Confront the king.

It's much like before, yet something feels off. It's the same great hall leading to the queen's throne, yet there is no beauty awaiting on the seat. Instead, it's a man. He wears a ruby wolf head necklace, though you're unsure if it's his own or not. His beard is bushy and black, and his hair is long. A small golden crown sits atop his head as well. The outfit he wears is regal and red with white fluffy trim, and he sits with his eyes trained intently on you as you make an awkward march through the middle of the room.

His green eyes are piercing. Despite his facial hair, you can tell by his face that he's around the same age as Catherine--maybe even younger.

A nearby guard speaks up. "You stand before the illustrious King Thadius, ruler of the Tivera Empire. Take a knee, humble knight. Here is the face of the home you live in, the water you drink, the food you eat. The face of this land."

It sounds like he practiced that speech quite a bit. You kneel, albeit half-heartedly.

The king clears his throat. It's not as deep as you expected. "Demon King Warren. Why is it you've come straight to my castle, especially after being so generously exiled? Surely you're not turning yourself in, especially after what you did at the Relestel Estate last night."

"Your Majesty," you say. "I only came seeking my friend Vivi. Do you know where she is? I know she came here to speak with you."

Thadius grins. "She did indeed."

The air is tense. It takes all of your will not to shake. A crossbow just loaded behind me, to the right.

"Rise." He gestures up a hand. "Tell me the real reason you came all this way."

You stand and look him over. "I really did just come for my friends. I never intended to oppose the Empire. All of this was **** upon me. One moment I was an adventurer, the next moment, you're on the throne at the same time of my exile. Don't you find that suspicious? I don't even know who you are."

"I am King Thadius, ruler of the Tivera Empire!" he shouts, slamming his fist down on the armrest. "In my sister's absence, it's fallen to me to take care of matters, and the crime rate of this land has become too high. Did you not attack my guards on the street?"

"Wasn't the declaration of my bounty already made before that? And I was under control--"

"My reasons are my own. How I knew of your treachery isn't important. Just know that my intel is unmatched. Under my rule, we've already seen criminal activity drop considerably. Imagine, become of my sister's rule, we even had vigilantes forming on the street just to clean up what she couldn't. Disgusting."

You feel an elbow touch the side of your cock.

Fang needs to calm down... though I'm not sure what to do. He isn't telling me anything at all. There's so much more going on... He mentioned intel. Someone is probably feeding him this information. That means whoever he's listening to knew about my condition well in advance. Shit. There's something going on. Who's really king around here?

"Then just let me know where Vivi went and you'll never see me again," you say.

"I'd love to believe that," Thadius replies. He motions his hand. "But in my world without crime there's no room for Demon Kings. I can tell right away that you're doing as good or perhaps better than before you were banished, which means you're up to something, wherever you went. I was right after all!"

Guards move to his gesture. They begin collecting around you, though you don't fight back.

Thadius brushes his hand forward dismissively. "Remove him from my sight. I'll decide what to do with him later. For now, why don't we answer his question after all. My men will show you precisely where this Vivi of yours has gone."

Why thank you.