The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 210: All For Science I

She whirled around, and Raziel stepped forward. The dim light of the dungeon cast long shadows on his face while his eyes glinted in the dark. His emerald orbs focused on Soleia, and there was a barely imperceptible twitch of his lips as he watched her panic.

He was amused.

"Princess Soleia. Thank you for speaking so highly of me in front of my brother."

Soleia instinctively took a step back. Now that she knew the depravity that lingered beneath his skin like a corrosive poison, she could no longer find herself to remain calm and unbothered at his presence. The chances of this man killing Ricard for the crown suddenly seemed very high.

Rafael smoothly stood in between the both of them, planting himself in front of her like a steady rock. His brow wrinkled; the brother Raziel was referring to must have been Ricard since he didn’t recall Soleia saying anything nice about Raziel to him.

"You’re welcome. I see that I was right to warn him about your..." Her eyes darted back to the organs floating in their jars, and her throat bobbed in fear. "Capabilities."

"You are a good judge of character," Raziel said with approval in his voice. He strode over to his experiments and easily lifted up a jar. Soleia tried not to look so carefully, but it was impossible for her to not see its shrivelled, grotesque state. "I suppose I should explain what I’m doing here."

Soleia highly doubted that Raziel could give an adequate explanation that would stop her nausea.

"What do you think is the origin of magic?" Raziel asked, as though he was a teacher holding a lesson. "King Rowan Verimandi shared magic with the world, but where is this magic stored and produced in a human body? How are we able to pass it on to our children and them to theirs?"

"People have theorized that it’s a specific resonance between the human body and the crystal, but that’s never been proven," Soleia said, widening her eyes at the plethora of samples provided on the table. "Don’t tell me you’ve figured it out?"

"Not quite," Raziel said, the regret palpable in his voice. He tapped on the side of the glass jar, causing it to ring. "As you can see, the organs alone are incapable of generating any magical capability on their own when removed from the main body. Here I have a spleen from the harvest a few days ago, preserved in pickle juice. Would you like to touch it and confirm my hypothesis?"

Soleia gave him a disgusted look. "No, I do not. And I could have given you the same conclusion without the need for all this... rigour. Have you seen a hand move on its own after it has been chopped off?"

"Touche. But Princess Soleia, you are forgetting that lizards’ tails do move independently even after they’ve been cut off?"

"Have you ever seen magical lizards?" Soleia shot back. "And lizards can choose to leave their tails behind. I highly doubt any of these magical users chose to leave their organs for you to place in your little jars."

"Dragons technically count since they are fire-breathing reptiles," Raziel countered. "But I understand your point. Perhaps I should stick with less essential organs next time."

That wasn’t anything close to the conclusion she wanted him to draw.

"Perhaps your experiments would bear more fruit if you were actually dealing with the living magical users instead of their lifeless organs." She stared at the floating spleen. "What happened to the person you harvested it from? Can they still produce magic?"

Soleia was afraid to ask, but she had to know.

"I see you and I have something in common when it comes to experimental discoveries." Raziel smiled like he was genuinely pleased with her contribution to this conversation. "She is still breathing. I see no reason to kill her so quickly when she is more valuable alive. Would you like to see her?"

Soleia nodded. Raziel took one of the torches lining the wall and led her to one of the cages in the corner. Rafael followed her faithfully like a guard dog.

"Here she is," Raziel said with a flourish. "I must say, she is still in pretty good condition. You came at the right time."

"You and I have highly different definitions of what constitutes good condition," Soleia said woodenly. Bile rushed towards her mouth. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

The flickering light from the torch illuminated the frail figure huddled on the floor in a pool of her dried blood. She was wearing nothing more than the smooth linen usually found in the inner layers of a dress. It wasn’t adequate protection against the clammy cold of the dungeon― and that woman was so thin she needed all the warmth she could get. Soleia saw how the woman shivered and shuddered, her glassy eyes barely focusing on the dancing flame.

Her long red hair was matted and dirty, her face pale and shrunken. Soleia had to gag at the smell of fecal matter coming from the cage.

"Who is she?" Soleia asked, her voice low.

Pity welled in her heart, along with disgust at Raziel’s lack of care. It was simply inhumane to treat fellow human beings like this― even her father executed prisoners quickly, rather than letting them stew in their own waste material and suffer in pain.

"According to her, she is Anastasia. She hails from Reaweth. She’s one of the old king’s illegitimate daughters who snuck over here as a spy. It was a pity that her plan did not work out," Raziel replied sedately.

"I have taken her spleen and half a liver. The organs have shown no promise, but perhaps your presence might make all the difference. Princess Soleia, do you mind touching her to see if she still retains any pyromancy in her body?"

Soleia stared at him blankly. "You want me to touch... her?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Multiple problems, in fact, but the biggest of which is that I am meant to absorb powers from other magic practitioners," Soleia began. "It stands to reason that the magic practitioners must be capable of even showing their capability."

She stared back at the woman, who barely looked conscious.

"The stronger they are, the more gains I will have with my training. But with their current conditions, you might as well have me touch a barn animal. This has been a waste of my time. If you actually want me to succeed, you need to at least be healthy enough to respond. Rafael, we’re leaving."