"Wow... you have an affinity for three demesnes. I figure something like this is rare."
Arian ignored the casual tone in which she spoke so directly with him. He figured she didn't know better, and he didn't want to delay teacher Nora's lessons by lecturing her.
Instead, he nodded in Maloc's direction- a signal for him to speak.
"Yes, it is. Most people have an affinity for one demesne. Rarely are there people with an affinity for two demesnes. Three is almost unheard of." Maloc couldn't hide a hint of pride slipping through his tone.
Arian was pleased that Moloc recognised what a talented prince he was working for. He hoped it served as a reminder for Maloc that even though his prince was crippled, Arian still had potential.
Arian watched as Shivani contemplated Maloc's answer. Her brows furrowed slightly before she opened her mouth again.
"I heard most of the royal family have an affinity for mind and life. Is this true?"
Arian raised his eyebrows in surprise. This was more insight into the royal family than he had expected from a simple, mundane girl. It made him wonder if she knew about the three categories of the demesnes and if she knew his family held power over the divine ones.
"Yes, it is," Maloc muttered, this time with hesitation. He wasn't sure how much he should share.
The deputy looked at Arian, clearly asking for directions, but the prince was also unsure.
Even if Shivani knew more than she should, the other students did not.
However, they all seemed interested in learning more. All their gazes were fixed on Arian.
The prince sighed. I guess it won't hurt to tell them more.
After a short pause, Arian signed his answer to Maloc, who voiced out the prince's explanation.
"All members of the royal family have an affinity for life and mind. You could say it is in their blood. It is just hard to find a beast that shares those affinities. As you might know, beasts of these demesnes are rare and hard to tame."
"So this is the reason why the prince's father, the emperor, is bonded to a phoenix, a beast with an affinity to fire that has nothing to do with mind and life?"
This time, it was not Shivani who spoke to me, but Satori. An expression of excitement lit up the girl's face. It was clear to Arian she had just understood something she had pondered over for a long time.
This realization unsettled him more than he would have liked. Why would a common girl spend her time wondering about the reasons behind an emperor's actions?
He remembered how teacher Javis had told him the royal family was only an abstract concept for the students here and how they didn't really understand anything about nobles.
And even though it was insulting to Arian that so many people didn't know about his family's glory and power, he believed teacher Javis's words.
The students' behaviour around him, specifically their lack of respect and reverence, was all the proof he needed.
And yet, these two girls, Shivani and Satori, had an unusually good understanding of the royal family.
I have to keep an eye on them, Arain vowed to himself and turned his gaze upon Satori.
The girl's confidence visibly diminished under the prince's stern gaze, as she lowered her head.
At the same time, teacher Nora scolded Satori: "If you have a question, raise your hand. Wait until you are permitted to speak. Don't just shout into class!"
Then teacher Nora turned towards Arian and bowed her head: "I apologize for the disrespect my student has shown towards you, your Highness. You don't have to answer her question if it pries too much into your family's privacy."
Maloc was ready to accept the teacher's apology. He didn't want to answer the girl's question, but Arian gave him a different command.
Maloc stared at his prince in shock as he watched the prince's hands. Arian ignored his deputy's questioning look. Clearly, Maloc thought this was too much information to share with the students.
But Arian had a different opinion. It didn't hurt him to share a few things about his family.
And it was probably a good thing to be nice to the students, too.
Maybe by giving Shivani and Satori the answers they wanted, I can find out more about them, and I can understand why they are so interested in the royal family, Arian thought as he finished signing his answer to Maloc.
"You might think that. But no, this is not the truth. A phoenix is a beast of the highest tier. I'm sure you will learn about this in detail in another lesson. All you must understand for now is: There is almost no other beast that is harder to tame than a phoenix. Especially since the emperor's affinity only lies with mind and life, trying to form a bond with a beast of fire was a huge risk. It is possible to form a bond with a beast that has a different affinity than you, but much harder. And the more powerful the beast, the greater the price for a failed bond is. It could have cost Arian's father his life, had he failed to bond."
