Hero return - 04

Currently, Cedric is standing in front of a big mirror in his room, wearing the outfit that's been prepared for him, an official robe that marks his status as a Guardian. After going back to the past, he knows that today is one of the important moments: his first meeting with the royal family.

A servant knocks on the door and then bows respectfully. "Sir Cedric, His Majesty the Emperor has summoned you to the throne room."

Cedric took a deep breath. "Alright, I get it." He followed the servant down the grand hallways of the palace. Everything he passed in those palace corridors felt really familiar to him.

Before long, they arrived at a large door guarded by two knights in silver armor. The door slowly opened, revealing a vast throne room filled with grandeur. A red carpet stretched from the door to the golden throne at the end of the room, where the Emperor, the Queen, and the Crown Prince of the Avandor Empire were present. Cedric walked to the center of the room and knelt before the royal family.

"My respect to His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty the Queen, and His Majesty the Crown Prince," he said in a calm voice.

The emperor looked at Cedric with an indescribable gaze, then finally opened his voice. "So, you're the Guardian mentioned earlier?" The Emperor's voice was deep and authoritative. Everyone present in the room held their breath waiting for Cedric's answer.

Cedric, who had been through all of this before, maintained his attitude. He bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect, then replied in a flat but confident tone. "Indeed, Your Majesty. I may not deserve to take on the duties of a Guardian, but I will try to do what I can."

"Hoho, that's exactly what you'd expect from a knight from another world," the Emperor chuckled softly, looking pleased with Cedric's attitude.

But unlike in the past, this time Cedric didn't just accept it. He paid more attention to the Emperor's expression and the people around him. As someone who had gone through various battles and political intrigues, he now realized something— "I didn't ask this in the past, so I guess I should say it now." Cedric thought to himself.

"Your Majesty." He raised his head, then without hesitation expressed the question that had been on his mind since just now." What is the reason I was called to this world?"

The room that was originally full of conversation suddenly fell silent. Several nobles present on the side of the room stared at Cedric with a look full of surprise. None of the previous Guardians had directly questioned the purpose of their summoning like this.

Cedric continued, his voice remaining calm but piercing. "Isn't it from my observation that the world looks fine now?" He swept his gaze around the room, making sure that everyone heard his words.

In his memory, before the conflict with Lucian, he was the one handling a lot of royal issues, both internal and external conflicts, as if all those heavy tasks were his responsibility as the Guardian. In fact, it should have been the Emperor's and the rulers of this world's job. A chilling silence hung in the air until finally, Crown Prince Kaellion spoke up.

"You..." Kaellion looked at Cedric with an unreadable expression. His brows furrowed, his lips curved slightly down, showing his discontent. "Even though you're a Guardian, you can't say stuff like that out loud."

The Emperor calmly raised one hand, stopping the tension that was starting to build in the room. "Calm down, Crown Prince." He said with authority.

Kaellion looked unhappy, but he held back and slightly bowed his head as a sign of respect to his father. The Emperor then shifted his gaze back to Cedric. Those golden eyes narrowed a bit, as if weighing something. Finally, he spoke in a calm voice but with hidden meaning.

"Guardian, you were called to this world because fate has chosen you. Our world may seem peaceful on the surface, but threats always lurk in the shadows. A Guardian is not just called to solve visible problems, but also to prevent destruction before it happens." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in before continuing. "You are the blessing the world has given us. A hero who will help ensure the glory of the Avandor Empire endures."

The nobles present nodded in agreement, as if the Emperor's words were absolute truth. However, Cedric could only hold back a cynical laugh in his heart. "So, I still don't get a clear answer... Just the same old clichés as before." Cedric lowered his head politely, but inside, he was suppressing the frustration that was starting to rise.

"Your Majesty, I understand that this world has its own problems. However, from my point of view, shouldn't the duty of protecting and maintaining the stability of the kingdom be the responsibility of its leaders? Not handing it over to someone who doesn't even come from this world?" Silence enveloped the room. Some nobles looked shocked, while others began to whisper to each other.

Kaellion slammed the back of his chair, his expression showing restrained anger. "That's enough, you've really crossed the line!" His voice echoed in the room, making some of the nobles present tense up.

Cedric just glanced at him briefly, not affected by the anger. Inside, he even felt amused. "Look at this clown prince," Cedric thought cynically. "Why did I follow all his orders back then? I was really too naive at that time."

But before Kaellion could say more, the Emperor raised one hand, stopping his son. His golden gaze was still sharp, but his voice remained calm and authoritative.

"Guardian Cedric, I will consider this conversation as if it never happened." The Emperor sighed, as if signaling that he didn't want to prolong this discussion any further. "This week, I will hold a welcome party for you and introduce you to the nobles, so prepare yourself for that." The Emperor looked at him for a moment, then signaled with a small nod. "You can go now."

The royal servant standing by the door immediately moved to open it. Cedric bowed slightly, just enough to show minimal respect, then turned and walked out of the room with steady steps.

