It was daytime. Malleus was spending time alone in a corridor; two of his classes had less than an hour between each other, and he didn't feel like waiting inside the crowded classroom. Lilia's attempts to force him to socialize annoyed him and the idea of dealing with Leona's mood swings only lowered his desire to be there.

And so, he spent his time in an abandoned corridor. The place had an ancient atmosphere, like all the buildings in the college.

It was quiet.

It was cold.

It was calm.

That corridor was a nice place for his lonely strolls.

There were paintings, too. The frames were diverse: it was obvious they weren't made at the same time. Scenes of magicians, dwarves, elves, and dragons were displayed for Malleus to see. Ancient palaces, cathedrals, people's meetings were also depicted in the paintings. Long robes, rich textures, and vaporous tunics. Some women used escoffions. Some Eastern magicians carried elegant swords. Lilia once taught him those were called katanas, but that there were more names and types of blades.

It was fascinating. And external to him.

Malleus would never get to experience the modern expressions of those cultures first-hand. At the castle, servants and bodyguards would make a huge fuss. He was the heir. He was the prince. His safety was the absolute priority.

Malleus knew he was powerful. One of the five best magicians in the world, in fact. And loneliness was his companion: he never had genuine friends. And his life was long. He had to spend that time learning and training.

The fact students feared and revered him shouldn't have been so surprising. But to be the weird one was still annoying.

Silver and Sebek's behaviors were a hard reminder of that. They'd go out and socialize. Silver would meet Al-Asim and enjoy the lavish parties thrown at Scarabia's dormitory. Schoenheitt would often ask him to collaborate on his film projects. Sebek, despite his stated dislike of humans (and internalized xenophobia), was also invited to go out with his peers. In fact, Sebek had the paradoxical ability to be a pain in the ass that still managed to be liked by people. Talk about tough love.

But few would like to hang out with Malleus. Diamond's attempts to gain fame were annoying. Kingscholar's callousness only made him feel upset. Azul's hurtful remarks made his skin boil. Shoenheitt's orders and common sense only worked as a reminder of the skills he still lacked.

Not that Malleus would confess it aloud. Thank you very much.

He was autonomous and perfectly fine on his own.

''So, is our little dragon prince sulking?''

It was a guttural voice. The words were slurred and it happened so out of the blue that Malleus immediately turned around, alert. But no one was there.

''Well, well. For a famous magician, you still can't check your surroundings well''

''Who is speaking?''

Malleu's voice was harsh. It was an order.

'' The galdramanns* in the picture behind you''

Malleus turned his bad as swift as lightning.

On the wall hung an old tapestry. Malleus had ignored it at first, more interested in the paintings. He didn't like the depicted scene at all: a group of Anglos, Frisians, Saxons and Norsemen were together in an open field, surrounding a dragon that emerged from a lake. An aquatic dragon. They had swords and lances and spears.

''What is it that you want?''

'' I wanted to see the rumored prince by myself. Even painted people learn news, you know?''

News?

''Not every day you get to meet the Heir of the Valley of Thorns''

'' What is it that you want?''

This time, Malleus' voice was lower. The galdramanns understood the threat.

'' I'm sorry, my lord'' his voice reeked of sarcasm '' It' just that I expected the future Night King to be less sensitive. In the end, it's true what they say: aquatic dragons are the best. They are less nitpicky. Straight to the point''

''Is it that you would like my lightning aimed straight to your tapestry? Because I could do it in seconds''

'' This fabric is enchanted, my lord. Do you genuinely think you are the first one that has threatened us? ''

'' Stop it, Sigfrid '' said another voice '' Please, excuse him, my lord. He has a tendency to speak shallow words''

'' I expected galdramenn to be more polite and know their places ''

The dragon in the tapestry roared of pain. A warrior had struck its back.

Malleus knew the scene was fictional. There were many ways to make magical tapestries: the use of magical threads, enchantments, or curses over the final art, casting spells on specific sections of it…

It only was a residue of the imagination of a magic practitioner. Nothing else.

But to Malleus, the dragon's roars of pain were real. Very real.

Something ached inside of him.

Malleus acted before he thought. He waved his fingers in complex motions and whispered a few words here and there. The spell was done.

The dragon inside the tapestry now was protected inside a green crystal bell. It wasn't something the Germanic warriours could destroy with their magic.

The creature emitted a weak, shrilling noise. Blood was reproduced on the threads and patterns. Orange, red, gold. Wounds that had hurt the dragon for centuries.

'' I can't take you from there. I'm sorry''

The warriors complained in front of him. Malleus disappeared out of the corridor. He didn't want to be there, in front of the suffering dragon.

How distasteful! Everybody knew the people inside the tapestries and paintings would try to trick and bully the students. There were also punishments from the school staff against those who took action against the decorations. According to the headmaster, it just was a matter of mental training. People in adult life outside the college wouldn't be kind either, and to possess magical powers never guaranteed protection against external factors. And bullies.

