The original Anna said, "Even if we are the same, we are still two souls. If you are controlling the body, I have no choice but to stay here."
"The same applies if you control the body." Anna agreed as her expression turned grim. However, Anna still didn't lose some hope and asked again, "Thunder Berserker Spirit. I have a question for you. Is it necessary for two souls to exist to form a pair of Spirit Minds and Hearts?"
The Thunder Berserker Spirit surprisingly shook his head. "I don't know the answer to that question. If you want to know, you should ask someone who has the power of soul."
"…" Anna couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows. On the one hand, the simple solution would be creating an agreement between them. On the other hand, she couldn't be careless because there was a chance she wouldn't be able to control the body anymore.
It appeared that they only had one choice. Before doing anything, she had to consult Old Ru's grandson before doing anything else.
'Wait a moment.' Anna came to another realization. 'In the past, Noel visited Old Ru alone and gained a lot of benefits, including his grandson. At first, it looked like he was training under Noel, but later, I found out that there was an agreement between them.
'That agreement… is it as simple as training?' Anna emphasized the fact that she visited Old Ru with Noel in this life. Due to this change, Anna could actually go back to meet Old Ru as he already knew her.
What if Noel had predicted that she would have two souls and the future him would be introducing Anna to Old Ru? What if the Sword Saint's successor was actually a hint from Noel? What if everything was within Noel's plan?
The moment she thought about it, she came to another conclusion. Noel had never done something meaningless, so there was definitely a hidden intention. And to find it, he might have to revisit Old Ru's place.
She didn't forget that Old Ru's place was also where the former Ardagan Family stood firm until the invasion of the Demon King. So, she had enough reason to leave.
Still, Noel would definitely be worried, considering this trip would be extremely dangerous. She might have to go alone.
The original Anna seemed to be thinking about something. Now that she had the chance, Anna gradually disappeared as though she was trying to return to reality.
"Huh?!" The original Anna was startled. She hurriedly released her power and tried to catch her. "Where do you think you're going?!"
Unfortunately, she was too late. Anna had disappeared, leaving a message. "We'll talk later."
"You…" The original Anna gritted her teeth. She never thought that Anna would be so despicable.
Even the Thunder Berserker Spirit didn't expect Anna to run away. It appeared he had overestimated their similarity.
He could guess the reason Anna escaped. On the one hand, Anna didn't want to give up on the possibility of becoming stronger. On the other hand, Anna didn't want to give the original Anna the chance to control the body.
In the end, if the original Anna controlled her, Anna had to watch everything. Even if their senses synchronized, controlling the body and watching the body were still two different things.
That was why Anna returned to reality as quickly as possible. She had found the source of the problem, so it would be better to fix it even if she was deemed as a coward by the other Anna.
As soon as Anna opened her eyes, Noel had just closed the door. It seemed that he was going to pretend that he was unable to move.
"Did I interrupt you? Sorry." Noel apologized, oblivious to what had just happened to Anna.
Anna didn't know why but there was another emptiness in her heart. She followed her instinct and jumped off the bed so that she could hug Noel.
"Huh?" Noel was stunned. While their relationship was pretty intimate, it wasn't at this level. "Anna? What's wrong?"
Anna just buried her face on Noel's chest and hugged him as tightly as possible. When she thought about not being able to do this and watched the other her do something like this with Noel, she felt horrible and jealous.
In fact, it might be because she could meet Noel right after opening her eyes that the feeling was even stronger.
"I'm just thinking what will happen if I disappear and am unable to do this anymore. Maybe I have taken everything for granted…" Anna said with a sad tone.
Noel was confused, but he could feel her worries from her shaking voice and trembling hands.
It looked like she was truly concerned about it.
Because he didn't know the two souls, Noel thought Anna was worried that he would lose his life and was unable to accompany her anymore.
He hugged her back and stroked her hair. "I don't know what you're talking about, but don't worry. I will be here for you. As long as I have even an ounce of strength in my body left, I will not let you disappear."
Anna wanted to tell him about the two souls, but she realized that it was her problem. Noel would have a conflicting thought when he learned that there was another soul within the body and it was the one who caused his family's demise.
Even though they were the same, the soul who had been spending time with him was the current Anna.
So, she didn't want him to worry. Of course, she planned to tell this to Noel, but after she discussed the problem with Old Ru and his grandson.
"Noel."
"Yeah?"
"I want to request something from you."
"Sure. Just tell me about it."
"If I say I want to go back to Old Ru's place to do something, will you let me go?"
Noel's body shook. The answer was obvious, but because of Anna's strange action, there might be another problem that he wasn't aware of.
As much as he didn't want anything to happen to Anna during the journey, it would be disrespectful to her if he rejected her request right away. It would look like he was a tyrant in the family. Hence, he asked, "Can you give me a reason?"
"I can't tell you anything yet. But after this trip, I feel like I will be able to tell you the truth. All I can say is that… this is the only way for me to be able to stand beside you for the rest of my life. I want to be the strongest woman in history, not the accessory to let you shine even brighter."
Noel fell silent for a moment. On the one hand, he would like to go with her. On the other hand, the territory would crumble without his existence.
Dimitri might be able to accompany her, but he had a lot of work to do.
After some careful thoughts, Noel said, "If I say Dimitri will accompany you—"
Noel didn't even finish his words and Anna already replied, "I don't mind. I know that you are worried about me. But if Dimitri goes with me, it means that no one takes care of the workers…"
"I will be the one handling that problem."
"But you are already overworking yourself right now. If you take on Dimitri's job…"
"It'll be fine. This is the only way I can send you without worry…"
"…" Anna fell silent for a moment before asking, "What if I ask Damian? Damian should be standing by in the north, right?"
"That's…" Noel thought for a moment before saying, "Alright. Go with Dimitri and negotiate with Damian. Even if he gives you a ridiculous price, just agree to it. I will definitely pay it as long as it can keep you safe."
Anna felt blessed. She was still uncertain what to do with the original Anna's soul, but she knew that Noel would be on her side.
She felt bad that she couldn't tell him about everything, but she hoped that the matter could be solved as quickly as possible.
Anna couldn't help but look up and give a little kiss on his lips. She remembered what the original Anna said previously. She was too innocent in terms of relationship because her life had always revolved around the sword.
Those words made her think it would be alright if she wished for more and became more proactive.
"!!!" Noel was completely stunned, never thinking Anna would do something like this. Despite the brief touch of her lips, Noel could feel the anxiety and worry in her heart.
'I will be bolder and more honest when I return. Sorry that I can't tell you everything right now…' thought Anna before giving her best smile to assure him that everything was going to be alright. She said, "Please wait a bit more, alright?"
Noel's body tensed up, but there was nothing he could do. The highest respect he could give her at this moment was to trust her.
"Yes. I will wait for you here. But please don't push yourself too far. Even if it's not going to work right now, I can definitely accompany you after the Supreme Devil Organization launches their attack. We still have a lot of time."
"I know." Anna nodded furiously.
As the atmosphere between them became awkward, they could feel the fluctuation of Spiritual Energy on the back of the mansion.
"!!!" Both of them hurriedly turned around and reached for the windows, trying to see what happened.
They saw the Sword Arbiter pinning someone on the ground with his body while his sword almost slashed this person's neck.
"Who are you?" The Sword Arbiter asked with a strict tone, his eyes were oozing killing intent as if indirectly telling him that if he didn't talk, he would slit his throat.
"Don't kill me. I'm here to deliver the message from the Third Prince."
