Draven thought, *She sounds kinda scared, but I guess she should be. If anything happens to the prince and when they just arrive, she and her brother will be dead meat.*
"I want you to clean this up while I go take a bath," he said aloud, turning and walking away.
*I need to take a nice bath.*
Lyriana looked at the blood on the floor beside the table, her mind racing.
*Where are all the magic stones we left here? What's going on? This is strange... A pool of blood on the floor, and the magic stones are all gone. What did he...?*
"Forgive me, Young Master," she said hesitantly, "but I can see that the magic stones you asked us to leave on the table are no longer here. They seem to have been removed. I only ask so I may clean properly without disturbing anything important."
Hearing her, Draven stopped walking.
*Bitch, I thought you would be smart and ignore it, but I guess you won't.*
"Hey," he said without turning around. "It's best if you don't ask too many questions. You should just do your job, but I guess I can still tell you if you really want to know."
He slowly turned his head and looked at her.
"But then I might've to kill you afterwards."
*Should I just kill her? It seems like she already has an idea of what happened. I mean, killing her isn't that hard since now I can see where her heart is.*
He noticed, with a strange clarity, that Lyriana's heart was located in the lower right side of her belly.
*I just found out about it the moment she walked in. But maybe killing her might be too much.*
Draven looked at Lyriana, who was also looking back and meeting his gaze.
A chill ran down her spine feeling the killing intent.
*Was he going to kill me for knowing too much?*
"Just clean this up while I go take a bath," Draven continued.
He turned fully and started walking away.
"And it's best for you if no one else knows about this."
Lyriana thought, *He's telling me not to speak of it to anyone if I don't want to die. It is a threat and a warning.*
"As you wish, Young Master," she said, her voice low. "I shall speak of it to no one."
Still walking away, Draven thought, *I can see where her heart is... Is that some kind of superpower I gained from eating those magic stones? Am I going to get more from eating even more stones?*
"Nahh, I'm not really interested in getting superpowers," Draven thought. "And I don't really want to do this again. Yeah, it was exciting, but I don't like being covered in blood, and going through all that pain is too much work. I'm just gonna practice casually at home."
Walking into the bathroom, Lyriana thought, *thought he was a hybrid but to think he would still be alive after that...*
She used blood magic to clean up the blood on the ground.
A while later, Draven had just finished changing his clothes and walked toward the door.
*Since I'm all nice and clean, it's time I go meet Mom and get that haircut.*
Pushing the door open, he walked out. Aldric and Lyriana, who were standing outside, immediately began following behind him.
Meanwhile outside in the castle courtyard, his mother was sitting in the garden pavilion, reading a book while drinking tea.
Suddenly, her eyes widened as she instantly turned her head.
Draven was walking toward her with Lyriana and Aldric following behind him.
When he reached his mother, he walked closer to her and went behind her.
"Mom."
He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I thought you weren't going to be coming," his mother said.
Sitting down on a chair, Draven replied, "I did promise to come meet you."
His mother turned toward Lyriana and Aldric.
"Leave us. I require a moment alone with my son."
They both bowed.
"As you wish, Your Highness."
"We shall take our leave," Lyriana said.
The two of them then disappeared.
Turning toward Draven, his mother smiled.
"I guess my little boy is all grown up now."
She stood up.
"You made a promise, and you kept it."
She walked closer to him before bending down with a smile. She pressed her face against his and wrapped her arms around him.
"You're still so cute trying to act all grown up."
*Dammit, she's at it again.*
"Mmm, come here, sweetheart. Give Mommy one more kiss while I've got you in my arms. I just can't get enough of my precious boy. Mommy wishes she could hold you like this forever. You're growing up so fast… but you'll always be Mommy's little boy."
Blushing, Draven said, "Mom, let go!"
"Are you going to give Mommy a kiss? Hmm? Because if you don't, I'm not letting go. I'll just have to hold you tight forever until I get one."