The room temperature plumted, a heavy cloud hanging over Cedric’s head. He rembered how close his wife had been to that cat.
He had always been skeptical about it, and now it turned out he was right.
All along, she had been cuddling another man. Abrielle and Yuki both sensed the sudden shift. Cassius didn’t care about the young "boy."
Yuki could handle him easily. Maximus—otherwise known as Yuki—sighed, then asked with a stern expression, "Have you made your decision?"
Abrielle held Cedric’s hand and nodded. "I thought we would et Cassius," she said, honestly surprised to see Maximus. His violet eyes sparkled.
"He seed occupied, and I happened to have so free ti," Maximus replied.
Abrielle’s mind drifted back to a few days ago, when Cedric had t her after his trial.
"So what is your decision? Will you stay to be my queen or leave?" he had asked, his voice heavy. He had hoped she would choose him, but even if she didn’t... he wasn’t going to give up.
It was a hard decision to make. She had fallen in love with him and even considered starting a life here, but she missed her family.
"Cedric..." she blurted. "Is it really possible for to co back to life? I have died in both lives." She explained her worry. Cedric had also been curious about this.
"Not exactly... it depends." A calm voice had chid in from the side. Their eyes darted to the entrance of the gazebo, where Cassius stood with a subtle smile.
"What do you an?" she asked curiously.
Cassius took a few steps forward before he started explaining.
"If you choose to stay in this life, all we have to do is send your soul back to your body. Although you’ve been dead for days now, your body was preserved. But if you choose the other ti, things are a bit tricky..." he said.
Abrielle had a bad feeling in her gut.
"The passage of ti here and there is the sa. A year has already passed, and it will be difficult to reverse ti and prevent you from dying. That would alter many people’s fates, and Teris won’t agree..."
Cassius’s lips had twitched, rembering how strongly Teris was against stopping her death. It would be tricky to stop Maledicta and Callista from doing what they did, but if that happened, the past year in this world would also change greatly.
"To prevent ti from being disrupted—and because we can’t revive your already decayed body without scandal—you would have to be reincarnated into whichever family you choose," he explained simply.
Abrielle was thrown into deep thought. Her fingers tapped nervously. "I don’t know what to do..." she broke down. "I’m sorry, Cedric, but I also miss them..." she whimpered.
His heart squeezed. She must have a loving family over there.
"Well..." Cassius said carefully, "You don’t have to rush to decide. I’ll give you three days to think about it." He paused, then reluctantly added, "But as a gift, I can help you."
He had offered to give her and Cedric two days here. She could et her family before making her choice.
He gave her the chance at closure. Abrielle’s grip tightened on Cedric’s hand. With a firm voice, she said, "I am grateful for this gift. And I have made my decision." Then she smiled at Cedric.
---
The sky was clear, as if a new age had begun. Many had not believed this day would co, but it had.
The carriage ca to a halt in front of the cathedral. Abrielle smiled softly as she watched her husband step down, dressed in ceremonial robes. She knew he would pass the ancestral test without a doubt, but she wanted to see him before the main event.
They hadn’t spoken that morning; he had left very early. Her eyes stung—truly, they had fought fate.
Cedric took steady steps toward her. Ignoring the onlookers’ stares, he reached out and wiped her tears.
"You don’t have to cry," he said softly.
She sniffed, forcing the tears back. "I never thought I’d see the day the villain becos king..." she laughed weakly.
He smiled, then held her hand. Abrielle was confused at first.
"And that sa villain will walk in with the villainess who escaped death," he teased.
She was stunned. Cedric was ant to walk the aisle alone.
"But..." she blurted. She had intended to hurry to her seat before his entrance.
"I want you to walk by my side—not behind , not before . Side by side, as my queen." He tugged her hand gently.
The doors opened, and everyone rose to welco Crown Prince Cedric von Drakkar.
Walking hand in hand with him, Abrielle’s thoughts drifted to Lucian.
After she chose Cedric, they returned to Draconia, where he easily took control. His n and Alfonso already had full command, and everyone under Eleanor’s faction was either eliminated or stripped of their titles.
But there was one matter left—Lucian.
Lucian had survived the battle, but he was no longer the man Cedric knew. He had lost all his mories. Cassius had saved his life but erased them. His words had been, "He was just another victim."
Under Bernice’s pleas, Cedric spared Lucian—on the condition that he never set foot in the capital again. Bernice left Vitalis with her brother and her new husband, settling in their territory of Kelvax.
Cedric didn’t know why he let them go, but he did. Kelvax was still his territory, so he could keep watch. Bernice had always been kind, the only sibling who had ever shown him warmth.
Astrid had already been married out of the royal family, and her husband’s house was a major backbone of Draconia.
The Silverheart family, loyal as ever, had always been the sword of the crown. Without hesitation, they swore allegiance to Cedric, which protected Astrid and her daughter.
With a heavy heart, Cedric made his way to the front. Together, he and Abrielle walked past Rebecca and Pierre, who watched their daughter with complicated feelings.
She was about to beco the first Empress of the Draconian Empire—no longer a re king’s consort, but the Empress of an empire newly born.
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