Adger sighed in defeat as he continued to walk without any destination. He had come out for the fresh air and to clear his mind.
His thoughts revolved around how he had to suffer in both of his lives.
He was a transmigrator in this world.
He had appeared in this body when he was twelve years old, and now he was eighteen.
Yes, he had been here for six whole years.
Back on Earth, he had never been happy.
His parents had always neglected him in favor of their golden child , his younger brother. They used to spend a lot of money on him, neglecting Adger.
He had tried to win their favor, but no matter what he did, he had always been pale in comparison to his younger brother in their eyes.
So, he had given up on his parents and concentrated on his studies.
He had worked hard and had gotten admitted to a university through a scholarship.
And after a few years, he had gotten a stable job. Finally, for once, he had been happy.
He had thought that from then on, he could live a peaceful life.
But fate had other plans. And bam — he had been thrown into this world.
One day, he lost consciousness just after moving out of his parents' house and renting a place for himself.
He hadn't known what had happened, but when he opened his eyes, he was in this body, with no memories of its previous owner.
He hadn't known anything about where he was. He just knew he was in someone else's body and that this wasn't the Earth he had used to live on. All the hard work he had done over the years.... just gone, like that.
Before he could even understand what was happening, a boy had walked up to him and given him a piece of bread.
That boy's name was Theo. He was just two years older than Adger. They had become friends, and Theo had been the one who named him Adger. Back on Earth, his name had been Clay , a name he no longer wanted to use.
The name his parents had given him. He didn't want to feel connected to them. So from then on, he was Adger.
He thought that now he was in a different world, he could finally live happily. Oh boy, he was wrong. He was just a commoner and an orphan. He couldn't even fight back when something happened.
And something did happen.
Theo was stabbed, and the guards didn't care enough to investigate or catch the criminal.
Since Theo was a commoner and an orphan, they just told Adger to forget it.
Adger had been furious and had felt helpless. He still remembered burying his friend on a rainy day, then losing consciousness for a week after being struck by lightning.
He had woken up to everyone celebrating the Crown Prince's fourteenth birthday.
And also, he had apparently been engaged to someone that day, which Adger didn't care about.
He remembered that Theo had wanted to become a knight, so Adger promised to fulfill his dream.
Theo was the only person in both his lives who had ever been good to him ,the only person he could call family in this world.
But in the end, Adger couldn't fulfill that promise.
Just a few minutes ago, he had been kicked out of the Knight Academy because he had been framed for something he didn't do by a baron . Of course, he was the one who got kicked out.
No one had cared to listen to his story.
And now, he was walking mindlessly, without direction, trying to think about what to do with his future.
He started cursing the gods.
What had he done to deserve all this? He just wanted to live peacefully. Was that too much to ask?
Finally, he came back to his senses and realized he had walked far outside the capital. He was about to head back when he saw a woman trying to defend herself against a few bandits.
Adger ran toward them, unsheathing his sword.
He joined the woman in the fight, and within minutes, the bandits fled, realizing they were overpowered.
Adger turned to check if the women had any injuries.
But the moment he looked at one of them, she felt... familiar.
Hailey was checking if Lia was hurt, then looked up to thank their savior.
But when she saw the man's face, her eyes widened.
Adger's eyes widened too as he finally remembered her.
At the same time, they both spoke:
"Crown Princess..."
"Prince Adger..."
Lia looked between the two of them, completely confused.
"Wait. No, she isn't the Crown Princess. I think you're mistaken… and, my lady, Prince? Isn't the Crown Prince Cedric the only prince in the royal family?"
But neither of them listened to her.
For Hailey, it was shocking that Adger had called her Crown Princess. It had been a long time since anyone called her that.
If Hailey hadn't changed her fate, she would have become the Crown Princess.
She had been the Crown Princess in her past life, the fate she had successfully avoided.
Did this mean Adger... also regressed, just like her?
But for Adger, the story was different.
Hailey was the villainess in the novel he had read back on Earth.
That's when it hit him.
He hadn't just transmigrated.
He had transmigrated into the story 'In the Name of Love...'
Hailey spoke, her voice steady.
"What did you just call me? Crown Princess?"
Adger questioned her back.
"And did you call me Prince Adger?"
Because yes, in the story, there was a Prince Adger. Prince Adger Caelum Aurelius.
He was the son of the emperor and empress, kidnapped when he was twelve...
Wait... didn't he get into this body when he was twelve too?
But still, it didn't make sense. According to the book, no one knew of the prince until he was taken back to the royal palace.
So how did the villainess guess it?