Chapter 24 - Proof in the Flesh

Nothing went wrong for the remainder of the day. They had a good night's sleep and were prepared to start their plan in the morning.

Aaron covered his entire face with bandages except for his eyes before they left the apartment, and Tiberius checked his arm to make sure everything was okay.

They left as the Solara rose. Aaron wanted to go directly to the castle, but Tiberius stopped him, saying it would be better if they checked the post office and only then went to the castle. He agreed and they went to check if there was any news from the king after having breakfast.

And it went as Tiberius predicted; the king had invited him to the castle as soon as possible. The letter had also mentioned that they will try to help his friend if possible.

Seeing this letter, they directly headed toward the castle, using one of the carriages. On their way, they did not speak a word and just traveled silently. The only thing different was, unlike before, Tiberius was not looking out the carriage but was reading the letter over and over again.

“Tiberius,” asked the coachman before they arrived, “Did the king call you to castle or are you going on your own?”

“Both, but why does it matter?” He asked curiously.

“We are not allowed to get too close to the castle unless our passenger is called by the king himself.”

“I have this letter from him, saying he is welcoming us. Is that enough?”

“Yes, it is,” answered the coachman.

“What a weird rule,” Tiberius muttered. “Is it for safety?” He asked

“That is what we expect. There is no exact reason given to us, but that is what we assume.”

"Well, it's not like we're going to hurt anyone, is it?" He chuckled a little.

Coachman laughed back, "No worries, everyone knows what a good soul you are."

Tiberius did not reply and did not speak until they arrived at the castle gate.

“We are here,” the coachman said to Tiberius, as five of the guards quickly surrendered to them. “My passengers have an invitation from the king himself,” he informed the guards with slight fear.

“Invitation letter,” one of the guards said, holding his hand out, demanding it.

Slowly, Tiberius opened the carriage door. The guards instantly turn to face the door, their fists clenched in anticipation of any threat. Tiberius raised his hands when he saw this, indicating that he was harmless. "This is the letter," He handed over the letter.

The guard took the letter and read it: “Welcome, Tiberius Kane and his friend. King is waiting for you.” he said, stepping back a little, letting him get out of the carriage. He and his friend Aaron got out of the carriage and waved goodbye to the coachman, who slowly rode away from the castle.

“We will need to search you,” said the closer guard.

“Sure,” Tiberius said, opening his hands to the side, letting them search him. And they did. Each of them had a guard who tapped on their clothing from head to toe to ensure they were not carrying any weapons or dangerous items inside.

“Everything seems alright. Follow my lead ple—”

“I will take it from here,” Charles interrupted the guard.

“Yes, sir,” he bowed slightly and left.

“It’s been a while, Sir Tiberius. Glad to see you back.” Charles extended his arm.

“Good to see you too, Charles,” he immediately shook his hand.

“So this is your friend?” He glanced in the direction of the man behind him.

“Yes, his face and some parts of his body are burned and need help. Although it is no longer a life-threatening situation, as you are aware—

Charles smiled and cut him off, "Of course. King has given his orders on this topic. Few doctors are in the waiting room. After your talk with the king, they will check your friend out and do anything necessary. They are one of the best doctors in our country.”

“Hear that, Aaron?” Tiberius turned back. “You might actually be healed.”

Aaron did not respond and slightly bowed.

“Yeah, it is hard for him to speak and eat too.” Tiberius explained to Charles.

“I understand. Do not worry further, please. Your friend will receive the best treatment possible. Also,” he coughed to clean his throat, “King informed me that you have some information regarding this infamous terrorist group.”

“Yes, I do. But I only wish to share it with the king.”
“Understandable, follow me,” Charles agreed and headed inside through the gate.

They followed him around the garden, which was the same as before.

While they were walking toward the castle, Tiberius’s eyes did not stop wandering. “Can I ask something?”

Charles said without even glancing at him, "Sure."

“Where is Rovshen? Since I returned, I haven't even heard anything about him.”

"Oh, he's not present. He left for the investigation of the attack on our dungeon.”

“Dungeon attack? Is it the terrorist group?” Tiberius wondered.

“We are unsure at this time. That is why Rovshen is there. His abilities will allow us to find out the truth faster.”

“But isn’t he just a coachman?” Tiberius asked.

