724 He’s the Osman We Knew
[Why aren’t you doing anything?] Bartos complained to Jayra through their bond. [I’m sure you can easily break that spell if you wanted to.]
Jayra shrugged before she then turned to Bartos with a glare.
[Stop with your whining already and let’s observe the situation more. If I break the spell, then that action alone will give us a bad impression to this King Amon!] she chided. [Seriously, doing so would look like we’re challenging the authority of the King of Helion. Calm down, alright? Not everything can be solved by fighting, my dear.]
Having said her piece mentally, Jayra then turned to King Amon and said, “Your Majesty… To be honest, as a royal mage for both the kingdoms of Cordon and Ebodia, I can easily break the spell you created. However, to prove that we’re not fakes and that we’re telling the truth, I won’t do anything for now.”
She then sincerely added, “We will let ourselves fall under your jurisdiction for now. At least, until we arrive at the venue of the Global Summit and have you meet our King.”
There was a pause, and it almost looked like Jayra was done when she kept speaking. “However, please allow me to make amendments to the spell…” she continued before then chanting out a spell of her own. “This way, you cannot command my sister-in-law to commit intimate or sexual activities for you.”
Lowering her hand, Jayra stopped her laughs from escaping her throat upon seeing King Amon’s reaction. He was burning red in embarrassment, while all the guards that heard her were also turning red as they tried to suppress their own laughter.
“Sis! How can you be so mean?” Bella complained. “I mean… I really wouldn’t mind if King Amon asked me to-“
“Bella!!!” Bartos’s voice roared out in the open wilderness, promptly making his sister cut her sentence off.
Seeing all the hilarity around her, Jayra closed her eyes and murmured, “Can we just finish this long introduction already? I’m starving?”
“We would, but it’s not over yet,” King Amon pointed out. “You have another in your company.”
Jayra raised an eyebrow. She had almost forgotten the existence of Taro skulking in the dark. Ah, the poor shadow knight of His Majesty, King Nikolai of the Kingdom of Valcrez.
“Oh, he’s harmless. He’s a vampire assigned to guard me and make sure that I’m away from harm and not get killed…” Jayra politely explained. “He’s more than fine with staying in the shadows, so please don’t mind him, Your Majesty.”
“As long as he won’t move or do anything to harm, then we can all keep the peace around each other,” King Amon hummed before turning around. “Now come and follow me.”
With that, Jayra and her group went with the foreign king to what she assumed was Helion’s convoy. Bella had joined her and her husband, and it wasn’t long until the questions started coming.
“Can you tell us what’s going on here, Bella?” Bartos questioned as they followed King Amon.
“I think he lost his memories because of the fall,” Bella whispered. “I don’t know the whole story yet, but I’m sure he’s Osman, Brother. I mean, I heard he’s the long-lost son of the Queen Mother, so from that alone, it’s enough to come to the conclusion that he’s Osman.”
Bartos and Jayra exchanged meaningful glances at what they just heard, and such a gesture didn’t escape Bella’s keen observation.
Frowning, she murmured, “You two knew something!”
Jayra had an awkward smile as she discreetly pointed at King Amon and replied, “We’ll talk later, Bella…”
Thankfully, Bella took the hint, and their walk remained silent until they arrived at their destination. From there, they were led directly to a makeshift tent made for the King. Inside, Jayra saw that dinner was currently being prepared.
“Amon, what is going on in here,” an older beautiful woman asked.
“Mother, they are Lady Bella’s family,” Amon introduced them, to which Jayra then took the initiative to continue the greeting as she formally introduced herself and Bartos.
“Oh, so you’re here to get Lady Bella?” Queen Mother Mona commented as soon as the introductions were over.
“Yes,” Bartos firmly replied. His face then dimmed as he turned to Amon. “But unfortunately, the King of Helion refused to release my sister simply because he doubts our identities. It’s ridiculous.”
The Queen Mother seemed surprised as she looked at Amon. At the accusation, the King simply answered, “We can’t take any risks. What if this a plan to spy on our location and numbers?” He stoically explained himself, “Looks can be deceiving, and trusting a stranger’s word is a risk I absolutely wouldn’t take.”
Seeing her son’s response, the Queen Mother let a sigh as she turned her gaze back to Jayra and Bartos with a kind and apologetic smile. “We apologize for the inconvenience, but we’ll make sure that your stay and journey together with our entourage will be as comfortable as possible,” she sincerely stated. “Please understand if my son is being a bit strict like this…”
“It’s alright, Your Highness. We really don’t mind,” Jayra hummed in understanding. “And besides, we’re also heading to the same event anyway. By tomorrow, I’m sure that all of this will be cleared up,”
“I’m glad we can come to an understanding,” the Queen Mother nodded in appreciation. “Now come and sit. It’s dinner already. Eat with us…”
Getting their permission, Jayra and Bartos quietly sat down with Bella in one row in front of their current patrons. Likewise, King Amon and his mother sat together with another man who introduced himself as Rendon, one of the King’s royal commanders.
From there, they all began to eat in silence with Jayra occasionally sneaking glances at King Amon. Unfortunately, for her, the Queen Mother caught her during the three times that she did it.
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm “Does my son looks familiar to you, Lady Jayra?” the Queen Mother suddenly brought up.
Jayra had a timid smile and said, “He is… a friend of ours. Osman Sulivan.”
“I see. I do recall Lady Bella calling him Osman the first time she saw him,” the Queen Mother curiously stated. “Can you tell me more about this Osman?”
Jayra let out a sigh as she firmly stated, “I’m not sure why King Amon here doesn’t seem to recognize us, but I am sure that he’s the Osman we knew.” She then added, “We’ve been searching for him for more than a year now after we lost him to Devon’s attack.”
She then took a deep breath before continuing her story. “We had come to know about Osman’s past in the Lake of Life from Lord Polo, the merman who is the ruler of the waters inside the Element Forest, also known as the Realm of Eferia. From what we’ve gathered, Osman was the son of the Demon King Azarel. His mother saved him from his half-brother Devon when he was born, and he was put under a mask spell so that he could become a human to avoid Devon’s attention,” she lengthily explained.
“Also, that spell hid the demon’s influence in his body, which is obviously the intent since the spellcaster wanted him to look human. From there, he drifted by the River of Os and was seen by a pirate, to which he then grew up following the man’s footsteps until his life fell in danger. Our King Darius then saved him by turning him into a Lycan, and then that one incident happened and Devon found his way to him…”
“You kept this from me while watching me suffer from losing him?!” Bella suddenly roared out.