Karen's shoulders relaxed slightly, but he still maintained a posture of waiting for orders.
He looked directly at Klein, his eyes filled with anxiety and fervent anticipation. "Master Klein, what do you need me to do? My life is yours. As long as I can get rid of that thing, I am willing to do anything."
Klein chuckled, his finger lightly tapping the armrest of the leather sofa.
He didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "You're quite straightforward. You've already handed over your life, and only now did you think to ask what needs to be done?"
His tone carried a hint of teasing, but it was not oppressive, allowing Karen's originally tense nerves to relax slightly.
Karen's cheeks flushed slightly, and he scratched his head in a fluster.
He knew Klein was joking with him. This relaxed atmosphere felt unfamiliar yet strangely reassuring.
In Silver Scale Harbor, no one but Lyra would speak to him like this.
Seeing Karen like this, Lyra's heart mostly settled. She gripped Karen's hand tightly, her fingertips gently rubbing his palm to give him silent support.
Ophelia stood behind Klein, her gaze calmly sweeping over Karen and Lyra before finally resting on Klein's profile.
The corner of her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. She clearly had no objection to Klein's style of trapping people before explaining, even showing a hint of silent approval.
Klein stopped smiling and sat up straight. He picked up an empty cup from the coffee table and spun it gently in his hand.
"It sounds like your understanding of the thing inside you is deeper than I imagined. You're right, it's still there, just suppressed by the environment here."
He set the cup back down, making a crisp clinking sound.
"For now, I need some of your blood. Don't be nervous. It's not for some sacrifice, just for analysis."
Klein's gaze fell on Karen's left chest, where Karen had struck himself earlier.
"Your blood contains the source information of that power. It will tell me many things. For example, its composition, its activity, and how we should completely strip it from your body."
"Afterward, there will naturally be a place where I will need you." Klein paused, his tone becoming solemn, "But that's for later. You have just gone through a long period of torture and are exhausted both physically and mentally. Right now, what you need most is to rest and recuperate. After all, the process that follows won't be much easier than fighting sea monsters directly."
Karen's eyes flashed with realization, followed by deeper determination. He nodded vigorously. "I understand, Master Klein. I will listen to you. Whatever you need, just give the order."
He looked at Lyra, his eyes filled with a mix of clarity and hope. Lyra returned a reassuring smile.
Klein looked at Karen with satisfaction. The determination and fervor were even more intense than he had expected.
The navigator's innate desire for freedom and his loathing of the deep sea's allure were the best catalysts.
He could even capture a long-suppressed anger in the depths of Karen's gaze. Klein knew he had found the right person.
"Raymond." He gestured with his hand. The steward understood and brought over a tray holding a set of silver blood collection tools and a glass bottle engraved with complex runes.
This was no ordinary vessel. The bottle shimmered with a faint light, clearly enhanced by alchemy to preserve special substances.
Karen's body tensed when he saw the tools. It wasn't that he hadn't seen blood before, but this kind of blood collection for research felt inexplicably strange.
Lyra's hand tightened on his again, providing silent comfort.
"Not much is needed, just a few drops will do," Klein explained in a gentle tone, as if talking about something perfectly ordinary. "Although the power within you is vast, its information is highly concentrated. We only need a primer."
Karen took a deep breath and extended his left arm. Without hesitation, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing the crisscrossing old scars on his forearm.
Raymond's movements were skillful as he wiped the area with an alcohol cotton ball, then precisely found the vein and inserted the needle.
Karen's muscles tensed for a moment before relaxing. He stared intently at the few drops of dark red blood as they slowly settled into the runic bottle, merging with a certain liquid at the bottom and emitting a faint glow.
"Alright, you can rest now." Klein took the bottle and nodded with satisfaction.
He didn't start the research immediately but handed the bottle to Ophelia, signaling her to keep it safe. When Ophelia's fingertips touched the bottle, curiosity flashed in her eyes. She could feel that the deep, ancient power within the bottle was anything but ordinary.
"Now, Raymond will arrange for your stay." Klein turned to Karen and Lyra with a sly smile.
