I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 891: Reunion With Old Friends

Neia stood a short distance away in silence, watching the scene before her with an expression that was difficult to read. Edward was sitting beside Alvara on one of the benches, looking far more comfortable than anyone else in the place had any right to be.

He lounged casually against the backrest with one arm draped behind Alvara, his body angled toward her while his legs were crossed in a manner that gave him the appearance of a man who owned the entire place rather than someone who had simply arrived as a guest.

There was hardly anyone in the world who would dare to behave so casually in Alvara’s presence, let alone sit beside her with such shameless arrogance, but Edward had never seemed particularly concerned with the rules that governed everyone else. Even more surprising was the fact that Alvara did not appear bothered by it in the slightest. She sat beside him as though his arm resting behind her and his relaxed posture were the most natural things in the world.

Bryelle was nearby in her wheelchair, listening to their conversation with a bright smile on her face, clearly enjoying the sight of her elder sister being so unusually relaxed.

“Lioren?” Alvara asked after a moment, turning her attention toward Edward.

“Yeah. She brought me to Lioren to buy some appropriate clothes for the entrance ceremony,” Edward replied casually.

Alvara’s expression immediately cooled.

“If you didn’t like it, my love, you should have simply refused her.”

From the way she spoke, it was obvious that she had not been aware of Layla’s private trip to Lioren either, and there was a faint displeasure in her eyes at the thought of someone making arrangements involving Edward without her knowledge.

“It’s fine. At least I have something to wear now,” Edward said with a small shrug. “Besides, it would look rather poor on me if my women were all dressed in beautiful gowns while I showed up wearing something that didn’t match them.”

“You look wonderful as you are, my love. There is no reason for you to dress yourself up merely to impress a bunch of trashes.”

Edward’s lips curved into a faint smile as he looked at her.

“I suppose you have a gown to wear as well?”

Alvara nodded.

“I suppose that’s another thing to look forward to that day, then.”

His tone was innocent enough, but the subtle amusement in his eyes made the meaning behind his words obvious.

Alvara’s cheeks immediately gained a faint flush.

Bryelle noticed it from the side, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Elder sister…”

She had never imagined that she would one day see Alvara blush like a young maiden being teased by the man she loved, and the sight left Bryelle momentarily speechless. Yet, beneath her surprise was genuine happiness, because she could not remember the last time she had seen her elder sister this comfortable and at ease.

Not since their father had still been alive.

Alvara had always carried herself with a certain cold dignity. But now, sitting beside Edward, she looked different. She seemed softer somehow, and Bryelle found herself smiling at the sight.

Even Alvara’s long ears seemed to betray her feelings, perking up slightly whenever Edward directed one of his sly compliments toward her.

“Um… Lord Edward,” Bryelle finally spoke timidly, gathering enough courage to interrupt them. “Are you really the new Utopian King?”

Edward glanced toward her.

“It seems so.”

“Oh…”

Bryelle looked at him for a moment before lowering her gaze again, clearly struggling with whether she should ask what was on her mind.

“What is it, Bryelle?” Alvara asked, noticing her hesitation.

Bryelle’s fingers shifted nervously against her lap.

“It’s because… our relations with Utopia aren’t very good, are they?” She asked carefully. “And Lord Edward, are you still banished from Sancta Vedelia?”

“Banished,” Edward repeated with a quiet scoff, his voice filled with disdain.

“He is not banished from our Kingdom, at least,” Alvara said coldly.

Edward nodded slightly.

“I’d rather not have to step into that place unless it’s necessary anyway, like for our wedding.”

“W-Wedding?”

Bryelle’s face immediately reddened, and she looked toward Alvara with wide eyes.

Alvara’s expression stiffened.

“W-Well, my love, we first have to make it official,” she replied, glaring at Edward as though silently blaming him for announcing something like that so casually.

Bryelle, however, reacted very differently.

“That would be wonderful, elder sister!” She exclaimed happily, clasping her hands together. “I’m so happy for you!”

Edward looked at Alvara with an amused expression.

“You heard that. What are you so embarrassed about?”

Alvara’s face became even redder.

Without saying anything, she slowly extended one foot beneath the bench, clearly intending to stomp on Edward’s foot.

Edward noticed the movement almost immediately and swiftly moved his foot out of the way.

Before Alvara could pull her leg back, however, Edward reached down, caught it with one hand, and lifted it easily.

“Ahh!”

Alvara’s startled voice escaped her lips as Edward pulled both of her legs onto his lap.

Her cheeks turned bright red.

“My Love!!”

She tried to move away, but Edward simply wrapped one arm around her legs, holding her securely against him without seeming to put any effort into it.

