Chapter 570: The True Power of the Door to the Other World

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Through the telescope in his hand, the middle-aged man sighed as he watched Leon and the Princess fall from the sky, his expression both relieved and complex as he explained:

"The anomaly I possess is called the 【Door to the Other World】. Besides being able to open behind any door in the Capital, allowing you to enter the base at any time, it can also open doors to the future."

"What?!"

Hearing the middle-aged man explain his ability for the first time, the bald woman stared at him in shock, her eyes wide with awe as she asked:

"The future? You mean the future I'm thinking of?"

"Yes, the exact future you're thinking of—and that future can be changed. Everything I do after learning the future alters its shape. For instance, that slingshot shot you just fired? That's the 'answer' I found in the future."

After glancing toward the Lyon Estate, the middle-aged man with streaks of gray at his temples spoke with a complicated gaze:

"That Clearance Bureau agent is… terrifyingly cautious. He handles everything flawlessly. Any slightest disturbance, and he immediately uses that infuriating ability to shield himself and the Princess—leaving not a single opening."

Do you know? Whether it was ambush, assassination, poisoning, or explosives—I tried eighty-something times last night with versions of you from the future. I switched over a dozen strategies, but every single time he evaded it. Not once could I kill him outright."

"The two closest attempts: once, we launched a full-scale assault, sparing no cost to corner him—only for him to activate a lethal hair. Everyone except me and the Phoebe sisters died instantly, with zero resistance. He only suffered minor injuries."

"The second time, I sent Phoebe, suffering from amnesia, to get close to him and touch him, making everyone forget his existence. But he merely touched Phoebe's hand—and everyone's memories began slowly returning. In the end, we still couldn't touch him."

After recalling his "battle of wits" with "Prince Leon," the middle-aged man turned to the bald woman, who had been stunned silent, and sighed helplessly:

"His ability is truly disgusting—almost no weakness… I can't imagine what he's been through to be this cautious, as if someone's always ready to kill him."

"…."

Uh… well, it seems he really didn't overreact—you tried to kill him eighty times in one night. If he weren't this cautious, he'd be dead already.

"Though that Clearance Bureau agent's ability is powerful, you still found an opening in the end. So clearly, your ability is stronger!"

Giving her "relentlessly murderous" leader a look of disgust, the bald woman said excitedly:

"By the way, Boss! You can see the future?! With that power, aren't you invincible? Can't you just do whatever you want?"

"No."

The middle-aged man's demeanor seemed strange. He wiped away sudden tears from his eyes, then shook his head with a melancholy tone:

"Even if you can see the future infinitely, you still might not change it—because some problems are destined to have no answer."

"This… Boss, I don't understand…"

"Simply put: some things, even if you know they'll happen, you still can't change them—like the future of this kingdom."

After glancing at the dazed bald woman, the middle-aged man hesitated slightly, then smiled with a touch of release as he explained:

"Do you know? The last time we assassinated the Princess—we actually succeeded."

"Huh?!!?"

"It's true. When I crossed through the 【Door to the Other World】 to reach the future, I had Luke control the Princess's attendant and successfully killed her. But shortly after her death, my future self managed to send back a message."

"My future self said: even in that future without the Princess, the kingdom wasn't saved—it merely shifted from total collapse to a lingering, dying state."

"And because I hesitated, I stepped out of the future's door and slightly altered the plan—I made the attendant Luke controlled choose a different post, deliberately abandoning that chance to assassinate her."

"Ah… this… this…" Hearing that the failed assassination had been deliberately abandoned by her own leader, the stunned bald woman suddenly lunged forward, grabbing his shoulders, veins bulging as she shouted:

"Why?! Why?! And—she's the Princess! You're a rebel! You're telling me you hesitated? What are you babbling about?!"

"I couldn't help it. I couldn't bring myself to kill her. She's my sister."

"Huh?!!?"

Wiping tears with the back of his hand, he smudged off the foundation used to conceal his face, revealing several irregularly shaped freckles that looked like smudges of dirt. His eyes were filled with complexity as he said:

"If not for her, I would have been killed in the Capital in the second year of the war. Since the kingdom's fate is equally tragic with or without her, how could I bring myself to kill her?"

"??????"

So the rebel leader… is actually the kingdom's prince? I… what have I been doing all this time?

Looking at the middle-aged man's weathered face and those unmistakable freckles, the bald woman felt blood rush to her head, nearly going mad as she stammered:

"You're Joshua? That idiot prince? Impossible! You? You?!"

"I already said it: my ability is called the 【Door to the Other World】."

Gazing at the distant Lyon Estate, the middle-aged man's eyes were hollow as he said:

"A powerful anomaly that lets you freely observe the future demands an unparalleled price—and the price I paid is tied to the name of this ability."

"Having suffered thirty years from the kingdom's destruction, I chose to step through the Door to the Other World, abandoning everything I had—no family, no past, not even a future anymore."

"Now, I am merely a ghost wandering the Other World. Even if I gain the chance to save the kingdom and correct every regret, every changed regret no longer concerns me. That is the price of using the 【Door to the Other World】."

"…"

After explaining the truth of his ability, the middle-aged man wiped his tears and bowed slightly, apologetic, toward the bald woman's twisted expression.

"I'm sorry. I planned to take this secret to my grave. But in a few minutes, my sister—the Princess—will vanish from everyone's memory, even mine. I couldn't hold back. I needed to confide in someone before my memories fade."

"You… I… damn it! Why me? Why not… ugh? Ugh!"

"Because among all of us, you're the only one I can beat. Sorry."

Pinching the bald woman's mouth shut, he sprinkled strange powder inside. He said to her terrified face:

"Don't worry—it's not poison. It's ground-up Phoebe's fingernails. The dose will only erase about an hour of your memory."

"Just sleep for a while—that's all. And thank you for listening to my secret. Saying it all out… I feel better."

"…"

Watching the middle-aged man before her, his face filled with apology, the bald woman struggled weakly, unable to break free, her mouth still pinched shut, unable to curse—she could only glare with furious eyes.

You feel better! But now I'm the one suffering! Let go of me, you bastard! Fuck!

Fuck!

(End of Chapter)