Chapter 001:

The world regained focus and Alexander found himself in an expensive-looking tavern sitting across a pretty, albeit mean-looking, woman with tight-fitting robes on. Her various curves were pleasing to look at but the abundance of them did not make up for the lack of a smile on her lips which were the only straight part of her body.

She was clearly not amused.

All at once, a rush of information flooded his mind. Who he was, who she was, where they were, how much of a sad sack of shit this body’s owner had been.

“Hahaha,” His sudden outburst of laughter startled the woman sitting before him, otherwise known as his fiancee (soon-to-be-ex). But he frankly did not care.

‘That bastard god actually kept his word!’ He thought to himself in excitement.

In order to regain his composure, he reached for his drink, but the fruity scent caught him off guard. He curiously took a sip, only to be horrified by the utter lack of alcohol.

Intending to right this mistake at once, he called for the waitress and a cute redhead with bright blue eyes made her way toward his table.

“How may I be of assistance, sir?” She asked nervously.

“Yes, I’d like to order some wine,”

The waitress’s mouth opened in slight shock and Alexander heard hushed snickers emanate from the crowd around him.

Wondering what was wrong, he tilted his head in confusion.

Suddenly recalling something, he moved to touch his face and when his hand came into contact with supple, hairless skin, he realized...

“Oh shit, I’m still a kid,” He thought out loud and the room erupted into laughter.

Even the meek waitress couldn’t help but chuckle along. The bell-like laughter soothed his slightly embarrassed heart.

Come to think of it, this waitress was quite the looker.

“Hey, what time does your shift en-” But before he could continue, he felt a sharp kick to his leg. Having once been a legendary hero, Alexander felt it as nothing more than a prick, but he understood the message behind it. Besides, the waitress also looked slightly uncomfortable as her gaze shifted quickly to his dining partner before returning.

“Forget it then, I would like some tea please,”

“Oh, what kind?”

“Anything dark and strong,”

“Sugar?”

“Plenty,”

“Got it, dark and sweet,”

“Dark as my day without you, and sweet as your smile,” The remark earned him another swift kick, but the waitress smiled politely so it was worth it.

With some difficulty, he peeled his eyes away from the waitress’s retreating figure and once more faced his fiancee-soon-to-be-ex.

His face instantly grew cold recalling the story behind her.

Erika Schuyler, heiress to the renowned Count Schuyler family whose recent rise to power bought them the right to be among the figures surrounding the crown. Of course, her impressive pedigree was nothing worth mentioning when compared to his, but that was neither here nor there.

Point was: Timothy, this body’s previous owner, was madly in love with her.

‘His mother called him Timmy,’ Alexander snickered.

“Back to the subject at hand Tim,” Her voice was pretty but robotic and cold, her impression of him seemed to somehow worsen in the last few minutes.

Alexander understood her frustration, She had been childhood friends with Timmy and all was well until the point when Timmy had reached puberty. Ever since then, he had been pining over her, regularly pestering her for her hand in marriage. Once, he had even declared his intention to do just that in front of her father. Back then, angered, she had grit her teeth and awaited her father’s words which would surely be stern enough to put the brat back in line. So you can imagine her surprise when the old man laughed merrily before agreeing.

Soon the blooming young woman was tied down as a wastrel’s fiancee. Much like a flower stuck onto a turd. If that wasn’t enough, there was also the fact that she was older than said wastrel, earning her the mocking sneers of her friends.

All of this pent-up frustration had led to this moment.

“I wish to visit kingdom Graveclaws, I hope dearest does not have a problem with that,” She said with perfect clarity and tone.

Alexander took his tea from the waitress and gave her a wink of satisfaction before turning back to his fianceesoontobeex.

“Ok honey, have fun,” He said before closing his eyes to truly taste the subtle intricacies of his beverage.

The Kingdom of Iron-Wall, though simple in name, was renowned for many things; an example being its tea. With leaves, hand-picked and processed by hard-working farmer girls wearing coarse clothing but sporting kind smiles, their tea’s renown spread wide and far, apparently.

The tea was generally known for its dark earthiness that was uniquely undercut by a baffling, inherent sweetness.

