"Wow. Where do I even begin with this? Maybe you can tell me what you know already to start. Just so I know what to work off of."

Jacob rummaged through his mind to think of things people normally wouldn’t know.

"I learned a bit about how powers work. About whom receives them and why. Actually, all of it is more theoretical. But I learned that he created the noble clans to keep a close eye on anyone with a power in the kingdom. And if they threatened the kingdom in his eyes, he would dispose of them."

His uncle started clapping.

"That’s one of my favorite corrupted things he does! Isn’t it just wonderful to know your life could be forfeit if the king chooses?!"

"He told me himself what happened with my mom, but he spun it a different way. I knew he was deceiving me though. He sat me down and lied to my face for almost half an hour."

"Lying to his own son?! How untrustworthy of him."

"He punched my friend in the stomach for simply not being noble. He called her weak, he said that she was holding me back, but it was actually the opposite."

"Is that the friend who you brought with you today?"

"...It is."

"My, I am terribly sorry to hear that. I’m glad she is okay."

Jacob thought of anything else he could remember, but what he said was plenty sufficient.

"I believe that’s all I know."

His uncle smiled and patted Jacob’s head. He leaned down and got close to his face.

"You have merely scratched the surface."

Jacob was completely shocked. Everything he already knew was an insane idea already, what could possibly be worse?

"Hm... Where do I begin?"

His uncle looked over at the giant sack Maria had laid down a while ago.

"Let’s start there."

He pointed at the sack. Jacob looked at him confused.

"I can tell you brought food and water here with you and that it’s stored within that sack."

"I don’t understand. You can just assume that from looking at it anyway."

"Oh, I did. Open it."

"What?"

"Open the sack and take out the food and water."

Jacob hesitantly complied. He dumped out all his supplies on the ground when suddenly...

"...What the hell is this?"

In all of his rations, there were small red pikes poking out, aiming right at his uncle. They were surrounded by streams of water, preventing them from moving forward.

"Have you ever wondered how your father has been able to control your blood, Jacob? Well, I regret to tell you that it is not because you are his son. He has been feeding his blood into every piece of food, every drop of water throughout the kingdom. His blood is shared between every single person who lives there."

Jacob’s head started to spin. He felt so dizzy that he needed to sit down and catch his breath.

’This whole time... what kind of monster is my father?’

"Oh, I hate to say that it doesn’t merely end there."

Jacob struggled to look up at his uncle.

"How? What else has he done?"

"Has he ever told you about this little charm and its enchantment?"

His uncle was dangling the charm in front of Jacob’s face.

"He told me it suppresses the power of people like you."

"I see. He wasn’t exactly lying, I guess. However, did he tell you how he was making this in the first place?"

Something connected in Jacob’s brain.

"The project... was this the project he was working on to protect the kingdom? The one he needed all those men for?"

"Indeed, you are right. How much do you know about making enchantments?"

"Hardly anything."

"Well, let me give you a brief summary of how it works. Enchantments can be made from almost anything, but the process to make them is long and convoluted. The stronger enchantment that you want to make, the more you have to sacrifice for it. This sacrifice can mean anything, including vows that you make to yourself such as promising to never fight again. However, enchantments made with vows can be tricky since if the vow is broken, the enchantment will break with it. Therefore, the king decided to use something else to sacrifice."

Jacob’s face darkened.

"Wait... you don’t mean-"

"I do. Those men who disappeared working on the project were all sacrificed into making this very enchantment."

Surprisingly, through this whole interaction, Maria remained mostly stone-faced. It was as if she expected nothing less of the corrupt king.

"So, he killed all of those men at the palace? The ones he made me go out and bring to him?"

"I’m sorry you had to hear it from me."

Despite it not being Jacob’s fault, he couldn’t help but feel complicate in each and every death of someone he personally brought back to his father. Jacob wasn’t angry anymore. He was simply dumbfounded at all the information his uncle was sharing with him.

"He’s also been pooling his blood underneath the streets of the kingdom for years. He’s able to exercise his authority anywhere he pleases, which means as long as he’s in the palace, he’s effectively impossible to kill."

Jacob shook his head and stared at the ground.

"I can’t believe this. Why would he do all of this? Is strength really that important to him?"

His uncle sighed.

"Remember the man who killed your mother? He didn’t want to kill her. In fact, he didn’t want to hunt us down at all. Your father was the one who wanted to hunt him down. The other king found out about this and tried to strike first while the king wasn’t at his strongest. He lied to my sister, to your mother. Fabricated this story of who that man really was. I believed it too, until I saw him myself."

His uncle looked away blissfully.

"Truthfully, you mother did save tens of thousands of lives that day by fighting the army by herself. However, your dad is going to use her sacrifice to push his agenda even further. All she did was diminish his forces, which allowed the king to build his. There is a war coming Jacob. It’s only a matter of time."

He put a hand on Jacob’s shoulder and looked into his green eyes.

"And you have to make sure you’re on the right side."