As the big door closed behind him, he felt the air outside was lighter compared to the tension that had filled the room earlier.

Inside the room, where the tension had eased a bit, the Queen, who had been silent all this time, finally let out a long sigh. She raised the gold-embellished fan in her hand, as if to cover the expression hidden behind it. However, as her gaze fell on the closed door, her golden eyes narrowed sharply. "That guy...," she murmured softly, her voice almost a whisper.

She lowered his fan a bit, then raised his eyebrows as if he was thinking right now, "I intentionally manipulated the witches by giving false prophecies to summon people from another world because of their abilities," he thought.

"I did that to establish Kaellion as the successor of this empire," he continued, his tone full of confidence. But when he looked back at his son, there was a flash of hidden anger in his eyes. "But I didn't expect him to be so arrogant."

Instantly, the fan in her hand broke with a sharp sound. Kaellion gave a small jolt at him.

The Queen placed the rest of the broken fan on her lap elegantly, her expression calming down again. However, the aura that surrounded him grew colder. "If things continue like this, we will have to consider other steps."

Cedric walked down the palace hallway with an expression that was hard to guess. The hot light of the daytime sun coming in through the tall windows couldn't warm his furious mind." This cannot be allowed to happen again."

He clenched his fist while remembering the events of the past. The emperor, who was once strong and wise, started to fall ill after hearing rumors that the crown prince wasn't his blood. Cedric used to think it was just nonsense—a gossip made to shake the stability of the kingdom. But the queen reacted way too quickly and too harshly.

She didn't try to prove it was a lie. Instead, she created a case of illegal funding and made Duke Reynald the scapegoat. Cedric, who was still fully following the system and carrying out his mission as a Guardian, investigated the case and proved that the Duke was innocent.

But after wrapping up that case, who knows what happened, the emperor suddenly fell ill. A few days later, he was announced dead due to illness, but Cedric felt something was off here.

"I used to think this wasn't my problem," Cedric thought, his eyes clouded by memories that now felt more bitter than before. "I just thought my job was to protect the kingdom, and that meant protecting its people—not getting involved in royal family intrigues."

But seeing how this situation kept repeating in the same pattern, he realized one thing: staying silent meant letting history repeat itself.

"If I want to change the future then I have to do it." That determination grew stronger within him. This time, he wouldn't just uncover the illegal funding case. He would prove the truth about the Crown Prince.

He plans to look for something that he got from the previous guild servant's information. But there's one big problem, the evidence that used to exist has now disappeared. Cedric has tried to track down the documents he found in the past, but none of them are left. It's like someone cleaned it up first. He quickly sneaks toward the capital to find out what's really going on now.

Not long after, Cedric stands in front of a building that looks like a casino from the outside, hidden among the narrow alleys of the capital. In the past, this place was the starting point of his investigation.

Guild Servant.

Once, he was the one who contacted them to investigate the illegal fund flow case and uncover who was behind it. The guild was known as a shadow information organization—not tied to any empire, nobility, or faction.

"Hello, Sir, do you need anything?" the waiter in a black suit standing behind the counter greeted Cedric with a professional smile, but his gaze was full of caution.

Cedric didn't answer right away; instead, he casually looked around, making sure no one was watching him too suspiciously. After that, he stepped closer and said in a calm voice, "I want to request an extra chip for the bet I want to place later."

For a moment, the waiter fell silent. His smile didn't waver, but there was a slight change in his expression—as if he was weighing something. "Too bad, sir," he finally said, "our extra chips are currently out, maybe you could ask for the usual chips?"

Cedric squinted. That was clearly a rejection code. In the past, that sentence meant the guild leader wasn't accepting guests or didn't want to be seen. "What's this? Didn't he used to do this differently?" he murmured softly, almost inaudibly.

Before, as soon as he said that code, they would always take him to a hidden place to meet the guild leader. But now? They were subtly turning him down. Something had changed here, and it wasn't happening for no reason.

Cedric took a breath and nodded slowly. "No, thanks. I'll come back when the chip is available again." He turned without saying more and walked out of the casino. As he passed through the main door, the cool night air welcomed him.

"Alright, we'll be waiting for your next arrival." The waiter bowed slightly, showing his respect to Cedric as a guest.

As he left the casino, Cedric's eyes were on the starry sky, his mind racing. Someone had changed the course of this game. And he had to find out who was behind it.

Cedric stopped in the middle of the road, his hands clenched tight. "Is there anyone who knows the future besides me, and that..." He growled softly, his mind starting to connect the dots he had previously missed. "It can't be anyone else. He's the guy I fought before going back in time."

Cedric's chest was pounding. At that moment, in the last second before his death, there was a strange voice that intervened in his system. And the guy he killed—that man—was the only anomaly he didn't understand in the whole storyline. "Damn! Why can't I remember his face and name?!" Cedric clutched his head, frustrated. That piece of memory was like a fog he couldn't shake off. He could feel how important that guy was, but not a single detail remained in his mind.