The next morning, John was still inside his room when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Before John could answer, Nick casually entered the room.
“The king is looking for you.”
John looked up from his chair.
“For me?”
Nick nodded.
“And he sounded serious this time.”
John quietly stood up before fixing his coat.
“Let’s go.”
Soon, both of them walked through the palace corridors toward the royal hall.
When they entered, the king was already waiting near the large table filled with documents and maps.
The moment he saw John, the king spoke directly.
“John, I need you to go to the Wilhelm Kingdom.”
John’s expression remained calm, but internally he became alert.
Wilhelm Kingdom.
The first kingdom that refused to help Aerith in his previous life.
Back then, when the kingdom was collapsing-
Wilhelm closed their gates and watched from a distance.
The king continued speaking.
“There will be political talks with Sir Carol. I want you to represent our kingdom properly.”
John quietly nodded.
“When do we leave?”
“So prepare yourself and get proper rest tonight.”
“I understand.”
After speaking a little longer about the journey, John and Nick finally left the royal hall.
The palace corridors became quiet again as they walked side by side.
Nick suddenly glanced toward John.
“You don’t look very happy about this.”
John stayed silent for a moment.
Because this journey was important.
In his previous life, Wilhelm acted against us during the war.
But this time-
He planned to change that.
“This time,” John thought quietly, “I’ll bring them to my side before everything begins.”
As they returned toward John’s room, Nick suddenly asked:
“Is something going on?”
John looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve looked distracted ever since father assigned this mission.”
John stayed quiet for a few seconds before answering calmly.
“I heard Wilhelm Kingdom is dealing with some problems recently.”
Nick frowned slightly.
“How do you know that?”
John paused for the smallest moment.
Because he could not exactly say:
“I know because I already lived through this once.”
Instead, he calmly answered, You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“Someone told me.”
Nick looked at him suspiciously.
Lately, John always seemed to know things he normally shouldn’t.
And honestly-
It was starting to feel strange.
John noticed the look immediately.
“What?”
Nick crossed his arms.
“You’ve been thinking way too much about surrounding kingdoms recently.”
John gave a faint smile.
“I have to.”
Nick still looked unconvinced, but he eventually sighed.
“Fine. I’ll stop asking.”
When they finally reached the room, John opened the door before speaking calmly.
“You should rest too.”
Nick raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because tomorrow,” John said quietly, “we leave for Wilhelm Kingdom.”
For some reason-
The moment thos e words left his mouth, John felt uneasy again.
Because deep inside…
He knew this journey would change more than just politics.