Chapter 570: The True Power of the Gate to the Other Side

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Having personally witnessed Li Ang and the Princess fall from the sky through the telescope in his hands, the middle-aged man could not help but sigh, his expression a mix of relief and complexity as he explained:

"The anomalous object I hold is called 【Gate to the Other Side】. Besides being able to open behind any door in the royal capital, letting you enter the base at any time, it can even open a door leading to the future."

"What?!"

Seeming to hear the middle-aged man explain his ability for the first time, the bald woman could not help but look over in shock, her eyes full of astonishment as she asked:

"The future? The future I'm thinking of?"

"Mm, the future you're thinking of, and that future can still be changed. Everything I do after learning the future can alter its shape. For example, that slingshot shot you just fired was an 'answer' I found from the future."

After glancing toward the direction of Lane Manor, the middle-aged man with grizzled temples said with a complicated look:

"That guy from the Cleanup Bureau really is… infuriatingly cautious. The way he handles things is practically airtight. At the slightest stir in the surroundings, he immediately uses that troublesome ability to shield himself and the Princess, not giving even half a chance.

You know, whether it was ambush and kill, poisoning, or explosives, yesterday I brought the future version of you all and tried it over eighty times, switching through more than ten plans back to back, but every single time he dodged it. Not once could we kill him completely.

The two closest to success — the first time, we all went out at once, sparing no cost to drive him into a corner, but it triggered a deadly strand of hair. Apart from me and the two Phoebe sisters, everyone was killed instantly by that hair, with no ability to resist at all. He only suffered minor injuries.

The second time, we sent Phoebe, who was having an amnesia episode, to get close to him and touch him, making everyone forget his existence. But that guy just touched Phoebe's hand, and everyone's memories slowly started coming back. In the end, we still couldn't do anything about him."

After recalling the "battle of wits" with "Prince Li Ang," the middle-aged man turned his head to look at the bald woman beside him, who had already been stunned speechless, and sighed helplessly:

"This guy's ability is disgustingly overpowered, practically no weaknesses at all… I really don't know what he's been through to be this cautious, like someone's always ready to harm him."

"…"

Uh… well, it seems he really wasn't wrong to be on guard. After all, you tried to "harm" him over eighty times in one night. If he weren't cautious enough, he'd probably be long gone.

"Although that Cleanup Bureau guy's ability is powerful, in the end you still found an opening. So looking at it that way, your ability is even more powerful!"

After looking at her own "relentlessly harmful" leader with the eyes one would use to look at a pervert, the bald woman said with some excitement:

"Oh right, Chief! You can actually see the future! With this ability, aren't you invincible? Doesn't that mean you can do whatever you want?"

"No."

The middle-aged man's state seemed somewhat strange. After reaching up to wipe the sudden tears from the corner of his eye, he shook his head with a somewhat melancholy tone:

"Even if you can see the future an unlimited number of times, it doesn't necessarily mean you can truly change it, because some problems are destined to have no answer."

"This… Chief, I don't understand…"

"Simply put, there are some things that even if you know they'll happen, you still have no power to change them. For example, the future of this country."

After looking at the bald woman, whose eyes had gone a bit blank, the middle-aged man hesitated briefly, then smiled with a hint of relief and began to explain:

"You know? Last time our operation to assassinate the Princess actually succeeded."

"Ah???"

"It's true. When I passed through the 【Gate to the Other Side】 to reach the future, Lu Ke had already taken control of the Princess's attendants and successfully killed her. But not long after she died, my future self found a way to send word back.

My future self said that even in the future without the Princess, the kingdom still wasn't saved — it just went from completely shattered to barely clinging to life."

And because I softened for a moment, after stepping back out from the door to the future, I slightly altered the plan, letting the guard controlled by Lu Ke choose a different sentry position, voluntarily giving up that successful assassination."

"Ah this… this…" Hearing that the failed assassination was actually voluntarily abandoned by her own chief, the dumbfounded bald woman froze for a moment, then suddenly lunged over and grabbed the middle-aged man's shoulders, veins popping as she demanded:

"Why! Why?! And also! She's the Princess! You're a rebel! And you're telling me you softened?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I couldn't help it. I couldn't not soften. She is, after all, my sister."

"Ah???"

After using the back of his hand to wipe the tears from the corner of his eye, smearing off the concealer foundation on his cheek and revealing several irregularly shaped freckles that looked like they'd been stained with dirt, the middle-aged man said with a complicated look:

"If it weren't for her, I would have been killed in the royal capital in the second year of the war. Since the kingdom's fate is just as tragic whether she's there or not, how could I bring myself to kill her?"

"???????"

So the leader of the rebels… is actually a prince of the kingdom? Me… then what have I been doing all this time?

Looking at those extremely distinctive freckles on the middle-aged man's weathered face, the bald woman felt a rush of blood to her head, nearly losing her mind on the spot, and stammered:

"You're really Joshua? That idiot prince? How is that possible! You? You?!"

"I said before, my ability is called 【Gate to the Other Side】."

Gazing into the distance at Lane Manor, the middle-aged man said with lonely eyes:

"A powerful anomalous object that can observe the future at will naturally demands an incomparable price. And the price I paid is exactly the same as the name of this ability.

Because I, who suffered for thirty years over the kingdom's destruction, chose to step through the great door leading to the other side, completely giving up everything I had — no family, no past, and no longer any future.

The me now is just a ghost wandering in the other world. Even though I've gained the chance to save the kingdom and change all my regrets, every regret that gets changed has nothing to do with me anymore. This is the price of using the Gate to the Other Side."

"…"

After explaining the truth of his ability, the middle-aged man looked at the bald woman, whose expression had completely contorted, wiped away his tears, and bowed slightly with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I had originally planned to take this secret to the grave, but in a few more minutes, my sister… the Princess will disappear from everyone's memory, and I'll forget her too. I really couldn't hold it in. I wanted to find someone to confide in while my memories were still whole."

"You… I… damn it! Why did you pick me?! Why didn't you… mmh?! Mmh!"

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

Pinching the bald woman's mouth and forcibly sprinkling some strange crumbs inside, the middle-aged man said to the terrified bald woman:

"Don't worry, what I gave you isn't poison. It's powder ground from Phoebe's fingernails. By dosage, it'll only make you lose about an hour of memory.

Just sleep for a bit, just a little while will do… Also, thank you for listening to my secret. After saying everything out loud, I feel much better."

"…"

Looking at the middle-aged man before her, who was apologetically thanking her, the bald woman struggled twice but couldn't break free, her mouth still pinched shut so she couldn't curse, and could only continuously express her anger through her eyes.

You feel better! But now I'm the one starting to feel terrible! Let go of me, you bastard! Damn it!

F*** you!

(End of Chapter)