I believe in the “King Dean is doing vivisections to try and figure out what makes witches witches” theory and I’m a little worried he’s gonna do it to Bel but at the same time I think he’s politically savvy enough to know that he can’t just do that to one of the Wise without repercussions so I don’t actually think that he would risk killing Beldaruit while he is under his care, he’s too careful and playing the long game for that
(Which is part of why I find Eoleo scarier than king Dean, cause kids are more unpredictable and impulsive than adults (and also cause Eoleo is trying to manipulate other children who might be less aware of what he’s doing than a seasoned politician like Beldaruit))
He’s more likely to run minor experiments (ie blood tests) and just use him and Rili as a hostage than to actually do any kind of permanent physical harm
(I also don’t believe that Deanreldy is evil per se, I don’t think he’s purely power hungry and evil, he genuinely seems to care for the good of the people (while at the same time being a hypocrite cause he didn’t evacuate the ghettos) and rightly criticizes Witch society on some issues but he also wants to consolidate all the power in himself and will abuse his power to gain more)
Just like Beldaruit showed his ugly side while dealing with Custas (pointed cap witch high society is quite classist and elitist in general and even Bel’s disability and general benevolence doesn’t absolve him of similar prejudice/abuse of his position)
The whole dichotomy between the Ezrest family and the Witches both abusing their power in a way is fascinating and I love how it interacts with the separation between magic and medicine and isn’t just a one dimensional “political ruler craves more power” plot line the way it seems to be with the other royals in the Peninsula
The whole emphasis/conflict around the separation of medicine and magic through multiple major characters is extremely interesting to me (on a personal level cause I am in the medical field) and I love how much this story deals with ableism and medical ethics