Alvara was left with little choice but to remain there, utterly embarrassed by the position she had suddenly found herself in. She lowered her hands into her lap, refusing to look directly at either Edward or Bryelle, while her long ears betrayed just how flustered she had become.

Bryelle stared at them in surprise.

Once again, she had been completely unprepared for how openly Edward treated her elder sister.

Then, instead of being shocked, she giggled.

“Elder sister, you look so happy.”

“I-I am not…” Alvara stammered, her voice much weaker than usual.

Edward immediately seized upon the opportunity.

“I can make you even happier if you just ask me.”

He leaned closer, clearly intending to kiss her.

Alvara’s face became even hotter, and she hurriedly raised her palm between them in an attempt to stop him.

Edward simply changed direction and kissed the palm of her hand instead.

“Ahh!”

Alvara let out a small, embarrassed cry before glaring at him.

“Have you even greeted my mother before getting here? And how did you come here in the first place?” She demanded, turning her attention toward Neia, who had remained standing nearby throughout the entire exchange.

Neia blinked.

“Um… he just jumped over the barriers, I guess…”

Alvara closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

“My love…”

“It changes nothing,” Edward said as though the matter were completely insignificant. “As for Tanya, we can talk to her now.”

He finally released Alvara’s legs and began to rise from the bench, but before he could take more than a step, the sound of approaching footsteps reached them from somewhere nearby.

Edward stopped.

His expression changed slightly as he turned his head toward the approaching figures.

Two people soon came into view.

One was a werewolf, while the other was an elf.

Rodolf and Cylien were walking together.

They appeared to be in good spirits, smiling as they spoke to one another, completely unaware of who was waiting ahead of them. Their conversation continued for another few moments before their gazes eventually drifted toward the group.

The instant they noticed the silver-haired man sitting among them, both of them froze.

Edward noticed them as well.

He didn’t expect them to see there clearly.

“Alvara, go ahead. I need to talk with them,” he said quietly.

Alvara followed his gaze toward the approaching pair before nodding.

She carefully lowered her legs back onto the ground and adjusted herself before looking toward Bryelle.

“Then see you later, Lord Edward,” Bryelle said, waving toward him with a warm smile.

Edward nodded.

His gaze then shifted toward Neia, who had already moved behind Bryelle’s wheelchair and taken hold of its handles.

“Big sister? I can go on my own,” Bryelle said with a small giggle.

“I-I want to help. Let me, Bryelle.”

Bryelle looked back at her with an amused expression.

“You never did before…”

“Then this is my first time!” Neia insisted, pushing the wheelchair forward before Bryelle could argue any further, making sure Edward watched.

Alvara watched the two of them leave, then gave Edward one final, suspicious look.

“Don’t do anything weird, my love.”

She turned around and walked away before Edward could respond.

Edward remained where he was for a moment, grimacing slightly at her choice of words.

He had no idea what she considered ‘weird’, but judging from the look she had given him, he suspected that she had a very specific definition in mind.

Still, he said nothing.

Instead, he turned his attention toward Rodolf and Cylien, who had finally stopped a short distance away and were now staring at him with expressions that were considerably less relaxed than they had been moments earlier.

The two of them began walking toward Edward, though Cylien moved ahead much faster while Rodolf followed a few steps behind her, his expression considerably sharper and more guarded than hers.

The moment Cylien reached him, she stopped in front of the bench and looked down at the silver-haired man sitting there. For several seconds, she simply stared at his face, as though she were trying to convince herself that what she was seeing was real.

“Nyrel… is that you?” She finally asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Edward slowly raised his gaze toward her.

“Marlene.”

The name was enough.

Cylien’s eyes immediately filled with tears, and her expression broke into a smile filled with happiness and relief. Without bothering to hide her emotions, she spread her arms and stepped toward him.

Edward watched her for a moment, a faint smile appearing on his face before he stood from the bench and accepted her embrace.

“I-I am so glad you’re alive…” Cylien whispered, her voice breaking as she held onto him. “I don’t know… I couldn’t believe it when I heard, but I’m so happy you’re here. You’re really alive…”

“A lot happened,” Edward replied quietly.

After a moment, he gently pulled back from the embrace, and Cylien wiped at the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, still smiling as though she had been given something she had long ago stopped hoping to receive.

“Yeah, I guess it’s that hard to kill you off, huh?” Rodolf said from the side.

“Hey, Rodolf!”

Cylien immediately elbowed him in the side.

Rodolf groaned and rubbed the spot she had struck, but his eyes soon returned to Edward.

“Don’t expect a hug—”

“I don’t hug men,” Edward interrupted without hesitation as he sat back down on the bench, turning his gaze directly toward Rodolf. “Especially werewolves men.”