“He was one. But as time passed by, he proved himself to be a loyal one to royalty. So he sometimes takes on important tasks where necessary. At the end, he chuckled slightly and remarked, "He is the king's most faithful servant, after me, that is."

“So he isn’t here,” he muttered with a smile. “I hope there are no escapees,” Tiberius said.

“Sadly, this is not information I can share with you at the moment. Details are not public. However, we're all ears if you have any information you believe we should know.

“I might,” he smirked.

“Great, then you will be a great help for us.”

“Glad to hear that.” Tiberius said, ending the conversation.

They had already come to the throne room, where the king was. Charles knocked on the door three times and waited.

“You may enter,” the king spoke.

Hearing this, Charles raised his hand toward Tiberius. “Wait a minute, please,” he said. He entered the room. “Dear King, Sir Tiberius and his friend have arrived,” he announced.

“Of course, let them come in,” the king said.

Immediately leaving the room, Charles held out his arm to show them the way to the door. Tiberius gave a nod and went into the room with Aaron.

“Tiberius, welcome back to Virelia. Glad to see you’re safe and sound,” King said.

“It is good to see you too, dear king,” he bowed. He looked to his side to see if his friend had also bowed. Aaron, however, was not flinching and was looking straight at the king.

Tiberius tapped on his hand. “Bow.” Aaron bowed slightly as he looked into Tiberius's side and saw his demanding, wide-open eyes.

King smiled slightly and said, "You can raise your head."

"Please excuse my friend," Tiberius continued, "because of his injuries, he occasionally gets lightheaded and may stare off into space."

"I can understand that. He can go straight to the doctors while we speak if you'd like.”

“That is something we can postpone. We have more important matters to talk about.”

“True. I received your letter, and I am—”

Tiberius lifted his hand slightly. “Sorry for interrupting you, dear king, but I believe it is better if we talk without someone listening.” He pointed toward the door.

“Of course,” the king said. “Charles!”

“Yes, my king,” he entered the room immediately.

“Leave us alone during our conversation.”

“Of course,” he bowed and left the room.

“Thank you,” Tiberius said. “Please continue. You were saying something.”

“Yes. I have received your letter and I am all ears to hear this information from you.”

“I hope it is okay if we sit down.”

“Of course,” the king said, showing chairs next to them.

Tiberius extended his hand toward the table, and a chair suddenly lifted off the ground and moved toward him. He immediately caught it and sat on it. “Now we can talk.”

King’s eyes widened. “I thought you couldn’t use magic—”

“Let’s start with the first question: how did you find me?” Tiberius inquired, disregarding the king's response.

“I don’t understand it.”

“Come on, don’t play the fool. You brought me into this world. Alternatively, it was your plan. Just tell me, how did you find me?”

“You dare to call me a fool?” The king stood up from his throne.

“Don’t change the subject. How did you find me?” Without raising his voice, Tiberius continued to inquire.

“I don’t know what you have been doing the last three months, but it seems like your head has grown heavy for your body! Unless you want me to fix it, come to your senses.” He raised his voice.

“Why did you bring me into this world?” Tiberius insisted.

“I did not bring you into anywhere!”

“Was the sword the reason? I mean, it has to be, right?” Tiberius stood up.

“What are you talking about?” King gulped.

“I did see you in the festival. There were only two people happy to hear that the gods accepted the deal. The first one was Rael himself, who made the deal. The other one was you. You were smiling. Because it was your plan, right? You expected me to pull the sword and give it to you, since I have no knowledge of this world, right?”

“You are blaming your—”
“Stop lying. I am not blaming. I am just saying what I have learned. And I am asking the questions before things become messier.”

“Messier? Are you threatening me? Are you threatening the king of Virelia?!”

"I'm not. All I'm saying is that neither of us will benefit much from it.”

King asked, "Where did you get this wrong information?" as if he was tired of being treated this way.

"Oh, I can tell you that they are correct. I can even prove them.” Tiberius smiled.

“Prove?”

“Yes. I brought the proof with me. Here it is,” he said, showing his friend.

“He is the proof?” The king frowned.

“He is.” He emphasized his name: "Aaron, take off your bandages."

“Gladly,” he said, taking all the bandages off from his face.

“Your voice…” The king’s eyes widened. “Yareth?!”

“Good to see you too, Father,” the man said, throwing all the bandages on the ground and revealing his face.