Lyren isn't trying to be whiny. The subject is just very touchy for him. He grew up around Dark Mages whom he literally watched lose their minds. He's afraid that he'll follow in their footsteps. And hasn't had the best experiences with people inside and outside of Crimson Tear. He's going typical troubled, dark character.

My anime experience tells me that punching him in the face will work best in this situation. A punch in the face always works on these types of characters.