Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 269: Great Defeat for Amalia

Since the brooch could only enhance ancient spells, Astrid found very few situations where it was actually useful. Moreover, casting just one high-level apprentice spell had already exhausted her mentally. On a battlefield, if she missed her target, it would likely mean her death.

Leaning back in her seat, letting her neck press against her long hair, Astrid looked up at the bright light above, feeling the chill from all around.

She gently kicked off her high heels, bent her knees, and tucked her black-stockinged feet together, curling up in the seat to preserve the precious warmth she had managed to retain.

This long-lost sense of exhaustion would affect both the mind and body, even making thinking unusually stiff.

Astrid closed her eyes and entered a meditative state. After ten minutes, the thin ice in the room began to melt on its own, and the temperature dropped again.

Feeling that the thoughts in her mind were no longer so empty, the woman fluttered her eyelashes but did not move rashly.

The re-emerging mental energy flowed quietly within her body, seemingly with a subtle difference from before.

Its quality... seemed higher than before...

If untrained mental energy was like a basin of muddy water, then after a long period of practice, this water would become clearer and more suitable for communicating with the elements.

Astrid felt that her mental energy at this moment was significantly stronger than before the experiment, a leap forward by no small measure.

Could it be an illusion?

Astrid did not jump to conclusions. The recovered mental energy was still too little to tell, so it was best to wait until it was half full before observing.

Listening to the ticking of the clock, Astrid buried her face between her knees, her jade toes gently curling, pulling at the thin silk stocking tips.

Two hours passed, and her mental energy was almost fully recovered. Astrid opened her eyes and casually chanted a water-based spell.

Before half a second had passed, a crystal-clear water ball appeared in front of her.

This time, both the speed and effect of the spell were excellent.

And... her mental energy reserves had increased a lot...

Astrid exhaled, a faint white mist rising and dissipating under the light.

Since her mental energy capacity was naturally less than others, she also recovered much faster. Lyra needed eight hours of deep meditation to fully recover her mental energy, while Astrid only needed two hours to fully replenish hers.

Previously, she had clearly felt that her strength had reached a certain bottleneck, and no matter how much she used her mental energy, she could not increase the total amount, only passively improve its quality.

Now, Astrid found that the threshold that had been hindering her had disappeared, and she could continue to increase her mental energy reserves through depletion and recovery.

The quality had made a leap forward, and she could continue to increase the reserves.

This meant... she had advanced to an Early Sorcerer...

Although this should have been a joyous occasion, Astrid did not show any signs of happiness. On the contrary, she furrowed her delicate brows, wrapped her arms around her knees, and gently tapped her elbows with her fingers.

When others advanced from a peak apprentice to an early sorcerer, their total mental energy would at least double or triple, and by the time they trained to the middle level, they could have ten times the mental energy of a peak apprentice.

But she had only made a slight improvement, barely reaching the ceiling of a peak apprentice.

The quality was the same as at an early stage sorcerer, but the reserves would be completely outclassed by most peak apprentices on the verge of breaking through. It was somewhat ironic.

Astrid pursed her lips, her red eyes rarely showing a hint of helplessness, but after some thought, she felt relieved.

Having a low mental energy reserve was not entirely a bad thing.

The most obvious point was that she was less likely to get stuck in advancement, allowing her to raise her mage level faster.

Although the mana cap might be locked, once she reached the Magnus level, she could cast spells without speaking, allowing her to chant more powerful ancient spells.

Magic supported by ancient language consumed less mental energy and had better effects, inadvertently compensating for her shortcomings. One could even say that this deficiency in mental energy would not matter much by then.

The effect of casting one spell could rival that of five spells of the same level by others. Even if the total mental energy was a bit lacking, the impact would not be significant.

Thinking of this, Astrid picked up the deep blue brooch on the table again, bringing it close to her eyes for a closer look.

The pale light fell on the metal surface, forming a curved halo, the brightest point rotating along the edge as the woman’s fingertip moved.

The special ability contained within the brooch indeed far exceeded her imagination.

Unfortunately, the strange illusion from last time did not reappear, causing her attempt to gather information through the brooch to fall through once more.

Nevertheless, tonight’s gains were not insignificant. Advancing from a novice who had never touched magic to an early sorcerer in a year was something even the protagonist of destiny had not achieved.

One should not be too greedy.

Putting on her shoes, tidying her loose hair and skirt, Astrid checked her attire in the mirror, placed the brooch in a brocade box, and took it with her.

Just as she reached the door, as if by appointment, Astrid removed the bolt and was about to turn the handle when a rhythmic knocking sound came from outside.

Noticing the still-active silencing barrier beside her, Astrid channeled mental energy into it, putting it back to sleep, then spoke softly.

"Who is it?"

"...It’s me, Princess Astrid. Am I disturbing you?"

Hearing the soft, delicate voice from outside, Astrid opened the door and saw Lyra, her expression gentle under the moonlight.

"No, what’s the matter?"

Lyra’s ears warmed slightly as she pulled her hands from behind her back.

"Not really, it’s just that the time is about right, so I came to check."

"And also... this..."

The girl extended her hand, revealing two glass bottles hanging from green braided strings. Inside the bottles was a light green opaque liquid, resembling something like a milkshake.

"...A new milk tea from the Cling Tea House. I bought two bottles."

Feeling a bit embarrassed no matter what she said, Lyra lifted one of the bottles, her voice very soft.

"This one... is for you, Princess."

