Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 338: The Closest Souls

In the diary, after the initial days of probing, two different handwritings gradually became accustomed to conversing through the same pen.

They obviously did not fully trust each other, but as their lives became entangled during the probing, their relationship also became closer.

Miss Luisa and Princess Lecia discussed the situation at the time and confirmed that the accident was not caused by either of them. Subsequently, after various trials, they confirmed that the situation could not be resolved, so they agreed to let each other temporarily take over their lives, even occasionally complaining to each other about their respective lives.

The italic handwriting left such a sentence:

"Luisa, why are so many people chasing you for drafts? How long have you been procrastinating?"

Although just reading the text, Shard could empathize with the annoyance.

"Why do I have to wash your clothes, oh lady, do you not know, I have never even entered a laundry room in my life."

This was probably just a small complaint.

"Are you really a woman? Why don’t you have a special dressing room?"

Shard refrained from showing any expression while reading the diary.

"Dorothy, please allow me to express my sincere apologies...the pot of flowers you kept on the windowsill was accidentally...I will send you compensation at your address."

Although these sentences were brief, they clearly indicated Her Highness the Princess’s curiosity and the pleasure derived from unfamiliar commoner life.

The sentences written by Miss Luisa were mostly warnings to the other party, and from the handwriting, it was evident that the blonde girl was very agitated:

"Do not wear my dresses randomly."

"Do not casually talk with my friends, especially Dr. Bill Schneider—you will be found out!"

"Do not speak in a strange tone to my father."

"Do not turn on all the gas lights in the room at night for no reason. And, do you know how expensive those spellcasting materials are?"

After that sentence, an unfamiliar handwriting responded:

"My weekly allowance could buy a cartload of them."

At this point, Shard’s expression finally changed, though he managed to contain it.

Miss Luisa’s beautiful eyes-turned towards Shard and warned:

"If you dare laugh, Detective, I’ll let you know the strength of a lady."

"I won’t laugh."

Shard nodded quickly, hoping to suppress the urge to laugh with this gesture.

His guess had been confirmed through these diaries, so he finally confirmed:

"So, starting half a year ago, you and Princess Lecia Cavendish began occasionally swapping bodies due to unknown reasons, is that correct?"

"Yes."

Miss Luisa nodded somewhat irritably:

"It is a very strange phenomenon, entirely without reason, causing substantial trouble in our lives. The forced exchange gave us no time to prepare, and once, we were almost found out by Dr. Schneider, who is adept in psychology and dreams."

"Do you exchange souls frequently?"

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He asked curiously, looking down as he continued to check the diary. The cat, sitting on the sofa armrest, had long lost interest in the diary and was looking around.

The blonde girl, holding her face in a very elegant manner, reminisced:

"Initially, the frequency was very high, almost every other day. Later, we stumbled upon some techniques that allowed us to control the forced exchanges to every eight hours per week. Also, if needed, we could voluntarily exchange to act on behalf of one another in case one of us encountered an accident and was mentally impaired, but this wasn’t easy. It required one of us to be extremely weakened, or else it cost a portion of our spirit damage. That is the secret between Lecia and me, although it’s only been over half a year, Lecia and I..."

Seeing Shard intensely interested in the diary as he kept his head down, the blonde girl whispered:

"Our relationship has grown even closer than that of family. After all, I have come to understand almost everything about her, and she almost everything about me. Actually, as time progresses..."

"Sorry, what is this line that has been blacked out?"

Shard raised the diary up curiously and asked, while Miss Luisa glanced at it, her face flushing red, somewhat reproachfully asking:

"Shard, do you really wish to pry into every conversation between ladies?"

"Oh, I see."

Shard nodded, not quite understanding what he realized, but it was best not to ask in such situations.

Miss Luisa, holding her teacup, continued:

"The whole thing started last winter. I think we were already connected earlier. My Core Spirit Rune ’The Other Princess’ is evidence of that. But it wasn’t until last winter when I advanced to Four Rings, and matched the level of Circle Sorcerer with Lecia, that we first experienced a soul exchange. Over these six months, not only could Lecia and I conditionally exchange souls, but even our ’other selves’ began to merge."

"What?"

Shard was startled, nearly dropping the diary in his hands. The cat cocked its head, seemingly interested in his reaction.

Miss Luisa shook her head, the skirt-clad girl sitting very elegantly:

"It’s hard to describe this feeling to you, but I can sense that I am getting closer to her, and she is getting closer to me. Our Spirit Runes, Arcane Techniques, and Sorcery are all affecting each other. The imprint that Lecia has engraved into her soul, I receive as well. Like, although I don’t know what happened with you yesterday, her sudden deep understanding of ’The Little Match Girl’ has also brought me significant insights."

This must be because the princess, in the Maze Lock, had chosen four cards while holding the girl.

Miss Luisa hesitated in her tone:

"Although we are two people, sometimes I feel that she is me, and I am her..."

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"Don’t you feel this is abnormal?"

Shard was quite concerned.

"Indeed it is abnormal, but what of it? This kind of soul connection feels like our ’other self’s’ talent, making me feel that I am never alone. Even if I am lost in this city, there’s always someone else out there looking out for and watching over me. Shard, I am telling you this secret because both Lecia and I trust you, please don’t share this with anyone else."

She seemed somewhat upset by Shard’s question. He hesitated briefly and nodded hesitantly:

"Of course, I will keep your secret, just as you would keep mine."

But Shard continued to pay close attention to this matter, and despite being able to explain the relationships between Dorothy Luisa and Princess Lecia Cavendish with the ’other self’s’ talent, his instincts felt something was off.

He continued browsing the diary, observing how Miss Luisa and Princess Lecia gradually became familiar in the entries. The content of each diary page grew, enriching their topics:

"So my visit to Coldwater Port yesterday, was the chance encounter with Princess Lecia part of the plan too?"