Seeing her cry, Aric let out a small sigh and hugged her. She was completely shocked. She didn't know what to call her feeling—more romantic but happy, too, since it was her first time crying in front of someone.
And not just anyone—it was the prince himself. Aric Thorne. Not to mention, her jumping onto his chest was the root cause of all these emotions. Now she didn't know how to act.
Aric, on the other hand, expected her to be emotional. She was never raised like a child and didn't know human warmth. She barely even had emotions. She always put herself aside, constantly doing her job perfectly.
Aric did notice that she needed to actually notice the outside world. If she got out of the palace, she must never appear perfect as a maid—rather, she should be a normal girl just trying to survive. But for someone who lived forced to become someone who would neglect her life for the purpose of her job, this was very uncommon.
Aric let out a slight sigh. "Listen, do what you want. I'm telling you to prepare for it. I will tell you the exact time when I finally decide. Okay?"
She cleared her throat, gently swiping her tears off her gorgeous cheekbones. She pursed her heart-shaped lips.
Deep in her heart, this thought was ingrained very profoundly: I never thought this day would come. Ever since I was a kid, I was lonely—changing places from the duke's to the palace, constantly seeing other kids playing and so on. I completely ignored the whole thing, saying it's not possible to get back to childhood. Of course, I thought of trying to think for the future, not the past. But at some point, when my current life and future life become the past… would I regret it? Is this how I will live for the rest of my life?
Aric slowly let go of her. He patted her head gently. "Now I ask you to go to your room and decide what you want to do for your future. Don't thank me, nor try to cover the fact that you don't need this offer. Plus, refusing is not an option—I changed my mind. This is an order. You really need it."
As her face turned red without her noticing, she mumbled to herself, "Maybe I'm destined for it, or it might be my endless praying. Why do I feel so happy?"
Aric turned around and walked to his room as if he didn't see it as a big deal. She, on the other hand, was so confused.
How? How is he the same Aric I know? He is completely different from the Aric I know. Seriously, is the central crystal the reason behind it? Is it possible for me to conclude that he ended up being a completely different person? Why is my heart even pounding so much? Throughout my life, I have never experienced such intimacy—me hugging him, even clinging to him for a while. He even patted my head… I feel good about it.
Aric knew she would act like this. He slowly triggered her intimacy. He carefully planned everything in a matter of seconds.
It always takes time to learn to relate to the core idea, but still, it is completely different when it comes to executing the learning process into an action that drains oneself once more—just like how it took a hell of a time to learn. Wisdom and knowledge are two different things. Acquiring knowledge and implanting it is wisdom. On the other hand, just having knowledge without any experience will be cold and fruitless. I'm not a genius, and I don't want to be cold. That wisdom is something unseen nor untouched… So on. But still, people notice when someone has great wisdom, unlike knowledge that you need to blabber about to get acknowledged. I'm just doing what I had to do to survive—to gain absolute power over everything.
He opened his room door. Closing it slightly, he opened a cabinet with papers and ink inside.
He took out a chart paper. He placed the chart paper on the bed and turned around, opening his closet. With a curious face, he opened the closet door. The door swung around a couple of times while he stared at the clothes.
A numerous amount of fabric clothes that the prince used to buy just to waste money. Shirts, suits, ties, and trousers—dozens of types of clothes were orderly displayed in the closet. Aric was surprised. In the body owner's memory, the novel's Aric was just a lazy, worthless prince, as his reputation suggests.
When Aric remembered from the memories he had, the novel's prince just shoved all the clothes in messily, compacted inside.
Aric looked at the perfectly ordered clothes. He watched, standing right in front of the bed. Walking three steps backward, one hand supporting his chin—like a judge quietly weighing the clothes' dynamic placement.
"Hmmm… A messy closet is often a reflection of a person's inner psychological state, revealing issues such as stress, anxiety, emotional attachment, and a feeling of being overwhelmed."
"So all the time, he was just getting misunderstood. Being weak is a problem, huh? This world is so messed up. An unknown, useless noble married the king—more like, she was a concubine. Just came, bullied a crybaby prince. Huh? I'm actually glad. Very glad that Nyxia is my maid. She always protected him. Thanks to her, I at least got transmigrated into a fresh body—though not strong, but healthy."
He got back, tilting his head. "So Nyxia cleared this messy closet. Man, she deserves so much."
It took him a while to take out all the clothes and orderly place them on the bed. It would be a shame to let Nyxia—who already replaced the clothes properly—make her do it again. After clearing the closet, he took the chart paper and placed it inside the closet. He stuck the paper to the back panel of the closet from the inside.
Inside, he took out the ink and slowly placed it inside the closet. A fountain pen with a darker color. He wrote plans on the paper:
· Meeting the programmer.
· Mail delivery
· Social media
· AI
· Gambits - training
· Quietly, under every empty nest, the eggs are hatching.
· b****** - g*******...
· Meetings
Likewise, he put things in a code others wouldn't understand. 'Quietly, under every empty nest, the eggs are hatching.'
Taking the first letters of words that have the star sign (*) only is the actual word.
He took out a larch-color chart. He stuck it on the board, but this time he only stuck the four edges of the papers so he could smash the paper off the back panel.
Slowly replacing all the clothes as Nyxia left it, he took his shirt off and got into the bathroom. Walking while taking off his trousers, throwing them on the bed, he was clicking his fingers, playing some music in his head.
He went into the shower. He first breathed in. He opened the shower slowly, turning it on, and he floated his other hand under the shower. The water was cold as a fridge. As soon as the water droplets fell on his hand, his hand screamed, "Get out!"
The water was so cold that his hand shook on its own. He gazed at his hand fiercely.
"The psychology behind cold showers involves a combination of physiological stress responses, neurochemical changes, and behavioral conditioning that together create a sense of alertness, improved mood, and mental resilience. The controlled shock of cold water triggers the release of beneficial neurotransmitters and activates the nervous system, helping my mind and body adapt to discomfort. That's one thing that I'm aiming for."
He crossed the ceramic and stepped in under the shower. Closing his eyes, he sat down on the ground just like a monk. Monks cross their legs while sitting on the ground in meditation to symbolize stability, focus, and reverence, fostering a calm and alert state of mind. This traditional posture, such as the half-lotus or full lotus position, helps keep the spine erect and balanced, allowing the muscles to relax and attention to be focused on the breath. It is considered a stable, restful, yet active posture that facilitates deeper concentration and mindfulness for meditation.
He always waited until the cold water wasn't cold anymore. The water is water, and it won't change unless the temperature of the environment changes. What he always used to do when getting into a cold shower and getting out not feeling cold was about adapting to the coldness. Ice can never freeze ice.
Feeling calm and collected, this weak body—which never even got a chance to wash in cold water—finally reduced muscle soreness. It was almost like the north and south difference between his past body and his current one.