She could barely lift her eyelids when she finally felt herself came to. Her world was dark and cold. She could hardly feel her surroundings anymore.
"Master…"
A familiar voice echoed in her mind as something warm struggled to penetrate her cold core.
"It's not a good idea to allow someone you just met into your private space."
Wait, what?!
Startled, Peony wanted to open her eyes, but it was impossible to do so! Was she just THAT tired?
What happened?
"It's been a while since your reincarnation, but you can still make that face, huh?" A familiar huff echoed her head, "You lost your conscious after that dragon kid stole qi from your spiritual pool."
Ah, was that what it was? She recalled the feeling of her spriritual energy being pulled from her and the area around her. At first, she suspected that Malleus was utilizing magic, but she did not realize that he was so powerful to even be able to take spiritual energy from a person! As expected, those from Granny's lineage are always likely to become the strongest mage in the world...
So, then that child-
"That brat has calmed down enough to play on the roof." The voice grumbled in audible disdain, "Why do you have to be so close to him again?"
If she could just open her mouth...
"I can sense that there are others you have grown particularly close to as well. Some of them you have grown so close. You even shared your life span with them! Do you not cherish your life?!"
As she continues to be scolded, Peony could feel a strong prod on her forehead, "Seriously... Why them? Why her?"
Feeling confused, Peony could feel spiritual energy seeping into her body revitalizing her as she slowly opened her eyes. She soon found herself under the wisteria tree. Feeling the warmth around her, she struggled to get up but all she could do was lift her palm before falling back down. Suddenly, her hand was stopped midair as something warm touched it!
"You're finally awake."
Malleus's face loomed over her gaze as Little Jun's soon followed.
"Big Sis!" Little Jun frolicked with glee upon seeing her awake.
"Little Jun..." She managed a gasp with her dry mouth, "Hornton?"
"Oh? Back to using the nickname already?" Malleus noted in surprise, "Do you want to get up?"
"No..." She coughed, "I'm embarrassed to say this, but I lack the strength to do much right now..."
"Not even sit up?"
"Not even moving my head." She replied.
"I see..." Malleus muttered nervously before speaking up, "My deepest apologies, Princess. I did not expect the vast amount of mana I was adding to my attack would be coming directly from you."
"Calm yourself." She replied, "You may not like to hear this, but it is a fact that you are still in a child stage. Not yet an adult. Making these mistakes are bound to occur one way or another. It's better that it occurred now than later."
"You're not mad?" Little Jun muttered nervously as well, "I'm sorry. I didn't stop him immediately."
"Little Jun, you are no different." She added, "One is in child stage and the other is still an infant. In fact, I expected something like this to occur after you helped me against the curse."
"What do you mean?" Malleus narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"As I rarely hear much about you, I only hear of things granny told me about in her youth. One of which was how she was able to easily feel the mana around her and manipulating them to her wishes before it became a problem."
"It became a problem?"
Peony nodded as she stared at the flowers of the wisteria move gently against the wind, "Did you know that the flow of mana in a person is different depending on the person. For a regular magician, it is slow and steady as a small stream. It is weak yet calm. When manipulated carefully, they can achieve even the smallest thing such as riding a broom. Yet some are like a powerful river, it's flow can not be held back. Even a dam could only do so much. It is full of great potential with utilized but delve too deep into the waters and you will find yourself swept against the flow. These are the wizards full of potential and large mana pool. Without supervision, it is easier to get into accidents by losing control. Did you know that prior to entering Night Raven College, I received a request from granny to watch over your blot manifestation?"
"My grandma did?" Malleus looked to her in bewilderment, "But, why?"
"Because you are about to enter your teenage phase." Peony replied heaving a deep sigh, "And because sharing your mana with others can lead to bigger trouble."
"I never heard of this before. Why is it so troublesome?"
