked at what Heine revealed.

"I've been doing my research.. you see. I might have an inkling to what is happening, but there's no jarring proof," Heine explained.

"However, if it's you, you might be able to get the proof," Heine said, summoning a crystal ball and chanting a quick spell to make an image appear on the surface.

A group of people were living in a settlement, but the particular thing that stood out from them was their appearance. All of them had characteristics that mirrored one another, only differing slightly. Their features were very exquisite and delicate, like a humanoid doll that was given life.

Each of them wouldn't lose out to the world's most popular beauties.

"An unknown race. Us spirits have identified them as not belonging to any of the known races. They look very similar to humans, but they have different elements when compared to your race.. such as brimming talent in all fields,"

"..Examples?"

"To put it into comparison, they could casually cast high-leveled spells like it meant nothing. Their casting speed is tremendously efficient, and their physical prowess is also monstrous. It's like the magic you envisioned came into fruition," Heine began narrating his discoveries.

"Just like you, they can successfully manipulate mana from as early as a week after birth, according to the direct sources. Not a single one of them lacked in these talents,"

"As of now, we have temporarily given it a name. That is, the 'Ancestral Human' race," Heine proclaimed.

"They act and look like humans, but their culture seems to be from the forgotten past.. Something unheard of," Heine showed her examples of their living conditions.

Furnitures that she had only seen in books appeared everywhere, as if it wasn't rare in the first place.

Estelle was amazed by the flourishing foreign culture, and it also strangely mimicked the things she already knew. For example, the way they built their temple - like buildings resembled that of ancient Rome's architecture.

"And what does that have to do with.. me?" Estelle couldn't make out an answer from the given information.

"You see, they repeatedly inquired for a 'Princess'. Whom they also addressed as a 'Goddess', by the way," Heine disclosed the matter by zooming into one of the people.

"Apparently he is the.. leader, or something. Reginald Sven. He talked about the existence of a 'Princess', and the description definitely matched you. Eerily so,"

"Would that even make sense?" Estelle rebuked the man's claims. Heine was too quick to assume that Estelle was the person in question.

She was Estelle Clareste, a Duke's daughter. Although her soul isn't Estelle, but the description they gave belonged to the body of what was supposed to be a normal aristocratic lady.

What 'Princess'?

[..I'm definitely mother and father's daughter, no? I was reincarnated.. right after birth. Could there be a possibility where I was switched right after mother gave birth..?]

Her earliest memory was in a crib, where she was left alone after the delivery occurred. Several hours must've passed. There was room for a highly trained personnel to carry out the switching process without being discovered.

[Even so, who would switch me out.. And what's my true identity if that was the case?] Estelle questioned.

Anyways, her utmost priority right now was too meet with the newfound race Heine mentioned and search for her ancestral lineages. Any clues were accepted, and this one was not an exception. Heine assured her that they were indeed looking for her.

Heine had never failed her, so she was willing to follow through with this quite farfetched guess.

However, another doubt still weighed upon her mind.

"But.. Heine," Estelle raised up her voice one more time.

"Hmm?"

"That- the stories point to the body's description, right? But.." Her soul was different. Estelle held back her words. Ever since she entered the new world, she had never spoken about her reincarnation. Her soul was technically not Estelle's, it was Reina's.

Heine, who didn't know of this matter, could be misled by the clues and think that 'Estelle Clareste' is the ancestral race's chosen one, but 'Kirisaki Reina' begged to differ.

"What is it?" Heine raised a brow.

"...Did they just describe my appearance, or specifically called for me?"

"You're talking in a roundabout way. What do you need to say?" Heine sternly replied. His eyes scanned over the little girl and didn't plan to drop the matter, even when Estelle tried to divert the topic away.

Estelle pursed her lips and clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palm.

To be honest, Estelle trusted the man pretty well. Heine had been with her ever since she was reincarnated, and not once did he show any signs of betrayal.

She was indeed scared of the same thing with Hikari occurring once again, but Heine shouldn't be implicated too much by her feelings.

To a certain point, Heine deserved to know her identity. Although she had always been selfishly conducting her wishes, Heine supported her through and through. She was willing to trust the man.

Perhaps, opening up would lift up a burden from her heavy heart. Maybe it could even provide her with a better chance of hunting down Hikari, provided that she also got reincarnated after death.

"Heine, I.." Estelle dragged out her words, still debating inside her heart. Slowly, she spoke. "I was rein-"

"Reincarnated," Heine cut off Estelle's speech, sighing in distress. "It really took you that long to say it out loud. Like, c'mon, do we really look that stupid to you? You've been showing off crazy ideas that shouldn't exist in the world like it was nothing, had always been a genius from birth.. what else?" Heine rambled.

"Huh..?" Estelle gaped her mouth in shock. Heine knew from the start? Or perhaps, along with the time they spent, he raised up his suspicions?

"You're probably asking yourself: how and when," Heine awkwardly smiled. "To tell you the truth, we knew about it since you were a child. Remember Minerva's [World's Library]?"

"Her unique skill... Don't tell me-" Estelle hurriedly got up, but was stopped by Heine who got her to rest her body.

"Minerva likes adding add-ons into her skill, and apparently one of them was.. a soul searching feature capable of detecting the soul's characteristics," Heine explained.

"The feature was meant to help people who had their souls attacked or affected, but in your case.. Minerva told me that your soul didn't belong to you, that it was a foreign entity,"

"From there, we just naturally pieced up the bits of information and came onto the conclusion that you aren't the real Estelle," Heine grinned.

"...I'm more amazed by the fact that Minerva managed to keep it shut from me for what, 6 years? That's impressive coming from her," Estelle snarkily commented.

Heine chuckled in response.

"Anyways, it really took you this long to confess? I'm hurt!"

"Sorry," Estelle lowered her head and apologized. If she was in their place, she would've been somewhat affected too after knowing that her companion acted like the way she did.

"..Estelle, you know that the one we befriended isn't the 'Estelle Clareste', Duke's daughter, but the soul inside the Duke's daughter, right?" Heine reassured the girl.

"I know.. that's not why I refrained from telling you guys. It's just that- I'm not a trusting person," Estelle waved away Heine's overflowing care and snuck back inside her blanket.

"..That, I can't help it. Well, it's fine, though. Maybe one day we can get to a point where you can be completely open to us. We have a lot of time, there's no need to rush your feelings," Heine calmly advised, not shaken at all.

Estelle still felt a bit sorry, but agreed with Heine. After all, her own wishes were ultimately the thing she must prioritize.

"Minerva always felt bad about finding out the truth. She thought that it was a breach of security," Heine mentioned.

"Ah, really? ..That explains why she's so willing to be my assistant," Estelle thought back and felt like Minerva conformed too much to her casual ideas.

"I mean, she said that your ideas were interesting, too. It's like opening up a new world every time. When I'm free, let me in?" Heine asked jokingly.

"Actually.. sure! That could be great," The topic trailed off from the original, so Estelle reminded herself to stay on track.

"So, what other than the description gives you proof that I'm the person in question?" Estelle asked.

Heine smiled meaningfully.