Chapter 1086
Yulia Hercules
The crowd below erupted in applause as Eivass and Isabel embraced. The Old Duke also clapped heartily, his usually stern lips betraying an unconcealed smile, and a rare warmth flickered in his deep-set eyes.
The next segment was the cake cutting. This wasn’t a gift from any deity, but a dessert crafted by the elves of the Church. It was a colossal nine-tiered cake, three meters high. Eivass, embracing Isabel from behind, sliced through it with a Crystal Sword, designed specifically for cake cutting and shimmering with a radiant, chilling aura. The act itself was a form of blessing.
The mist spirits, ethereal and semi-transparent, their forms glowing faintly, then stepped forward to portion the cake. Each guest received two servings: one was a ready-to-eat dish, plated and prepared, while the other was a boxed gift, its internal time temporarily frozen by a Preservation Technique.
As Pope Grey raised her scepter and gently lowered it, signaling the guests to take their seats, people began to file in, their movements somewhat scattered. Many anticipated the cake with considerable eagerness, having deeply grasped the significance of the grand ceremony they had just witnessed. It was likely to be the most defining moment of their lives, barring unforeseen circumstances.
With the Old Duke taking his seat, he casually plucked Prince Albert, who had been perched on the table, and placed him on his lap. “How is it, my dear Prince? Quite satisfactory, wouldn’t you agree? Your daughter, my granddaughter… they are both remarkable children,” the Old Duke murmured, patting Albert’s unusually plump backside with his massive, strong hand. The sound was solid, a testament to the unexpected substance beneath the prince’s slender appearance.
“—At the very least, they are both far superior to their fathers. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Upon hearing this, Albert, who had been subtly struggling to escape, immediately settled down on the old man’s lap, not daring to move.
“Hmph…”
Seeing Albert obediently settled, the Old Duke let out a soft hmph. He stroked the cat on his lap with a half-amused, half-scolding air. “This is more like it. Why didn’t you become a cat sooner? Then you wouldn’t have caused so much trouble. For you, for me… for Avalon, for Iris Flower. For all these children.”
Despite their current familial ties, the Old Duke still harbored considerable resentment towards Albert. Prince Albert’s past mistakes had had far-reaching consequences, and it could be said that a single whim of his had irrevocably altered the course of the world’s current affairs.
Albert felt a pang of guilt and, keeping his head down, quietly remained still, without a word. The Old Duke, seeing Albert’s passive acceptance of his scolding, felt somewhat helpless. If Albert had appeared before him in his human form, the Old Duke would surely have struck him. However, Albert’s new body was far too fragile. He couldn’t even pat him too hard, fearing he might actually cause some unintended harm—and that would be a terrible embarrassment. The old man grunted again, his voice low. “Hmph. So be it. Without that past, perhaps there wouldn’t be this present…”
“Would you like some cake? I mean… can cats eat cake?”
“…I don’t know,” Albert replied, a hint of hesitation in his voice. “Shall we ask someone?”
While the old man and the cat exchanged a look, new activity arose on the stage—
For some reason, Yulia had gone onto the stage. Isabel and Eivass exchanged a glance. After a slight nod from Eivass, Isabel reached out and pulled Yulia to her side.
The guests, who had just begun to eat and drink, were taken aback. Realizing that something else was about to unfold, they turned their attention back to the stage.
“Apart from the wedding and coronation ceremony,” Isabel stated, articulating each word clearly, “there is another important matter I wish to announce to you all today.”
Yulia, who had been feeling nervous, suddenly felt a strange sense of calm.
“Her name is Yulia Moriarty, and she is the sister of my husband, Eivass Moriarty. Both were adopted orphans, raised by their foster father. Just as Eivass’s lineage comes from the Vendome family of Iris Flower…”
At this point, Isabel nodded towards the Duke of Vendome. Hearing her words, the Old Duke’s lips curved into a smile, and he nodded in agreement, while Annie couldn’t help but cover her face, tears streaming down. The other guests were equally astonished. Even those among the Avalonians who were familiar with Eivass were unaware of this secret. After all, Eivass himself had only learned of it less than two days prior.