Rodolf’s expression immediately darkened.

“Wanna fight, you punk?!”

“Don’t start already,” Cylien said, grabbing Rodolf and pulling him back before he could do anything reckless.

Rodolf grumbled under his breath, but eventually allowed himself to be dragged over to the bench. The two of them then sat down beside Edward, with Cylien taking the seat closest to him.

For a while, she simply stared at his face.

There was something strangely familiar about him, despite all the differences that had appeared since they had last seen one another. The silver hair, the features, the eyes… it was as though the person she remembered had somehow been brought back from the dead, yet at the same time he was clearly no longer exactly the same person.

“This…” Cylien mumbled, her eyes lingering over his features. “You really do look like Nyrel.”

“It is my real body,” Edward replied.

Cylien blinked.

“Your real body?”

“With some changes.”

Rodolf’s brows rose in confusion.

“Your real body? Weren’t you killed just like the rest of us?”

“It seems I wasn’t,” Edward answered calmly. “They kept my body alive, and I eventually recovered it.”

Rodolf stared at him for several seconds, his expression becoming increasingly suspicious.

“That’s very suspicious. I mean, all of this is very suspicious.”

“It is.”

Edward did not even attempt to deny it.

“But you don’t have to worry about it. It concerns me.”

Cylien’s expression immediately became more serious.

“But we do have to worry, Nyrel. You’re our friend.”

Edward turned his eyes toward her.

For a moment, he remained silent, looking at the sincerity in her expression.

“You aren’t in the Holy Academy, are you?”

“No,” Rodolf answered before Cylien could. “We have better things to do. We chose to stay in Sancta Vedelia.”

“Good.”

Edward’s answer came almost immediately.

“Just stay there.”

“Nyrel?”

Edward looked forward again, his expression becoming quieter.

“You two have just been given a second chance at life. Don’t throw it away like that.”

Cylien’s smile faded.

“Nyrel… but—”

“Especially for me,” Edward added.

He glanced at them again.

“Just stay where you are and live your lives.”

Cylien stared at him, clearly struggling to accept what he was saying.

“What are you talking about, Nyrel? We’re all involved in this, aren’t we?”

“We are,” Edward nodded. “But I’m much more involved than you are. You shouldn’t get yourselves dragged any deeper into it.”

Rodolf gave a quiet snort.

“Look at yourself, worrying about us, aren’t you?”

Edward turned his head toward him.

“I am worrying, idiot.”

There was a slight edge of irritation in his voice.

Rodolf’s eyes widened a little when he saw Edward’s expression, clearly genuinely meaning what he was saying.

He quickly looked away, suddenly appearing embarrassed.

Cylien couldn’t help but giggle at the sight.

Even so, the amusement did not last long.

Her smile faded again as she lowered her gaze.

She truly wanted to be of some use to him. After everything that had happened, after failing to stand beside Nyrel when Central Vedelia had fallen into chaos, she had wanted to make up for it somehow. Yet here he was, telling her to stay away from the danger as though he would rather carry the burden alone.

Edward noticed the sadness in her expression.

Rather than continue the subject, he decided to change it.

“I heard you have a wedding coming soon.”

Rodolf’s mood immediately changed.

“Oh, yes! You heard about that, huh?”

He smirked, suddenly looking much more pleased with himself.

“Indeed,” Cylien added with a wide smile. “You’re definitely invited, Nyrel.”

Edward gave a small scoff.

“I’ll come if you tell your family to remove my banishment from your Kingdom.”

Cylien’s expression stiffened.

“R-Right… I’ll talk to my mother.”

She looked slightly embarrassed at the thought of having that conversation.

Rodolf scratched his cheek.

“I don’t think that’ll be easy, though. You’re probably even more hated now than you were before, especially after you somehow came back alive after burning down Central Vedelia.”

“Rodolf…”

Cylien looked at him reproachfully.

But Edward did not seem offended.

“No,” he said, nodding calmly. “I did burn down Central Vedelia.”

Cylien looked at him with complicated emotions.

“But Victor told us about the Blood Moon Spell. He said he had seen the records with you, and that he checked the files in Lazarus Raven’s quarters. The records described the Blood Moon Spell and its effects on the people it affected, and apparently even back then there was no real cure that had been discovered.”

Edward’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He remembered searching through Lazarus Raven’s quarters with Victor, desperately looking for clues about the Blood Moon Spell and anything that might have helped them understand what was going to happen. It seemed however, Victor had continued investigating the records afterward and had discovered far more than Edward had realized.

“I did what I had to do,” Edward said quietly. “And I don’t regret it.”

Rodolf’s expression became more serious.

