Lotus paused in confusion. She had never really thought what she would do if she had lived after taking her vengeance on the people she wanted to die for the injustice she and her loved ones faced. However, what would she do if she did survive. She paused in deep thoughts without realizing she had halted in her steps.
Sensing this, Malleus paused and turned around much to his confusion. For her to suddenly stop surprised him as he watched her in confusion. Why would she stop?
"I'd first go back home and then think about it." Lotus responded after a bit of thought.
"Home?"
"Yeah." She nodded, "My mother and father and everyone else back in the fairy kingdom. There are still a lot of them whom I consider home."
She shook her head and frowned, "Aside from that, you should be vigilant."
"Hm?"
"What is scarier is not the aura of overwhelming violence but being unable to feel the aura to begin with." Lotus explained, "Their intention, their strength and their mood. When all of those are hidden, it is no different than being thrown into a forest of trees with a hungry primordial beast who decides to play with you or finish you. Even without magic, they may be able to use other means. Concocting man-made poison, creating trapping circles or creating powerful weapons. There are always other ways. Just because Magicians do not require to learn martial arts to perform magic, does not mean they are weak, remember? The same can be applied to cultivators. Just because they cannot utilize powerful magic freely does not mean they always have their hands tied behind their backs. Even without an aura of mana doesn't mean they are of no threat at all. If you can't even sense anything when faced with their gaze, that'd make them dangerous to play around with. Remember this well when you encounter something like this. Those people can either be as kind as a pacifist or far crueler than a demon. It is far more troublesome than people who like to scheme how to stab your back the moment you close your eyes."
Seeing that she no longer wanted to continue the topic surprised him, but he didn't really care to press for answers. Instead, his curiosity led him to a different topic, "About the story of that child... Why is the mother so attached to the child compared to the father's relationship with him?"
"Well, there is two reasons to that." Lotus responded with a sigh as she continued the walk and led him instead, "The logical reason would be that, when a parent, usually the mother, bears the children, the brain would release a message that would make them willing to accept anyone younger and weaker than them or their own infants as theirs. This is a mother's maternal instinct. From there a bond is formed the more time they spend with the child. That being said, there are some parents that would go further than that. The child was born three years later than intended and didn't even reached five when he took his own life. Despite the short amount of time he spent with his mother, her motherly affection for her child came from her own heart and the heart is not something that could be predicted easily. Even after the child died, the mother was said to have grieved day and night. Nothing could console her. Compared to her, the father was someone that required time to bond with the child more so than just by nature. All parents bond differently with their children to become attached to them. For the mother, just by being her child and her nature was enough to continue weeping for over three years. For the father, he required time spent together and communication to bond."
"What of your parents then?" Malleus questioned her curiously, "The king and Queen of the day faes are very fond of you, after all."
"That would be due to the time we spent together and my mother's nature. My father has a lot on his plate as he has to keep the kingdom running with the nobles, after all. For this reason, he requires a strict demeanor, yet an open mind to properly rule and guide the other fairies in this new day and age. In the meantime, my mother is suited to her role as she was already a very caring fairy by nature, as such it probably didn't surprise my father when she declared that they would adopt me on the spot. Once she worries about those around her, she will do everything she can to mediate the problem and help her husband send aid to the people until the problem comes to a desirable solution for everyone. Quite difficult to do, but she made it all look so easy. They are the perfect duo and couple to rule the fairy kingdom. It's easy to say that the kingdom is blessed with them on the throne when you compare their reign to those from my birthplace or even this so-called 'patriarch' of my biological family."
"You've heard news about those from your biological side of the family?" Malleus noted in surprise.
"I have. Just not a lot." She huffed, "The last time I heard about the main branch was from a former servant of my family before they passed where I found them. Apparently, the marriage was one of convenience and their children are just tools and spare wheels in their eyes. They treat them like livestock and, when a promising one appears, they will try to reel them in with a marriage, regardless if the two desired it or not. Classic political engagement like we know it. The only difference is that they would put out the children that are the least likely to survive or have no capabilities as a cultivator from a young age. Like that, they tried to reel in my father who was said to be the best of his generation with a marriage to on of his cousins from the main branch. He refused and eloped with my mother, who was an outsider, after declaring that he decided to break away from the main branch. After that, the family wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be a threat, so they chased them down while I was still in the womb. Numerous servants and allies sacrificed their lives to try to protect us. In the end, it was useless and my parents were killed the day I was born. It would seem that one of the servants survived long enough to pass on the situation to those who returned from acquiring materials. Next thing you know, the search was on. Still, not many are left now."
"Do you remember anything about them?"
"My parents?" Lotus paused for a bit before humming to herself in deep thoughts.
Was there any fragments of those times in her memory left? She was simply too young to have formulated any back then, but can she recall them now? There was a nagging feeling in her chest, but it was rather hard to grasp. Was it that? If it was, then it is quite hard to decipher than feeling or memories along with it.
After a while, she shook her head, "No, I don't recall them. That being said, I feel like I'll know whether I want to or not when I enter the main branch estate. After all, I AM curious about them and the incident fifteen years ago."
"Fifteen." Malleus hummed to himself curiously, "If this is according to human years, would they still remember a grudge from that long ago?"
"Eh. I could care less." Lotus shrugged, "Even if they don't have a grudge anymore. I still do. Otherwise, I wouldn't have experienced all that pain as a child anyway."
"Would you take their life?"
"Why?"
"Is that not how revenge goes?" Malleus tilted his head in confusion.
"I wouldn't go that far since their actions led me to meet mother and father." Lotus huffed, "However, the pain I felt back then don't just become non-existent. They still owe me a bunch for all the trouble they caused. Still, I'd like to know what happened in the past first."
"You make it sound so easy." Malleus shook his head with a sigh.
Lotus raised a brow, "Who said it was easy? This is when people say that the dog's bark is worse than its bite. But, really, if you take people by their word too much, you'll either underestimate the meaning or overestimate the meaning. However, if you have the capabilities, you will be able to achieve them no matter how hard it is."
"By the way, why did you pick the name Lotus?" Malleus looked to her curiously.
"Mom liked it."
"That's it?" Malleus paused in bewilderment.
"I'm not one for flowery names. That being said, there are some who likes them, such as mother." Lotus replied, "Her naming sense is really good. I've seen others who talks of wanting to give the perfect names that they end up picking a strange name a lot of times, but some, such as mother, are very good at picking them without realizing their naming sense themselves. I remember a long time ago, someone decided to name their son the character for another element. However, it was incompatible to the last name. In the end, the kid's name sounded like his parents named him waste when you put the first and last name together. That was a surprising coincidence and an unfortunate one. Probably the most unfortunate one I've heard."
"Sounds like a lot of fun."
"Perhaps. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to join in on the fun." Lotus huffed in the complaint.
"To you, it sounds like everything sounds fun." Malleus huffed in disdain.
"Things that you've never done all sound fun until you break something valuable to yourself." Lotus sighed, "In the end, you should still be a little more careful with what you play with."
"I don't see you being cautious." Malles sighed.
"That's because you're a kid and still lack the necessary observation skills."
"What?"
There was a sudden rumble as Lotus sighed in irritation, "See what I mean?"
With a stomp, the earth quickly evened out as Lotus turned around and stuck out her tongue, "Grow up."