"Because the nature of your mana is special. Special as it is one of the hardest to control." Peony pointed out as a petal landed on her cheek, "It is neither a river nor a stream. Yours is similar to granny's. It is the sea itself. The mana pool is vast as it is powerful. Should you lend much into the bodies of others, regular humans, beastman, and merman would be on the verge of death if they could not handle the mana. Faes are no different. The only one you could transfer the mana to would be amongst your race, the dragon fae. Another would be the more experienced cultivators who are skilled in the flow of mana. Lucky for me, I was one of such cultivators who practiced the flow of mana for a long time. Had it not been for that, I would've perished or left in a coma. Your mana is just that special."
"You mean dangerous." Malleus frowned once he heard this, "I am fortunate that I did not share this with Lilia and the others..."
Peony chuckled, "So, this is why Granny is so worried. You really are a kind child."
"Huh? Me?" Malleus was taken aback by this.
"Who else is here worried about your abilities?! Had these words been laid upon ears of others, they would be more ecstatic or motivated. However, you are neither motivated nor thrilled to hear this piece of information." Peony replied simply, "As a future ruler, it is a good trait to have. Fear to know danger, not just for yourself, but for others. However, you must also hide the fact that you are not pleased by this development regarding yourself if you don't want others to take advantage of you. Either way, once you are able to control your magic well, it would not become a problem like before. Though that time has yet to come, why not distract yourself with other matters for now?"
"Other matters." Malleus mumbled to himself.
"Given that you are here means that the others led you into my spatial ring. Did you find anything of interest here?"
"Those gargoyles." Malleus responded bluntly.
"Hehehe..." She chuckled, "I figured you'd mention that as soon as I saw that you are here."
"You did?" Malleus raised a brow in surprise.
"Of course. Why else did you visit Ramshackle dorm on numerous occasions despite it being inhabited?"
"That's..." He looked away with a grumble.
Seeing this, Peony chuckled, "If the others from the other dorms saw this, few would understand your embarrassment."
Just like a child.
Peony smiled, "The gargoyles are based on ancient tales passed down from generations. The order of the placement, the designs they must have, and the place must be exact. This is the tradition for our architects since long ago. It is also something only those wealthier could afford to have. What do you think?"
Malleus remained quiet for a bit before responding, "The placement is precise and the carving is very elegant and done so with great control. When in place, it is what gives the building its grand appearance. Is its function, aside from diverting rainwater, also to ward off dark aura?"
"The prince has good observation skills." Peony smiled albiet weakly, "Perhaps, Lilia mentioned this once, but the eastern cultures once believed evil spirits could rain down from above and hurt those living inside once they found a place to land. To prevent this, the built the roof curved upward so that whatever bad spirits came would be thwarted away from those living under it. The prince seems to be that interested with the gargoyle after all, but it does make one feel a little embarrass to hear all that praise."
"Hm? Why? Perhaps, you were the one who made it?" Malleus raised a brow in confusion only to be met with dead silence as it dawned on him, "This silence... Should... Perhaps. Should I take that as an affirmative answer?"
Did it really have to be asked?!
Little Jun stared at him blankly as he grumbled, "Just how bad are you at reading the room? Please don't tell me all the other students are like this..."
"Really? I think I did pretty well at reading the atmosphere." Malleus responded bluntly.
"Then, you wouldn't have had to confirm this obvious silence like that!" Little Jun shouted in disbelief.
"I was told that I was pretty good at reading the atmosphere by Lilia once..." Malleus hummed to himself in confusion.
"Duh! That's because he helped raise you so he feels that much prouder. No different to a parent! Ever heard of a doting parent before?!"
"Lilia is overly affectionate with praises nowadays, but it was not so easy back then."
"That was back then! Did he not finish educating you long ago?!"
As the two continue to argue over her weak body, Peony heaved a deep sigh before struggling to drift off to sleep.
Can't these two kids just shut up?!
As the two argued, Malleus took a side glance and saw the princess return to her slumber as he pondered her words earlier. If it is like this, that means that she actually is concerned about him as well, right? A kind child? Him? Aside from Lilia who raised him and Sebek who seems to enjoy complimenting him, it was definitely rare for others outside his circle to praise him like this. In fact, he recalled the last person who called him such aside from Lilia was his grandmother, the queen. So then, why did his grandmother sent the princess to him? And why was it that he's got a difficult feeling like something awful will occur?