Chapter 183 : Where Love Triumphs and Kingdoms Fall (End)
Chapter 183
“Edith! Mr. Prim! Are you still not ready? Ugh, time is running out! You said we had to hurry!”
Mrs. Pensler’s voice rang out sharply through the morning air.
“Edward Windsor’s execution ceremony is about to begin! Not much time left—I can’t bear the thought of missing the fall of that bastard’s head!”
“Alright, alright! We’re done!”
I left the house in a rush, with my father beside me. Mrs. Pensler continued to grumble all the way to the execution site.
Although royal executions usually took place in the capital, Edward’s was to be held in Mussen—a rare exception. It was the place where the families of his countless victims still lived and mourned.
“They say it will be held in the same spot where the previous Duke Schultz was executed. I wonder how a man who scoffed at the lives of others will react when his own is about to end….”
The sky was too clear, too blue for a day meant for death.
‘Just like that day…’
How would Johannes feel returning to this place? More than anything, I was worried about him. I longed to see him.
The port was packed with people.
Everyone present would remember the day Duke Schultz died—and the moment Edward’s head fell, we would silently honor the unjust death that preceded his.
The execution platform stood grim and tall. Sailors climbed it one by one.
There—I found him.
Johannes.
He looked thinner than before, worn down by endless tasks and sleepless nights.
Did he eat well? Was he hurt? Did he push himself too hard again?
While these thoughts consumed me, Edward appeared, limping onto the platform.
“You lunatic murderer!”
“Give me back my daughter! Give her back!”
“Look at that shameless monster!”
A storm of stones rained upon him.
Blood dripped from his brow where one struck him, yet Edward snarled defiantly, half-mad.
“You should be grateful,” he spat. “To have been killed by me is an honor!”
His ravings turned to mockery, recounting with disturbing pleasure the lives he had taken. Like a shattered machine, his mind rattled with madness.
He had been clinging to a flimsy justification for his slaughter, a murderer whose evil had festered long before he acted.
In truth, his ambition for status had always been a craving for the power to kill without consequence.
For a fleeting moment in the past, I had wondered—was there perhaps a reason for his crimes?
But no. Evil is evil. No veil could conceal its nature.
And finally, the blade fell.
Kwaduk—!
A gruesome thud. Then silence. His head rolled into the dust.
A breathless beat passed.
Then the crowd erupted in cheers.
I saw it with my own eyes.
The death of Edward Windsor.
The man who, in a past life, had butchered me without remorse.
This was his end.
Johannes, too, watched in silence—as if determined to record this moment in his memory, just as he had been forced to witness his own father’s unjust death.
Elsewhere, in the capital, the execution dates of Christian and the King were being formally announced.
Johannes’ long journey of vengeance had reached its conclusion.
I whispered to myself, “It’s truly over now.”
The relief was overwhelming. My legs buckled as nausea overtook me. After emptying my stomach, I could finally breathe again.
“Let us toast!”
People who had gathered began pulling out flasks and bottles.
A serial killer was dead.
This was how it ended.
As I stood in the aftermath, I reflected on all that had transpired. Edward’s death could have meant nothing—a quiet execution and a forgotten name.
But no, the path to this moment had been filled with struggle, sacrifice, and resilience.
This was our victory. Mine, Johannes’, and everyone who dared to seek justice.
For the first time in what felt like forever, peace had returned to Mussen.
Life resumed. The people healed. And newspapers continued to call for Johannes to ascend the throne.
In truth, Johannes Schulz was drowning in duties. His face appeared only in headlines now.
‘Once everything is finished, I’ll come to pick you up. I promise.’
He had promised. But days passed. Then more.
I wasn’t afraid he would abandon me. I was afraid I would become a burden.
He might become the king of Docilia.
And what was I?
Just Edith Prim.
Each day, I found myself thinking that perhaps I needed to let him go.
New beginnings call for new paths. He had brought me out of the shadows.
Then one day, he stood at the door.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Johannes said softly. “I came to take you home.”
The moment I saw his face, the tears I had buried burst forth.
I had never known a person’s presence alone could bring such peace.
And yet, my fears lingered.
“I… don’t know if I can go with you,” I whispered. “Everyone wants you… to be their king. Maybe I’m not meant to stand beside you.”
He gave me a quiet smile—one that said he expected this.
“I have no intention of maintaining the monarchy.”
“What?”
“The slush fund accounts we exposed will be returned to the public. We’re laying the foundation for a republic. A new society.”
I was stunned.
“Titles, classes—they’ll become history. I realized something while being with you: I don’t need a crown. I only need the one I love. You taught me that.”
His eyes shone with unwavering truth.
“And now,” he continued, offering his hand, “I want to share stories with you that you may not even believe.”
I stared at his outstretched hand.
“From this moment on, there will only be joy. So… Edith Prim, will you marry me again?”
Time stood still.
The world melted away.
Only he and I existed.
Yes. I loved him.
How could I ever give him up?
Even if he were crowned king, I would stay beside him.
Even if the world scorned me, I would risk everything.
With trembling breath, I took his hand.
“Yes, I will.”
Tears welled again as Johannes smiled and slipped a ring onto my finger.
Warmth spread from our joined hands straight to my heart.
This was a moment I would carry forever.
The man who dragged me from the abyss and raised me to the heavens—
He was my everything.
“I will be your wife again. A thousand times over.”
I don’t know what the future holds.
But with Johannes, I believe I can face anything.
I returned to him across time.
Perhaps the reason I was given a second chance…
Was simply to love him more.
He spoke of a new world.
But what he didn’t realize was that—
Every step I take with him is a new world.
“I love you.”
I fell into his embrace.
“Wherever you go, I will find you again and again.”
As Johannes said, now—
There is only time to love.
