Seeing that Astoria's state of mind had returned to normal, Rhys continued analyzing the pros and cons of the experiment for her.
"I suggest you think it over carefully before answering. Don't rush to agree to this. This experiment could be extremely dangerous," Rhys said seriously. "Even I can't predict what will happen after you drink my blood."
Astoria did not hesitate and immediately stated that she was willing to become Rhys's test subject.
"You've never harmed us, so I trust you." Astoria's words caused Rhys to fall silent for a moment.
"It's not the same. Once you drink my blood, there's no turning back. I can be certain that right now you only have a faint desire for blood, but after truly drinking it, your life may no longer be able to do without it." Rhys rarely showed hesitation. Astoria's trust instead made him feel restrained.
He even found himself regretting that Astoria was not an enemy like Aries. That way, he would have no burden when conducting his experiment.
"It's nothing. The Greengrass family has plenty of resources. Supplying me with some blood won't be a problem," Astoria said with pride. "Besides, this life of mine was given by you. For me, every extra day I live is a gain."
Seeing that Rhys was still thinking, Astoria added, "You said that I only have a faint desire for blood right now, but can you guarantee that this desire won't grow stronger in the future? Rather than losing control someday and consuming impure blood, it's better to start using yours from today."
"Alright." Rhys no longer hesitated and cut a slit across his palm.
Blood flowed from the wound, but before it could fall to the ground, Rhys controlled it, gathering it together into bead-like droplets as vivid in color as grapes.
Rhys pressed the droplets together, making them look like a small cluster of red grapes.
"I thought you would let me come closer and drink directly," Astoria said, not hiding the disappointment and desire in her eyes at all. Rhys only smiled and shook his head.
"Have some dignity, Astoria." He handed the cluster of blood grapes to her.
Astoria picked up the "grapes" and placed them into her mouth one by one. The moment they entered, they melted into liquid, and a rich metallic scent of blood instantly filled the girl's mouth.
Yet Astoria felt no discomfort. Instead, it was as if she were tasting the finest delicacy. The surging magic contained within the blood dissolved the hunger in her stomach.
Astoria quickened her pace of eating, though her movements remained elegant, without a single trace of blood at the corner of her lips.
After finishing the blood grapes, the girl's complexion once again became rosy.
Rhys looked at her expectantly.
"Do you feel anything different?"
Astoria froze for a moment, then slowly shook her head. She did not notice any obvious changes. If she had to point out something, it was that her stomach felt warm, as if she had drunk some hot water.
"Wait!" In the end, the girl still found a difference. She realized that her control over blood seemed to have improved.
"So your control over your domain has increased?"
Astoria nodded.
"That's not bad," Rhys said, quite satisfied with the result. He knew there might be further changes later, but those would not be immediate effects.
"Alright, we should head out. If we stay any longer, your sister will start to worry." As he spoke, Rhys turned and pulled open the tent flap.
When Daphne saw the two of them come out, she froze for a moment, then her gaze locked onto the ruby necklace around her sister's neck.
"Astoria has also stepped into the threshold of a domain," Rhys quietly told Daphne the good news.
"That's wonderful!" A trace of joy appeared on Daphne's face, clearly delighted by her sister's progress.
"It's blood," Astoria added, briefly explaining her domain, leaving Daphne visibly astonished.
"So you got the inspiration from last night?"
"Yes."
"That's really great… breakfast is ready. Would you like some?"
Although Astoria was no longer very hungry, she still took some garlic bread and roasted sausages.
The atmosphere at the camp was warm and harmonious. It was as if Voldemort, who had suddenly returned the previous night, did not exist at all, and he had not brought much pressure to anyone.
After all, the moment he reappeared, he was beaten badly by a mysterious visitor and fled in a panic. The aura of intimidation he had built up before had dissipated considerably.
Take his Death Eater followers as an example. On the very night of the incident, they had already gathered to discuss their future plans. Not a single person suggested taking the initiative to find their master. Everyone could see that the moment of his comeback was already fading, and no one wanted to take the huge risk of choosing sides.
As everyone enjoyed the hearty breakfast together, Rhys sat down beside Aries. Previously, they had explained to others that Aries was a new friend they had met, so on the surface she was treated no differently from the others, and naturally had her share of breakfast as well.
Seeing Rhys approach, Aries immediately set down her plate and stole nervous glances at the young wizard.
She knew that the boy before her was the true leader among that group of young wizards. The two silver-haired witches followed his every word, and within the curly-haired girl's domain, his phantom could even be directly summoned. Clearly, she belonged to his faction as well.
To a large extent, her fate was in his hands.
"I have a lot of intelligence about the Mystic Society…" Aries said softly.
Rhys waved his hand. Most of the information she had was probably of little value now, though listening to it wouldn't take much time.
"Do you know the location of the Mystic Society's headquarters?"
Aries froze for a moment, then shook her head. The headquarters of the Mystic Society was extremely secretive. Even someone of her level did not know its location. Whenever Polaris convened meetings, they were summoned via Portkeys. They had no idea where the gatherings actually took place.
"Then I have nothing to ask. Eat first," Rhys said, signaling for her not to be so tense and to fill her stomach before anything else.
After Aries finished everything on her plate, Rhys stated how he intended to deal with her.
"I'm going to hand you over to a friend of mine for supervision. I hope you can find a new life there."
The friend Rhys referred to was naturally Rowena in the dungeon. He would hand Aries over to her care, or rather, let her make use of her.
That would depend on what Rowena wanted. At the very least, it could relieve her boredom so she would not be too lonely.
This was also Rhys's punishment for Aries. Someone who had seriously injured Astoria could never be handed over to Albus Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic.
Aries, unaware of the implications, nodded happily. She could almost smell the scent of freedom.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI