I SUCCESSFULLY REMAINED THE WHOLE NIGHT AWAKE AS IF IT WAS NOTHING. Just lying in my kingdom-sized bed (it's gigantic) helped my body rest. And when the sun rose in the sky, I read the last chapter of the Eyes of Death and decided it was time for me to pretend to wake up. So, I headed to my bath chamber and took a long shower, not bothering to call any maid to help me with it.
Probably because back in my last year's alive in the 1st timeline, I used to do this alone, to not let the maids see me covered in blood or anything like that. I quite enjoy spending this time in the bathtub alone, with no one pestering me. Yes, I get why we have so many maids, but I still think it's totally okay for me to do my things alone and only call them when I'm tired. However, no one else shares my thoughts on this, not even the maids.
They think that doing their own makeup, dressing, and bathing themselves is a taboo that they are not willing to break. Which is stupid when you think about it. To do other shores makes sense. But you aren't a helpless baby who can't even put some clothes on and wash up without help. It doesn't matter how many times I think about it, it's very dumb, and people shouldn't be so okay with it.
Such a bunch of dummies.
When I finished it, I headed to my walk-in closet. And out of all the clothes I chose from Dalilah's dressing room, I took a pair of black-leathered riding clothes, with knee-length black boots with a platform in them, plus the insignia of House Nicholai in the jacket. A silver crescent moon.
Based on all the insignia in the Royal Houses, I personally think that our house's crest is the loveliest out of the four; House Caspien has the golden sun, House Cain has the seven-ends star, and House Larsson has the lotus flower in pink and lilac. Maybe it's because I love the moon, but still.
You must be questioning why my house, House Caspien, and House Cain all have emblems that co-relate while House Larsson does not. Well, that's simple. My paternal grandfather Alexander, the Emperor's father Aaron, and Grand Duke Alastair's great-grandmother Alisha were all siblings. They were also the founders of the Caspien Empire, solidifying our power at the end of the 1st World War.
But that's history.
The funny fact is that my grandfather was the one who was supposed to be the Emperor, but he didn't want that, so he renounced and passed it down to one of his younger twin siblings. Alisha didn't desire the power, while Aaron did. Then they chose one of their surnames out of "Caspien Nicholai-Decker", and you can see how that went.
And although grand-aunt Alisha chose to have the Decker on her name, she didn't pass it down because she decided to pass down her husband Jalen Cain's last name. That's how House Cain was established. So, yes, to some degree, the three houses are all related.
Which couldn't be said to House Larsson before, but once dad's sister married their heir, they will also be related to us in the future.
As soon as I was done getting dressed, I styled my long hair in two root braids, did my skincare, and put on a pair of silver crescent moon earrings and some silver rings to match.
Damn, I miss being able to listen to my favorite songs with the magical tool the Mage's Tower created when I was nineteen. It made everything easy and helped loads of people who always wanted to sing to launch their songs on the social media that came with it. And to make it accessible to everyone, there were the high-ranking social media and the commoners, and there was also a third one that allowed us to be in global mode.
It was a revolution.
And imagine how much money the creator and the Mage's Tower won with all of that. I like money. Money is good.
Can I do something to make that happen sooner? Should I try giving the Legendary Mage ideas about this and how it works when I go to the K'hir Archipelago to create a bank account there? Would that make me the creator of the magical tool? If yes, would it make me richer?
Speaking of becoming richer... What should I do with all the fourteen mines I still have? Because I didn't hand all of them to Mr. George. Why would I, when I can use them in different ways?
I still have a diamond, an emerald, and two ruby mines under Viddena, Val's territory. I have three mines of a rare mineral called 'star's tears' in Astryn, which people haven't heard of but will revolutionize medicine by healing some of the world's most incurable diseases and illnesses. And I'm the owner of the only territory that can possibly have this mineral.
'Why?' You ask. The star's tears can only be found in the coldest place on the sphere, under enormous pressure. And Astryn happens to be the coldest place in the Padaman sphere, which was given to me when I was one year old because I was born with ice magic, which made me the perfect person to take care of that land. But no one seems to remember that, so they all believe I was unlucky to have been given this land.
Little did they know that place was a golden spot and a river of money. It's laughable, but I'm on the winning end. The problem is that it's complicated to mine the mineral because it's deep underground, and the pressure is absurd. Only people with a lot of magic in their bodies can do it properly.
In my past life, my sister somehow learned that I had them in my territory and made me sell them to her at a banana price. Later, she got mountains of gold because of it, and the revolution in medicine happened. And she received all the credits for it. Not happening again.