CHAPTER TWELVE“As always! I am always here.” Arithea responded at once while Aleric nodded as he was able to confirm for himself.“What are your thoughts? Are you saying that the King may still be alive?”“You heard the words the General used, those were not my words. He said the King had been poisoned, not killed…”“You have a point, Arithea. How did I not think of that?” Aleric placed his left hand below his chin while he nodded at the thoughts that lingered in his mind.“But they still think I did it, Arithea? They sent soldiers after me, there is no way they are going to give up just like  that.”“Then you try to convince them of your innocence.”“How? How am I supposed to do that?”“That is left for you to figure out…” Arithea said, and that was her conclusion as she threw Aleric into a drift th

 CHAPTER FOURTEEN“I don’t know how else I am supposed to convince you that I am telling the truth, General. Think about it…I was given a room far away from the Royal Chambers which I am sure is heavily guarded by your men who must have been careless to allow someone to go into the King’s Chambers. There was no way I would have gone back instantly to the Royal Chambers without being seen. I don’t even know where the King’s Chambers is located!”Gradually, General Morbius began to see sense in what Aleric was saying even though he was still visibly angry about their first encounter and desperately wanted to regain his ego.“I know that somewhere within you, you know that I am telling the truth. Baron cannot be trusted, he is working hand-in-hand with a dangerous group. They call themselves the Shadows of Retribution!”“Shadows of Retribution? What does that mean?”&ldquo

CHAPTER SIXTEEN“Well, you never can tell. You might decide to be funny, and I wouldn’t hesitate to draw my sword.” Morbius responded with a smirk, looking at Aleric who chuckled softly before he nodded with a smile on his face.“This better be good. Why did you take me away from my soldiers?”“We can’t trust anyone at this moment…” Aleric said with a whisper, and then he turned to look at some of the soldiers who had their eyes fixed on them. Morbius joined him shortly after, and after a few seconds of staring, they returned their gazes to each other.“If the King could be poisoned in the Royal Chambers, then it means that whoever is responsible could be working closely with the soldiers or any other person in the Place. We can’t trust anyone, not even the Council members. I could see the looks on some of their faces, they were not entirely pleased with the King.”Aleric paused for a while just to be sure that the General was paying attention to everything he was saying. When he bec

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN“Threat detected! Do we have to attack?”“No, Arithea. No…” Aleric responded instantly, and when he realized that he had roused suspicion in the General, he pretended not to have done what he did with his full consciousness and attempted to cover up with a smile.“Is there a problem?”“No, not at all! We can continue.” Aleric responded to Morbius who continued to look at him even when the soldiers he had beckoned arrived in front of him and bowed slightly.“Bind him! We have a prisoner to take to the Royal Prisons!”Morbius pointed to Aleric, and even though the soldiers had so much doubt about his words, they decided to do just as he had instructed.One of the soldiers pulled out a strong rope from underneath his single, and then he exchanged glances with his companion before they started to walk toward Aleric.To their astonishment, Aleric Willingly extended his hands toward them while he waited for them to bind his hands.While still struggling to deal with the fac

CHAPTER TWENTY“To be on the safer side, I suggest that you begin from the soldiers with your left. I can sense that they are weaker than the rest who have stronger mana cores and are less classed. Arithea’s voice lingered for a while, but Aleric ignored it even though he knew that he was eventually going to need her guidance just in case there was a need for him to fight.When Thorne was done with his silent thinking, he sighed for the second time in a short period, and then he turned to look at the soldier who was in charge of the rest of the absence of General Morbius who was still nowhere to be found.“I think you should take him to the dungeons where soulless criminals like him are kept. I am sure that the reptiles in that place would teach him some lessons before he is finally brought in for trial before he faces judgment.”Aleric’s heart sank deeper into his belly as he heard the words from Lord Thorne. He turned to look for General Morbius without minding if it was going to se