Aegon couldn't help but feel emotional as he narrated the story to Elara. After all, it was his own story, something he had experienced himself, albeit he had distorted it a little to explain it better.

He had been there once as well, when nobody loved him, and when he searched everywhere, the only answer he got was that he should love himself.

Whether others loved him or not didn't matter as long as he loved himself.

So he searched for that self-love, spending his time trying to love himself even though he remained stuck in that hospital, surrounded by people who treated him like an object rather than a person.

Just the memory of those times brought a pang of pain, as he was reminded of those days again. How he had spent his entire life all alone, trying to love himself because no one else did.

Aegon suppressed those memories by remembering his current life, where he had people who loved him more than they loved themselves.

He smiled thinking of everyone he had formed special bonds with in this new life and gathered the courage to continue.

"The man realised something that day. He realised that he came to the restaurant and attended all the dates he arranged with himself even after finding out those terrible things about himself."

He smiled and continued.

"He realised that just like going on dates with someone doesn't mean you'll fall in love with them, dating yourself doesn't mean you have to fall in love with all parts of yourself either."

Elara's body shook under him, so he wrapped his hand around her shoulder and caressed her back slowly, reminding her that he was there for her.

When she calmed down, he continued.

"People push this idea that you have to love every part of yourself, that it's self-love. But there are parts of me I'm not proud of, and I'll never be, because the point of all of this was never to love all of me."

Aegon looked around at his beautiful surroundings and sighed.

"It was about sitting with judgement, pettiness, and bad thoughts and saying, 'This is me,' because self-love doesn't mean falling in love with yourself. It's about knowing yourself, the good, the bad, and everything in between."

Elara slowly stirred at his side and turned to look at him, her eyes full of tears. He panicked immediately and tried to wipe her tears away. "Hey! Hey! Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, so please stop crying."

Elara shook her head and wiped the tears herself. Then she smiled lightly and said, "I understand. I finally understand, Aegon. Self-love isn't love. It was never about love."

She held his hands that had been wiping her tears and placed them against her cheeks.

"Self-love is learning to live with yourself even on days you can't love yourself. Because that's you."

"I'm glad you understand," Aegon smiled as he caressed her slightly red cheeks. "Besides, there's me who will love you even if you don't love yourself, so don't worry too much about it. I'm here for you."

"You really love all of my parts without even realising. How silly of you!" Elara laughed and said. "But then again, this is also why I fell for you."

Then she left his embrace, even if she felt reluctant, and jumped to her feet. Looking down, she declared, "I promise you I'll solve everything by the time you come to Slyvanna. Everything between Rosa and me, so that we can be together properly."

"Huh? Wait! What?"

Elara smiled and said, "You don't have to do everything yourself, you know. This is our problem, so we'll solve it together. And I promise I'll explain everything too when you come to Slyvanna. It's best if I do it there, so can you wait for me?"

"Earlier, I was the one asking for time, and now it's you," Aegon chuckled softly and rose to match her height. "Whatever you wish, My Lady. I can wait an eternity for you, but please do not torture me like that."

Elara giggled and said, "Your tongue is getting smoother every day."

She stared at his face for a few seconds before saying, "Now that I think about it, I'm older than you. Isn't our relationship a bit weird?"

"It's weird, for sure. But many nobles had worse age gaps and still did it," Aegon shrugged in response. "Though it does feel like you're fooling poor little me."

She hit him lightly on the shoulder and said, "As if I can fool you. If you weren't so unique, do you think I would fall for a sixteen-year-old?"

Aegon took a step forward, closing the distance between them immediately, and whispered, encircling his arm around her slender, willow-like waist.

"I'm an adult, my lady."

"Then please have patience, my lord," Elara smiled and pushed him away. "Remember that we aren't in a relationship currently, so it's improper for a dignified gentleman like you to take advantage of an innocent princess like me."

"Innocent? You?" Aegon rolled his eyes. "Please. Only others will fall for your act, not me. I know how de—"

"Shhh!" Elara pressed her finger against his lips and whispered, "That's a secret between us."

Then she backed away and skipped off in the rain of pink petals. Aegon watched the scene, his heart skipping a beat as Elara's smile seemed to paint the world with colours of happiness.

"I'll leave first!" she shouted from a distance. "Remember that we're the same as before until you visit Slyvanna."

Aegon remained on the spot as the gravity of what had happened finally came crashing down on him.

'I actually confessed? What in the blue fuck? Wait! No way, I actually just had the first confession of my two lives and didn't even realise it.'

He felt like punching himself.

'Did I even do it properly?'

[Host, if you had failed, why would your love actually smile so much and accept your confession? Oh wait, she didn't.]

Aegon felt veins popping up on his forehead as he cursed, 'I wish you would get a body soon so I can smack you, you damned disloyal system.'

[I am very much loyal to you, Host, so please don't question my loyalty. To show that, I will also gladly lie down on the bed and let you spank me.]

'Who wants to spank you in bed, cheeky bastard?' Aegon really wanted to hit this system. Why did he ask for it to gain intelligence?

[Congratulations, Host.]

Aegon paused and then sighed.

'Yes. I finally found the love of my life, and she feels the same way.'

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