Magus Reborn

138. Shadowed History

They soon reached Veralt. Their carriages marked their arrival as they rolled past the gates. Crowds gathered along the roads, eyes lighting up with recognition and joy as Count Arzan's carriage came into view.

Before Kai could process, the people were cheering, some waving with excited faces— respect and genuine warmth radiated through them.

Even though his visits had become frequent and routine, the joy on their faces as they saw his carriage filled him with warmth as if all his efforts over time hadn't gone unnoticed.

He saw how Amara glimmered with wonder as she leaned slightly out of the window, soaking in the sights of Veralt.

The city was renovating after the beast wave, and a lot of things were falling back into place. Some houses and roads were better than they had been before. It was visible, and by how people proudly showed their homes and shouted their gratitude, Kai knew the city was slowly recovering.

Passing the several houses that were fully reconstructed and half-finished wooden structures wrapped in scaffolding, he was met with a rhythmic loud noise of hammers and the synced shouts of workers and merchants through the road.

Even in the middle of all that chaos, Amara drew attention. People looked at her curiously as she waved back at the crowd. Her smile was small and hesitant, but nevertheless, it was there. It wouldn't be long before whispers spread, questions forming about the princess beside him.

"Your city looks good," she said, turning back to him. Her voice was soft, and thoughtful.

Kai's eyes, sharp yet unreadable, flicked to the scene outside. "Does it?" he replied. "We are still constructing a lot of things."

He said, realising that they were drawing closer to the castle.

She nodded, glancing once more at the faces in the crowd. "I can see that. But the people look excited to see you. I mean it when I say that you are a good lord, Count Arzan."

A moment of silence stretched between them, broken only by the clatter of carriage wheels.

He nodded, a hint of something unreadable passing over his expression before he turned his gaze ahead.

The carriage rolled to a stop before the castle gates.

They stepped out of the carriage as the grand doors of the castle opened, revealing Francis, Claire, and a handful of maids standing at attention.

Francis bowed deeply as Kai approached, only to pause mid-motion when he noticed the princess by his side. His brows knitted as if he was trying to remember who she was before glancing back at Kai.

"This is Princess Amara, daughter of King Sullivan and Queen Regina," Kai said with a nod in her direction. She smiled gracefully at Francis who suddenly looked a little pale. "She will be staying here for a while."

Francis's eyes widened but he quickly masked himself with a bow. The other maids gasped softly before lowering themselves into deep curtsies. "Your Highness," Francis said. "We are honoured by your presence. Rest assured, you will have every comfort, and I will personally see to it that your stay here is without trouble."

Amara's kind gaze swept over them. "Thank you. I hope you will take care of me while I'm here."

"Of course, Princess Amara," Francis replied, bowing again. His tone left no doubt that he would mobilise the entire household to meet her needs.

Kai turned to Amara, the briefest flicker of concern crossing his eyes. "One of the maids will show you to your room. Forgive us if we lack the full regalia you may be accustomed to. We're not used to hosting royalty."

Amara shook her head with a soft smile. "That won't be a problem, Count Arzan. I thank you for the warm reception," she said, leaning in and speaking the next few words in a whisper. "So, when can we start the surgery?"

His eyes hardened slightly as he thought over all the things he would need for the surgery. "Tomorrow. I need tonight to prepare everything, but we will begin first thing in the morning."

She nodded, the tension in her shoulders easing.

"Please, show her the way," Francis ushered a maid, noticing how the conversation had died.

One maid walked forward and bowed. Amara looked at Kai once before she followed the maid inside, disappearing into the corridors of the castle.

Once she was out of sight, Kai's mood shifted, the thought of the upcoming task settling on him like a mantle.

He turned to Francis, who was already watching with keen, expectant eyes. "Walk with me," he said, the command brooking no argument. "I need to explain everything."

Francis's face shifted from curiosity to grim understanding as he fell into step beside Kai.

They entered the castle, passing wide corridors and servants as they made their way to the main office upstairs. Their boots rang down the quiet wooden floor.

Finally, he pushed open the doors to his office by the library and stepped inside. Francis followed closely.

After they were both inside, Francis closed the door behind him with a thud and Kai settled onto his chair.

"Verdis fell easier than expected. Henderson was... less of an obstacle than we initially thought. Killian and the rest of the Enforcers took care of everything and one of them would give you the whole report." Kai said. "Once that was over, Princess Amara appeared out of nowhere. It seems she escaped from the capital alone to make the journey and tagged along when she saw our contingent moving towards Verdis."

Francis's brows shot up, the lines of his face deepening. "That's sooner than our estimates."

Kai nodded at that.

"Yes. I told you before, I was expecting her next month, once her temporary bindings began to weaken. But it seems she was practising magic on her own. The bindings are barely holding, and if I don't act soon, they will fail entirely. I need to finish healing her tomorrow, though I don't know if I will be entirely successful."

Francis pressed his lips together, eyes narrowing in thought. "Do you think she'll be able to answer our questions about the Archine Tower and the royal family?"

A sigh escaped Kai, one that carried the exhaustion of weeks spent on the move, planning, fighting, and negotiating. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I intend to ask every question I can during and after the surgery. The letters I sent contained only broad inquiries, and I never had time to delve deeper. We've been juggling too many fires at once. I didn't have time to reply to them."

Francis nodded, and a moment of silence passed between them. Kai's fingers traced circles around the stack of parchment that were in front of him.

Before he could follow it up with his plan for tomorrow, Francis asked, "Do you really believe Magus Veridia is controlling Prince Eldric and was behind sending Actra to finish you?"

