Chapter 2 Three Years Before Ruin

“Please… don’t leave me again.”

Kael’s eyes snapped open.

He inhaled sharply, his entire body jerking upward as if dragged out of deep water.

Warm sunlight spilled across his face.

Birds chirped outside the window.

For several seconds, he could only stare blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling above him.

No rain.

No blood.

No execution platform.

Kael’s breathing turned uneven.

“…What?”

His voice sounded hoarse.

Slowly, he looked around the room.

Dark wooden shelves.

Stacks of documents.

Silver curtains moving gently with the wind.

This was—

“My office…?”

Kael froze.

No.

That was impossible.

His gaze immediately dropped toward his hands.

No chains.

No wounds.

No poison-darkened veins.

Just pale fingers trembling violently.

A sudden knock came from the door.

“Lord Kael?”

Kael’s heart nearly stopped.

That voice—

The door opened slightly, and a familiar servant peeked inside.

“Are you awake? His Highness is requesting your presence at the training grounds.”

Kael stared at him speechlessly.

Ethan.

He died during the palace massacre.

Kael remembered seeing his body in the palace corridors covered in blood.

But now…

Alive.

Everyone was alive.

The servant blinked nervously. “Lord Kael?”

Kael stood up so quickly that the chair behind him crashed onto the floor.

“What year is it?”

Ethan looked confused.

“…The 14th year of Emperor Cassius’s reign?”

Kael’s blood ran cold.

Three years before his death.

Three years before the empire collapsed.

Three years before Lucien became the tyrant feared across the continent.

Kael stumbled backward slowly.

Impossible.

He died.

He remembered it clearly.

The rain.

The execution platform.

Lucien’s voice.

“If you had asked… I would have destroyed the world for you.”

A painful tightness spread through Kael’s chest.

Lucien.

Without thinking, Kael rushed toward the mirror near his desk.

The reflection staring back at him looked younger.

Less exhausted.

His eyes still carried light in them.

Back then… he had not betrayed Lucien yet.

Back then, there was still time.

Kael gripped the edge of the table tightly.

“…I came back.”

His pulse thundered painfully.

This wasn’t a dream.

He had truly returned.

Then—

Memories hit him all at once.

The poison.

The conspiracy.

The nobles secretly working against Lucien.

The fake evidence.

The rebellion.

And finally—

His own choice to leave Lucien alone.

Kael shut his eyes tightly.

In his first life, he believed distancing himself from Lucien would protect him.

Because everyone feared the Crown Prince.

Anyone close to him became a target.

Kael thought sacrificing himself was the right thing to do.

But in the end…

Lucien still lost everything.

The empire burned.

Thousands died.

And Lucien became exactly what the world feared.

A monster.

Kael’s fingers curled slowly.

No.

Not this time.

This time he would change everything.

Even if the entire empire turned against him.

Even if Lucien hated him in the future.

Kael would never let him walk toward that ending again.

“Lord Kael?” Ethan asked carefully. “Should I tell His Highness you’re unwell?”

Kael immediately looked up.

“…His Highness?”

“The Crown Prince,” Ethan answered. “You were supposed to assist him during today’s sword training.”

Kael’s heartbeat stopped for a second.

Today.

That meant—

This was the day he officially became Lucien’s personal strategist.

The day everything truly began.

Kael swallowed hard.

In his first life, he approached Lucien carefully.

Politely.

Coldly.

He kept his distance.

And maybe…

that was where everything went wrong.

This time would be different.

“Prepare my coat,” Kael said quietly.

Ethan blinked in surprise.

“At once.”

The servant quickly left the room.

Kael turned back toward the mirror one last time.

He looked terrified.

But beneath that fear…

something else slowly appeared in his eyes.

Determination.

This time, he would save Lucien.

No matter what it cost.

—

The royal training grounds were loud with clashing swords and shouting knights.

Young nobles gathered around the arena while royal guards stood watch nearby.

But the moment Kael arrived…

the atmosphere changed instantly.

Whispers spread through the crowd.

“Lord Kael is here.”

“The genius strategist?”

“I heard the Emperor personally recommended him to the Crown Prince.”

Kael ignored them all.

His eyes searched the arena desperately.

Then he saw him.

Lucien Valecrest stood at the center of the training grounds holding a sword in one hand.

Black hair shimmered beneath sunlight.

His movements were elegant, fast, merciless.

Even at nineteen, he already carried terrifying pressure.

A knight charged toward him.

Three moves later—

The knight’s sword shattered.

The entire arena fell silent.

Lucien lowered his blade calmly.

Cold crimson eyes swept across the crowd.

Everyone immediately looked away.

Everyone except Kael.

For a brief second, their eyes met.

Kael’s breath caught painfully.

Alive.

Lucien was alive.

Not covered in blood.

Not broken.

Not looking at Kael like he had lost everything.

Just… alive.

And somehow, that hurt even more.

Lucien frowned slightly.

“…Kael Arden.”

Even hearing his voice again made Kael’s chest tighten.

The Crown Prince walked toward him slowly.

The closer he came, the quieter the training grounds became.

Lucien stopped directly in front of him.

“You’re late.”

Kael stared at him silently.

Lucien’s expression remained unreadable.

But Kael remembered things nobody else knew.

Lucien hated physical contact.

Lucien stopped sleeping during storms.

Lucien secretly drank bitter tea whenever stressed.

Lucien always looked cold when he was actually worried.

And right now—

his fingers were tapping lightly against the sword handle.

A habit he only had when irritated.

Kael suddenly realized something terrifying.

He missed him.

Far too much.

Lucien narrowed his eyes slightly.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Kael opened his mouth before his brain could stop him.

“…Because I’m happy you’re alive.”

Silence.

Complete silence.

Every noble nearby looked horrified.

Even the royal knights froze.

The Crown Prince himself seemed slightly stunned.

Kael realized too late what he had just said.

Damn it.

In his first life, he would never speak this emotionally.

But before he could fix it—

Lucien stepped closer.

Very close.

Close enough for Kael to feel his body heat.

Those crimson eyes locked onto his face intensely.

Then the Crown Prince spoke quietly.

“…Strange.”

Kael’s heartbeat sped up.

Lucien tilted his head slightly.

“It sounds like you’ve lost me before.”

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