Edwards

Edwards was one of Roselle Gustav's closest knights, counted among the emperor's “Four Horsemen,” and an ancestor of Edwina Edwards. Although he died peacefully at nearly one hundred, an anomalous version of him continued guarding Roselle's mausoleum on the primitive island. (Chapters 59, 766, and 1300–1303)

Biography

Life in Klein's Era

Edwards accompanied Roselle and fellow adventurers Grimm and William to the primitive island. Recurring dreams of the dead Grimm later drew Edwards and Roselle back, where they discovered the island's chapel and the corruptive forces that had already changed their companions. (Chapters 766, 891, and 1105)

In ordinary history, Edwards lived to old age in Lenburg, died peacefully, and was buried. On the island, however, he remained in a cabin near Roselle's Black Emperor mausoleum, teaching equestrianism to young Bernadette Gustav in his memories and warning her that William and the others had been corrupted. (Chapters 1299–1302)

Bernadette's questions forced Edwards to recognize the contradiction in his existence: he was already dead. As the island's order corrected that loophole and his body began rotting, he struck his own skull with an axe to resist hostile thoughts, warned Bernadette away, and then walked blankly toward the cemetery associated with resurrection. (Chapters 1302–1303)

Appearance and personality

The reanimated Edwards was nearly 1.9 meters tall, thin, white-haired, and visibly ancient, with light-blue eyes, shriveled skin, and age spots. His low, hoarse speech and disciplined vigilance preserved the bearing of a knight, while his self-injury showed fierce loyalty and the will to resist corruption even after death. (Chapters 1300–1303)

Pathways and abilities

Edwards's pathway and Sequence are not stated. He could perceive Bernadette's concealed servant and retained unnatural longevity and agency through the island's resurrection anomaly and Roselle's Black Emperor order, but these conditions are not presented as a personal pathway power under his control. (Chapters 1300–1303)

Relationships

Roselle was Edwards's sovereign, companion, and the person whose mausoleum he guarded. Bernadette remembered him as her equestrian teacher, while Edwina was his descendant; Grimm, William, and Benjamin belonged to the expedition whose corruption and losses shaped his final vigil. (Chapters 59, 766, 1105, and 1300–1303)

Items

Edwards wielded a rusted black axe at his cabin. It is not identified as a named mystical item; its decisive use was against his own skull when he tried to suppress the thoughts compelling him to endanger Bernadette. (Chapters 1302–1303)