"Are you ready to have your level tested?" Elias asked, settling into a deep, comfortable wingback armchair.
"Do you truly want to know my level?" Caelum countered, leaning casually against the backrest of the chair.
"Of course, I do," Elias replied, looking at Caelum with a soft, affectionate smile. "You haven't forgotten the promise you made five months ago, have you?" he asked, his expression quickly hardening into a glare, as if Caelum had just confessed to a serious offense.
Isolde, who was seated elegantly on a plush couch nearby, smiled gently. She observed her son, noticing how profoundly he had changed in the brief five months he had spent with Caelum. She felt a deep sense of gratitude that Caelum had remained steadfastly by Elias's side, enduring the agonizing ordeal the young man faced every single night.
"Why would I, Your Highness?" Caelum asked, a hint of playful innocence in his voice. "I always remember every single word I promise you," he said, giving Elias a gentle smile. Elias's face flushed instantly, a deep crimson spreading across his cheeks.
"Shut up," Elias whispered, his eyes wide with a mixture of embarrassment and warmth.
A precise, rhythmic knock sounded at the door, and two individuals entered the room. "We are here to check the levels of His Highness Elias and Mr. Valtheron," one of them announced with a formal tone.
"We are from the Mage Division, and the sphere we are carrying is calibrated only to display the level," the other explained, stepping forward slightly. "Unlike the noble families, who often insist on checking both magic types and levels, we only need to check the level, since you are already aware of your specific magic type."
Elias offered a brief, affirmative nod.
The polished sphere, the instrument for the level check, was carefully placed onto the small, antique tea table. When told that the device was prepared, Elias leaned forward slightly and placed his hand directly onto the cool surface of the sphere.
"Level sixty-five," the first person stated, his voice ringing out clearly. "Congratulations, Your Highness," he added, bowing his head respectfully.
Elias turned his expectant gaze toward Caelum, who responded with a quiet sigh before resting his own hand upon the sphere.
"Level eighty," the second person announced, his eyes widening slightly with interest.
"Remove the seals and try again," Elias urged, his focus intense as he stared at Caelum.
Caelum sighed again, a deeper, more resigned sound this time. He meticulously slipped the rings from his fingers, placing them on the table before once more laying his hand on the sphere.
Both of the attending mages gasped audibly, their professional composure momentarily shattered. "Level one hundred," they stammered out, their eyes fixed on the illuminated sphere.
Elias was staring at Caelum with an expression of pure awe, as if Caelum were a priceless, rediscovered treasure. "I am so incredibly glad I asked you to be mine first," he declared, his voice filled with a profound emotion.
Caelum smiled faintly. 'That was a surprisingly good line,' he thought to himself, his mind acknowledging Elias's romantic gesture. He focused, using his ice magic internally to meticulously regulate his body temperature, keeping it from rising in response to the sudden warmth he felt. 'And why have I started developing romantic feelings for him now?' he asked himself in a moment of genuine confusion. 'Didn't I still think of him as a child just four months ago?'
Caelum picked up his rings and carefully slid them back onto his fingers, their presence instantly muffling his power.
"Why do you wear those rings, Caelum?" Isolde asked, her voice soft with curiosity.
"To keep his family from finding his true power," Elias answered quickly, speaking on Caelum's behalf. Caelum gave him a fleeting, gentle smile in acknowledgment. Elias waited patiently for the mages to exit the room, then turned to his mother. "Does Father know that Caelum has been helping me with the poison?" he inquired, his voice dropping to a confidential whisper.
Isolde slowly shook her head, her expression serious.
"Please keep this information away from him," Elias pleaded. "I do not want Caelum to find himself in a precarious situation when the news eventually becomes public."
"I would not mind people knowing after we graduate from the academy," Caelum offered quietly.
"We need to survive until then for that to happen," Elias muttered darkly, a cynical edge to his voice.
"Excuse me?" Caelum glared at Elias, his eyes narrowing into a death stare that promised retribution. "Your Highness, how many times have I told you to never speak about dying?" he demanded, maintaining his fierce glare.
Elias immediately paled under the intensity of the look, a reaction that caused Isolde to laugh heartily. "Mother!" Elias exclaimed, feeling profoundly affronted. "You are supposed to take my side in this!"
"I always take the side of the person who desperately wants you to live, my dear," Isolde replied, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Since Caelum is simply putting my own thoughts into articulate words, I will wholeheartedly support him."
Elias crossed his arms tightly over his chest and began grumbling under his breath about the blatant unfairness he perceived in his life.
"I heard that His Majesty, your father, will be visiting Emerald Manor tonight," Isolde mentioned after a comfortable lull in the conversation.
"Should we leave now?" Caelum asked, his attention drawn to the noticeable tension that was suddenly radiating from Elias.
Elias slowly shook his head. Then, with a sudden, alarming change, his breathing became shallow and labored. "Caelum," he whispered urgently. In a flash, Caelum was by his side. "The poison," Elias choked out.
Caelum gripped his hand firmly, and in the next moment, Elias teleported them both directly into his private bedroom within the manor. "The table?" Caelum questioned, his voice calm and focused.
Elias nodded, his movements quick and desperate as he struggled to remove his trousers and undergarments.
Caelum swiftly discarded his own trousers and undergarments, then turned and braced himself on the table, creating the necessary posture for Elias. "Why did the poison suddenly become so much stronger this time?" he asked, his voice strained with concern.
Elias shook his head, unable to articulate an answer, as he urgently pushed himself into Caelum. "I am so sorry," he gasped out. "It hurts agonizingly without your healing magic."
"Do not worry about it," Caelum assured Elias, his voice a steady comfort. "And honestly, it doesn't hurt me nearly as much anymore," he admitted, simultaneously channeling his healing magic into Elias, consciously sending a slightly greater amount than his usual dose.
Elias nodded, finally fully seated inside Caelum. "This definitely helps," he said, a genuine, soft smile finally gracing his face.
"That is good to hear," Caelum murmured in response.
Caelum kept himself braced on the table, anticipating Elias's imminent climax. What he did not anticipate, however, was Elias suddenly teleporting them onto the softness of the bed at the very last second.
When he finally came inside Caelum, Elias collapsed heavily onto Caelum, who in turn sank onto the bed, landing on his stomach.
"The poison is clearly growing stronger in direct proportion to your own power increase," Caelum observed clinically, trying to regulate his breathing. "I certainly did not need to use this much of my magic on you before this episode."
"I sincerely want to find and kill that potion master and the alchemist who concocted this awful poison," Elias groaned, still lying on top of Caelum, who made no complaint about the weight of his body.
"You might be able to replicate the poison and use it on them instead," Caelum muttered thoughtfully, the idea already forming in his mind.
"Shall we?" Elias asked, his voice now laced with malicious intent. "Use the poison right back on them, I mean."
"Of course we shall," Caelum readily agreed. "Perhaps then they will finally comprehend the sheer amount of suffering they have inflicted upon you."
"And the immense amount of pain you had to endure because of it," Elias added, his voice low and serious.
Caelum smiled into the soft pillow, profoundly grateful that he was not currently facing Elias, allowing his private feelings to remain unseen.