"The manor has the best doctors and chefs. For the next few days, you should just focus on recovering. Of course, if Mr. Karen feels bored, there are many chores around the manor you can help with, such as pruning the flower beds or looking after the horses. This is much easier than battling wind and waves at sea, right?"
Karen understood the deeper meaning in Klein's words. This was to give him something to do so he wouldn't overthink things, and to let him experience the life of a normal person.
He wore a long-lost honest smile and nodded repeatedly. "Not bored at all! It's good to work! As long as I'm not idle, I'll do anything!"
Lyra also breathed a sigh of relief. Klein's arrangement gave her hope for Karen's complete recovery, no longer seeing him as a useless madman.
Looking at these childhood friends, a ripple of emotion stirred in Klein's heart.
He was not a purely benevolent man, but seeing the light reignite in Karen's eyes made him feel that this investment was worth it.
He had a premonition that these few drops of blood would open a door to a higher realm for him. And Karen would be the most crucial key to that door.
Raymond led Karen and Lyra out of the side hall, their footsteps fading until they disappeared at the end of the corridor. The room returned to its previous silence.
Ophelia withdrew her gaze from the direction where Karen had left and turned to Klein. She crossed her arms in a casual posture that still held a hint of a knight's scrutiny.
"You've collected his blood again," she said in a flat tone, not asking a question but stating a fact, while subtly posing an underlying query. "Weren't samples already taken before?"
Klein was examining his teacup. Upon hearing Ophelia's words, he calmly rotated the rim.
He knew Ophelia's nature. She didn't like beating around the bush, and there was no need for him to hide anything.
"Yes, I took another sample." He set the cup down and lightly tapped the table with his fingertip in a rhythmic clicking. This habitual gesture always helped clarify his thoughts.
"The previous samples were small in quantity. You should remember that I used quite a lot of them back then to research the potion for dealing with sea monsters."
Though in the end, that potion wasn't used at all.
He paused for a moment, observing Ophelia's expression. She just listened quietly, her golden eyes reflecting the sunlight from outside like flickering golden flames, which made him feel comfortable.
"More importantly, I want to see if any changes have occurred during this time." Klein leaned forward slightly, a hint of investigative interest in his voice.
"Karen's situation isn't a simple case of mental instability. That power, or rather, that curse, resides in his body like a living thing. It is suppressed because it is far from the deep sea, but it might also be trying to adapt, or even evolve."
He pointed to the runic glass bottle on the table. The dark red blood inside had completely merged with the liquid at the bottom, emitting a faint glimmer.
"His blood is like a mirror for this power. Every change, every struggle, will leave a mark within it. Through these marks, we can more accurately map the outline of this power, find its weaknesses, or find a way to strip it away completely."
Klein's fingertips lightly brushed the bottle, his gaze deep as if he could peer through the glass to see some ancient and profound secret.
"The first collection was to understand its initial state. Now, it's to track its dynamics. Only then can we truly know our enemy."
Ophelia walked to his side, picked up the bottle, and examined it for a moment. The halo of light swirling in the bottle danced at her fingertips. She could feel that what was contained within was not just the scent of flesh and blood, but something more complex and far-reaching.
Her fingers touched the bottle, sensing the subtle yet powerful energy fluctuations.
"So, you need more samples?" she asked with a hint of understanding.
Klein chuckled and shook his head. "No, these are enough for now. What Karen needs most right now is rest, not to have his blood drawn repeatedly. What we need is his heart. And this blood is merely a key to knock on that door."
He stood up, walked to the fireplace, and reached out toward the flames to feel the warmth. Ophelia also set the bottle down and walked to his side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
"This power is far more complex than I originally imagined," Klein said softly, his gaze fixed on the dancing flames. "The conceptual manifestation... what it exactly is and what it wants to do are still unsolved mysteries."
He turned to look at Ophelia, the light in his eyes carrying that familiar focus and excitement she knew well—the look of someone immersed in exploring the unknown.
"And that," he added, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth, "is exactly what interests me the most."
Ophelia didn't say anything, just quietly watched him.
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