Out of habit, he appeared outside Ramshackle dorm. Malleus avoided the place, even if the magical atmosphere of the building provoked a mysterious attraction in him.

Malleus didn't like for his insecurities to be exposed. And the night he confessed his wish to the Child of Man, he decided he had spoken more than enough about himself.

It's not like that human boy was judgemental. If anything, it was the opposite: from Malleus' point of view, Yuu was naïve and innocent. From that boy's point of view, the Wild Hunt was something cool and valkyries were gorgeous maidens.

Malleus couldn't blame him. He had little knowledge about the boy's circumstances and it was obvious he was defenseless in many aspects. That boisterous monster that accompanied him was a wild card.

Oh, well. It wasn't his problem.

But his wish remained the same.

Malleus, who was supposed to be a king, only wanted to test his abilities. He always was compared to Thunaer, Wotan's son: the one who used the thunder and was boisterous and associated with storms and defense tactics.

And that was enough. Always coddled, protected, alienated.

Mallus was tired of being treated as a child. Especially by his caretakers.

He was a child no more. He was tired of being associated with Thor.

Malleus wanted to be like Wotan.

Powerful. Mysterious. Few would dare to contact him.

Thunaer was for the people. Wotan was for the rulers.

Thunaer was beloved. Wotan was feared and respected.

Malleus couldn't be loved, as much as he wanted. He'd never said it aloud, but it was his issue.

Wotan had that problem solved. He always pondered over the Mysteries and was left to his own devices. If Wotan issued orders, people would obey. It was as simple as that.

Lilia would often laugh at his preferences. No matter how much Malleus wanted to hide his feelings, he'd always know. Thunaer was associated with youth. Thunaer gave his name to thunder, the source of Malleus' natural magic. The Norsemen even associated Thunaer with a hammer, the Mjôlnir. And everybody knew Malleus' name meant hammer in Latin.

Thunaer was rash and noisy. Wotan was old and respected.

When Malleus told Lilia that, his guardian's answer was the fact he had chosen Wotan only highlighted his insecurities.

Malleus couldn't change his tastes. He only wanted power. And respect. There wasn't anything bad with a little ambition, right?

Secretly, that perhaps was why he connected so strongly with Leona.

Night Raven College wasn't a school for good children.

As if karma wanted to remind him of it, an annoying pest appeared in front of Malleus. That spoiled little monster.

''Tsunotaro! Hey, Yuu! Guess what? The Horned Guy is over there''

'' Aren't you two supposed to be in class?''

The little creature looked at him. His eyes were big and blue.

'' And why aren't you in class?''

He grinned.

'' Do you think we're fools? This is school time for you, too''

''Grim, just stay quiet. Hi, Tsunotarou. Grim forgot our notebooks and we came to fetch them back''

'' Aren't you supposed to carry them with you?''

Grim was going to answer, but Yuu was faster.

''Yes, but these are separated ones. We need it for our project''

''Project? What is it about?''

''For professor Crewell's class, we are just trying to get a different approach to potion-making. Since Yuu lacks powers and they said I can't be trusted, we are looking for an alternative way to cook some things. The professor was fine with it, so he allowed us to experiment''

The raccoon-like monster smiled. He closed his eyes. It was genuine.

''I'm going to show them! I'll be the best magician around!''

He surely was energetic.

''Hey, Tsunotaro! Why don't you come over after dinner? Yuu and I are going to have a ramen noodles soup party and you should come, too. After he told me about you, I thought it'd be cool to have someone else to hang out with at night. Ace and Deuce stopped coming with us during the VDC training camp and it'd be fun to make some noise ''

He had completely changed the subject.

''It'd be fun'' Yuu agreed ''We have movies, too''

''Malleus would love to join you two''

It was a grave voice. It couldn't belong to a teenager in any way. The sound was hoarse and the appearance of his owner couldn't have been more anti-climatic to its sound.

Lilia Vanrouge was floating, hanging upside down, like a bat.

The Child of Man and Grim screamed beautifully.

''Since how long have you been there?''

Malleus' voice was low. He wasn't in a good mood.

''Oh, I only came here not long after you, Malleus. The headmaster is looking for you and I couldn't come up with more excuses, so I sadly had to come and interrupt your fun''

''Well, guys. Save the chitchat for yourselves. Yuu and I have to leave for class. Tsunotaro, come with us at night. See ya''

Yuu waved them goodbye and left with Grim.

''Hey, Malleus. Look. It appears you finally made two friends''

His only answer was to throw a stone at Lilia. The little fae evaded it effortlessly and laughed at Malleus' annoyance.

''Malleus, c'mon. You are on the way to becoming closer to people other than Diasomnia's students. Isn't it good?''

''Lilia, I'm not a child that needs help.''

''You may say so, but deep down, I know you are happy''

And it was the truth. Malleus was annoyed. And oddly satisfied.

*A term used to call Galdr practitioners. Galdr was an ancient type of Norse magic that involved spells and practical performances, such as singing, recitations, and rune writing.