"So, he bonded with a phoenix not because there was no suitable beast from mind and life, but because he wanted power. And the phoenix is the most powerful beast someone has ever bonded with. Arian's father became the first person to tame a beast of the highest tier. No one did it before him. Back then, it solidified his power, and in turn, made him emperor."
Arian, and therefore Maloc, kept the answer as short as possible, trying not to overwhelm the students with unnecessary complicated information. Of course, back then, when his father bonded with a Phoenix, the emperor was still a prince. A prince who wasn't favored by his mother, the divine empress, and thus had very few chances of inheriting the holy throne.
His father often liked to tell the stories of how the empress favored her eldest daughter, who she thought had all the traits necessary for becoming a wise ruler, and how she regarded his father as rather brutish and foolish. She neglected him, sending him and Arian's grandfather, one of her numerous concubines, to one of the lesser provinces, where he grew up in a small castle far away from the royal court.
He still had luxury and many servants at his disposal, but his mother never bothered to care about him.
Maybe my grandmother's neglect made him so desperate, Arian thought. Desperate enough that he ultimately took the risk of trying to bond with a beast of legend.
He remembered that it wasn't even clear if a beast of the highest tier existed back then. Only legends talked about the seven beasts of the highest tier, each beast representing one of the eight demesnes.
Arian wasn't even sure how his father had found a phoenix. That was a detail his father was hesitant to talk about. So Arian could only assume how much time, effort, and preparation went into this mad mission of his father. And then the madman had succeeded.
It sounded so impossible, and yet it was the truth: His father was the first person ever to bond a beast of the highest category, 'August'. Thus, one of the eight legendary beasts was confirmed to exist.
Ultimately, it paved the way for my father to inherit the throne. With a phoenix by his side, no one could challenge his power.
Back then, some nobles even tried to find a beast of the category 'August' for their own. But none succeeded. Till this day, the phoenix was the only known 'August' beast. Arian wondered who the other legendary beasts were. After all, it was even theorized that divine and unholy beasts must be more powerful than beasts from the same class.
If this were true, it meant a beast of the category 'August' and representative for either blood, death, life, or mind would be even more powerful and harrowing than a phoenix.
Arian couldn't even imagine how such a beast would look like let alone what powers it might possess or what boons it could offer for the person bonded to it.
But he could dream about bonding with such a beast. Actually, all his siblings did just that. After all, to outclass their father's achievements, they needed to bond with a beast more powerful than a phoenix.
In the end, it was only a dream. Neither he nor his siblings had managed to achieve such a feat. And most likely, they never will.
I will always live in the shadow of my father. Arian had known this for a long time. And yet it had always been hard to accept. He had his own ambitions, his own goals- to always be less than his father, no matter what he did, even if he became the divine emperor- was hard to accept.
Still, there was always that little flicker of hope, that maybe, just maybe, he could outshine his father.
But after his incident and after turning paraplegic, his hope died too, because suddenly he was useless.
And now, there was no ambition, nothing left in him. He had lost his status, his reputation, and his powers- summarized, his life was over.
So why am I still clinging to it? Arian didn't fully understand himself.
He still wanted to help this academy, even though he hadn't really figured out where this desire came from.
Maybe he wished to prove his father wrong for dismissing him after he became bound to a wheelchair.
Maybe he wanted to help because now he knew how these people actually lived.
His gaze drifted through the classroom, as he looked at the old chairs, ugly walls, and cheaply dressed students.
He knew this run-down facility was far better than what they had at home.
And yes, he had been angry when this one boy, Pidgeon, lay a hand on him. He had been so furious and felt so disrespected that he even wanted to kill the boy.
In hindsight, he only felt bad for the boy. After thinking about the incident, Arian had realized that this only happened because Pidgeon hadn't been educated better.
It was a sad thing.
In the end, Arian still had to get used to students not even knowing or understanding the significance of the royal family.
This had to change.
By now, Arian was sure about it: He would do everything in his power to help these students before considering dying again.
At least by doing it that way, one group of people would remember me fondly, Arian thought, as Shivani, who, unlike her friend Satori, was not yet satisfied with the answers received, asked the next question.
"If I may be so bold to ask: With which beast did you bond, my prince?"