Chapter 5: CHAPTER 4 - The Sixteenth Birthday.
*Knock**Knock*
The moment Alex heard the knock on the door, he rushed toward his bed.
It was still early morning, not yet the time for him to wake up, and as an imperial prince, he had a fixed schedule, so it was odd for him to wake up this early.
Alex had always been someone who followed the routine he had fixed for himself, and everyone knew that even if he were to get sick, the first thing he would usually do after waking up was go for a run.
So, his being awake yet not doing what he always does might raise some brows, even more so when he had an overprotective mother.
"Are you up already, Your Highness?"
The voice of a young boy was heard from the other side of the door, filled with doubt; Alex, however, just covered his head with the soft blanket he used to have on his bed.
[You know, you can just talk to me mentally...]
Sophie's voice was heard in Alex's head, causing him to pop his head out of the blanket and stare at the illusionary screen in front of him with a speechless expression.
"..."
*Click*
The one on the other side of the door, however, didn't say anything else and opened the door directly; he had permission to do it, after all.
Alex, who heard the click, snapped closed his eyes and slowed his breathing down, pretending to be sound asleep.
"Please wake up, Your Highness."
A boy who looked to be around the same age as Alex walked in, wearing a black and white butler dress, moving toward the window, and...
*Rustle*
He drew the window curtain aside with a swipe of his hand.
"Just a bit longer..."
Alex, on the other hand, groaned in protest; he pulled the blanket up, covering his head under it.
"Happy birthday, Your Highness."
The boy, unlike his persistent behaviour, just accepted Alex's words today, but the boy's words caused Alex's eyes to widen as he sat up straight on his bed.
'I almost forgot!'
He exclaimed inwardly, as he just realized that it was his 16th birthday today—the day one becomes an adult—meaning he would finally awaken his talent!
[Why else did you think I awakened right now, you dumbo?]
Sophie didn't let go of a chance to tease Alex as she commented with a giggle, causing Alex to turn speechless again.
'You need to be taught who the real boss is, missy...'
The next second, though, his eyes had a certain gleam pass through them as he grinned inwardly, and Sophie trembled as she knew perfectly well what kind of boss Alex was talking about.
[Hmph, Pervert! Grow a bit more before you think of things like that!]
Sophie puffed her cheeks in annoyance, trying to poke the point where Alex wouldn't even be able to retort, but Alex wasn't one to lose easily.
If he can't retort, then he would just ignore it.
"Thank you, James!"
Alex replied with a bright, happy smile, not a hint of lethargy in his eyes; it was as if he had been awake for hours.
[Hmph!]
He could hear her huff, but he again ignored it as he jumped out of bed with a swift manoeuvre, rushing to the bathroom to get freshened.
"Sigh..."
James, on the other hand, just sighed as he saw this, but then he just shrugged.
He thought that Alex was just being like any other prince or young master—quick to wake up at the mention of a party or something like that.
James just moved closer to Alex's bed and started to fold the blanket, engaging in the work he was supposed to do as the personal butler and the shadow of the youngest prince or the second prince of the great empire, Drakathor.
The guy didn't know that Alex was not the same child he used to care for; right now he was way more than just that.
Alex Matthew, the leader of the Darkhand Organization, died around 16 years ago, but his life didn't end there as he was reincarnated into a world filled with fantasy creatures and magic as a prince of a grand empire.
A nice life if one would look at it, but...
This is where some twists come in.
He wasn't the only one to reincarnate; his girlfriend Sophie did as well.
But she was a system or a golden finger for him in this world.
She, however, wouldn't get activated until Alex turned 16, the age when the youngsters in this world awakened mana.
If all of these twists were not enough, the world Alex reincarnated into a novel—a villain-type novel where the MC is transmigrated into the body of a villain.
Alex learned how to live in this world and how to make the best use of everything he could, but that was until he turned 16.
That date was today, and just this morning he regained the memories of his past life; the moment he did, he realized that all of his plans for the future needed a bit of editing.
Especially when the world he reincarnated to was a world from one of the novels his girlfriend used to read a lot.
It was a wish-fulfilment novel and was still ongoing, which means there was still a lot to be revealed about it—I Shall Dominate My Favorite Novel.
It had many moments where one would think, 'What the hell just happened?', but it is what it is.
The story had nothing but the guy—who, by chance, transmigrated into the novel he loved the most, as a villain at that—trying his luck on every single female cast of the novel while trying to keep the original protagonist in the dark.
With the help of many plot armours and the author's wish, the guy successfully claimed the hearts of around 20 to 30 girls already.
But that was all Sophie could read as the novel was still ongoing, yet she chose this when the goddess asked her which world she wanted to go to as this was one of the easiest worlds she could think of.
This world had no such scenario where the world was ending or anything like that; it was simply a wish-fulfilling world, a place where Alex could grow without a problem.
"All right, I'm done!"
Alex, on the other hand, maintained the same cute act he always does, jumping out of the bathroom in a towel, but just as he did...
*Clatter—Shatter*
The sound of a glass plate falling to the ground was heard.