Chapter 407: Sleeping Beauty

As the event came to a closure, Aiden finally snapped out of his trance… 

However, processing the last events was another matter altogether… He kept staring at the closed wooden door, trying to comprehend what, how, and most importantly why had transpired. 

Was he labeled as a pervert in the confines of his own room?

He stared at the closed, wooden door frame for a while longer before he heaved an exasperated, heavy sigh and shook his head.

Deciding that it was best to put the matter at the back of his head and just focus on the current tasks at hand, he stepped away from the window. As he threw the gifted clothes atop the bed, a small frown flashed through his face, before it was pushed down, leaving only his nonchalant expression only. 

The clothes Drake so casually threw towards him was of much, much higher quality than his ragged, dusty and grimy, yellowish attire. As he glanced at besides the bathroom door, where he threw his attire into a messy pile, the difference between the two shirts was even more contrasted.

Compared to his yellowish, pale piece of linen fabric, this one had a much higher quality to it. The black long-sleeved shirt had a thin, but surprisingly sturdy, elastic trait to it. As he touched the fabric, Aiden felt it was much smoother, silkier compared to his old, rough linen one. 

The only thing he felt was strange was the slightly deeper cut at the neck, which felt strange to him. At first, he even thought that it wasn't meant for men, but for the feminine half of the society. Though this presumption was quickly dismissed as the cut wasn't nearly as deep as the ones he could remember from the Modern World, it was still slightly strange.

The pants, just like the black long-sleeved smooth shirt, were also charcoal black, with a slightly thicker, probably made with a stronger material. It also had a faint matte shine to it, which after taking a closer look at it with the help of the system, Aiden summarized to be some type of energy, imbued into the fiber itself.

As he kept his attention on the pants, his dutiful system guide, Enya's maternal voice came to his mind.

'[There is no need to look too deeply into it. It's enchanted with mana, albeit it's a pretty primitive one. I believe the locals would call this 'Nature Magic', from the initial inspection of the inscription, it seems to serve two purposes. The first and primary objective is to imbue the fibers with air essence making the entire pants weigh less, to feel lighter. Also, and this is only a by-product of the first: It also provides minor protection against air-based attacks. Not much, but still much better than what you have been prancing around all this time.]' She explained, not shying away from a little jab at the end of her speech.

Before Aiden could voice his complaint, she continued with an additional remark.

'[Also, the material that is made of is much more resistant to the most regular types of attacks. It should be able to withstand a couple of sword or dagger strikes from regular humans. Although if a beast were to lounge at you, don't expect this fabric to ward off its attack. Also the same can be also said for the shirt. Though the fabric is slightly different, it is also of high quality, not something you can easily acquire in a backwater place such as this town.]'

'Well… considering he IS the crown prince, I guess this is normal, everyday attire for him. So worthless that he could just casually throw it away, while for others, it would be akin to priceless treasure…' Agreeing with Enya's words, Aiden grabbed the black trouser and hurriedly dressed up.

Although now, with his memories of his previous life intact, he felt a slight discomfort once again going commando under the pants, there was nothing he could do. Soon, as he finished dressing up, he left the room and walked towards the end of the hallway.

He halted before taking his first step up the stairs, hesitating a bit. He wasn't sure how to face his sister, the cute Galina, or even Scarlet for that matter. Should he be angry? After all, it was them that burst into his room. Wouldn't he also have the right to some privacy?

On the other hand, they were maidens, and all that happened was just a big misunderstanding. Also, his room was also Galina's, she had all the rights to walk in, unannounced. Also, he wasn't supposed to walk naked, even if he just came out to quickly wash his clothes and prepare them for the day. (Which in the end he had not done, and just merely stored them in his system's inventory.)

After a while, deciding it was best to just let the matter go and not bring it up, his expression gradually calmed, his usual gentle smile once again dominated his outlook. Taking one last sigh, to exhale all the pent-up stress that he was subjected to this morning, he stepped forward, whilst scanning the crowd below in search of his group. 

As he spotted the group of the familiar shaped cloaked and hooded gang, he nodded in their direction and strolled towards the usual corner beside the entrance…

—

It was a beautiful sunny morning. The crystal clear, light blue sky gave no hurdle to the blustering summer sun, letting its rays light up the world below with all its glory. 

Just like with all others, the curious orange rays peaked through each and every window, and unless there was a piece of dark cloth plastered in front of the glass frame, the bright pillars of light that pierced into the rooms would also serve as the natural wake-up call, reminding the slumbering residents that a new day has arrived.

As the morning rays peaked through a series of particularly large windows, a beautiful, adorned, luscious bedchamber was lit up. Ornate, priceless artifacts serving as normal everyday furniture, golden embroidery decorating almost every piece of fabric and silk that could be seen in the room.

Suddenly, as the light peaked through the windows and scared away the obscureness of the previous night, a tired groan, a feminine yawn escaped through the covers of the pillowy bedsheets. Slow movement could be seen from under the duvet, as its lone resident slowly began to come back to reality. 

The figure released a painful groan, as a feminine hand suddenly came up from under the cover and reached for a flock of a messy golden head of hair. 

A couple of moments later, another hand arrived following in the footsteps of its right-winged sister.

A more powerful yawn escaped through the lips of the figure, her groans gradually turning more and more coherent as the seconds continued to pass.

"Wha… What happened…" Her eyelids slowly fluttered away, giving way to surprise rather than shock. Still working with a minimal amount of stamina, she slowly looked around to take in her immediate surroundings, gradually turning her surprise into a growing sense of confusion.

"Where… am I?" She muttered, not really expecting an answer.

Although she was unsure about her current location or her safety, as she felt an incredible luxury she was currently in, her worries slowly began to drift away…

Although she felt that she would be fine sleeping on the cold, hard ground, in her heart she was still a girl… She couldn't deny herself the enjoyment of such comfort…