Eris stared at Alex, her breathing shallow, her mind a whirlwind of confusion and alarm. His words echoed in her head: I know your future.

The room seemed to close in on her. For a fleeting moment, she thought he might be lying—playing some cruel trick—but her ability to infer truth, a skill she rarely had to consciously activate, stirred within her. She focused, drawing on it instinctively, and Alex’s words reverberated back to her with a resounding clarity.

He was telling the truth.

Her grip on the armrest tightened, her knuckles whitening. “What do you mean by that?” she demanded, her voice lower and sharper, cutting through the tension in the room.

Alex’s eyes softened, and he crossed his arms. “Exactly what I said. I know your future—or, at least, what it’s supposed to be.”

“Supposed to be?” she repeated, her tone laced with skepticism. “Are you saying my future isn’t set in stone?”

Alex took a step closer, his boots making barely a sound against the floor. “No future is. Not completely. But the one you’re heading toward is bleak, Eris.”

Alex knew of her ability, so he only spoke the truth. He did know her future—he knew it from the plot.

Thinking back about it. He recalled how she, who is pursued by Keryu the most right now and feels like she’s the most important person to him, would be forgotten among the many women Keryu would have.

Eris, on the other hand, recoiled slightly, her body stiffening as if bracing for a blow. “And what gives you the right to claim to know anything about me or my future?” Her voice cracked, betraying the strength she tried to project.

Alex sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t ask for this knowledge, Eris. But I have it, and I’m not here to mock you or belittle you. I’m here because…” He hesitated, his gaze softening further. “Because I think you deserve a chance to change it.”

Her eyes narrowed, suspicion mingling with curiosity. “Change it? You’re implying I need to.”

“You do.” Alex’s voice was steady, but there was a flicker of sadness in his eyes. “Eris, you’re powerful, intelligent, and capable of so much more than the path that’s been set before you—set for you.”

His gaze flickered, glinting with a deep light. “But right now, you’re bound by chains you can’t even see.”

By chains, he meant the plot of the novel. Eris was someone who was supposed to be Keryu’s from the start—as if it were her fate.

Eris, however, scoffed, the sound bitter and hollow. “Chains? You talk as if you know me…”

She gritted her teeth, recalling how she had been trapped in a temporal loop by her own father, Anos Voldigod, the feared demon lord, just for the sake of his entertainment. He justified it as a punishment for her trying to love someone he didn’t permit.

Just the thought of that reasoning made her blood boil. Since when did one need permission to love someone?

He was never doing it because of those flimsy punishments anyway. He was doing it because he found it fun—it was fun for him to see his children suffer.

And now, a stranger sent by the same father claimed to find her pitiful?

“You’re just a stranger my father sent to meet me,” she growled, her eyes searching his face for any sign of deceit. “Why do you care?”

Alex’s expression turned solemn. “Because I know what would happen to you—a person with so much potential that you can change the world if you want to, yet you were rendered unable to do so.”

If Keryu hadn’t transmigrated into the novel, then by now, Eris would’ve been the voice of the student council at Originveil Academy. Her future would’ve been bright. But with Keryu’s intervention, she couldn’t even go to the academy, much less have any achievements she was supposed to.

Eris had the potential to become someone who could flatten armies with her voice alone, yet she couldn’t because Keryu had other plans for her.

“You will feel like you are doing fine, as if that’s what is supposed to happen, but believe me when I say this: you are capable of much more.” He paused, his gaze unwavering. “I’ve taken it upon myself to bring your fate to the right path whether you like it or not.”

Every word spoken by Alex made Eris’s fist clench harder. ‘He knows about my future and wants to change it?’

Eris’s heart pounded in her chest, anger and unease swirling within her. ‘Just who does he think he is? How does he know what’s good for me and what’s not?’

The problem was that her ability to infer truth confirmed every word he said. There was no deception, no ulterior motive—precisely what made it hard for her.

“You’re awfully presumptuous,” she muttered, her voice quieter now. “What makes you think I need your help?”

Alex smiled faintly, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “You don’t. You’re perfectly capable of handling things on your own. But sometimes, having someone who sees the bigger picture can make all the difference.”

Eris stared at him, her emotions a tangled mess.

She’d lived her whole life under the shadow of her father, the great and terrible Anos Voldigod, and the expectations that came with being his daughter. She’d learned to build walls, to fend for herself, to trust no one but her own instincts.

Yet here was a man she’d just met, speaking to her as if he’d known her for years. And worse, she couldn’t find it in herself to disbelieve him.

Every word he spoke until now was true and awfully blunt.

This guy didn’t even care what she thought of him, making it clear that he wasn’t here to earn her favor. It was more like he was telling her in advance that she could hate him for it, but he would do what he wanted.

Finally, Eris exhaled sharply, rising from her chair. Her movements were graceful, but there was a tension in her posture that spoke of her inner turmoil. She took a step toward Alex, her piercing purple eyes locking onto his.

“If you truly know my future,” she said, her voice steady but cold, “then tell me. What am I heading toward?”

Alex stared back into her eyes, unmoving. He observed the look in her eyes, looking for the faintest bit of hesitation, but all he could see was determination. She wouldn’t accept anything less than the truth.

Nodding his head, he began.

“You’re heading toward a life of isolation and sacrifice,” he said quietly. “A life where you become nothing but a trophy for someone without knowing the truth. You lose many things in the process, your destiny and your passion included.”

‘Truth again…’ Eris’s breath hitched, her composure cracking for just a moment before she straightened, her jaw tightening. “Who is this ‘someone’?”

Her question, however, was met with a shake of Alex’s head: “I can’t tell you that.”

Eris clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palm, her body trembling. “Why?” She demanded.

Alex could tell that she was dying to know. She would be able to tell his truth and lie apart, so she wanted to know the name of the one responsible for her downfall, but…

“You are not ready for the truth yet,” Alex replied, his eyes making it clear that he wouldn’t say anything more about it.

She wouldn’t believe it if he—someone she didn’t even know—were to suddenly say that the brother she loved so much was the reason for her downfall.

“Yet you want me to trust you?” Eris scowled at his words. If he was that much of a wellwisher for hers, then why not just tell her everything?

“I never asked for your trust, Eris, nor did I ask for your support,” Alex corrected her. “I didn’t even plan this meeting. But I still told you things that I believed you should know.”

Staring into her eyes filled with indignation, he shook his head. “You turned out to be different from what I had imagined you to be, but I would still help you.” He paused, shaking his head as he turned around.

“I see that you don’t want me here. So, I will take my leave—” He walked toward the door only to be stopped by her voice.

“… why do you care what happens to me?” Her head lowered as he gripped the corner of her gown.

She knew that everything he said was true, and if what he said about her future was true, then it really must be a miserable life, but why did he seem to care about it so much? They didn’t even know each other—she didn’t even care about him. So… why?

Alex didn’t turn around, weighing his words in his heart, thinking of the beast and the most impactful thing to say right now. “I can’t tell much, but know this: our fates are… linked.”

The room fell silent, his words hanging heavily in the air, implying many things. Eris’s mind reeled with many things as she thought of those words, not stopping Alex from leaving.

She felt this meeting wouldn’t be their last and that they would meet again soon, so she decided to think hard about this meeting until then.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep