“That’s it?” Lith was flabbergasted.
“Don’t sell it short. You would become a member of the Royal family, give them heirs, and help them with whatever business they need. The Crown knows that you are a Divine Beast that would outlive them all.
“If you accept their offer, you will be a member of the Court until Peonia’s natural death with all that comes with it. As long as you are discreet and don’t humiliate the Crown, you would be allowed to have other relationships.” She said,
Lith mulled over her words for a while. The second option was a no-go since it would mean submitting to a subjective judgment that could keep him chained for an indefinite time.
The first had the charm to be easy. Just disclosing the existence of Spirit Magic to Royal Forgemasters would be enough to become a Magus. Yet the idea of sharing his spells and research made Lith’s skin crawl.
The last option was quite alluring as well.
Peonia was an intelligent, attractive woman and a powerful mage. Marrying her would have meant giving his parents all the protection they needed and Solus the time she needed to grow.
On top of that, being an arranged marriage there was no need to be faithful. He would keep dating in the Awakened community and with a bit of luck, maybe find someone.
On the other hand, Lith didn’t like the idea of becoming a puppet of the Crown nor that his children would suffer the same fate.
“You don’t have to reply now. This was just a formal meeting on the Kingdom’s behalf to express its interest in your return and present you with options. Is there anything you have to ask me?” Jirni said.
“What if I don’t come back at all?” He asked.
“Your houses will be sold, the mine will belong to the Kingdom, and everything magical you left behind will be thoroughly studied and patented by the Royal Forgemasters.” She replied.
“Until we hear your answer, you have my word that none of your creations will be examined. Anything else?”
“No.” Lith shook his head.
“Perfect.” Jirni’s uniform shapeshifted into comfortable adventurer clothes, linen pants and a shirt. “Then allow me to introduce myself again. I’m Jirni Ernas, a friend of the Verhen family.”
“Nice to see a friendly face, Jirni.” Lith smiled and shook her hand.
She pulled him close in an embrace.
“I’m so sorry for what happened to Raaz. How is he now? His condition looked terrible in the hologram.”
“Dad has made a perfect recovery in the body, but his mind is unwell. He can use a bit of company.” Lith tried to lead Jirni out of the room but she stopped him.
“Not now. There are some things we need to discuss privately first. Lith, be honest with me. Are you human?”
“Not anymore.” He shook his head. “I was when we first met, but then things changed as I reached adulthood.”
“That’s what I thought. Your body language and your mass were all wrong for a human when I hugged you.” At those words, Lith rose his eyebrows in surprise.
“It did seem out of character.”
“Please, before asking questions, I always have answers ready.” She scoffed, feeling insulted. “What are you exactly?”
There was no judgment or spite in her voice, only curiosity.
“A Tiamat. The fusion between a human, a Dragon, and a Phoenix.” He decided to keep his Abomination side a secret.
“Interesting.” She nodded. “Did you get the best or the worst of the two worlds?”
“I got a brand-new world.” He sighed, going back to his chair.
“Do you have Origin Flames? Because my poor Orion would gladly become your frequent customer. You have no idea how expensive that stuff is.” She chuckled, yet seeing Lith’s face darkening, Jirni remembered how dire his situation was.
“I’m sorry. I understand that between what happened to your father and your identity being exposed to the whole Kingdom this is no laughing matter to you. I meant no offense, I’m just built that way.
“When I see a business opportunity, I have to seize it.”
“You and me both.” Lith chuckled back, thinking how similar he and Jirni were.
He wondered how things would have changed if he were born in the Ernas household. Jirni wouldn’t have given him the love and care Elina did, but between her training and the Ernas’ legacy, he would have been unstoppable.
He lost himself in that fantasy for a while before he saw a business opportunity and felt the urge to seize it.
“Did you say that Orion uses Origin Flames? How so?” Lith asked. “I’m no expert, but I know how hard it is to purify something without damaging the materials and Orion is no Dragon.”
“It’s actually pretty easy.” Jirni casually shrugged. “The first purchase is the most expensive because the Emperor Beast also has to sell you something like this.”
She put a huge flask on the table that looked made of glass but at Lith’s Life Vision it shone like a lightbulb.
“The Beast breathes the Flames in here and somehow, when my husband removes the stopper, they purify their target without causing any collateral damage. That’s because we only buy them from a very skillful creature.
“We tried buying cheaper Flames but either the purification process was incomplete or part of them would go wild and damage Orion’s lab, if not even his ingredients. After losing a small fortune that way, now he only buys the good stuff.”
She put another flask on the table, but this one was full to the brim with bright violet Origin Flames. Lith looked at the violet fire in awe as it danced inside the sealed vessel despite the lack of fresh air.
“How nice of you to bring them with you on a diplomatic mission. Were you expecting trouble?” Lith smirked, understanding the game they were playing.
“No. I just imagined that a business opportunity would present itself and I needed to check if we can both profit from it.” She said with a sly smile, offering him to examine the two flasks.
Lith took one of them in each hand and used Demon Grasp to understand how they worked. He expected them to be something simple, like a dimensional storing device, but they were so much more.
‘Fuck me sideways! These things are the closest thing to an alchemical Spirit Item I’ve ever seen. The flask’s enchantments allow the Flames to retain the willpower of their caster and purify their target.’ Lith thought.
‘At the same time, they can also bear the imprint of the buyer so that they are the only ones who can open the flask and use their own willpower to direct the Flames. I have no real use for such things, but their enchantments are one of the pieces of the puzzle I lacked for my Golems.’
A warm smile appeared on his face seeing the first ray of light after so many dark days.
“Do you mind if I keep the empty flask?” Without Solus and the Eyes there was no way for Lith to study such a complex device in a short time.
Besides, it was clear that the development was too convenient to be just a coincidence.
