"Mom!" The moment Yago saw Lucia, his vision blurred, and tears instantly flooded his eyes.
Lucia's eyes were also brimming with tears. She set down her basket, and mother and son embraced tightly, the scene deeply moving.
"You've grown taller, and thinner too." Lucia touched Yago's face, her voice trembling slightly.
Yago smiled and patted his chest.
"What are you talking about? Your son's strong! Tough as nails!"
On the other side, Mr. Leonhart also patted Annie on the shoulder with relief.
"Good child, it's enough that you're safe."
Annie nodded obediently, but her eyes kept drifting toward Yago and Lucia as they chatted and laughed together.
Seeing this, Mr. Leonhart couldn't help but chuckle. His daughter's thoughts were obvious at a glance.
"Go say hello to Mrs. Lucia. She's been talking about you too."
With her father's support, Annie felt a small surge of excitement and immediately turned to run toward Yago and Lucia.
Watching Annie's back, Mr. Leonhart sighed.
"A daughter really can't be kept forever." Perhaps it was his acceptance of his daughter growing up, but a new idea began to form in his mind.
During their time on Paradis Island, thanks to Yago's influence, the place where Mr. Leonhart lived in the royal capital was quite decent. The neighbors were all kind and harmonious families, and there were quite a few couples around Yago and Annie's age. Some of the faster ones already had lively, adorable children.
Usually, he wouldn't think much of it, but now, Mr. Leonhart found his thoughts drifting. When Annie was young, he had trained her harshly for the sake of status, barely giving her any fatherly love. For this, Leonhart had always felt guilty.
But now Annie had grown up, and the regrets of her childhood could no longer be made up for. Even though Annie never brought up the past, Leonhart himself couldn't get over it. Since he couldn't make it up to his daughter, what if she had a child? Then he could surely make up for the love he had once withheld.
At this thought, Mr. Leonhart actually felt a faint sense of anticipation. Just imagining a little one calling him grandpa softened his somewhat hardened heart. For the first time, he wasn't so resistant to his daughter growing up and getting married.
However, Annie had no idea that her father was already thinking about holding a grandchild. At the moment, she was being pulled by Lucia, who kept asking about her well-being. The concern and affection in Lucia's eyes were practically overflowing.
This made Yago, standing nearby, quite jealous. Sure enough, as long as Annie was around, he, the eldest son, would definitely lose favor in front of Lucia.
Left out, Yago could only pick up the basket from the ground. When he opened it and saw it was filled with his favorite pastries, his eyes lit up, and he grabbed one and started eating.
Seeing her eldest son stuffing pastries into his mouth, Lucia felt a bit annoyed. At a time like this, all he cared about was eating? But feeling sorry for him, she couldn't bring herself to scold him, so she decided to pave the way for him instead.
"Annie, dear, you've grown up now, it's time to think about lifelong matters. That brat Yago is useless, let Auntie take charge. Tell me, what kind of ring do you like? And necklaces? Do you want one with crystals? Do you like the hotels in the royal capital?" Lucia asked with a beaming smile.
"Wow, so this is Paradis Island? It's not scary at all, it's actually quite beautiful." Airi, with her beautiful silver-gray long hair, widened her eyes as she looked around at the surroundings. Seeing the massive port, she was amazed—Paradis Island's harbor was no less impressive than Marley's capital military port.
"Airi, come here, don't run off and get lost." Afraid that Airi might wander off, Serena quickly called out to her to stay close to the group. Behind Serena were also the core members of the Eldian Restorationists, all looking at Paradis Island with unfamiliar eyes.
Because Yago had gone to reunite with his family, the Restorationists didn't know where to go for the moment, so they wandered around the port, waiting for Yago's instructions.
At the same time, a group of Paradis Island soldiers began escorting the somewhat displeased Historia off the ferry. Leading them was a Military Police officer named Arno.
Arno looked rather cold, and the aura around him was equally chilly. At the port, there was also a welcoming party for Queen Historia, and among them were key members of the Imperial Faction.
Coincidentally, Serena led the Restorationists right into this area. Suddenly, someone in the welcoming party cried out in surprise, then, under the astonished gazes of others, quickly rushed out of the formation.
"Serena! Serena!"
Hearing someone calling her name from afar, Serena was first confused—how could someone on Paradis Island know her? But when she saw who it was, she became excited.
"Uncle Nacke!"
"Uncle Nacke! It's really you!" Serena ran to Nacke, her face full of joy, and Nacke was equally excited. He hadn't expected to see Serena again on Paradis Island. (Nacke: an elder of the Imperial Faction from Chapter 343)
Serena recalled what Yago had said before—he had rescued the Eldian Restorationists from the brink of destruction. Now it seemed it was true.
Nacke sighed with emotion. "This is wonderful, Serena. You're safe. Jack can rest in peace now."
At the mention of Jack, Serena's nose tingled. Holding back her grief, she asked,
"How is everyone in the Restorationists?"
Nacke said heavily, "Many comrades have fallen—Jay, Jora, Xiu..."
Hearing these familiar names, Serena's tears nearly spilled over.
But Nacke quickly composed himself. "It's alright, Serena. Sacrifice is inevitable. Besides, the will of our Restorationists will live on forever. Now, here on Paradis Island, we've gained tremendous support from our fellow people. We now have a new name—the Eldian Imperial Faction. We will restore the glory of the Eldian Empire!"
As he spoke passionately, Nacke's eyes shone with fervor. Then he seemed to remember something and asked,
"By the way, Serena, why are you here?"
Serena didn't know about the relationship between the Restorationists and the Imperial Faction on Paradis Island. After calming herself, she said,
"While I was in the Marleyan army, I also developed the Restorationists, but it was very difficult. In the end, we encountered Yago Norman and chose to follow him. Now we've changed our name to the Eldian Revival Army! Not long ago, we successfully captured Marley's capital and liberated millions of our people! Uncle Nacke, the dream we once had as Restorationists is about to come true!"
Boom!! In an instant, it felt like a thunderclap exploded in Nacke's mind.
"Serena, you—you said what? What did you change your name to?"
"The Eldian Revival Army! We're going to revive the Eldian people!"