Transmigrated Into a Cannon Fodder Phoenix, Stuck With the Ice Dragon-Chapter 137: The Fairies

The others were already seated at the dining table by the time Lucian and I arrived.

I squinted when I spotted Auren. "I thought you left yesterday?"

"Nope," he replied easily. "Why would I, when Lord Blaze offered a free breakfast today?"

I paused, then laughed as I glanced at Lucian. "So... this is his true character?"

Lucian shook his head. "Not exactly," he said. "He just knows how to take advantage of hospitality."

Auren smiled faintly, unbothered. "I prefer the term efficient."

I laughed. "This is really a surprise."

Auren inclined his head slightly, completely unashamed.

Lucian pulled out my chair and waited until I sat down before taking the seat beside me.

As the maid placed the food in front of us and I lifted my plate, my eyes drifted across the table and stopped.

Thalor was staring at Vivian, who was seated to my left, his gaze filled with unmistakable curiosity.

And me, being the most supportive best friend and feeling a sudden urge to help.

"Did you rest well, Vivian?" I asked brightly. "Are you feeling better today?"

Vivian’s eyes snapped up. She blinked once, clearly caught off guard.

"Ah—yes," she said quickly. "I feel much better today."

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

That look. She definitely knew Thalor had been watching her this whole time.

"Vi..." I called again, leaning a little closer. "Can I ask you something... personal?"

She hesitated, glancing around the table. "Here?"

I nodded, a grin tugging at my lips.

"Mhm. I just wanted to know... are you purely a fairy?" I tilted my head. "Or maybe... a mix?"

The question immediately caught Thalor’s attention. His gaze sharpened, clearly invested.

"Mix?" Vivian echoed, blinking. "What kind of mix? Are you asking about my parents?" She shook her head lightly. "No. Both of them were fairies."

And at that exact moment, Thalor’s shoulders dropped.

The reaction was brief, but unmistakable.

Frustration flickered across his face—gone just as quickly as it appeared, like he had been hoping for a different answer.

I noticed. Of course I did. He was so obvious with his expression.

But I pretended not to notice at first.

I hummed thoughtfully and reached for my utensils, but my eyes flicked sideways just in time to catch Thalor leaning back in his chair, jaw tightening.

"Fairies," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else.

Vivian glanced at him, puzzled. "Is something wrong?"

Thalor straightened at once, his usual lazy composure snapping back into place.

"No," he said smoothly. "Just thinking."

Auren, seated across from us, raised a brow but wisely chose not to comment.

"Are you sure?" Thalor muttered suddenly.

Everyone blinked in surprise.

Vivian, clearly confused, looked at him.

"What do you mean by that, my lord?"

"He means to ask whether you’re certain you’re not a fairy and mermaid mix," Lucian cut in, looking directly at Vivian. "For all we know... you could be adopted."

"Lucian!" I slapped his shoulder at once. "That’s a sensitive question!"

Vivian froze for a moment. Then she let out a small, uncertain laugh.

"It’s... alright," she said slowly. "I understand. But honestly, I’m my parents’ daughter. I don’t think I have any mixed blood."

She lowered her gaze to her plate, her voice steady but quiet.

"I grew up among fairies. I learned fairy magic. I lived as one. If there was anything different about me... I would have known by now."

Thalor didn’t look away.Not for a second.

"Fairies don’t always know," he said at last, his tone low. "Especially when someone worked very hard to make sure they wouldn’t."

The table went quiet.

I swallowed.

Whatever Thalor was thinking, it wasn’t about breakfast anymore.

Vivian frowned. "I’m sorry, my lord," she said, her voice tightening, "but I would know if I were mixed with a mermaid."

She suddenly stood up, frustration slipping through her calm.

"Look at me," she said, gesturing to herself. "Do you see any sign of a mermaid?"

Her hands clenched at her sides.

"I don’t know why you keep insisting," she continued, clearly upset. "But I’ve lived my entire life as a fairy. If there was something else in me, I would have felt it."

The room went quiet.

Thalor didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t argue.

Instead, he slowly set his fork down.

"That’s exactly why," he said calmly.

Vivian stiffened. "Why?"

"You don’t know much about mermaids," Thalor replied evenly. "That’s why you never realized you might carry a mermaid’s power."

Vivian shook her head at once.

"That doesn’t make sense," she said. "Power isn’t something you miss. You feel it. You hear it. You’re born knowing it."