‘Probably the sweat from those delectable farmer girls…’ He thought before smiling a somewhat lecherous smile.

………………………………………………..

Erika Schuyler’s Point of View:

Erika’s mind reeled at the sudden agreement of her soon-to-be-ex Fiance.

‘That’s it?’ She thought with an inexplicable sense of disappointment. ‘Could it be that he had misunderstood?’

This little brat had clung to her for years, keeping her close to his claws, but now he relented so easily?

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She watched with shocked eyes as the little brat took a sip of his tea before closing his eyes as if to relish the taste.

His undeniably handsome face was stunning to behold and Erika could see a couple of women surrounding them look over.

Her face grew cold, but soon that was replaced with embarrassment as a lascivious smile suddenly appeared on the boy’s face.

‘Bastard!’ She screamed to herself and, all at once, the pent-up feelings she’d been keeping for so long exploded.

………………………………………………..

“Timothy,”

Alexander’s eyes opened at the cold tone of voice. It had been a while since she’d last called Timmy by his full name. It had always been Tim or Timtim when she felt particularly vicious loving. 

That aside, her anger-filled eyes were quite pretty, plus she looked to be on the verge of crying which only increased her appeal.

“Yes, babe?” He said warmly.

Erika stuttered as he had never called her babe before, but she soon regained her calm.

“I just wanted to emphasise the fact that I would like to be alone for this trip,”

Alexander nodded magnanimously, “As you wish babe,”

“And by that, I mean that I would like it if you did not come along,”

The repetitiveness of the situation began to wear his patience thin. Alexander nodded once more.

“So we are in agreement?”

“As if I could ever bear to disagree with you,” He said before taking another sip of his tea. Despite his warm words, his eyes were now cold. He did not appreciate being prodded for a response.

“Do what you want,” He said in hopes of ending her babbling, but his tone was sharper than he had intended it to be.

………………………………………………..

Erika Schuyler’s Point of View:

‘What’s wrong with him?’ She thought in confusion. The Timmy she knew was submissive, yet overbearingly clingy, he’d let her do as she pleased so long as it pleased him as well. He was a spoiled brat through and through but one whose head was undoubtedly full of love for her.

But now…

It was as if he could care less.

What changed? And why did she care? This was a good thing for her.

Wasn’t it?

Her heart grew more and more confused. She looked toward Timothy’s eyes, but instead of the foolish love-stricken look she expected to see, what she saw instead was a cold windowpane through which she came upon a calculating mind that seemed to take pleasure in her confusion. It was as if everything was in the palm of his hands, the world was his and he knew it.

It was as if he was king.

Anger sprang up from her heart. Anger at her father for selling her away, anger at her mother for watching it happen, and anger at her fiance for being her fiance.

“Also, I-i would like a divorce,”

………………………………………………..

Alexander nearly spat his tea. Thankfully, his years of revelling in the pits of war gave him enough composure not to do so.

It seemed like he had teased her a bit too far.

The surrounding crowd grew silent and soon all eyes were on them.

Tim was unbothered by this but Erika blushed furiously as a look of regret overcame her expression. No longer was she on the verge of crying, she was actually doing so.

Though he looked composed, Alexander was pretty embarrassed himself; never before had he been broken up with in such a public manner.

He was the world’s hero, what fool would dare ruin her chances with him? He was Alexander! The Global Alliance’s greatest spear and the hero who single-handedly slew the demon lord. Back when; he had countless women to choose from. What right did this little vixen have to publicly shame him?

“Fine, I was coincidentally thinking the same thing,” His voice somehow grew colder.

Erika looked up in shock, “W-what are y-you saying,”

“I’m saying what I’m saying, babe. Don’t worry, I’ll speak to your father on our behalf, I’m sure he’ll understand. In fact, I’ll do it tonight. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy your trip to Graveclaws in peace,” He said before setting his cup down and wiping his lips with a napkin. “Now are you ready to leave?”

Erika watched in shock as Timothy stood from his seat without sparing her a glance. His question was more of a demand.

She numbly looked toward her still half-filled cup of juice before turning back to Timothy.