“Well, buddy, in Sancta Vedelia, they used that to make you into one of the most heinous criminals in the entire history of the Kingdom.”

Edward leaned back slightly.

“I am very honoured to hear that.”

Rodolf grimaced.

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I know.”

Despite everything, Edward’s calm response made Rodolf groan.

“Well, we’ll find a way somehow. You’d better come to the wedding.”

Edward gave a faint nod.

“Then, Nyrel…” Cylien hesitated before asking, “you’re going to the Holy Academy with everyone else?”

“That’s the plan.”

Rodolf’s expression hardened.

“Is that because of the Third Game?”

He did not know much about the game himself, nor had he played it to any significant extent, but he knew enough to understand that it was not some harmless competition. The Third Game had already become something far more dangerous than any ordinary Game, and the people involved were putting their lives on the line.

“Yes,” Edward replied. “That’s one of the reasons. Someone has to be there to watch how everything unfolds.”

Cylien lowered her head.

“I really feel bad now that we’re just staying on the sidelines…”

Edward’s expression hardened.

“That’s how it should be.”

Cylien looked back at him.

“Don’t drag yourselves into unnecessary danger, like I already said. You have your own lives to worry about. First, take care of your wedding.”

Cylien remained silent.

She wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him that she could help, that she wasn’t some helpless person who needed to be protected, and that she had no intention of simply standing somewhere safe while her friend walked directly into danger.

But when she looked into Edward’s eyes, she realized that he was not saying those words because he doubted her strength.

He was saying them because he cared.

And somehow, that made it even harder to argue with him.

“Then, if you ever need help, especially while you’re in Sancta Vedelia, don’t hesitate to contact us,” Cylien said, reaching for her phone as she spoke.

Edward nodded and exchanged contact information with both her and Rodolf. It was a small thing, something that could easily have been overlooked, but for Edward it carried a quiet significance. After everything that had happened, after years of separation and uncertainty, being able to reach the two of them again felt strangely familiar.

Once they had finished, Rodolf leaned back and looked at Edward with an expression that quickly shifted from curiosity to disbelief.

“So, what exactly did you come here to see Alvara for?” He asked, shaking his head. “Fuck, I still can’t believe she actually became your girlfriend. What the hell, man? Doesn’t she hate humans and like every other race in the world?”

Cylien immediately giggled.

“Looks like Nyrel is the exception.”

“I guess only crazy girls like Ephera get attracted to him,” Rodolf said with a snort.

Edward’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t you have better things to do than insult my women?”

Before Rodolf could respond, Cylien suddenly remembered something else.

“Oh, have you found Ephera yet, Nyr?”

“Not yet,” Edward replied, his answer deliberately vague. “But soon enough.”

Cylien’s eyes immediately brightened.

“Wow, that would be wonderful! It would be even better if she could be here for our wedding.”

There was genuine excitement in her voice at the thought of being reunited with another one of their old friends.

“And what about the others?” she continued. “Lucy and Emric? Did you find them?”

Edward shook his head.

“They’re certainly out there somewhere. Perhaps their memories simply haven’t awakened within them yet, it hasn’t taken long for both of you as well.”

Rodolf snorted.

“It can’t be that hard to find Emric. That guy has always had that arrogant, know-it-all expression on his mug.”

“Stop insulting your friends.”

Cylien reached over and pulled Rodolf’s ear, forcing him to grimace.

“Hey! What the hell?”

“You deserve it.”

She released his ear and then fell silent for a moment, becoming thoughtful as she considered the other names.

“Then Lucy…” Cylien said. “I suppose she would probably be very kind and calm, and intelligent as well?”

“Who knows?” Edward replied. “If I find them, I’ll tell you.”

Cylien nodded, though she still seemed troubled by the uncertainty.

“And Shayna?”

Edward’s expression changed slightly.

“I don’t know either.”

His answer was quieter this time, and Cylien immediately noticed the difference.

She sighed, looking down at her hands.

“So many of our friends are still out there somewhere, completely in the dark. I don’t think I’ll feel completely at ease until we’ve found all of them.”

Rodolf crossed his arms.

“Personally, I don’t care if we never find Emric, though—”

“Oh, shut up!”

Cylien elbowed him once again before he could finish.

Rodolf groaned and rubbed his side while Edward simply watched the two of them with a faint smile.

They were still the same.

Despite everything that had happened, despite the years they had lost and all the terrible things that had occurred in the meantime, watching Rodolf and Cylien argue so naturally made Edward feel as though he had been transported back to another time. Into the past.

Edward eventually stood from the bench.

Cylien looked up at him.

“Where are you going?”

Edward glanced in the direction of the estate.

“To see my mother-in-law.”