Avoid The Lead! [[COMPLETED]]

13. The Alter-Ego

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Taze heard his own voice and looked up to find himself staring down at 'himself'!

Or rather, his alter-ego looked down at him.

"All these years, you claimed to be a dormant part of me that could predict the future... But suddenly, you're claiming to be from my previous life? Lives?!" He directed an incredulous glare at the 'alter-ego', but the second Taze merely shrugged.

"Believe it or not, it's up to you. But don't blame me if you die by their hands." Second Taze began to pace. "I told you the truth because you're old enough to hear it. If not for me you would have been bedridden long ago!"

Taze had to admit the truth in his words.

In his first year at Elfsworth, he had met Celia again, and something had awakened within him- a small spark that had flared to life.

He had gone home feeling normal, but hadn't woken up the next day!

Rather, he had been trapped in a blank void, unable to even move, only to find himself in class the next day, with Celia's confused look directed at him.

It didn't happen again for a while, but one day, during a meal with the one nicknamed 'The Hidden Queen'...

"DON'T DRINK THAT!!!" A voice suddenly said, and he froze, glancing around in mild confusion.

"Tazeus, what's the matter?" Lady Flora asked. She was the sole concubine of the King, and her voice dripped with worry as she hurried over to Taze. "Are you hurt anywhere? Is the berry juice not to your liking?"

"Er... It's nothing, it's nothing!" Taze reassured her, glancing down at the cup in his hand.

He suddenly felt a premonition... Like an ill fate awaited him if he drank the juice, but he didn't want to upset Lady Flora.

For years, Lady Flora had been the closest thing to a mother for him, but two years ago, after he was named Crown Prince, she and Vitav suddenly refused to meet him...

After months of heartbreak, Lady Flora finally let him in, and Vitav finally began playing with him again.

So putting his fears aside, he drank the juice without further delay...

And he paid dearly for it.

For almost three years afterwards, he remained in bed, suffering from an illness no healing or poison mage could heal, and there was nothing he himself could do.

He could only lie there, and even when Lady Flora visited again and again, feeding him medicine which only made him feel worse and worse, he never wanted to believe she could do such a thing.

"How long are you going to cling to her?! She's not your mother!" The voice came again one day, and Taze had been so relieved to hear it!

But he shoved it aside. "Hmph! What do you know? Lady Flora cared for me while I was growing up!"

"Yes, yes... But what choice did she have? If she didn't attach herself to you, she and her little fair-haired disaster would have been sent off to a distant fortress to live as backups.

"And besides, won't a shepherd care for sheep and goats, but slaughter them for a feast?"

"You-!"

"You should calm down. Don't kill us in anger."

"'Us'?"

"You can think of me as your 'alter-ego'. I can predict the future. If you want to live and see that silly little girl again, then listen to me!"