The Disappearance came too soon
Three days later, it happened.
I was in the library again, this time genuinely reading about the properties of ambient mana, when I heard the screams.
"THE PRINCESS! PRINCESS TESSIA HAS DISAPPEARED!"
The book almost fell from my hands. I jumped to my feet and ran into the hallway. The entire palace was in absolute chaos. Guards were running in every direction, servants were shouting contradictory instructions, and I could hear my mother's voice from the eastern wing, sounding on the verge of panic.
"TESSIA! TESSIA, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
I froze in the middle of the corridor, processing the situation. My mind immediately went to the worst possible scenario, but then I remembered.
The forest. She went to the Elshire Forest.
In the novel, Tessia had run away from the palace to have an adventure, ending up lost in the forest where she would be attacked by mana beasts. And then Arthur, who had fallen from the cliff, would save her.
It's now. The timeline is converging with canon.
A guard ran past me. "Prince Kael! Please return to your quarters! It's not safe!"
But I didn't move. My mind was working at full speed. Part of me wanted to run to the forest, use my power to find Tessia and bring her back before Arthur appeared. But that would change everything right now.
But another part of me—the part that had read the entire novel—knew I couldn't.
Arthur needed to save Tessia. That was what would connect them. That was what would begin their relationship. And as much as it hurt to admit it, I needed Arthur to appear. I needed him to follow his path to become what he would be, to gain the power necessary to face Agrona.
My intervention had to be minimal. I had to change the future without destroying the foundations necessary for eventual victory.
But that meant letting Tessia be in danger.
My father appeared at the end of the hallway, his face pale. "Mobilize all patrols! Search every corner of Elenoir! FIND MY DAUGHTER!"
My mother was beside him, tears running down her face. "Alduin, what if she's hurt? What if there are mana beasts, bandits out there…?"
"No," my father took her by the shoulders firmly. "Don't think that. We will find her. Tessia is smart. She'll be fine."
I knew he was right—but not for the reasons he thought.
A guard ran up. "Your Majesty! We've found tracks leading to the Elshire Forest!"
The Elshire Forest. The most dangerous part of Elenoir, filled with A-class mana beasts and higher. The place where no child should be alone.
The place where Arthur was.
"Prepare a search squad immediately!" my father ordered.
"We already have, Your Majesty. But the forest is vast, and with the current fog—"
"I don't care. Find my daughter. NOW!"
The guard bowed and ran off. My father turned to my mother. "Merial, stay here with Kael. I'll go with the squad."
"No. I'm going too."
"Someone has to stay with our son."
"Tessia is my daughter! I'm not staying here while she's in danger!"
While my parents argued, I slowly backed away toward my room. No one noticed me in the chaos. Once inside, I closed the door and leaned against it.
My heart was pounding. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to go to the forest, to use the Legacy to find Tessia in minutes and bring her back safe and sound.
But I couldn't.
Arthur will save her, I drilled into myself. He has to save her. That's what starts everything. Without that meeting, without that connection—
I walked to my window, looking toward the distant Elshire Forest. I could see the thick fog covering it, hiding its secrets and dangers.
Tessia is in there. Scared. Probably running from mana beasts.
I closed my eyes and extended my mana sense. It was something I had been practicing in secret. With the Legacy, I could sense mana at distances no normal mage could. Not as far as the forest from here, but enough to feel the magical chaos in that direction.
There were disturbances. Explosions of mana. Fighting.
Arthur is fighting. He's protecting her.
I opened my eyes. My hands were clenched into fists so tight my knuckles were white.
"Forgive me, Tess," I whispered toward the forest. "I know you're scared. I know you're in danger. But I need you to meet Arthur. I need the pieces to move the way they're supposed to."
But even as I said that, I made another silent promise.
From now on, I'll protect you. I'll change your destiny. I won't let Cecilia take you. I won't let you suffer like in the original story.
This time, you'll have your little brother with the Legacy by your side.
The hours passed slowly. The palace was in complete pandemonium. Search parties went in and out of the forest. My mother couldn't stay still, pacing back and forth. My father had personally gone into the forest with the best trackers.
I remained in my room, pretending to be worried but calm. A maid came to check on me.
"Prince Kael, do you need anything? Are you scared?"
"I'm fine," I replied in a small child's voice. "Tessia will be fine. I know it."
The maid looked at me sadly, probably thinking I was too young to understand the gravity of the situation. "You have a lot of faith in your sister, young prince."
It's not faith, I thought. It's knowledge.
Finally, as the sun began to set, I heard the commotion.
"THEY FOUND HER! THE PRINCESS IS SAFE!"
I ran out of my room along with half the palace. At the main entrance, I saw my father entering with Tessia in his arms. She was dirty, with minor scratches, but alive and apparently unharmed.
And behind them, supported by guards because he could barely walk, was a boy of maybe eight years old with reddish-brown hair and sapphire-blue eyes that shone with an intensity that didn't belong to a child.
Arthur Leywin.
So here you are, I thought, studying him carefully. The Grey King. The protagonist. The one who would save or doom this world.
My mother ran to Tessia, tearing her from my father's arms and hugging her so tightly that Tessia gasped.
"Tessia! Oh, my baby! I was so scared! Never—NEVER—do that again!"
"I'm sorry, Mom," Tessia was crying too. "I'm so sorry. I just… I wanted to—"
"We'll talk about that later," my father said seriously. "Right now, we need to thank the one who saved you."
All eyes turned to Arthur, who despite his apparent exhaustion, held himself with a posture that was too refined, too military for an eight-year-old.
You're definitely King Grey, I confirmed mentally.
"This young man," my father began, his voice full of genuine gratitude, "saved Tessia from the mana beasts in the Elshire Forest. We owe him a debt that cannot be measured."
Arthur bowed, and I noticed how he evaluated the situation with eyes that had seen too much for his apparent age. "I only did what was right, Your Majesty. I couldn't leave someone in danger."
His voice was polite, controlled. Too controlled for a child. Anyone who really paid attention would realize there was something strange about him.
But everyone was too relieved by Tessia's return to notice.
I, however, noticed everything.
I stepped forward slowly, and Arthur looked at me. Our eyes met, and for a moment, I felt as if two people who shouldn't exist in this world recognized each other.
He was a reincarnated king.
I was a reincarnated otaku with one of the most broken powers in this universe.
Both of us had secrets this world was not ready to know.
"Thank you for saving my sister," I said in a childish voice but with eyes that might have shown too much understanding.
Arthur studied me for a moment, and I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Curiosity. Recognition.
"You're welcome," he finally replied. "Your sister is very brave. She just needed a little help."
Tessia, finally freed from our mother's embrace, ran to me and hugged me.
"Kael, I'm so sorry. I know you were probably very scared."
I hugged her back, feeling genuine relief that she was safe, even though I had known she would be.
"I'm glad you're okay, Tess," I said honestly. And added in a whisper just for her, "But next time you want an adventure, tell me first."
She laughed through her tears. "Deal."
While the palace celebrated Tessia's return and welcomed her savior, I stayed back, watching Arthur from a distance.
So it begins, I thought. The story I know is in motion. Arthur is here. Tessia knows him. The pieces are falling into place.
But there is one piece that wasn't on the original board.
And I'm going to make sure that this time, the story ends differently.
To be continued…
For every 100 power stones, there will be an extra chapter.