Having ensured Elvys was no longer in immediate danger, Asland could no longer tolerate his flagrant neglect of duty. So, under the cover of night, he dispatched someone to deliver a towering stack of official documents.
Elvys relocated his desk across from Ina, who was studying magic with Vilanthe.
One day, as Ina prepared Vilanthe's evening lessons as usual, she abruptly asked, "Elvys, you've lived with this curse for two hundred years. Tell me about the methods you've tried and failed with, so I don't repeat your mistakes."
Elvys froze, his pen pausing over the paper.
Ina, oblivious to his discomfort, continued, "Have you sought out other Bloodkind? Consulted books related to the curse? Employed someone to concoct a potion that could counteract the curse?"
Elvys remained silent. Truthfully, he was weary of his prolonged existence and did not see any necessity to lift the curse. He had merely been delaying the inevitable.
A thought suddenly flashed in Ina's mind. Elvys had indeed requested Professor Derick to research some potions, but they were not for saving lives—they were for ending them.
Those research topics included "Methods to Reduce Drug Resistance in High Bloodkind" and "Studies on Potions that Pollute Bloodkind's Source of Magic."
She gloomily said, "Aren't we fortunate Professor Derick didn't make any breakthroughs? Or were you planning to leave this world you find so detestable, alone?"
Elvys felt misunderstood—he had no intention of departing "alone."
"If a potion powerful enough to affect the high Bloodkind ever surfaced, I would ensure all of Safi's Bloodkind would accompany me."
Ina moved to stand before Elvys, looking down at him, "You realize you're wrong, don't you?"
Elvys nodded earnestly, "Yes, I was wrong."
Ina scoffed, "For that, your punishment is that you're only allowed to eat rice at lunch today—no vegetables."
Lunch was stir-fried pork with chili, braised eggplant, and three-cup chicken. Having spent the morning reading books in the Star Academy's library, Vilanthe was ravenous. Sitting down, she exclaimed, "What a bountiful meal!" It was far better than the meals at the Orlan court where, in order to eat gracefully, the dishes were generally dry—fried cod pieces, white bread, blanched lettuce, and frequent fasting. As a princess, her meals were not much better than those of a noblewoman's handmaidens.
Therefore, Ina especially loved meals like this, full to the brim with colorful and appealing food. Each person had a bowl of rice before them, sharing dishes around the table—it felt like a family gathering.
As soon as Ina began to eat, Vilanthe immediately reached for the three-cup chicken. It wasn't a gourmet dish, but its tender texture and salty, aromatic sauce made it perfect with rice. After a few bites, she picked up a piece of the stir-fried pork.
The meat was fatty pork belly, and frying it gave off a savory aroma that mixed with the spicy flavor, awakening the taste buds.
Halfway through, Vilanthe noticed something odd. She looked at Elvys, puzzled, "Don't you like any of these dishes?"
Elvys had just a bowl of rice before him, the grains pure and untouched—he hadn't had a single bite of any dish.
Elvys gazed mournfully at his rice bowl, preparing to feign sympathy. Seeing the undercurrents between Ina and Elvys, Vilanthe suddenly understood, "I take back what I said earlier. I didn't say anything, and I'm not curious at all."
Elvys, whose pity party had been prematurely interrupted, sat silent.
With a cold huff, Ina suddenly stood up, brought a large bowl from the side, and ladled a spoonful of soup into Elvys' bowl.
If he wasn't allowed vegetables, he could have rice soaked in fish soup!
The soup, made from fresh fish, was a creamy white. It didn't require any special seasoning, its natural taste was rich and savory. The soft rice collided with the aromatic fish soup, each tiny pore in the grains filling with broth.
As Elvys spooned the soaked rice into his mouth, his eyes softened.
The pleasant mood didn't last long, as Ina hadn't forgotten her mission to find a solution to the curse. She decided to attack the problem from two fronts.
"Vilanthe, while you're reading at the library, keep an eye out for any related information," she said.
Vilanthe, mouth full of rice, nodded to show she understood.
"Secondly, we should focus on the Bloodkind, especially clues that might be left in the Duke of Night Tomb's castle."
Elvys' expression shifted, "I burned the Night Tomb Castle down..."
Ina turned to face him, but before he could say anything, Elvys quickly raised his hands in surrender, "I won't eat vegetables tonight, either."
———
Speaking of Bloodkind, Ina thought of Knox. He had provoked her in the restaurant, destroying tables and crockery, and leaving Elvys unconscious. She hadn't demanded compensation yet.
With this in mind, Ina asked Elvys, "Do you have a map of the empire? I need to go to Safi."
Elvys looked surprised but managed to find a map for her, "You're going to find Knox? He might not be in Safi."
"It doesn't matter whether he's there or not, I'm going for compensation," Ina responded with indifference.
"I'll accompany you then."
Without hesitation, Ina rejected the offer, "I'm not taking you. You fly too slowly."
