Kai changed into a set of clothes that had obviously been worn before. It had stains and was terribly wrinkled. Like it had been stuffed at the bottom of the closet, sworn to never be worn again.
It seemed like it belonged to Claude. Judging by how the clothes perfectly represented his immature personality. And how he chose the worst set.
Lithia seemed to have gotten a break from Claude as she entered the guest room alone. With a serious look on her face.
"Who are you?"
Kai knew this question was going to come sooner or later. He sat on the plain bed provided and smiled. "You might want to take a seat."
Luar climbed onto the bed and occupied more than half of the area. It was also ready for a long and rather lengthy conversation.
"I'm Lithia Argenetia." She introduced herself while she took a seat on one of the chairs. It was a risky move to introduce who she actually was to a random person that Luar took back home. But..she felt the need.
"I'm Kai." He gulped. "Kai Whitlock."
Lithia's eyes widened in shock. Wasn't he announced dead several years ago? "You can't be. Kai Whitlock is dead."
"If he is. Why am I sitting here talking to you?" Kai said with a smile. "It was all a fake. My mother planned my fake death in order to sell me off. Such a great mother figure, wasn't she?"
The way the child was smiling while saying all this. It was eerie.
"Victoria has always been that type of person." Lithia stated as she scratched her chin. She had remembered seeing Victoria when she was younger. She hadn't changed one bit it seemed.
"I stayed with Lord Bellaire for 6 years. And Luar rescued me out of that ditch." Kai looked at the black panther beside him. "I killed Lord Bellaire." He added on.
This statement shocked Lithia. A child like him committed a crime? And such a big one?
The current Lord Bellaire was infamous for being promiscuous. Especially towards young children.
No one stopped him due to his authority and riches. His power was also nothing to laugh about.
Lithia was shocked the news of Lord Bellaire's death hadn't reached her ears yet. The people in that estate must have covered it up fairly well.
"I will not be branded as a murderer. Rest assured." Kai was saying surprising things one after another.
"How can you be so sure?" Lithia was internally panicking but she couldn't let it drown out her voice. She must remain calm.
"My father would clean up after me. He wouldn't want Victoria knowing about me still breathing and possibly roaming around freely. If I'm right about my father then he'd probably cover up Lord Bellaire's death as the result of an assassin. And will not mention anything about me whatsoever. That way my existence will still be in question. No one unless they see me and know of my identity will be able to confirm whether I'm alive or not."
Kai spoke his mind, his words coming out fluently and well phrased. It seemed like he had planned all this right from the start. Taking advantage of every element that was presented in front of him.
The fact that his father was coming to rescue him.
The fact that he himself was marked as officially deceased.
The fact that Victoria herself wasn't sure of his state as she had cut off communication with Bellaire.
"And I made sure..that those who do know me, will keep their mouths shut." Kai wrapped up his story and fixed his buttons. "So..please let me stay here for a while."
Lithia looked at Luar. It seemed like her link had also grown quite attached to the boy and was determined to bring him here alive to live with them.
She could tell by the way the black panther had already formed a temporary link with Kai.
"I'm scared Claude will be lonely too actually. And I wouldn't mind taking in another grandson as long as he behaves himself. But..how do I know you won't betray me?"
"I would never betray someone who saved my life. I'll put my life on the line for yours. So please let me stay."
Lithia sighed and nodded. "I hope Claude will come to accept you eventually. He's a stubborn child but he's..not that bad."
Kai kept quiet and looked at Luar and back at Lithia. "You're the great sage right? Lithia..Argenetia I've seen that name in history books. You helped with the fifth war against Kiota. Your magic abilities are one of the best." He recalled when he was scrolling through history books.
"I'm glad you've heard about me. You seem quite..knowledgeable." Lithia said. Slightly embarrassed by the sudden unintentional praises. "But..what about me?"
"Do you.. think you can remove the mana that's blocking my magic powers?"
"What?" Lithia stood up. She immediately inspected the boy using her magic.
A core is ranked by its color, from weakest to strongest, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, black, grey, white and lastly silver. These colors have 3 stages each, gas, molten and solid, ranked in order from the weakest to strongest state.
The boy had a red core in its gas state, it is the weakest core stage.
It wasn't surprising as people normally awaken their core around the age of 12.
But what was strange was that the boy's flow of mana had been blocked by someone else's mana. It roamed freely around his body like a parasite.
"Whose mana is that?" Lithia asked. She has heard of these occurrences happening but never thought she'd see it for herself.
"Lord Bellaire. It's his." Kai said, gnashing his teeth and looking away. He could still remember how it happened. He felt excruciating pain for multiple days after that. His entire body burnt up and he got a high fever.
Everybody has a different type of mana. It's almost like fingerprints. They flow differently, they move differently and everything that mana can be identified by.
Putting your mana into someone else forcefully is a way to block out their powers by overwhelming theirs with yours. It only works when the receiver is extremely weak and has not trained their core.
"That cruel.." Lithia stopped herself. "I can try to remove it but you will at least be bedridden for a few days. I can sense an abundant amount of his mana in you. Since it can't go out by itself, it lays within and disrupts your whole magic system."
Kai got on his knees. And with a determined look on his face. "Please help me." He begged.
Lithia immediately pulled the boy up. She felt bad for making such a young child beg for a favour as if it was his mistake in the first place.
"I'll heal you first. And you should have a meal too. Then I'll get rid of that mana. Because afterwards, you'll often be in a state of deep sleep." Lithia said. Though she had never done this before, she had heard about it from her friends.
While Kai eats and recovers in a few hours, Lithia will prepare and read up on necessary precautions and instructions. She will remove the trace that the revolting Bellaire left behind.