He Had an uncharacteristically impatient look on his face as he turned to face her.

Her Timmy would never have looked at her in such a way. The sudden turn of events left her speechless, and she did not dare to believe it.

Anger, shame, happiness, confusion, the cocktail of emotions she was experiencing left her dazed.

“Well?” She heard his voice ask again, this time the anger present within it was clear.

Reluctantly, she stood to her feet.

It was then that a voice interrupted them.

“Um excuse me Sir, Miss, but you haven’t settled the tab yet,” The cute waitress from earlier announced with an apologetic look on her face.

Alexander wanted to slap himself for forgetting, he was still not used to paying for things. “Ah yes, of course,” He said with a cough before paying half the bill.

The waitress was confused but said nothing. Timothy also did not say anything.

After a moment, both turned toward Erika who still sat in place.

The heiress, noticing their glances looked up from her stupor. Realizing the situation, her mouth hung in shock.

“W-what is the meaning of this Timothy?” Anger returned to her voice.

“What do you mean Miss Schuyler, surely you do not expect me to pay the bill in its entirety? It’s not like you’re my fiancee or anything,” He said before leaving.

The satisfied smile on his face showed how proud he was to have achieved his petty revenge.

………………………………………………..

The carriage ride back to the Schuyler residence was awkward, to say the least, and Alexander began regretting the fact that he escorted her to the tavern with his personal carriage.

The already spacious vehicle was made to look even emptier thanks to the distance at which the two sat from each other. Erika was by the window, dazedly watching the people zoom past. She looked like a lost child.

Alexander felt a bit sorry for her. At the end of the day, he was still the grownup of the two so his little act of revenge kept gnawing at him.

“Coachman, Stop here for a bit,” So he decided to run away in order to solve the problem. In his previous life, running was never an option, but between facing a demon lord’s henchmen or suffering under this awkward atmosphere, he much preferred the former.

Erika looked up with a suspicious look in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Miss Schuyler, I have no intention of reneging on my previous statement, I just feel like walking the rest of the way,”

“Are you certain, master?” His coachman asked.

“I am,”

“Very well sir,” The carriage came to a halt, and Timothy elegantly hopped off.

He was once again surprised by how weak he was; his body was well-shaped but pudgy. Clearly, Timothy had no interest in sports or activity of any kind, it seemed.

Watching the carriage drive away, he moved in another direction, one away from the Schuyler house. Following Timmy’s memories, he made his way through a small patch of forest. A couple of minutes in, he came across a lake.

Coming to a stop at the lakeside, he closely regarded his face.

“Hot damn I’m good-looking!” He couldn’t help but exclaim excitedly.

Dirty blonde hair, combed purposefully messy, and emerald green eyes that shone with craftiness. Timothy was a good-looking man of about fifteen years in age. 

Suddenly thinking of something, he hurriedly undid his pants.

“Hot damn! Timothy you animal!” He cackled.

With his pants already down he decided to relieve himself into the lake, angling in such a way so as to make as much sound as possible; warning off any creeps.

“Good to know our tea feels just as good going out as it does in…” He arched his back, relishing in the sensation of release. With a shiver, he pulled his pants back up and moved a distance away upstream in order to wash his hands; he wasn’t a savage.

Feeling light, he finally got down to business. His face turned serious as he sank down his sea of consciousness.

As expected, Timothy was rather disappointing in this regard, his sea was suffocatingly small and dark; pitch black, in fact.

‘Where is it, where is it? Did that bastard god lie to me?’

Finally, from within the sea of darkness, Alexander came face to face with a shining star.

He winced at the sight of the system. It looked too….Cute.

The first time he made contact with a system was obviously in his previous life. Back then, his sea was brighter than Timmy’s but still dark overall. And within it, he discovered a raging bundle of flames.

It was that bundle of flames that formed the core of his great power.

“How is this my core?” He asked himself, looking at the sparkly ball of light before shrugging “Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers,”

As his young hand wrapped around the star, the sea of his unconsciousness began rumbling before exploding into an ever-expanding sphere of words, with Alexander in the middle.

{System Initiated}