———
Ina traced her fingertips across the map. Like Neranka, Safi was a port city and not too far away, at least much closer than the distance from the Imperial City to Safi.
Ina first teleported to the Neranka branch, intending to fly from there to Safi.
The weather that day was grim, the sky a shade of dark gray, with clouds hanging so low they seemed within reach. A storm was brewing, and the port workers were moving swiftly—hauling cargo, covering goods with tarpaulins—they looked like a scurrying horde of marching ants.
To avoid causing panic, Ina used a levitation spell to ascend above the clouds, ensuring no one below could see her through the thick cloud cover before comfortably transforming into her dragon form.
Above the gloomy clouds, radiant sunshine prevailed. Emerging from the dark cloud cover, the view was suddenly brilliant—a sea of snow-white clouds against a deep blue sky, a breathtaking sight, though it made discerning direction challenging.
Ina had to dig out a compass from her backpack and refer to the map to confirm the direction to Safi. In such high skies, occasionally other avian monsters flew by. From afar, they saw a large black bird acting strangely, holding a piece of paper, which left them puzzled.
"That bird looks like a person!"
As they got closer to it, they realized it wasn't a bird at all—it was a black dragon!
The avian monsters immediately veered away, diving as low as they could. One unlucky bird, whose eyesight wasn't the best, got too close and couldn't brake in time, only to have its tail grabbed by Ina.
The compass wasn't reliable, so she might as well have a living one.
With a living compass, Ina could finally put down the map. The monster guiding her could accurately discern directions, even above the cloud layer where the ground was completely obscured. It could even estimate the distance to their destination.
Upon reaching Safi, Ina released the bird, "Thanks for your help. You can go now."
The bird, relieved to have escaped death, spread its wings without hesitation and disappeared from sight within a few breaths.
Once again assuming human form, Ina stealthily infiltrated Knox's castle.
The place was possibly heavily guarded. When Knox was absent, other senior Bloodkind members maintained a watchful presence, and patrolling guards didn't follow a predictable pattern—there were no blind spots.
However, in the face of absolute power, even the thickest of walls could be easily pierced like a thin sheet of paper, and mere numbers were meaningless.
Fortunately, Ina didn't intend to breach the castle. She merely infiltrated it in search of Knox's secret treasure vault.
The first thing she found was a room dedicated to storing blood. Inside, various containers made from crystals, gold, and other ores held blood from unknown creatures. Many of them exhibited distinctly non-human traits, and Ina even saw deep blue and pale green fluids.
Honestly, Ina found it a bit disgusting. Thankfully, Elvys didn't drink blood.
She didn't damage any facilities here and quietly left. She could indeed contaminate all the blood, but it wouldn't make any difference. Knox could easily send his men out to hunt for more precious blood, after all, he wasn't the one getting hurt.
Ina then sneaked into another secret room, this time she found the right place. Exquisite jewelry and antique pieces were neatly arranged. The floor was a large smooth marble slab, into which grooves were carved by skilled craftsmen and filled with pure gold, forming Knox's family crest. The walls were embedded with various amethysts, tanzanites, and apatites. These gems were only initially cut and then embedded into the walls without further crafting.
Even though Ina could see in the dark, she couldn't resist casting a light spell. The room immediately turned into a sparkling cave. Every spot the light touched shimmered with the glow of precious metals—gold-red, dark silver, extravagant purple, deep emerald. These gems embedded in the gray-black walls made the room look like a multicolored lake under the moonlight, or a sky ablaze with stars. If a commoner were to enter at this moment, they might get dazzled by the radiant glow of the gems.
Ina wasn't blinded. Instead, she stared intently at these captivating treasures. With a wave of her hand, dozens of mechanical bees silently rose behind her. She conjured ten empty space rings, hung them on the bees' claws, and instructed, "Handle with care. Leave nothing behind!"
The bees dispersed in response, first emptying the separately displayed collections, followed by the shelves. When the room was bare, Ina directed the mechanical bees to excavate the gems from the walls.
Before leaving, Ina glanced at the gold infused in the floor, not bothered by its emblematic shape, "A few of you, over there. A few over here as well. All these on the ground—pry them up and take them with you!"
———
During Mrs. Lowen's banquet, Knox received a letter from his butler in Safi. The tone was tragic, "Treasury No.5 was completely robbed. A large number of castle archives were stolen. A note was found on the scene that read, 'Some compensation.'"
The butler still retained a bit of sanity and refrained from stating the undignified but true details like, "The floor tiles were pried off," "The walls are full of holes," and "Tablecloths were taken."
Knox immediately remembered Ina's words to him, "I'll personally retrieve the compensation for damaging the restaurant's facilities."
Instead of being angry, he chuckled, his finger tracing the rim of his wine glass, "Indeed, something a black dragon would do."
Suddenly, he yearned more to taste dragon blood.