As expected, when they learned that Kyran was the one who unleashed the beasts in Noser, the great mass did not receive it well.
Knowing this would happen, Iulia slowly directed her speech to let them see through Kyran's perspective. She did not directly explain it to them, but she asked them questions that made them wonder themselves.
If one's family was in danger, one could do things that might appear irrational.
From there, Iulia listed the casualties in Noser.
To their surprise, none of the civilians or local city officers were harmed.
Several districts in Noser were in shambles, and there were fatalities, but the former were only structures that could be rebuilt, while the latter were mostly from the Royal Army.
Of course, the deaths of the soldiers could not be justified. Nevertheless, they should have expected it when they chose to become soldiers.
That is one of the sad truths in the army. It did not matter if they were innocent as long as they carried out the order given to them.
The great mass fell into silence from Empress Iulia's words. Most agreed with what she said, but few accepted it.
Still, none of them voiced their thoughts. Not because they feared what the Royal Family would do to them if they voiced them, but because they would only appear as hypocrites because they were not affected by the deaths of those soldiers.
The families of those soldiers were not even saying anything. Why should they?
Iulia's address continued as she explained the rest of what had happened.
She told them how Emperor Euan found a way to meet with Kyran and the Conclave and devised a way to stop the Crown Princess.
Then Kyran, under Emperor Euan's directions, gathered the major factions. Together with them, they countered the Crown Princess's forces.
Finally, the confrontation between the two began as the Crown Princess launched a pre-emptive attack to put Emperor Euan's forces in disarray.
During that attack, Emperor Euan went missing, along with a few members of the Royal Army under Deputy Marshal— the only one in the army who did not defect to the Crown Princess's side— and members of the Conclave, including Head Master Malek, and a couple of Conclave council members.
The great mass was worried at this news. Although it was not new to them, there had been speculations that the emperor might not be missing but that his 'body' had not been found yet.
But with great conviction, Iulia declared Euan was alive and that he was only missing. And with the assistance of the Regis Clan's next patriarch, Cade, they would find them and bring them home.
When they heard this, they felt something was amiss and wondered if Emperor Euan had accidentally left the empire's borders.
Knowing their doubts, Iulia explained how the outsiders' arrival in their land caused rifts to appear. These rifts led to another land different from theirs.
The great mass was doubtful at this. After all, they did not know about such things.
And so, Iulia reminded the great mass about what happened to their land more than a thousand years ago. She also reminded them of the Spirits, who were proof that another land existed.
Iulia did not dwell on this subject for long. Since it was a delicate one and her knowledge about it was also limited. She couldn't convince them of its existence if her knowledge were limited.
Ultimately, the first part of her address ended with how the joint effort of the major factions cornered the Crown Princess. Because of this situation, the outsiders manipulating her were forced to appear and try to rectify the situation.
Fortunately, the Regis Clan was freed by then and could finally fight alongside the major factions.
By the end of the battle, the 'energy' that Kyran had taken with him was unleashed, forcing the outsiders to retreat. However, they took the Crown Princess with them.
A long silence followed at the end of Iulia's address.
Most were having trouble digesting all this information, while others were trying to figure out how much of what she said was true.
Before they could truly digest what she said, a representative of the Royal Court announced the start of the Empress's address to the three questions.
This immediately piqued the interest of the great mass.
However, some were in a dilemma. After all, most of their doubts had already been answered during the first part of Empress Iulia's address. They worried that the Royal Family would use the excuse that the second part would be voided since all three questions they picked had been answered during the Empress's address.
But when the first question was read out, the great mass was dumbfounded.
Because the question asked was indeed not answered during Empress Iulia's speech. But answering such a question during an 'official' address seemed inappropriate.
The question was:
"Was it true that Emperor Euan wanted to marry off the Crown Princess to the Regis Clan's Young Master and that it was why she rebelled because she did not want to?"
