Inside the silent palace hall, Kazien realized that he truly had no other choice. He could not hide his secret any longer from the king. All the concrete evidence was right before their eyes.
The youthful faces of his parents and also Duke Hubert Guartav were physical facts that could no longer be refuted with any shallow excuses.
The silvery-white-haired youth looked straight at King Nalvon, meeting the ruler's demanding gaze with extraordinary calmness.
"That is because they drank my blood, Your Majesty." Kazien confessed honestly, his voice flowing calmly in the tense air of the hall. "It is my blood that made them young again. Do you want it too?"
"No!" King Nalvon answered quickly and firmly, even before the offer fully finished echoing. "If you indeed want to give your blood, just give it to Felix! I prefer to live normally and grow old like humans in general. Besides, the entire kingdom's population would surely be in an uproar and suspicious if their aged king suddenly became young again instantly."
Hearing the refusal as well as the implied permission from King Nalvon for his son, Kazien did not force it. He nodded slowly.
Without saying much, Kazien focused his mana. Using his creation magic, a small, clear glass bottle slowly formed out of thin air and fell into his palm.
Then, with a very casual movement, he slashed his own palm until it bled. Fresh red blood began to drip, and Kazien carefully poured it into the glass bottle.
After the bottle was filled to about a quarter, the wound on Kazien's palm closed instantly without a trace, then he handed the bottle containing his blood to Felix, who was sitting not far from him.
"If you drink it, your body will later feel excruciating pain." Kazien warned in a serious tone as he offered the bottle. "But in return, aside from your physical appearance remaining youthful, you will also become much stronger than the limits of normal humans."
Felix accepted the glass bottle, feeling a strange warmth radiating from the liquid inside it. He stared at the blood for a moment, then turned to look at Kazien.
"Did Erica drink your blood too?" Felix suddenly asked, his voice sounding full of consideration.
Kazien only answered the question with a slow nod.
Without the slightest hesitation, the prince opened the glass bottle's cap and directly downed Kazien's blood until not a single drop remained after hearing that answer.
Thump!
Just a few seconds after the liquid passed his throat, a hard beat struck Felix's chest.
A suffocating feeling as if his heart and chest were going to explode immediately seized him. Felix reflexively gripped his chest tightly, slumping from the back of his chair because he felt such agonizing pain down to his bone marrow.
"Ugh...." Felix groaned, his teeth clenched tightly holding back the scream caught in his throat. Cold sweat instantly flooded his face.
"Just endure it, Felix." Kazien said in a calm tone, trying to strengthen his childhood friend. "The pain remodeling your body will only last for a few minutes."
This is crazy! Felix screamed in his heart, his eyes shut tightly. The pain truly makes my chest feel like it wants to explode from the inside!
The air around Felix felt heavy while the transformation process took place. Everyone at the round table could only watch with bated breath.
Until a few moments later, the immense pain that felt as if it were crushing Felix's body finally disappeared completely, replaced by a light sensation and overflowing power.
"Hah... hah... hah..." Felix panted, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He wiped the sweat on his face, feeling incredibly relieved that the torment was gone.
"Your face is really cute when you're panting like that." Kazien suddenly praised in a blunt tone, resting his cheek on his hand while looking at Felix.
That highly out-of-context praise successfully made Felix choke on his own breath. He immediately looked up to stare at the silvery-white-haired youth with wide eyes.
"You... you actually praised someone else's face with words like that in front of your three fiancés?!" Felix exclaimed in shock, completely unable to believe that his childhood friend was acting so recklessly in a situation like this.
Felix reflexively glanced at Alvin, Allen, and Arken who were sitting near Kazien, but the three youths merely remained silent with flat expressions, not looking angry or jealous at all.
"I was just speaking honestly, according to what I saw." Kazien answered defensively with a relaxed smile. "Besides, my three fiancés already understand my character very well."
Ending his teasing of Felix, Kazien shifted his gaze back to King Nalvon, who had been observing the drastic changes in his son all this time.
"Are you truly sure you want to refuse it, Your Majesty?" Kazien asked once again, this time his voice sounding much deeper and more serious. "Don't you already know and realize that in the future, a great disaster will occur in this world? I personally want you to help me overcome that disaster together with Felix. And to do that, you need adequate strength."
King Nalvon fell stiffly silent. The teacup in his hand remained untouched. His brain spun quickly, thinking of all the possibilities that would happen in the future, both if he drank Kazien's blood, and if he insisted on facing it with a mortal body without drinking the immortal human's blood at all.
After the room had been enveloped in silence for a long time by the king's thoughts, he finally let out a long sigh and made an absolute decision.
"Alright... I will drink your blood." King Nalvon said, looking at Kazien with a gaze full of determination. "But, before that, could you provide two more bottles containing your blood for my wife and my daughter?"
"With pleasure, Your Majesty." Kazien answered unburdened yet maintaining his politeness.
Kazien moved his hand again. Using his creation magic, three empty glass bottles were created once more on the table. He slashed his palm again, and let the dripping blood fill the three glass bottles he had made one by one.
As soon as the three bottles were filled to exactly a quarter of their size, Kazien's wound closed again. He slid the three bottles in front of the King.
The three bottles containing Kazien's blood were now in front of him. King Nalvon took one bottle, then stared for a moment at the thick red blood inside it.
Not wanting to waste time just for a moment of doubt, the King opened its cap and downed all the blood inside the bottle until nothing remained.
Thump!
The exact same instant pain that Felix experienced earlier was now being felt by the King. King Nalvon groaned in pain while holding his chest tightly, the veins on his neck bulging as he endured the immense torment.
So is this the torment that Elgard, Larina, and also Hubert felt after drinking his blood? King Nalvon thought while squeezing the edge of the table to withstand the pain. It feels like my heart is going to explode from its place, my entire bones and skin feel crushed and reshaped from the beginning.
The torment felt very long for the king, but in reality, it only lasted for a few minutes.
Slowly, the King's panting breath began to steady after the agonizing pain completely subsided. King Nalvon let out a long sigh laden with relief while lowering his face.
Amazing...! King Nalvon praised in amazement in his heart, feeling a very pure flow of energy in every stream of his blood. Every cell in my body is filled with overflowing power.
As soon as the King slowly raised his face and opened his eyes that now radiated vitality, Felix, who was sitting not far from him, immediately held his breath.
The prince was incredibly shocked to see the transformation that occurred in his father. The wrinkles on the king's face had vanished and his posture returned to being upright like a youth in his golden age.
"Father... you are truly young again!" Felix exclaimed in amazement, his eyes widening broadly, feeling as if he were trapped inside a nonsensical dream.