Although her voice was soft, Malleus and the fairies could hear her just fine and, as the fairies began to feel pity for their princess, Malleus spoke up, "In the end, does it not depend on the person in question?"
Peony paused in surprise. Was she overheard?
"Everyone is an individual person. Just as a person can not be replaced, they all have different values and morals." Malleus pointed out, "Whether it was worth it in the end or not, just depends on them."
"That's true. After all, caring about yourself and the ones you want to protect is already more than enough to worry over." Peony nodded with a slight wave ending the conversation then and there before bringing nearby brownie faes to her room, "I'll have to ask the other nearby faes for help applying the ointment instead. You stay put until I get to you."
"The mess-"
"I'll get to it instead." Peony responded bluntly with a firm look, "I'm in no condition to apply medicine right now and, after that display just now, the slyphs and brownies are too nervous to even come close to you. Who is gonna clean the mess or treat your injuries? If you want to fix things, you can start by learning to keep your hands to yourself."
Again? Malleus sighed much to his surprise. He rarely ever sighed this much before till now. At least, not before others to this extent. He didn't think that he would suddenly let his guard down this much around her and it was a surprise for him. Not even those from the senate were able to achieve this aside from his grandmother and Lilia. Could it be because she is close to his grandmother? No, it was probably because her irregular tempo and bold behavior mixed with wits caught him off guard. To think that a mere human girl was able to throw off his guard...
Perhaps he should go train again. It had been a while since he last trained with such diligence since entering the school.
Despite these thoughts, his eyes remained glued towards Peony. Her attitude and behaviour remained constant. However, he couldn't help but feel that something was off with the look in her eyes moments ago. The princess... Just who is she?
"About the phoenix." Malleus brought up, "Can't you do something about the illness with that flame?"
"You mean a Vermillion Bird. I can't." Peony responded bluntly as she asked the brownies to help clean up the bottles for her in their language, "Nirvana flames are too powerful and forceful by nature. Against another powerful illness such as mine which has been around for a long time… It will do more harm than good throughout the process. If done so without proper control, I will end up stuck in bed handicapped for the rest of my life."
"You can't properly control the flames?"
"Not as perfectly as I wish." Peony shrugged as she struggled to open another bottle, "Without my contract familiar awakened, I require large amount of energy to manipulate that fire. At most, my contract beats can summon a smaller version of himself to assist me by my side. But if he awakens prematurely, it will take longer for him to awaken again. Probably by a few years."
"I see. Here." Malleus got up and reached out his hands. He took her hands and, with a flash of light, they recovered in a blink of an eye filling them with a warmth she hadn't felt in so long!
However, instead of a praise, Peony scolded him, "You idiot!"
Malleus was taken aback in surprise as she lunged out and grabbed his hands revealing a blackened skin on his palm as he hissed in pain.
"Injuries aren't something you can just recover with magic! Mana is one thing, but injuries are another! Haven't Lilia taught you this?! Don't tell me you forgot!" Peony scolded him furiously, "Now, sit still and wait."
Malleus was stunned by her reaction and frowned. He just helped heal her and this was the response he gets in return? He opened his mouth, "Did you just ordered me to- ssss!"
Malleus hissed in pain once again as Peony had forced his hands open and touched the wounds with ointment on her finger. He never expected a burn from a vermillion bird could be this serious! Peony huffed in dismay, "Shows you right not to be so reckless. No wonder granny is always so worried about you! A child in the body of a man. Hmph!"
"Must you always be so blunt with your words?" Malleus rebuked irritated by her unrestrained and harsh words.
"Oh? Fine!" Peony huffed, "Since Prince Malleus has hurt himself on my expense, it's only right that I bear the responsibility to treat it promptly. So, if you may sit down and open your palms, your majesty."
"Stop." Malleus sighed in disdain, "Your choice of words is one thing, but your tone made your means all the more obvious, Peony."
"Does it?" Peony sneered and chuckled, "For one, I thought I was being rather polite in my speech. Especially towards a reckless patient who struggled to keep his hands to himself."
She feigned a troubled expression and pondered, "Ah, now what do I do? I've tried to meet the prince's expectations and changed my choice of speech. Who knew that the prince is still not satisfied with it!"
"Peony, don't test my patience."
As the thunder rumbled, Peony snapped her fingers and the dark clouds quickly dispersed, "I should be saying that! Give me your hands now or you can go walking around with them that way instead! I'd rather not use my needles on you right now, but the granny did give me permission…"
"Again. Grandmother…" Malleus frowned feeling rather irritated deep inside.
