Chapter 57: Emotional Manipulation
’What is happening? Why is she becoming more unstable?’ Asher could only frown as he watched Natalia’s emotional state deteriorate before his eyes. He couldn’t understand how things were derailing this much, how she was breaking down for apparently no reason. She looked utterly broken, but he had yet to do anything to warrant such an intense reaction.
’Was it tied to what happened while I was unconscious? Or is it because of what I revealed about being a senior?’ He studied her trembling form. ’No, that shouldn’t warrant such an intense reaction. Something else is wrong—something I’ve yet to truly understand.’
[I suggest you handle this carefully... I always warned you, emotions are delicate business,] the voice cautioned.
’Sighs,’ Asher now realized there was a fundamental problem with his approach. He had to account for the emotional drawbacks of his actions on his targets. He couldn’t just manipulate without considering the psychological collateral damage.
’Hmm.’
<Given the rate at which she’s deteriorating, there are chances of self-harm... especially if her actions are related to her condition and fears of my avoiding her because of it. If that’s the case, then that’s a serious problem. The probability of her condition worsening if I execute my plan of distancing myself from her is pretty high—probably around 85%. With only a 15% chance of her friend remedying her situation somehow, but I doubt that. Her actions are slowly eliminating herself from the game. After all, just after she had discovered the truth about what really happened the day she lost both her mother and her legs, she had progressively declined mentally until she finally lost. This could really turn into something more troublesome than I initially thought... Hmm. If I leave her as she is, her actions in the near future would just be a variable. I can’t calculate the future given so many possibilities. I hate variables... That only means leaving her isn’t an option. Perhaps the best course of action to take at this moment is to use this moment of vulnerability to imprint myself deeply in her psyche. Make myself indispensable to her emotional stability.>
"Look at me, Natalia," Asher said gently, pulling back to meet her eyes as he grasped her frail hands.
"I-it’s n-nothing. Just t-take me b-back to the dorm, I-I will be a-alright," she stammered, tears streaming down her face. Her whole body shook with the effort of trying to appear composed.
Asher’s grip tightened slightly, and his right hand moved to touch her face with surprising tenderness. "You know a princess shouldn’t cry, right?" he said with a kind smile.