Chapter 1073
Guess Who I Brought Back
Avalon, Glass Island.
It was past noon on May twenty-first.
Isabel sat alone in a pavilion in the Silver and Tin Hall’s courtyard.
Late May already signaled the start of early summer, and the midday sun had become dazzling. Even without direct exposure, its heat induced a drowsy lethargy.
The Gryphon Minister of Avalon rested in this very backyard… the same place Eivass had learned horseback riding.
She gazed absently at the lush, verdant plants in the courtyard, her hand reaching out slightly.
Her fair, slender fingers, like a conductor’s baton, orchestrated the sound of a miracle—
A kaleidoscopic shimmer appeared—a single, exceptionally brilliant giant flower sprouted from the cluster of plants. It boasted bicolor petals of red and purple, resembling a magnificent, oversized rose. From any angle, it appeared to be a tangible entity.
But Isabel sighed softly.
As Isabel’s fingers curled inward, the flower shattered like glass, vanishing into nothingness in an instant. The glass fragments scattered on the ground gradually dissipated, melting like ice under the sun.
This was not a flower that Isabel had truly conjured into existence, but rather one she had created through illusion.
“…The real cannot be faked, and the fake cannot be made real.”
Isabel’s lips curved slightly as she murmured, “I really can’t be the ‘Queen of Flowers’.”
When people are anxious, their minds tend to wander. She recalled something Eivass had casually mentioned by her pillow not long ago—that he had seen another possible future.
If Star Antinomy had successfully invaded Avalon, Isabel would have been forced to flee overseas with Eivass. Avalon would then have been reduced to a wasteland by the descent of the Shadow Heavenly Envoy. In that timeline, Isabel would have sacrificed her ability to bear children in exchange for an inheritance called “Flowers,” allowing her to restore Avalon’s land.
—That inheritance came from her mother, the half-elf Enilis Flower.
Having become the Queen of Flowers, her power was nearly that of an Earthly Heavenly Envoy. She could even rejuvenate lands tainted by the Shadow Heavenly Envoy… But the price for all this was the sacrifice of her “love.” Without love, how could she love Eivass?
Isabel could not imagine how the version of herself in that timeline would have accepted such a choice.
In that possibility, did she not love Eivass? Or, did she believe Avalon to be more important than Eivass?
Isabel absolutely refused to believe it and did not agree—in any timeline, she should have loved Eivass.
During her Fifth Tier Ascension Ritual, Isabel endured unprecedented hardship and torment—she returned to the past, before the Hrasal Empire was founded, and joined it as a pregnant woman. In that Ascension Ritual, she gave birth to a girl named “Alistair” and painstakingly raised her… It was from then that Isabel practiced being a good mother in advance.
She had been a princess in the past, but now Isabel was a queen. Regardless of her status, it was not her place to undertake such arduous tasks. But during that Ascension Ritual, she truly understood the troubles of an ordinary person in their everyday lives… It was from then that she truly matured.
—Though her child had yet to open its eyes to see her, she already knew of the child’s obedience and loveliness.
Pregnant mothers typically worry about whether their child is healthy and cute, and whether they will love her… For Isabel, who had already received spoilers, she had no such worries. She simply longed to see her, to see her again, sooner.
Isabel was now three months pregnant, and when she looked in the mirror before bed, she could already see a slight bulge in her abdomen. As a Fourth Tier Extraordinary, she did not experience the nausea and vomiting common to other pregnant women. She could feel noticeable fatigue, drowsiness, and sleepiness with her own eyes.
She had experienced all of this before. At that time, she had still been alone.
Now, Isabel had developed a calm heart that was unperturbed by change, and it was during that Ascension Ritual that her fear and timidity had been eradicated.
It was a true “Ascension.” Not only her energy level but also her spirit had been sublimated.
Because of this, she could now calm her mind and quietly await Eivass’s return.
At this moment, Isabel’s slightly pointed ears twitched. She heard someone approaching.
“Yulia?”
Turning and seeing the newcomer clearly, Isabel’s lips curved upwards, and she cheerfully waved, gesturing for Yulia to sit closer.
Once Yulia had obediently sat beside her, Isabel smiled and hugged her, gently stroking her soft, warm white hair. It was like carefully reaching out with curved fingers to touch a white cat.
As Yulia sat beside her, Isabel suddenly felt time passing so quickly… The girl who had once been half a head shorter than her was now almost as tall when sitting beside her.
The cute girl who always hugged her toy bear and quietly huddled in the corner, too afraid to look at her, had now blossomed into a radiant young lady.
Although Yulia’s birthday had not yet passed this year, if calculated from the Candlemaster’s Holy Day on January first, Yulia was already sixteen years old.
