Aeliana, Thalion, and Elaria all went still.
For a long heartbeat, none of them spoke—just staring at Alex as if he had casually mentioned the name of a buried god.
Thalion recovered first.
"How do you know about it?" he asked quietly, his gaze sharpening.
In his mind, Alex smiled.
'Nailed it,' he thought. 'Looks like my guess was right. Even the royal family really does have it. And even though the alchemy recipe to produce it was lost long ago… maybe it can still work as a catalyst to remove the other curses on my physique and bloodline.'
He met Thalion's eyes.
"How I know," Alex said aloud, "doesn't matter to you. What matters is that I want it—and you have it."
Thalion glanced toward Aeliana.
She met his gaze and gave a small nod and a gentle smile.
He sighed. "Fine," he said. "Come with me."
"I want to have breakfast first," Alex replied instantly.
Elaria exhaled loudly. "Didn't you already order a bunch of things to eat while you were hiding inside that room?"