Thalor didn’t argue.

He simply asked, "Then have you ever wondered," he said quietly, "why you could survive in my territory... while Elyndra struggled?"

The words settled slowly.

Vivian’s lips parted, but no sound came out.

"You were injured," Thalor continued. "You were exhausted. Yet the pressure didn’t crush you. The water didn’t reject you."

His gaze sharpened. "It accepted you."

Auren straightened slightly.

"That’s not normal," Thalor added. "Not for a fairy."

The dining table fell silent as everyone chose to listen instead of speak.

Vivian suddenly lifted her gaze and stared straight at Thalor.

"I don’t understand why you keep insisting on my bloodline," she said, her voice tight but steady. "I’ve asked myself that question before. If I were something else... how could I have lived as a fairy for so long?"

She drew in a breath.

"I use fairy magic. I follow fairy laws. I feel a fairy resonance," she continued. "If I weren’t one, the magic would have rejected me long ago."

Thalor didn’t interrupt.

"Vi..." I said quickly, stepping in before the tension snapped. "What Thalor means is... you might not be only a fairy. You could be mixed... with a mermaid."

"No," Vivian snapped.

The word cut through the air.

"Both my parents were fairies," she said sharply. "That damn fairy..." her voice trembled with anger, "the one who failed your parents."

Her gaze flicked to me.

"And the one who caused your father’s death."

Silence slammed down on the table.

My chest tightened.

Vivian froze the moment the words left her mouth, as if she’d realized too late how deep she’d cut.

No one spoke.

"I know who I am," Vivian said again, her voice tight now, no longer just angry. "And I won’t let anyone dig up my parents’ sins and reshape them into something worse than they already were."

Her gaze flicked to me, sharp with something that looked like pain.

"They betrayed your parents once," she said quietly. "That’s why I brought you out of this world when your mother asked me to. That was my debt to repay."

The table went completely still.

"I did what I was supposed to do," Vivian continued. "What they couldn’t undo."

Her fingers clenched.

"So don’t tell me my blood is something else," she finished. "Because if it is... if it is—"

Her voice broke. She bit her lip hard, anger, sadness, and frustration crashing together until she couldn’t hold them back anymore.

She stood abruptly.

"I’ll leave first," she said hoarsely, bowing slightly. "Thank you, Lord Blaze, for everything."

"Wait—Vi," I said quickly, standing as well. "Where are you going? I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to ruin your morning."

I reached out and held her arm.

Vivian looked down at my hand gripping hers.

And then, all at once, she collapsed.

Her knees gave out as she broke into tears, clutching at my sleeve like she couldn’t stay upright on her own.

"Why...?" she sobbed. "Why... why did you do this...?"

My chest tightened.

"Why did you raise my hopes?" she cried. "Every day... Every single day, I wished I was something else. Anything else."

Her shoulders shook violently.

"Not a fairy," she whispered. "Not this damn fairy that the entire world hates."

The dining hall was silent.

No judgment.

No interruption.

Just the sound of a woman finally admitting the wish she’d buried her whole life.

And in that moment, I understood—This wasn’t about bloodlines.

It was about wanting to belong somewhere without being blamed for existing.

I pulled her into my arms without thinking, kneeling with her as her tears soaked into my sleeve.

"Hey... hey," I murmured, my voice trembling. "That’s not true. You’re not hated for existing. You’re—"

"I am," she cut in weakly. "You don’t see it because you’re protected. Because you’re loved." Her fingers dug into my clothes. "But fairies like me? We’re convenient. Useful. Blamed when something goes wrong and forgotten when it doesn’t."

My throat tightened.

Around us, no one moved.

Vaylen had lowered his head, his expression heavy with something that looked like regret. Auren stood rigid, jaw clenched, like he wanted to step in but didn’t know how. Even Lucian was silent behind me, his presence solid and grounding.

Thalor was the last one I expected to speak.

"You’re wrong," he said quietly.

Vivian stiffened in my arms, lifting her head just enough to look at him through tear-blurred eyes.

"The world doesn’t hate fairies," Thalor continued, his tone stripped of sarcasm for once. "It fears them. And fear is easier to turn into hatred than understanding."

He paused, then added, almost reluctantly, "And wishing you were something else won’t erase what you’ve survived."

Vivian’s grip loosened slightly.

I brushed her hair back gently. "You don’t have to be anything else," I said softly. "Not for them. Not for anyone."