Hearing this, Merlin felt as if his world had collapsed.

His face turned pale, his body trembled, and he pointed at himself, asking, "I'm the person in the prophecy? How is that possible?"

Watching his incredible performance, Lyserra and the system inside Merlin could only sigh in admiration.

If there were an award for best actor of the year, Merlin would undoubtedly win first place without question.

Not only Lyserra and the system, but also Charlotte beside him was stunned by his astonishing acting skills.

'Merlin is really good at acting. I have to learn from him,' she muttered in awe.

She herself was terrible at acting—no, she couldn't even lie convincingly. That was why she had immediately revealed the prophecy issue to Merlin just moments ago.

"I know this is hard for you to accept. I understand," Vargan said softly. "But I hope you'll hear my explanation in detail first."

Merlin's panicked and confused expression gradually softened, though it hadn't completely disappeared.

Seeing this, Vargan felt slightly satisfied and began explaining everything to him.

To be honest, Merlin already knew most of this from Charlotte. Still, he had to keep up his act in front of Vargan to avoid raising any suspicion.

After twenty minutes, Vargan finished his explanation and looked deeply into Merlin's eyes.

"Do you understand now?"

He understood how serious the matter was and could sense Merlin's panic.

If Vargan were in Merlin's place and had received this news suddenly, he would likely have been just as terrified.

On the other hand, if Merlin had appeared calm and composed, Vargan might have suspected that Charlotte had already told him.

Merlin didn't answer immediately, as if he were carefully processing Vargan's explanation.

After a few minutes, he regained his composure and nodded slowly.

"I… understand."

Vargan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Merlin was struggling to accept this reality, but he hoped the boy would come to terms with it quickly.

Only then could the plan he had devised move forward.

"By the way, do my father and mother know about this?" Merlin asked hesitantly.

"Not yet." Vargan shook his head. "If I tell them, it would only burden them. And I'm not sure they would allow you to come to the palace later if they found out."

He could have used his authority as king to force Ardhis and Livia to hand Merlin over.

But that would be too harsh. Instead of cooperating with Merlin, it would likely backfire on both him and the royal family.

Merlin let out a small sigh and nodded slowly. Yet in his heart, he couldn't help but admire this cunning fox.

Vargan might be able to fool everyone else, but not him.

It should be noted that in the novel, Vargan had announced Abel's existence to the nobles across the kingdom.

However, he presented him not as "the child of the prophecy" but as "a hero destined to change the world."

Now, Vargan hadn't told either Merlin's parents or the nobles about this matter.

There was only one possibility—he wanted to keep this news to himself for as long as possible.

Merlin also remembered that in the original story, Vargan hadn't trained Abel solely to save the world; he had planned to use him as a pawn.

Abel was a bargaining chip with the other two powers—the Magic Kingdom of Arcadia and the Knight Kingdom of Balthrum.

With Abel in his hands, Vargan gained countless advantages.

But now, that would no longer work.

Merlin was not a naive child like Abel. He knew the plot and understood the true nature of every character in the novel.

"All right, let's end this meeting. You've just arrived, and I'm sure you must be tired. You can rest first," Vargan said.

He then turned to Charlotte and ordered, "Take Merlin to the room that's been prepared."

"Yes, Father." Charlotte bowed slightly before leading Merlin out of the throne room.

Once they were completely out of sight, Vargan closed his eyes and called out, "Nero, do you think Merlin Clay was lying to me?"

A crow appeared beside him and slowly transformed into a man wearing a black cloak and a crow mask.

"I don't think Merlin Clay was lying, Your Majesty. Every expression and emotion he displayed was completely genuine," Nero replied.

"So that's how it is..." Vargan reopened his eyes and nodded quietly. "But… why does my intuition keep telling me he lied?"

Nero remained silent, not daring to speak.

"Okay, forget it." Vargan waved his right hand. "Any important news?"

"For now, there is nothing urgent, Your Majesty. However, the turmoil at the border is worsening. The barbarians refuse to obey the kingdom's decree," Nero replied.

Vargan's expression turned cold, and he sneered. "What a bunch of trash. They are courting death. Order the Third Prince to launch an attack immediately. Show mercy to those who surrender, but for those who don't… kill them all."

…

"Merlin, this is your room. If you need anything, just call the servants—they'll come to take care of everything," Charlotte said softly.

Merlin smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome! Oh, and how about we go tomorrow? Coincidentally, I don't have any etiquette classes or anything else," she added, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Tomorrow?" Merlin thought for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Alright, tomorrow it is."

"Yay!" Charlotte jumped in delight. "Well then, I have to go to my afternoon class. See you later!"

With that, her figure slowly disappeared from view.

Merlin just smiled, looking around his room with admiration.

"What a luxurious room. Is this what it feels like to live in a royal palace?"

The room was enormous—twice the size of his room in the Clay family mansion.

At the end of the room stood a bed, four windows lined the right wall, and a wardrobe sat near the farthest window.

The wardrobe was clearly carved from high-quality wood, giving off a fresh, comforting scent when standing nearby.

There was also an en suite bathroom, a study desk with a chair, a sofa with a table in front of it, and various other furnishings.

Merlin closed the door and walked over to the bed, then flopped down lazily.

"Hah… I'm so tired," he muttered.

Buzz!

Lyserra suddenly appeared in the form of a cat and leapt onto his left side. The little dragon curled up, a smile playing on her lips.

"Don't bother me. I want to sleep," she ordered.

Merlin rolled his eyes and ignored her.

His mind was now occupied with one thing—the two Pandora's boxes he had obtained after raising Luna's affection to one hundred.

Closing his eyes, he smiled mischievously and called out, "System, open the two Pandora's boxes."

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