Chapter 852: Shock And Echoes in the Crown Terrace [2]

Following the revelation that a new Utopian King had been chosen, and that he was none other than Edward Falkrona, the man believed to have died nearly two years earlier during the Blood Wedding in Central Vedelia, shock swept through the entire Crown Terrace.

For several long seconds, no one spoke.

Those who had known Edward best sat frozen before the giant screens, their minds struggling to accept what their eyes were seeing. A bloodied silver haired man had appeared upon the stage, bearing the golden emblem of the Guardian of the Holy Tree of Ymir and claiming the title of the twenty fifth Utopian King.

It should have been impossible.

"I... it must be someone else," Kleines said at last.

His voice was strained as he looked from the screen to Alea, then back again. His expression had become painfully pale.

"Someone else using his name," he continued, almost desperately. "We saw him die. We saw what happened..."

"Kleines, stop."

Alea’s voice cut through his words.

Kleines turned toward her.

Alea was trying to remain composed, but fear was visible in her eyes. It was not fear of Edward himself. It was fear of the memories his return had dragged back into the light.

Beside her, Christina was struggling even more.

Her breath came in short gasps. Tears continued to slip down her cheeks as though she were reliving that day all over again. Her fingers clenched tightly against the fabric of her dress, trembling so badly that she could barely keep herself still.

Edward had been dead.

At least, that was what everyone had believed.

Now another man, a man whose face looked different beneath the blood and silver hair, was claiming to be him. Even with the Guardian’s emblem on his arm and the title of Utopian King confirming the possibility, doubt still lingered in the minds of many.

It did not last for long.

"Good lord, finally."

A sweet feminine voice came through the speakers.

A beautiful woman appeared behind Edward, and the entire Crown Terrace reacted at once.

"T-That is Layla!" Amelia cried out, recognizing her sister in law immediately. "John!"

John only sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

Of course she was there.

"I really hate crowds."

Then Alvara appeared from the opposite corridor.

"Elder sister!" Bryelle beamed, her wide green eyes lighting up at the sight of her sister on the screen. "Look big brother!" She said pulling Allen’s sleeves.

"I...don’t even what to say..." Allen laughed softly.

The presence of Layla confirmed it for the people from Celesta.

The presence of Alvara confirmed it for the people from Sancta Vedelia.

Milleia stared silently as Layla walked toward Edward and casually sat on his lap with a sweet smile. The sight alone was enough to erase every remaining doubt from her mind.

Layla only acted that close with Alfred before.

And there had only ever been one man she treated with much more shameless intimacy after that.

Edward.

As for Alvara, Victor and the others knew very well that the elf princess had shown affection toward only one man ever. Alvara’s prejudice toward most races had never been a secret, yet Edward had always been the exception she treated differently from everyone else.

"It is him," Victor muttered.

A weak laugh left him before he sank back into his seat, overwhelmed by the realization.

"It is really him."

Selene remained silent beside him.

Then another woman appeared on the screen.

"They are all dead, Darling."

The moment Selene saw her, she stopped breathing.

A stunning vampire woman stepped onto the stage, her long black-purple hair falling over her shoulders while a faint crimson mist surrounded her. She looked different from the person Selene remembered. Calmer, more controlled. More dangerous than before.

Yet Selene could still see her.

She could see her twin sister.

Elizabeth.

Tears began to fall from Selene’s eyes before she could stop them.

Alicia had once told her that Elizabeth was not dead. Selene had never truly believed it. Alicia had only asked her to be patient, but nearly two years had passed without another word, without proof, without even the smallest sign that Elizabeth had survived.

Now she was there.

Even if she had changed, even if something about her presence felt unfamiliar and frightening, Selene could still see Elizabeth in her eyes.

"Selene?"

Victor turned toward her, startled by the sight of her crying. Then he looked back at the screen, following her gaze toward the vampire woman standing beside Edward.

His eyes widened.

At first, he did not dare believe it. But after seeing Edward return from death, perhaps anything was possible.

Selene was not someone who cried without reason.

Victor quickly pulled her into his arms, holding her close as a disbelieving smile appeared on his face.

Elizabeth was alive too?

Priscilla was staring at the screen in complete shock.

The moment Elizabeth came into view, she stood from her seat without even realizing it. Perhaps it was the instinct of vampires who shared similar blood, or perhaps it was simply the resemblance before her eyes. Whatever the reason, Priscilla could see traces of her own niece in the woman standing beside Edward.

Her whole expression trembled.

"There is no doubt now, I suppose," Jefer muttered beside her.

He had not said much until then, but the final pieces had fallen into place. Layla. Alvara. Elizabeth. The golden Guardian’s emblem. The title of Utopian King.

It really was Edward Falkrona sitting on that golden throne.

Jefer’s image of Edward changed completely in that moment.

After his death, it felt like almost he was almost disappointed but now it changed instantly.

The man was certainly not normal.

None of this was normal.

"Fucking hell..." Eric muttered, still staring at the screen in disbelief.

Then he glanced behind him toward John.

John met his gaze and gave a quiet nod.

