Chapter 4
I nodded. “Okay.”
But Ryan laughed. “Alex, you’re not actually planning to leave, are you? Where would you even go?”
He leaned back into the couch, his tone dripping with mockery.
“Ten years ago, when you first showed up here, you couldn’t even ride the subway. Without Evelyn, you wouldn’t have had a roof over your head.”
He was right. I never did have a home here. Because my home was never in this world.
I turned and walked into the study, pulling out a black leather case.
No cash. No clothes. Just the information the system allowed me to carry.
Finance. Industry. Technology. Politics. Everything that was about to happen in the coming decades.
That was what I was taking with me.
Evelyn finally lost her patience. “Alex, what exactly are you doing?”
I stopped and looked at her—really looked. “Evelyn, do you know what I regret most in these ten years?”
She went still.
“Not coming to this era. Not losing the House of Windsor.”
“It was believing that as long as I had you, this place could be my home.”
The living room fell silent.
“I learned everything about this world just to stay here. I even started forgetting who I really was. Because I thought you were worth it.”
Evelyn’s face paled.
I smiled. “But then I realized—you were never afraid I’d leave. That’s why you pushed me out of our wedding. That’s why you brought Ryan into our home. And now, you’re taking him on our honeymoon.”
“Because you knew—no matter what you did, I’d still be right there waiting.”
“That’s not what I—”
“It’s fine.” I cut her off, calm. “Starting today, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
Evelyn stared at me. “What are you trying to say?”
I glanced at the countdown.
[8:21:33]
“I’m leaving.”
Ryan snorted. “Here we go again. Back to your so-called golden age?”
“Yes.” I looked at him.
Evelyn snapped. “Enough! I don’t want to hear any more of this nonsense! Fine—go! Let’s see where you end up without me!”
The room went dead quiet.
I looked at her. Smiled. “Okay.”
I grabbed the leather case and headed for the door.
[Beep——]
[Host has completed all farewell protocols.]
[Temporal correction process initiated ahead of schedule.]
My step faltered.
The numbers in front of my eyes flickered wildly.
[Remaining Time: 03:00:00]
Three hours.
I let out a slow breath.
“Alex!”
Evelyn’s voice called after me.
I didn’t turn around. I just gripped the doorknob.
“Evelyn.”
“Have a nice trip.”
The door closed behind me. And with it, ten years of my life in this era.
[02:59:41]
Meanwhile, in London, deep inside Buckingham Palace, a royal archive sealed for ten years slowly creaked open.
Inside, it held a portrait of the crown prince from a decade ago.
The man in the photograph wore a tailored black dress coat, royal medals pinned to his chest—his expression cold, commanding, his features carved with an innate nobility.
Below the portrait, a faded handwritten inscription:
PRINCE ALEXANDER WILLIAM WINDSOR
HEIR TO THE BRITISH THRONE
Everyone believed the prince—who’d vanished without a trace ten years ago—had died in that accident.
No one knew.
The heir they’d been waiting for… was coming back.
