They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 56

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“….”
The Crown Prince’s pupils trembled for a brief moment.
It was a small change that passed in the blink of an eye, but I didn’t miss it.
‘That’s right.’
The question I had just posed was far from trivial.
My return scroll had originally been connected to Mikhail.
That task was so crucial that several high-ranking mages had scrutinized and verified it repeatedly.
Moreover, I was aware that backup coordinates—a second and third location—had been set as contingencies.
Those coordinates were places, not people.
Yet somehow, I had fallen directly onto Elhart instead.
And now.
The very person who should have been the original target of that scroll sat before me, perfectly intact.
There was no way this wasn’t strange.
The Crown Prince said nothing for a moment.
He simply gazed at me quietly.
Then, slowly, he smiled.
As if that momentary disturbance had never existed in the first place.
“So that’s what you were curious about.”
The Crown Prince leaned back slowly against the chair’s backrest.
“Ser, you remain as sharp as ever.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Because you always ask the most important questions first.”
I stared at him intently, refusing to give him time to delay.
The longer he had to think, the further he’d drift from the truth.
“So, what’s your answer?”
The Crown Prince turned his gaze toward the window.
Morning sunlight stretched across the reception room’s floor in long shadows.
He looked at that light, then back at me.
“It’s simple.”
His lips curved upward slowly.
“Because that coordinate no longer exists.”
I raised my eyebrows slightly.
“No longer exists?”
“Yes.”
The Crown Prince spoke with perfect composure.
“After you left, Mikhail disappeared.”
The words came out so naturally.
As if he were merely stating a fact long since settled.
I rolled the teacup slowly between my fingers as I asked.
“Disappeared?”
“Missing.”
The Crown Prince corrected himself as he spoke.
“That’s what the history books would record, wouldn’t they?”
His expression was remarkably composed.
“But you would know, wouldn’t you?”
The Crown Prince’s gaze turned back toward me.
“How reckless that man was.”
I said nothing and simply watched him quietly.
The Crown Prince looked at me and laughed softly.
“He went to find you.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
He nodded with such natural ease.
“Into the Black Rift that you entered.”
The Crown Prince’s pupils gleamed darkly.
“Right into that place.”
I widened my eyes as if in shock. But internally, I thought quietly to myself.
‘I see.’
So the story truly begins now.
“After you departed, I… tried my best to fulfill the duties entrusted to me.”
Like someone finally bringing up a story long left untold, he spoke slowly, searching through his memories.
“But it was a disaster.”
For the briefest moment, a chilling smile crossed the Crown Prince’s lips.
“I simply could not accept a world without you.”
His tone was calm, yet something like mockery threaded through it.
“Still, I waited for several years. I believed that you would safely complete your mission and return.”
The Crown Prince continued.
“But as time passed, you never came back.”
The corners of his mouth twisted upward slightly.
“I began to lose my mind.”
I observed his expression quietly, striving to discern the truth in his words.
‘So far, it’s the truth.’
That Mikhail fell apart waiting for me, who never returned.
The Crown Prince continued matter-of-factly.
“I began searching for a way to follow you into the Black Rift.”
Such a method existed? A way to forcibly pry open a door that had already closed?
“So? Did you find one?”
The Crown Prince nodded at my question.
“Yes, I found one. But…”
As if lamenting, he spoke.
“That door… it was the kind that couldn’t be opened without a price. Since it was already closed, I had to force it open and enter.”
Yes, it was only natural.
It would be an extraordinarily dangerous task that no one would attempt.
I felt my grip tightening around the teacup.
“I… would have given anything just to see you again.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes curved into round arcs as they narrowed.
“I sacrificed much and finally managed to enter the Black Rift.”
I suppressed my emotions and asked calmly.
“But I didn’t meet you there. What happened?”
“The answer is simple. I was deceived. I fell into another Hell.”
What…?
I felt my heart freeze.
Every sense of mine told me his words were true, which made my fingertips tremble all the more.
Mikhail had fallen into another Realm, another Hell while searching for me. Then what came next?
“…What happened after that?”
“Well… I’m not sure.”
He gazed into empty space, thinking carefully, then shrugged his shoulders.
“I fought hard, fought, and fought again while searching for you. But I was outmatched.”
His tone was far too light.
As if he were speaking of something trivial.
“I collapsed and when I awoke, I opened my eyes in this era.”
That statement was a lie.
Of course it would be.
Because he wasn’t Mikhail.
But the part about Mikhail falling into the wrong Hell would be the truth.
The man sitting before me now was the culprit who caused it.
He was the one who deceived Mikhail, stole much from him, and deliberately pushed him into another place to die.
Calmly sipping his tea.
“By coincidence, I ended up saving the Emperor of Cradia’s life, which led me to my current position.”
This too was a lie.
Coincidence? No such thing exists.
He likely made a contract, helping with the conquest war in exchange for the Crown Prince’s position.
“When I entered the Black Rift, my name was among the things I gave up. So it’s only natural that the return magic didn’t activate properly.”
I lifted the teacup and took a slow sip.
As the already cold tea moistened my mouth, my mind cleared somewhat.
“I understand what you mean. So the coordinates shifted to the prince instead.”
“Perhaps, if the form of the soul was similar and the location in this world was also most alike, it moved to that person?”
The Crown Prince spoke as if speculating.
“Though I don’t know much about magic.”
“Yes.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Magic is truly difficult. It’s so complex… not something an ordinary person can easily master.”
“….”
The Crown Prince simply smiled without responding, his lips sealed shut.
“So what will you do now?”
“Do about what?”
“About Bardia.”
The Crown Prince’s brow furrowed as if he’d heard something unexpected.
“The Emperor of Cradia is trying to occupy Bardia right now. Until now, you’ve just been pretending to obey the Emperor’s commands, haven’t you?”
If he truly intended to claim himself as the Founding King, his actions would need to change from this point forward.
Unless he wanted his deception exposed.
Unless he wished to confess to deceiving Mikhail and driving him to his death.
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“Now that I’ve returned, there’s no need for that anymore. Let’s think of a way to strike at the Emperor from behind.”
I gazed at him with eyes gleaming with fervor.
“There must still be a way to save Bardia even now.”
I spoke with emphasis, piercing through his wavering gaze.
“The Founding King has returned. If you and I join hands, it’s entirely possible.”
Though I must admit, the thought of holding his hand makes my skin crawl.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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