Kyran, watching the address in the room he woke up in, could not help but smile wryly. He did not expect the Royal Family to choose such a question. To be precise, the one who suggested that Iulia answer three questions from the public was him. But he told her he would not meddle in it and that the Royal Family could choose the question themselves.
Iulia agreed, but she told him she would be the one to pick and answer them truthfully.
It made Kyran wonder what Iulia was up to. After all, she said that after learning how important the 'real' Crown Princess was to Kyran.
Iulia did not answer the question immediately. As if to build up suspense, she paused for a few seconds before smiling and answering.
"Yes and no. Yes, because the Emperor considered marrying the Crown Princess to the Regis Clan's Young Master. No, because it was not the reason she rebelled. As I said, the Crown Princess was manipulated against her will. Thus, how she felt about the Emperor's wish was only known to her."
Kyran sighed inwardly.
Alas, it seemed Iulia was somewhat similar to his mother. On second thought, maybe mothers were like this to their children. Always wanting to pair them up with someone they believed was a good fit for them?
Then again, Kyran did hear Layla mention something similar. So he could not really say much.
After that, the next question was read out.
It went like this:
"Was it true that Disciple Tyr and the Regis Young Master one and the same?"
Kyran frowned immediately.
This is the second question, but why is he involved again? More importantly, is this relevant to Iulia's initial address?
Kyran did not think so.
Once again, Iulia paused for a few seconds before answering.
"No. They are two different people. To avoid misunderstandings, let me also assure everyone that Disciple Tyr may look like someone... from another place. But they are not the same people. As a matter of fact, the reason Disciple Tyr's features looked similar to that 'person' is because his maternal family came from the same place as that person.
Now that is all I can say. This information is personal, and I cannot disclose Disciple Tyr's family circumstances without his consent. It is quite unfortunate though, that he is among those who went missing with the Emperor."
'How convenient,' Kyran could not help but think with a bitter smile. Then again, the only ones who saw Neo fight as Tyr had been the Conclave and most of the Boyd Family members and allies. After that, Neo hid from the public with Aki and Len.
Finally, the third question was read. It said:
"There was proof that the Regis Young Master possessed no magic. But if the rumor said he was the one who led the major factions to fight the Crown Princess's forces, how could he survive, especially in a fight against mages? Although he graduated from military school with flying colors, could he fight against high level mages?"
'Again, about me,' Kyran thought. 'What is she thinking?'
Unbeknownst to him, Iulia read all their information about him again after their meeting. Obviously, her interest was piqued after seeing what he could do.
She wanted to know if there were telltales of him possessing magic during his time as an 'ordinary' human.
In the end, she found nothing. At the same time, she was surprised at how powerful his combat abilities were.
This time, it took Iulia much longer before she answered.
It was not because she did not know how to answer the question since she knew it beforehand. She was only a little hesitant to answer because this would definitely stir mixed opinions from the great mass.
"Earlier, I told you about the 'energy' the outsiders needed to awaken that was sleeping in the depths of the Royal Army's Headquarters," Iulia finally spoke after a long pause.
"As some of you probably guessed, that energy is magic energy. Then again, they did not have to go through all the trouble if that was all they needed. The whole surrounding is full of magic energy, after all."
She paused once more to give the great mass a chance to digest her words.
"That is correct. They required a specific magic energy, and the only one who possessed it, is the Regis Young Master."
The great mass was in an uproar.
What kind of magic energy could it be for only one to possess? And how were they even sure the Regis Young Master was the only one who possessed it?
"I am sure all of you are in doubt. I have already received confirmation and did not mind disclosing it. But before that, I hope all of you keep an open mind and not panic."
When Iulia mentioned the word 'panic,' most people already felt fear creep into their hearts.
"I also want to assure everyone that the Regis Young Master upholds his family's moral code and would never harm the innocent.
"I know the Royal Family decreed it, and there were those who suffered because of it. This time should not be an exception. However, due to the circumstances, the Emperor still chose to trust him while knowing about this."
"The magic energy the Regis Young Master possessed, as some of you may have already guessed, is the most feared of all... Void."
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