"He's a little different, don't you think?"
"Different? For me it remains the same boring as always."
The servants were whispering as they peered into the corner of the long blond-haired man sitting at the library table staring out the window.
"I don't know, he seems more serious... I always had the impression that His Highness, the eighth prince, had a lonely air. But for a few weeks he seems different."
"Hm... I don't know, no. I still feel uncomfortable around him."
The servants did not even care to speak quietly and prevent their master from listening. They even imagined having seen two diamonds in the place of their master's eyes when he turned towards her slowly. Still with his chin resting on his hand, the eighth prince glared at the servants who were gossiping.
"Do you want to be taken to the dungeon?"
Quickly the two servants fixed their postures, frightened by the sudden threat.
"Forgive us, Your Highness."
"Get back to work before I cut out your tongues."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Quickly the two rushed out of the library. The prince sighed and looked back at the window.
The view was completely different from what he was used to. Instead of tall buildings, honking sounds and lights making the night seem day, he saw the sun itself shining and the mountains in the distance. There was a peace and calm without equal, which came to be absurdly scary for those who were accustomed to the noise of the big city preventing him from holding his own presence.
After watching the sunset, the prince got up from his chair and went to the board where there were several notes in a language that no one in the castle but himself could understand. Standing before such a picture, the prince took the chalk and wrote down some more information.
"In three days the Emperor will announce the end of the war and our victory against the other kingdom. The banquet celebrating the victory will then be... in a week."
After writing, he pulled an arrow connecting that information to the name circled.
Magnus Grimwood.
"It is at this banquet that Magnus falls in love with Maverick once and for all. But his involvement with Maverick is what will lead him to his death... I need to avoid that."
Crossing his arms, the diamond eyes of the prince evaluated every note made on that blackboard. The dirty chalk fingers were beating on his arm as he thought of some way out.
Avoiding Magnus' death could only be the answer he was looking for.
Perhaps then he could return to his world.
"Your Highness, I have brought the documents you requested."
Argus, the personal servant of the eighth prince, entered the library carrying a small pile of papers. Just knowing that he would have to read all those documents, the prince sighed tired having a small glimpse of his old self doing something similar in an office.
"Thank you very much, Argus."
Without saying anything more, he sat down again and began to analyze some documents. His every step was watched by his anxious servant, who only knew how to follow him with his eyes and move his fingers nervously as if pondering between two options.
"Your Highness, if I may ask... why are you seeking information about the underground market?"
"Just out of curiosity. I have nothing better to do. A renegade prince like me has nothing to do."
"What nonsense, Your Highness! You are not a renegade!"
The prince raised his head to his servant, who seemed upset that he really thought of himself.
"I am glad that you hold me in high esteem, but... Argus, we know well that my silence is what keeps me alive in this castle."
"But, Your Highness, I truly believe that you have the potential even to inherit the throne."
"Inherit the throne..."
The prince raised his head and stared at the painting that depicted the figure of some predecessor, holding a chalice and a staff in a majestic pose. The hard and cold look made the most stubborn, proud and ambitious person on the face of the Earth. Perhaps a typical figure of a ruler.
Yes, he was the eighth prince of the Roveaven Empire, although he had no right to fight for the throne because he is an alpha.
That is... right even had, but it was not his will.
Neither he nor the true eighth prince.
After all...
That world was a mere fantasy where the omegas ruled.
Turning to the blackboard where he had his weird notes, he caught himself thinking about it for the thousandth time.
How could he leave that story and go home? To his real world.
The servant noticed the lost look of his master, and also looked at the blackboard where he saw strange symbols arranged strangely, appearing to form words that only the eighth prince would understand.
"Your Highness, what do you write so much on the board?"
"The future, perhaps."
Argus quietly faced the prince. Hesitating for a few seconds, the servant clenched his fists choosing to risk asking the question that suddenly appeared in his mind.
"Have you had another vision, Your Highness?"
The prince looked at him calmly and opened a simple mysterious smile.
"You could say that."
"And may I ask what future you saw?"
Approaching the blackboard, the prince read his own notes. He chose which information he could give first, and that it would not do much harm to change the whole story. Although this would be impossible, because only his own existence in that world was already a factor of change that would culminate in a butterfly effect.
"The war is over, we will celebrate our victory in a short time."
"Did you see the end of the war? I heard some knights saying that the situation on the borders is quite dangerous because of the advances of the neighboring kingdom."
"It is dangerous indeed. However, I have seen soldiers with our uniforms beside them. It seems that the lack of synchrony may be their downfall."
Those mysterious words did not make the least sense to Argus, but the fact that his master said them with such calm while staring at the blackboard made him believe that every word he said would actually materialize.
"Should I inform someone?"
"No. I believe that the Grand Duke will take care of it."
"The Grand Duke? Are you referring to Grand Duke Grimwood?"
The prince's face became slightly relaxed and content with the mention of that surname.
"That's right."
"I understand... Your Highness, do you still wish to keep your power secret? Don't you think you should take advantage of the future you see?"
The prince laughed low with that question. His servant seemed really desperate to see him out of that melancholy. Well, considering the overall picture of his character, it was expected that Argus would be the only one who really cared about the eighth prince.
"This power is not infinite. Moreover, it can undergo changes, so we should not rely on it. Do you understand that, Argus?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Sitting behind the table again, the prince began to read the documents that Argus brought.
They should not rely on that power, because it was no divination gift or super-power. It was just information he had.
Information from when he read that story before entering it.