After Edward’s supposed death, John had told Eric that there was still a possibility he might be alive. Eric had found it hard to believe. Layla’s behavior after Edward’s death had seemed too real. She had not caused chaos or openly destroyed anything, but she had refused to accept that he was gone. For a time, she had looked mentally unstable, trapped somewhere between grief, denial, and fury. And he was afraid she was going right through the Villainess’s route much to his horror.

That reaction had only convinced Eric that Edward truly had died.

Yet not long after, Layla had suddenly changed. She had become calmer. Her smile had returned. Her behavior had settled as though something inside her had been put back into place.

At the time, Eric had not understood why.

Now he did.

"Hmph. I told you he was alive."

Eric turned toward Rubina.

"You did?"

"Yeah," Rubina replied, her legs crossed as she continued watching the screen. "There was no way Layla would suddenly become calm and start smiling again only two weeks later if Edward was truly dead. I asked her about it too."

"Y—You asked her what?" Eric said, blinking at his sister.

"I told her I knew Edward was alive," Rubina explained with a casual shrug. "She only smiled at me. That was enough confirmation."

"And why exactly did you need to ask her that?" Eric questioned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

He knew Rubina well enough to understand that she rarely spent time on things she did not care about.

Rubina was quiet for a moment.

"Well, he saved my life," she said at last. "I never got to thank him properly."

"You thanked him during Alfred and Aurora’s birthday party," Eric replied dryly.

"I did not," Rubina corrected. "Before I could say anything, he started speaking badly about me. I got angry, snapped at him, and left."

"Right," Eric sighed, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "So you only want to thank him properly."

"Well, yes," Rubina said.

Her gaze stayed fixed on Edward’s image. A faint smile curled her lips, small enough that most people would never have noticed it.

"I thought he was dead," Jeanne said quietly.

She looked toward Eric, then back at Edward on the screen.

Jeanne had heard his name through the reports that reached Celesta. News of the Utopian War and the Blood Wedding had spread across the world, and the information attached to Edward Falkrona had not painted him in a favorable light. She knew the name belonged to someone many people called dangerous, cruel, and responsible for terrible events.

She had also heard that he died.

For a brief moment, Eric considered telling her the truth. He considered explaining that Edward was a reincarnator as well, that the situation went far beyond what ordinary reports could describe.

But he stopped himself.

It was not his secret to reveal.

"I thought so too," he replied awkwardly.

Jeanne looked at him for a second longer, sensing there was more behind that answer. Yet she did not push him. Instead, her eyes returned to the screen.

Edward’s face was clearer now that Layla had wiped away much of the blood.

Something about him felt strange.

He looked faintly familiar but she could not connect the feeling to anything real. It was only a vague sensation, an odd flicker of recognition that disappeared whenever she tried to understand it.

Or perhaps she simply had not thought hard enough about it.

If Jeanne had to comment on his appearance, Edward looked even more intimidating than she expected. Everything about him fit the image of a powerful king. His silver eyes, his cold expression, the way he sat in the Saintess’s golden chair without fear, all of it made him look as though he belonged above everyone else on that stage.

Still, he looked too composed, too striking, and perhaps too handsome for the heinous monster she had heard about through distant reports.

Then there were the three women beside him.

They were so beautiful that they could have made even the most admired models from Earth seem ordinary by comparison. Layla alone had always stood at the very top in Jeanne’s mind. Among Celesta’s noblewomen, she was the kind of woman who seemed unreachable, too beautiful, proud, and self assured for anyone to ever truly match her.

Jeanne had always assumed Layla would never enter a serious relationship.

Not because Layla could not find someone, but because Jeanne had never believed anyone could truly be good enough for her.

Yet seeing Layla beside Edward changed that image completely.

The elegant and untouchable noblewoman Jeanne knew from Celesta was gone. In her place was a woman openly, hopelessly in love. Every smile she gave Edward, every touch, every word spoken to him carried a warmth that could not be faked. While Edward was speaking, she was only staring at his face lost in her own world.

Then Jeanne’s gaze shifted to Alvara.

Alvara was easily the most beautiful elf Jeanne had ever seen. The princess looked less like an elf and more like a goddess who had stepped out of an old legend. Her mint green hair, golden eyes, and cold beauty created an image that was almost unreal.

Finally, Jeanne looked at Elizabeth.

Until now, she had believedAlicia and Selene were the most beautiful vampire she had ever seen, and in many ways they still were. Yet Elizabeth possessed a different kind of beauty. She was the perfect image of a vampire princess: pale skin, blood red eyes, black purple hair, and a dangerous elegance that seemed to radiate from the screen itself.

Even from this distance, Jeanne could feel something intimidating in her presence.

All three women stood around one man.

Polygamy was not unheard of in Eden. Jeanne had grown used to seeing noblemen with several wives, especially among powerful families and royal bloodlines. Yet what she was witnessing now was far beyond ordinary noble customs.

Edward himself was not an ordinary man.

At only eighteen years old, according to Layla’s words, he had ended a war. He had returned from a death witnessed by some of the most powerful people in the world. Then, he had become the King of Utopia and the Guardian of the Holy Tree of Ymir, then arrived in Edenis Raphiel without warning and openly confronted its rulers before the eyes of half a million people.

And the three women beside him were no less extraordinary.

Jeanne had believed Jayden was the most impressive man she had ever met in terms of status and power.

But now she had met someone else.