Walking upstairs, the three headed through the halls for a moment before coming to a large door.
Straightening his collar and clearing his throat, the butler reached up and gently knocked on the door three times exactly.
"Come in." A delicate voice said, almost sounding like a woman's.
Opening the door, Minos and Tylia immediately noticed the dainty man lying weakly on the bed.
His face was incredibly beautiful, enough to put most women to shame, and his skin was incredibly pale, likely due to his lifelong sickness.
He looked like he was made of porcelain, and he seemed equally as fragile, as if a rough enough fall could shatter him.
"You must be the doctor Uncle Setsu told me about, come, have a seat." Suki said with a gentle smile, his words as soft as he was.
"You can call me Minos, and this is my partner, Tylia. It's a pleasure to meet you." Minos said, though Tylia still seemed too absorbed in his beauty to say anything.
"The pleasures all mine. Now tell me, is it true that you can heal me?"
"I don't dare make any guarantees, but what I can say confidently is that if I can't, it's unlikely anyone else can."
"Oh? That's quite the arrogant assurance, but I appreciate it. However, before we get to that, tell me, why are you really here?" Suki asked, clearly not the naive type.
"Isn't it obvious?" Minos smiled, his nine tails moving rhythmically behind him.
"Hmm? You're also here for the inheritance battle? Interesting… I thought I was privy to all competitors, however I've never seen your face before."
"Danger comes from the dark."
"Haha, maybe you'll surprise everyone then." Suki said, returning the smile.
"So I suppose you're here for support? But I'm afraid you've come to the wrong person, there's not much I can offer you." Suki continued.
"I don't believe that." Minos replied gently yet firmly, as if he was already confident that Suki was hiding something.
"Huh? Why would I lie?"
"Fear, anxiety, worry. In your situation, I would lie too, after all there's no benefit in being truthful."
"... Even if that was true, why would I help you? You mustn't forget you're a stranger to me."
"You're wrong, I'm no stranger, in fact I'm the only friend you may ever have."
"Friend?" Suki replied curiously, sitting up slightly from his laid down position.
"Despite your frail body, I can see the fire burning inside you. You and I, we're no different, we both long for power and influence."
"Others may think your desperate pursuit for health is just another way of seeking comfort, but I don't see that, in fact I see the complete opposite."
"I see a man desperate to compete, to prove his adversaries wrong, and to show the world once and for all that he's more than just a pretty face."
"Tell me Suki, do I see wrong?"
"..." Hearing his words, Suki just went silent, not sure what to say.
He wanted to lie and say that Minos was completely wrong, but everytime the words were about to leave his lips, he couldn't help but swallow them back down.
It was as if his heart was shouting at him, begging him to tell the truth, for this may be his last chance to turn things around.
"You've got good eyes…" He said after a moment of contemplation, finally being honest for the first time in his life.
After nearly three decades of putting on a performance, he'd have thought by now that no one could see through him, but Minos shattered his mask with only a few words.
But did it even matter? The main reason his brothers ignored him was because of his sickness, not his ambition, that was irrelevant to them.
After all, no matter how much he desired to be the next king, if he didn't have the strength to support his dreams, it was all for nothing.
"I can tell what you're thinking. 'What do my ambitions matter if I don't have the strength to make them reality.' Am I right?"
"... Since you're so sharp, tell me, what should I do?"
"Isn't it simple? Since you can't make your dreams reality, find someone who can."
"So that's where you come in, huh?" Suki scoffed, before speaking again.
"Why should I trust you? Let's say in the very unlikely situation you manage to beat my brothers, what's stopping you from just getting rid of me as well?"
"Yourself." Minos smiled.
"Me? What do you mean…?"
"What if I told you your sickness wasn't necessarily a bad thing."
"Huh? I'd probably toss you out for wasting my time."
"Let me finish. You must be aware of the so-called Blessed, people with special physiques."
"Who isn't aware? Multiple of my brothers are Blessed, so I even have first hand experience how fortunate they are…" Suki replied, his voice slightly envious.
He was born sick and weak, whereas those brothers were born far above others, the gap so wide that it nearly drove him crazy at times.
"What if I told you you may be one of them?"
"I would ask you what kind of Blessed Physique curses one's body rather than 'blessing' it?" Suki answered.
"Have you ever heard of the Yin Physique?" Minos asked.
"Yin Physique? Doesn't that only appear in women?"
"Normally, but exceptions always exist. While I'm not certain yet, I think you may have the Sky-Grade Yin Physique."
"Sky-Grade! Are you certain!" Suki asked with shock, nearly jumping from his bed.
Human Grade was rare enough, as for Earth-Grade, that was already enough to be the core of any power.
As for Sky-Grade? In a world where Heaven Grade was so rare that it practically didn't exist, Sky-Grade was king, the patriarchs and elders of those supreme sects, with enough power and influence to send shocks throughout the world with a single step.
Every power was desperate to obtain a Sky-Grade Blessed, and they would invest their entire fortunes into cultivating them, making their paths an incredibly easy one.
If he was a Sky-Grade, that would change absolutely everything! He'd no longer have to submit to his brothers, rather they would be the ones submitting to him!
"Like I said, no guarantees, but it would explain your appearance."
"My appearance?"
"It's well known that all Blessed with the Yin Physique are incredibly beautiful, the most beautiful women on the nine continents often have this physique."
"Not to mention your skin, which is still as smooth as a babies despite your age. It's as if you haven't aged a day past 18, despite being a mortal."
"Huh… I have always wondered about that." Suki said, also realizing a few other quirks about himself that only made sense now that he applied the Yin Physique on himself.
"But then why am I so sick? All those women with the Yin Physiques are phoenixes high above the heavens, whereas I'm…" Suki asked.
"That's to be expected, after all, you're a man at the end of the day. Your innate yang energy is in conflict with the yin energy of your physique, which may be what is causing your sickness."
"Yang energy? Then how do I fix it?"
"You could cultivate a strong yang technique, one powerful enough to overwhelm your yin energy, but I wouldn't recommend that since it would weaken your physique."
"Instead, the best option would be to find a yin yang cultivation technique, that way you can use both these energies in conjunction, using one to strengthen the other."
"This won't only strengthen your weak yang energy, but it will also strengthen your physique, allowing you to be much stronger than conventional Yin Physique holders."
"It may even be possible for you to obtain the Heaven Grade Yin-Yang Physique if the circumstances are right, but I don't dare make any promises on that front."
"Heaven Grade!" Suki said excitedly, only barely managing to calm himself back down after a few seconds.
"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Uncle Setsu, do I have any yin yang based cultivation techniques?" Suki asked.
"In your personal library? I'm afraid not, but the royal library may have one."
"Then what are we waiting for, let's head off!" Suki shouted, already seeing a new future for himself.
"Oh, I nearly forgot about you two… The royal library is off limits for nonroyals, so you guys can just wait here, but feel free to browse my library. While it's incomparable to the royal one, I've still got quite the collection." Suki said before running off.
Of course it wasn't really running, more like limping with the support of his Uncle Setsu, but Minos and Tylia didn't say anything, just waving goodbye to them.
It was only after the two disappeared did Tylia finally turn towards Minos, asking him the question she had been holding back the entire conversation.