It was normal for girls around fifteen or sixteen to grow up so quickly.
Yulia felt that lying “headfirst in Isabel’s embrace” was not very comfortable, so she reached out, smoothed her skirt, and turned over to lie on Isabel’s lap.
“Isha,” Yulia said softly, gazing into Isabel’s eyes, “aren’t you scared now?”
“Scared of what?”
Isabel replied nonchalantly, “Whether Eivass can return?”
“Yes, I’m very worried about him.”
“You should have more confidence in your brother, Yuli.”
Her Majesty the Queen of Avalon didn’t even falter in her gaze: “I never doubted he would be alright, because I believe he is the strongest.”
“I believe it too, but…”
Yulia tilted her head slightly, carefully nudging towards Isabel’s lower abdomen, trying to listen to the child within, but ultimately failed—a three-month-old fetus made no sound.
She didn’t know if a child at this stage could hear Outside Sounds. So Yulia didn’t dare speak too loudly, for fear of disturbing the baby.
“…I’m just worried about why he hasn’t returned yet. Tomorrow is the twenty-second… your wedding ceremony is so long, and don’t you still have to take a boat to the Church?”
She felt that she, a relative, was less composed than the person directly involved.
“Just trust.”
Isabel said softly, “I trust him.”
She no longer looked down at Yulia but raised her head to gaze at the brilliant sun.
Because even if he was late… she wouldn’t say anything.
Isabel now had an inkling of some secrets.
The Twilight Wall, the Doomsday Bell…
Amber, the Pillar God of the Twilight Path, was actually a wall resisting doomsday. And beyond the wall, there was a powerful enemy capable of destroying the entire world. This was a formidable foe, superior even to Heavenly Envoys and Pillar Gods.
The Hrasal Empire believed that this World possessed a Doomsday Bell—whenever a “certain event” occurred, the clock’s hand would move forward a section. Just as time does not flow backward, the forward-moving hand would not reset even if the event was resolved. And once enough accumulated problems arose, when the clock’s hand completed a full rotation and returned to its starting point, the world’s end would be nigh.
—What Eivass was dealing with was precisely this level of problem.
It was like when she was a child, and Isabel sometimes didn’t understand books. For example, encountering unfamiliar words or not grasping the meaning of a sentence. But she never dared to ask her grandmother… because Isabel had been sensible from a young age, knowing that her grandmother’s affairs were far more important than her own.
“As long as I don’t cause trouble, I’m already helping Eivass.”
Isabel closed her eyes slightly and said in a low voice.
Even so, she felt lonely.
It was like how Eivass could never bring her along when he went on adventures… Before, perhaps it could be attributed to her insufficient abilities and the surrounding dangers. But now, she was also a Fifth Tier Extraordinary, Avalon and Star Antinomy had regained peace and stability, and the reasonable policies she didn’t need to handle generally landed smoothly.
—But she still couldn’t go anywhere.
Isabel could only offer Eivass this small form of assistance.
“If only you were the Monarch, Yuli,”
Isabel said from the bottom of her heart, “You would certainly do better and be fairer than I. You’ve read so many books and possess so much knowledge… While I know nothing. I only know how to sing, dance, paint, and write books… These are indeed skills that are difficult to acquire, but they don’t help Avalon’s people live better lives.
“As a result, no matter how hard I try, I can only rely on the Ministers’ help to implement decrees… But if it were you, it wouldn’t be like this.”
“—But you’re clearly trying very hard, aren’t you?”
Eivass’s gentle voice sounded from behind her. “From knowing nothing to being recognized by the people of Avalon as a qualified, excellent Queen… it only took you a few months, Isha. You’re a genius, a diligent genius.”
Yulia’s eyes lit up immediately, and she flipped over from Isabel’s lap, getting up. “Brother!”
And joy flickered in Isabel’s eyes.
No matter how much she believed in Eivass, seeing him return with her own eyes was a different feeling.
She stood up and quickly walked towards Eivass, embracing him.
—That warm and bright feeling was like embracing the sun.
“You absolutely won’t guess who I brought back this time.”
Eivass whispered into Isabel’s ear.
“Who?”
Wasn’t he going to bring Sherlock back? Did he encounter someone?
Isabel subconsciously asked, “My… father?”
—Prince Albert had not yet returned to Avalon to this day.
“No, it’s my mother. The mother who shares the same blood flowing within me.”
“?…Ah?”
Isabel froze for a moment, her eyes widening. “What? Who?”
Wasn’t Eivass an orphan? Weren’t his parents murdered?
For a moment, Isabel felt as if the scene of the universe’s creation flickered through her mind.
Her brain momentarily crashed.
“She’s already on Glass Island now… Do you want to go meet her with me?”
Eivass invited.
(End of Chapter)