However, the Duke of Vendome had not expected Isabel to acknowledge this fact publicly. She was clearly not the type of person to make decisions for Eivass. Her acceptance of the matter implied that Eivass had already accepted it himself. After all, Annie was not Eivass’s biological mother in the strictest sense, although she shared a biological mother with him. Nevertheless, she certainly would not remarry. She was personally unwilling, and the Old Duke could no longer force her. Therefore, to outsiders, Eivass would be the child of Annie de Vendome, allowing them to truly become a family.
But Isabel’s next sentence made the Duke’s eyes widen in shock:
“—Yulia’s true name is Yulia Hercules. She is a direct descendant of the royal lineage from the Hrasal Empire.”
After a brief stunned silence, the guests erupted in a clamor. Those who had accepted the invitation to be here, even if not major figures, likely belonged to upper-class circles. At the very least, they possessed a considerable degree of political acumen and understood the implications behind her words.
The Star Antimony Kingdom, the Daffodil Duchy, the Black Hawk Duchy, and the Iris Flower—all four nations had emerged from the territorial wars that erupted after the Hrasal Empire’s collapse due to a lack of royal heirs. Each faction claimed to be the legitimate successor, labeling all others as usurpers and rebels. The Iris Flower, with its Art Association and support from over a third of the Hrasal era’s great nobles—constituting 80% of all surviving noble families—had established itself as a kingdom; the Daffodil Duchy was already a semi-independent duchy with a genuine Grand Duke, the Daffodil Duke, whose own sister had been the former empress; and the Black Hawk Duchy represented military power and the lesser nobles. A former marshal of the Hrasal Empire had forged claims and a will, proclaiming himself Duke, and together with scattered rural knights who had not gone to Avalon, they occupied the most fertile plains and forest regions.
The Star Antimony Kingdom was the most commoner of these powers. This was precisely why the first generation Valentine, despite his unlikely claim, was supported by the Alchemy Association, the Spirit Tower, the Red Fortress, and the Demonology Academy. Aside from Valentine’s personal charisma, a significant factor was their reasoning: “Adding flowers to brocade is less valuable than sending charcoal in winter,” leading them to support the Star Antimony Kingdom, which had the least chance of success.
Consequently, the Star Antimony people firmly asserted that the Hrasal royal family had long since died out. The incident had been too sudden, leaving no surviving bloodline and certainly no imperial edict. They considered themselves the most orthodox successors. The Star Antimony Language, apart from regional dialects, was virtually indistinguishable from Hrasal, originating from Valentine’s own hometown dialect. The laws, customs, and traditions were also largely replicated, unlike other nations which had undergone extensive revisions. If the Star Antimony Kingdom represented anything, it embodied the commoners of the Hrasal Empire. This granted them the strongest assimilation power within the Hrasal cultural sphere, yet it also presented a significant weakness.
The Star Antimony Kingdom possessed no claim whatsoever, not even a fabricated one. Their establishment was purely based on their role in sheltering commoners during the territorial wars. The pretext for their later annexation of the Black Hawk Duchy was the “punishment of false regality, forged claims, and fabricated imperial edicts.” Their annexation of the Daffodil Duchy was justified by the accusation that “mages had usurped the political power of the Daffodil Duke,” meaning they were merely “managing it on their behalf.” So long as the descendants of the Daffodil Duke did not come forward to publicly claim succession, the Star Antimony Kingdom held temporary, indefinite administrative rights. It was akin to a parent confiscating a child’s New Year’s red envelope, saying, “I’m just holding it for you, and I’ll return it when you’re older.” —Perhaps they would, perhaps they wouldn’t.
Yulia’s appearance, however, had now altered this situation—
(End of Chapter)
