This happened on a forked world line.
World consciousness did not awaken ahead of time, and Vili simply abandoned everything and went to a new world.
On the first day of his disappearance, only a few people noticed something was wrong, and Atheran was one of them.
—The soul imprint has disappeared.
Before he could realize the significance behind this, the knight commander came and blocked the door.
The other person looked travel-worn, with messy golden hair, a few strands of hair soaked with sweat hanging down, and rapid breathing.
Have you seen His Highness?
Etherland was too lazy to get up. She sat in the chair and looked him over, her fingers twirling her curly hair, looking somewhat nonchalant.
How would I know where your prince is?
He assumed the other person was referring to Aiden.
"He's probably begging on the street."
"I'm talking about Vili!"
Alexander addressed the boy by his first name for the first time, no longer caring about the tedious formalities.
“After we returned from your time, I couldn’t find him.”
The knight commander instinctively tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.
"I've searched everywhere—the college dorms, Russell's house, Greenwood's lab… but I just can't find him!"
"Even the cat named Il has disappeared..."
Vili's movements were usually very predictable, and Alexander, who had been watching him closely, knew this perfectly well.
That's why he couldn't stop feeling flustered.
Aetheran did not answer him, and his movements remained almost unchanged, his breathing as usual.
But the hands hidden under the cloak trembled involuntarily, gripping the armrest tightly and then letting go again, the knuckles turning slightly white, the force so great it seemed as if they wanted to crush it.
Alexander continued speaking.
"Is there something wrong with the spacetime magic? Was he transported to some unknown point in time? You..."
Before he could finish speaking, Atheran suddenly stood up.
The traces of magic spread from his fingertips, drawing intricate runes in the air, and the power he output increased, shining brightly even in the daytime.
Alexander suppressed his instinctive urge to cry and stared wide-eyed at the center of the light.
The overflowing magic impacted his body, causing the cloak behind his armor to billow, but he simply planted the sword in the ground to steady himself, his gaze never wavering.
Finally, everything vanished abruptly, leaving only the glaring white lingering in one's vision.
"No."
Aetheran's voice was low, yet it exploded like thunder, and Alexander stared at him in a daze.
"No, no, no, no..."
Aetheran suddenly lost all his strength, but luckily there was a chair behind him. He collapsed onto it, covered his face in despair, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
There's no trace of him anywhere.
He was like a caged beast, frantically banging his head against the bars until his head was bleeding, but he still couldn't escape.
Before Alexander could speak, he reached out again and used the search magic once more.
Time and time again, again and again.
His immense magical power was completely exhausted, and pain exploded throughout his body. Red liquid slowly flowed from under his eyes, winding into a trail.
It's blood.
"..."
The sound of armor scraping against each other rang out, and Alexander, no longer looking at him, turned and walked away.
"I will look for other solutions."
After he left, the servants who were serving him cautiously came out, intending to ask Atheran something, but only saw his body fall to the ground with a thud.
"His Majesty--!"
-
Half a month after Vili left, even the most oblivious person could sense the impending storm brewing in the palace.
The ministers whispered among themselves, and some quietly approached the old King Graham, but he lay listlessly in bed, seemingly disheartened by everything, and dismissed everything with his servants.
Although no one has stepped forward to take charge for the time being, fortunately nothing major has happened during this period. Suppressing their unspoken thoughts, everyone is doing their job, like a volcano yet to erupt; beneath the dark clouds, everything continues to operate in an orderly manner.
Three months later, someone finally took action.
Seeing that no one had stepped forward to take charge, the nobles and high-ranking officials held a meeting late one night.
The shadows cast by the candlelight fell on the faces of the attendees, their expressions becoming blurred as the light and shadow shifted.
The clerk stood quietly to one side, pen and paper in hand. He glanced anxiously at the shielding array that had been set up, then gripped the pen tightly.
This meeting... will determine the future of this kingdom.
To prevent others from spying, the meeting decided not to record anything using magic, so what he wrote in his own hand would be the only historical proof.
The host of this meeting was the prime minister of Seldos. He coughed twice and began to speak.
"I think everyone understands what the situation is now, right? The country is currently in a precarious state, which is why we elderly people should take on more responsibility and contribute our remaining energy."
"Enough of the small talk, everyone, please feel free to share any good suggestions you may have."
The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment, and then a general stepped forward.
"I think it would be better if you temporarily took over as the ruler of the kingdom. Your Majesty... the previous emperor always trusted you, and your abilities are obvious to all."
These words caused an uproar. Most of the senior officials hesitated, but the prime minister's face darkened almost imperceptibly.
Where did this idiot come from?!
Even if he really had such thoughts, he shouldn't have brought them up at the very beginning of the meeting!
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
