Edward waved his hand, and a portal appeared next to him and a few seconds later, a young girl with silver hair appeared in the room. A smile appeared on her face when she saw him.
"Uncle Edw…Wizard King," she changed her word when she saw someone else in the room. "Nozel-niisama," she saluted.
"Don't mind him," said Edward as he stood up from his seat to caress the little girl's head.
"I did not see you at the Black Bulls' party last night."
"I was not feeling well, so I went to bed early," replied Noelle.
Edward sighed as he looked at her; she resembled Acier too much.
"I'm sorry I could not spend more time with you over the years," he said.
"I understand," she replied while lowering her head. Her childhood was not very pleasant. However, one thing she always looked forward to was meeting her uncle.
He would appear in her dream to tell her stories before bed, or strange faces would appear in random objects in the house to talk to her; it was like a fun adventure for her, constantly guessing when and how her uncle would show up.
Not to mention that he was one of the few friends she had in the palace.
Edward looked at Nozel.
"I told your mother I would take care of all of you. Unfortunately, your other two siblings are too stupid and a waste of my time. Their heads are full of noble superiority nonsense. And a lot of this results from how you raise them."
Nozel lowered his head with a somber face.
"This is your chance to clarify things with your little sister and tell her the truth."
"But, what about…."
"You don't have to worry about Megicula's Curse."
After hesitating for a while, Nozel told Noelle the truth about their mother; she did not die because of giving birth to her. She died because of a devil called Megicula.
Because of Edward, the curse that prevented Nozel from speaking about this event was blocked, so nothing happened during the process. So, after hearing this, tears fell from Noelle's eyes.
"I have a way to revive your mother, but I will need your help," said Edward.
"Really?"
"Of course. But your current self is too weak. Train hard to control your magic and become more powerful. Also, don't forget to make friends. All the members of the Black Bulls are great individuals, so you should form bonds with them–just like your mother did with her squad."
Nozel opened his mouth to say something but closed it in the end. The only reason he lied and alienated his sister was to prevent her from stepping into the battlefield; he wanted to protect her so that she did not suffer like their mother.
However, he now realizes he may have approached the situation terribly. After crying for a few minutes, Nozel talked to his little sister for a while before Edward sent her back.
"Are you telling the truth? About reviving our mother?"
"Yes, but I don't need her help. I just wanted to use this situation to motivate her."
'Reversing life and death? If the Wizard King, this kind of taboo magic should be possible,' thought Nozel before saluting and departing. Meanwhile, Edward sat on his throne and waited for a few minutes.
Then, a screen appeared before him, showing a young woman on a throne, with a giant woman wearing a dress made out of water.
"Queen Lolopechka, Undine; it's a pleasure to see all of you again. It's been quite a while."
The last time he met her was right after her coronation; she was so innocent back then. Majesty and nobility oozed out of her.
"It is my honor to meet the only Divine Stage Mage in the world," replied the Queen.
"Divine Stage?" Edward was genuinely confused.
"Yes. This is a new classification above the Saint Stage recently created just for you. The Divine Stage: a mage capable of defeating a Highest-ranking Devil on its own."
Devils were classified into low, middle, high, and highest, with the three rulers being the most powerful of all the highest-ranked devils.
Edward was in deep thought after hearing Lolopechka's words as he found another change to this timeline. In the main timeline, Undine did not tell Lolopechka the information about the Saint Stage.
As a person bound to a Spirit, and with her magical talent, she should be able to enter that stage, but she did not. And the reason for that was because she was too kind.
To enter the Saint Stage, spirit users have to develop attack spells, and Lolochpka was too kind for that, so Undine did not tell her about the Saint Stage and the requirement to protect her innocence.
However, it appeared that things were different now.
"Well, it is my honor to have a stage created especially for me," said Edward with a smile despite not really caring.
"So, to what do I owe this call?"
"First, I need to ensure that our previous agreement for an exchange is still valid?"
"Of course, since the previous Queen accepted your request, I shall honor the agreement. When do you want to send people for the exchange?"
Edward agreed with the former Queen for their kingdom to exchange magic knowledge. He will teach them the techniques of Liquid Mana and Crystalize Mana, and in exchange, the Heart Kingdom will teach him Mana Method and True Magic.
The agreement was that each kingdom would choose a few talented mages to send to the other in an exchange program. Unfortunately, because of the curse, Edward had to delay this agreement until now.
"I have a few things to deal with first, so it should take some time," replied Edward.
"That's fine as well."
"The second task is a piece of information I have concerning your kingdom."
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"The Dark Triads and Lucius are after the Inherited Knowledge of your kingdom."
When she heard these words, Lolopechka could no longer remain calm and composed. One of the advantages of the Heart Kingdom's Queen is that she can inherit all the knowledge and experiences of past queens and use them for her benefit.
As such, she has access to a vast amount of knowledge and secrets.
"What do you want?" suddenly asked the quiet Undine.
"Whatever do you mean?" replied Edward calmly. Undine squinted her eyes at him. Their kingdom was almost brought to its knees by one member of the Dark Triad: Vanica Zogratis.
After attacking them, she injured many of their Spirit Guardians and even cursed Lolopechka. So, if all of them attacked at once, the Heart Kingdom would not survive.
"Don't beat around the bush."
"Alright, I won't play politics anymore. I want all the knowledge from your inheritance. I will block the Dark Triad for you and remove Megicula's curse."
Lolopechka looked at Undine for a moment as they communicated through psychic links. A few minutes later, she said: "Deal."
"Excellent. If you do not mind, I want to get things done as soon as possible."
After receiving their agreements, Edward opened a portal directly to the Throne Room of the Heart Kingdom, shocking both Lolopechka and Undine. The defense of their kingdom seemed a joke to him as he just teleported directly inside.
"Don't mind the small stuff," said Edward.
"How is that small stuff?" retorted Undine.
"Well, I brought a gift," said Edward before taking a pair of glasses from a small portal and changing the topic.
"I know you constantly break your glasses and have to replace them. So I made a magical one that is unbreakable. Plus, if you misplace it, you just have to use a code, and they will fly to your hands."
"Really?" said Lolopechka with excitement. Meanwhile, Undine could only shake his head at how easily trusting this little girl was. So, after a few pleasant chats, Edward got down to business.
He used a Memory Spell to access Lolopechka's Inherited Knowledge. Soon, he found himself in a place similar to his Mind Palace; numerous books lay on bookshelves.
In the past, Edward asked Undine if she knew of the existence of God since she has lived a very long time as a spirit. However, she received a negative answer. So, Edward asked the former Queen.
However, she was not an easily trusting woman, so she said no despite the fact they were in an alliance; she even denied the existence of the Inherited Knowledge when Edward brought it up.
Without wasting time, Edward read all of the books, memories, and experiences in this Mind Palace. After a few hours, he opened his eyes to the real world.
'Finally found it."
He found two clues: one of them was a sentence written in an old and most ruined journal.
"After the Devil-Angel War, civilization started all over."
Although only a short sentence, Edward confirmed the possible existence of creatures like Angels which never showed up in the main timeline. He also learned of a possible catastrophic event that altered the civilization of this entire universe.
The second clue he got was the mention of a place called Elysium, the dwelling of God.
With these two hints, plus the knowledge he learned from this inheritance, Edward already had an idea of how he could find the existence of God and maybe finally uncover many mysteries regarding this world–especially regarding Grimoires.
Then, he looked at Undine with shining eyes. He also discovered another extremely beneficial fact to him and the Empire.