Kai's eyes darkened as he considered the question. He glanced at the map on the wall, one section marked with the sigils of the royal family and their allies. "It's one of our hypotheses. Eldric is not the cunning type. When I met him, he seemed… immature, almost desperate for guidance. A prince who leans on others too much is easily manipulated. The beast wave—that might be Lucian's work, but he wouldn't act without strong backing, either from the royal family or the Archine Tower. I really doubt he had ways of controlling a mana fiend and we already have gotten hints that something bigger is controlling everything from the shadows."

Francis stroked his chin.

"So it comes down to either a power play within the royal family or Magus Veridia's designs."

"Exactly. And tomorrow, when Amara is ready, we'll find out just how deep this runs."

As he spoke, his mind wandered, moving through memories about the past. Things were so starkly different from the history he knew.

The Mad King being incompetent— a puppet, even— was something that defied every record he had studied. In the annals, he was depicted as ruthless but shrewd, a man whose mind was sharp enough to cleave through enemies without lifting a sword. To see him now, a shadow of that portrayal, filled Kai with doubt. It was as if the stories of old had been polished and twisted.

The only explanation that made sense was chilling: the history he knew was wrong. Perhaps every tale of the Mad King's cunning deeds had been orchestrated from the shadows by someone else, someone who had woven their will into the very fabric of the realm's narrative.

Who? The question hung in his mind as he thought of every possibility. He needed to know.

He recalled his master's voice, stern yet wise, ringing in his ears as if he was back in that small, practice room from his teenage years.

"History is often written by the victors, Kai. It's a canvas they can paint over as they wish, leaving out whatever truths don't suit them. Those winners, they blend and mend any parts they want… It's sad, but it's true."

That adage seemed to echo louder now. Every page he had read, every decree and battle meticulously chronicled, could be nothing more than curated lies. That's why someone like Amara was invaluable. She had lived within those walls, and seen what the ink on those parchments had missed.

Francis broke his reverie yet again. "Do you really think she'll answer our questions? She is royalty, after all. There are loyalties even desperation cannot break."

"Yes," Kai said, the certainty in his voice surprising even him. "Amara is different. She's a princess, yes, but neglected, always on the periphery of power. And it's true that she's grateful for me saving her. Nobles loathe being in someone's debt, Francis. It grates at their pride. I can leverage that. If the surgery succeeds, she'll feel bound to repay me."

Francis's brow furrowed as he absorbed the plan. "Are you confident, Lord Arzan? Confident you can heal her?"

"I'm confident in knowing what needs to be done to heal her heart. But with magic, so much relies on the patient. She'll need to do a lot of the heavy lifting herself."

The silence that followed was heavy, but not with doubt. It was the kind of silence that signalled preparation, a breath before plunging into the unknown. By tomorrow, he hoped, they would have a few more answers— and fewer shadows obscuring the truth.

***

Mana surgeries were an… art but a risky one at that. They came in many forms, shapes and sizes, depending on the organ being treated and the level of damage.

At the simplest end of the spectrum, there were minor surgeries, like unblocking a mana vein or clearing a buildup of stagnated energy. These were almost routine, simple procedures that even Novice Mages could perform with proper training. The body's mana flow could be restored with little risk, and the patient would typically recover with minimal disruption to their life.

But not all mana surgeries were so benign. When it came to more complex operations, such as repairing damage to the mana brain— where one's ability to sense and control mana originated— the risks multiplied. The mana brain was far more fragile than most believed, and surgery there was a high-stakes gamble. The precision required was a level of mastery that few possessed, and failure could result in permanent cognitive damage, leaving the patient with impaired magic or, worse, no magic at all.

The heart, however, was perhaps the trickiest organ of all. As fickle as it was essential, the heart was the lifeblood of any Mage.

During mage duels, the heart was often targeted, and Mages would use all manner of techniques to strike at this vulnerable organ. Even with armour, the heart was prone to damage— both external and internal. Armour could shield the physical heart, but there were still ways to target the mana within.

A ruptured heart, however, was a different beast altogether.

When a heart was ruptured, it meant that the damage wasn't just superficial. The external boundaries were torn, but the internal mana channels— the astral part of the heart— were split open as well.

A Mana heart rupture wasn't just a physical injury; it meant the very core of the Mage's life force had been compromised. In a case like that, no ordinary binding or healing spell would suffice. The external part could be repaired, but the astral damage would require a much more difficult procedure, one that demanded complete control over both the physical and astral realms, including her mana circles.

That's where Kai's dilemma lay.

Even though he could mend the external injuries to Amara's heart, the astral damage required a level of mastery he hadn't attempted in years— he would need to enter the very core of her mana to heal her. And that, in itself, was a dangerous and taxing procedure that demanded as much from him as it would from her.

That was why, despite everything, he had decided against attempting the surgery in the capital. Not only was the setting less than ideal for such an operation, but Amara's body wasn't ready to handle the strain. He needed her to fully understand the risks before she agreed to go through with it.

The next day, he entered her room and prepared to speak frankly with Amara.

"We will begin the surgery. But I need you to understand the full extent of what's going to happen."

Amara tilted her head, listening intently, her eyes wide with anticipation. "What will happen, Count Arzan?"

The question was broad, and he didn't know any way to shorten the answer.

He gave a brief description about the mana surgery and why it was so complicated before finally moving to the conclusion. "...The surgery will not be easy. I can repair the external damage to your heart, but the inner astral injuries will require... deeper intervention. I'll need to enter your body, and that could be quite strenuous on you. You have to be prepared."

She blinked, her expression flickering through a range of emotions at his words. He wasn't able to understand all of them, but he noticed her maid, Anya, going pale beside her.

"So... you will be inside me?" Amara asked, her eyes slowly widening.

***

A/N - You can read 30 chapters (15 Magus Reborn and 15 Dao of money) on my patreon.