> System Restarting…
Sync Failed. Partial Corruption Detected. Loading Emergency Backup: Route: [Prince Caelan – Dev Rewrite]
WARNING: Caelan's behavior may no longer align with standard romance parameters. Proceed with caution.
---
The Library disappeared.
One moment I was staring into the haunted eyes of my mirror-self, the next I was drowning in pure white static—like being caught between TV channels, except the only sound was my own voice, distorted and looping.
> "I didn't write this."
"Who's controlling the script?"
"This isn't my story anymore."
When I woke up, I was no longer in the West Wing.
I was in his palace.
---
Cold Rooms and Warmer Eyes
Prince Caelan's private estate—an obsidian tower that overlooked the capital—was never part of the original story's early arc. It was supposed to be a late-game location. A place of confrontation, confession, or collapse.
I'd skipped 30 chapters ahead without warning.
I was lying on a velvet chaise in a sitting room draped in night-blue curtains and moonlight. Beside me, a single cup of rose tea steamed gently. Across from me, seated with imperial posture and predatory calm…
…was Caelan.
"You're awake," he said simply, voice low and sharp as ever.
"…Did you kidnap me?"
"You collapsed in the palace," he said, which technically wasn't an answer. "The System glitched. I intervened."
He said it like he knew what the System was.
My heart skipped a beat.
"Wait—you know about the System?"
His eyes gleamed silver. "Of course I do. I was made to."
---
Truths, Twisted
I sat up, every instinct screaming.
"Who are you really?"
Caelan tilted his head. "You once wrote me as the 'final route.' The one who only unlocks if the player chooses all the wrong answers."
I blinked. "I deleted that version."
He smiled, not kindly. "Did you?"
> System Notification: Hidden Route Unlocked – "The Forgotten Crown"
— Romance Difficulty: ???
— Danger Level: Moderate to High
— Fate Tethered: [Yes]
Caelan stood, brushing invisible dust from his jacket. "I know about you, Ren. Or should I say… Lady Seraphine Noir? Or maybe just Player One."
The floor wobbled under my thoughts.
He knew.
"I was supposed to fall for the heroine," Caelan said, circling me like I was both prey and puzzle. "But I always watched you. The one rewriting scenes in your sleep. The one tearing down the fourth wall."
"You're not supposed to remember that," I whispered.
"And yet here we are."
---
Prince or Puppetmaster?
Caelan sat beside me now, much too close.
"I don't want to be just another love interest, Seraphine," he said, voice like velvet steel. "I want out."
I stared. "Out of what?"
"This world. This loop. This prison. Don't you see? We're all trapped in your recycled drafts. You were the only one who escaped. But they pulled you back in."
He reached into his coat and tossed something onto the table between us.
It was a collar tag.
From my cat body.
"Where did you get this?" I whispered.
"It fell through the breach," Caelan said. "Right before you did."
---
Dialogue Tree: Shattered
> [A] "Join me. Let's break the world together."
[B] "No. I'm fixing this alone."
[C] "Are you… trying to seduce me into a rebellion?"
[D] [Custom Input]
I stared at the System, then back at Caelan.
"Are you trying to seduce me into a rebellion?" I asked, dry.
He blinked. Then smirked. "If it works, yes."
Damn it.
He was charming. In a morally grey, chaos-prince kind of way. And somehow, knowing the rules hadn't made him colder—it made him burn brighter.
> System Alert: Affection Spike – Caelan: [56%] ➤ [64%]
Note: High Affection + System Awareness Detected. Narrative Instability Increased.
"Tell me one thing," I said slowly. "Are you real? Or are you just playing along?"
He didn't hesitate.
"Does it matter, if I choose you anyway?"
---
Breaking Point
Before I could answer, the tower trembled.
> SYSTEM BREACH DETECTED
New Player Entry: [Mirror Ren]
Narrative Conflict: Imminent
"Looks like we're out of time," Caelan said, standing and drawing a sword from mid-air. It hummed with corrupted code.
"How poetic," he said, voice low. "You wrote me to destroy the world. Now I fight to save it… with you."
I stood beside him, heart pounding.
Not out of fear.
Out of possibility.
The game is broken. The story is alive. And I am not just the villainess anymore.
I'm the editor of fate.
END OF CHAPTER