"Are you seriously jealous?" Peony raised a brow in bewilderment.
"Jealous?" Malleus looked to her in disbelief, "Why would I be jealous?"
"How would I know?" Peony responded with a frown, "I'm not a part of you. Your emotions are your own to understand. Everyone else can only guess your emotions. If you don't even understand the changes of your own emotions, how are you able to control them yourself? It's no wonder there's been so many thunderstorms and earthquakes. Hurry up and stop throwing your tantrum. Otherwise, all I'd be writing is about your temper tantrum to granny."
"I'm not a child." Malleus frowned.
"Really!" Peony feigned surprise, "Well, that's news for me!"
"You-!" Malleus heaved a sigh and sat back down before revealing his hands.
"That's more like it." Peony nodded with a huff and quickly began to treat the burns, "The nirvana flame is very powerful. You are very lucky to have the flames extinguished by my hands like that. Otherwise, the flames would not stop burning until the entire person is completely gone."
"However, I am a dragon fae."
"Is a fae not a person as well? Fairies, humans, merman, fae, beastman. The only difference is their environment and race. However, when speaking, they are no different from one another, correct? We all feel anger, loss, happiness, and even cherish. How can anyone differentiate one another as a person? Must a person be a fae or a human? Emotions, thought process, and life. The only thing differentiating us from plants and animals is self awareness. What differs us from the rocks and the earth is the ability to live, but, when one can breath, speak, and feel as us, what are the new boundaries between us? Is there anything that classify one as a 'person'?"
"There's hardly a difference. However, each race has their physical limits. Judgement, punishment, and decisions must be taken carefully with their limitations in mind."
Peony paused for a bit curiously. Why is Malleus talking about this all of a sudden? She may have posed a question, but the way he looked at her is as though he's waiting to her more of her thoughts. However, this is a very difficult topic especially for royalties who must be role models for their people and be what the people needs and hope to be. She is well aware that the slyphs and brownies are present, so she must also be very wary of her own words. Nothing taken incorrectly could end up doing more than harm her reputation.
"That's right." Peony nodded, "And this gives birth to prejudice and separation. We, as people, decide to punish them while taking their lives into consideration. However, there are those who does not find this fair even when what is not as suffering for us are painful for them. This is why education are crucial and mandatory for everyone."
"Would that resolve the hatred that is still smoldering?"
"No. We don't know how to make hatred go away. Nobody does. The end of a violent cycle is almost impossible to break because no one know how to break them. But, by taking one small step, it is already putting the lives of others on a better direction."
Malleus sighed, "If only we can open a school for other faes peasants…"
"That requires the permission for the senate and approval for the board of education." Peony responded with a frown, "Don't forget not all faes are powerful. The difference between magic havers and magic-less has yet to be smoothed out enough to be tackled. Granny has already tried that and so has my mother. Both wish to start academies for young faes and new fairies… Are you trying to create a school like Night Raven College, Malleus?"
"Well…"
Although she is connected to the leader do the board of education, there are somethings like these that she can't just do as she pleases. So why did he suddenly bring this up with her? Does he know she has connections with them or is he testing her? Seeing his complex expression, Peony frowned as it hit her, "Ah, Malleus… let me know when you find out how to break the conflict of racial discrimination. Then, I will definitely hold a banquet for your success as well. Wasn't I just scolding you for touching my stuff? Changing the topic of lecture… So childish."
"I-I wasn't!"
Peony laughed aloud as she brushed aside a tear, "People of this school actually fears you, but you're actually such a child compared to them!"
"I am not!"
"But you're proving that right now by flat out denying it."
"No. I'm just stating the facts."
"You should leave facts with Sebek then." Peony sneered, "He's so good at it, it really makes me wonder how he is so good at critical reading and literature. Yet he struggles to understand the aura of a person around them. I've never seen something so amusing!"
"Hmph…" Malleus folded his arms and pouted as he withdrew his bandaged hands.
"Now that you're done…" Peony yawned, "You can leave now."
As soon as she snapped her fingers, Malleus put up a barrier only for the princess to break it easily as the magic broke through hitting him!
"You-!"
Peony smirked as she waved, "Ah yes. Good night, prince Malleus.
With a yawn, she stopped the oncoming thunder and went to bed with the sylphs and brownie watching over them in disbelief. Did their princess and Briar Valley's prince… just had a friendly spat?! How old are these kids?!