Looking at the pink-haired girl who lowered her head, showing a hint of shyness, Astrid’s lips unconsciously curved into a smile as she gently took the glass.

"Thoughtful of you. Is that place still open?"

The Cling Tea House closed at nine every day, and it was almost nine-thirty now.

Moreover, as far as Astrid knew, the consumption level of that restaurant was not low, at least for a poor child like Lyra, buying a cup of milk tea would require a lot of hesitation and scraping from her wallet.

"Yes, I happened to be the last customer." Lyra nodded, opening the cap of the other milk tea bottle.

Instantly, a rich milky aroma spread around, adding a hint of sweet tea fragrance to the evening breeze.

Holding the warm milk tea, Astrid felt the palms that had been chilled in the cold storage room regain some warmth.

She instinctively rolled the glass bottle, letting the heat spread to every inch of her skin.

Sometimes excessive meditation would lead to similar situations. Mages focused solely on replenishing their mental energy, neglecting the physical environment at the time.

Originally, Astrid had not felt cold while sitting, but now that she was outside, she instantly noticed that even the wind felt warm.

Noticing Astrid’s small movements, Lyra recalled the chill that had greeted her when the door opened earlier and the cold, slightly reddened hand that had brushed against hers when Astrid took the glass.

"Princess Astrid, are you cold?"

Hearing Lyra’s question, Astrid nodded.

"I’ve been practicing ice magic earlier, so the entire training room’s temperature dropped."

The hot milk tea Lyra bought was just right.

The pink-haired girl thought for a moment, then abandoned the idea of using fire magic to warm Astrid, his kind of magic required precise control when used up close, and her mental energy was almost depleted, making it easy to accidentally harm the other party.

"Then would you like to come to my place for a while and drink the milk tea to warm up?" Lyra asked.

She had spent half the evening practicing light magic and the other half practicing fire magic, both of which were particularly good at generating heat, so the temperature in her training room was always higher than outside.

Considering she still had things to do back home, Astrid politely declined Lyra’s offer.

"No need."

The wind was warm, and the drink was hot. If she were going to catch a cold, she probably already would have. It wouldn’t make much difference now.

Lyra lowered her eyes, thinking that Princess Astrid must have other plans, and finally whispered an "Oh," taking a sip of her milk tea.

As expected of the Cling Tea House’s milk tea, smooth and flavorful, with a perfect blend of green tea and milk.

Watching Astrid also sipping hers, Lyra felt a bit more at ease and stepped forward in her small leather shoes.

Originally, she had planned to buy only one cup after seeing the price, but considering that Astrid might not accept it if she offered just one, she reluctantly bought two, drinking one herself.

From the looks of it, the effect was quite good.

"Why did you suddenly think of buying me milk tea tonight?"

Walking on the tiled spiral staircase, their shadows overlapping, Astrid, after a few sips of milk tea, held the warm cup and asked softly.

Such an expensive item was definitely not within Lyra’s usual spending range, and Astrid was curious about what had happened today.

Could it be that, like her, Lyra had made a breakthrough and was feeling happy?

Hearing this, Lyra blinked a few times, her long, slender white-stockinged legs swaying alternately, creating a faint breeze.

"Because Princess Astrid has been working so hard lately..."

"And I couldn’t help much... so I thought..."

To do something for you.

Lyra kept the latter part of the sentence in her heart, but it did not change the original meaning.

Astrid glanced at her, her heels tapping the steps one by one, like a performer’s nimble fingers on piano keys, playing a beautiful melody.

"Thank you, Lyra."

"The milk tea is delicious. I like it."

The woman’s pale cheeks, chilled, were tinged with a faint blush, making her look even more charming under the flickering lights. Lyra quickly averted her gaze, her pink lips parting softly.

"I’m glad Princess Astrid likes it..."

Although it was just a simple sentence, it was enough to make her happy.

Leaving the training tower, the milk tea in the glass bottle was still more than half full.

Feeling the breeze on her face, Lyra gently brushed her hair, her steps lighter.

If she were to name the happiest and most relaxed time of her day, it would undoubtedly be now.

No need to think about the problems in the books, no need to worry about complicated spell incantations, and no need to ponder the vague future. Everything for today was done the moment she locked the training room door, and all that was left was to rest.

And the most crucial point was that the person accompanying her on this journey was her favorite, Princess Astrid. Even the breeze carried the scent of her.

Walking in the square, Lyra looked up at the starry sky, her peripheral vision catching the long hair that had unknowingly taken on a silvery sheen, as if replacing the dimmed moonlight, becoming the second brightest moon in the sky.

"I remember the Cling Tea House’s glass bottles require a deposit?"

"Yes, one silver coin per bottle."

"After class tomorrow, I’ll go with you to return them."

"Eh? I can go by myself... No need to trouble Princess Astrid..."

Princess Astrid is so busy, she wouldn’t have time for such things.

Looking at Lyra, who was staring at the ground, Astrid spoke softly.

"Why can’t it be that I want to go for a drink myself and return it on the way?"

As Lyra had said, she had indeed been very busy lately, with newspaper articles and magical devices on one hand, and ancient spells and the deep blue brooch on the other.

She hadn’t even had time for the afternoon tea that noble ladies so enjoyed.

If she kept going like this, she would go mad. Coinciding with her breakthrough from the apprentice level, it was time to take a break.

Hearing Astrid say this, Lyra did not say more, continuing to accompany her as they slowly walked towards the dormitory area.

"By the way, Lyra." Astrid took a sip of the milk tea, the warm, smooth liquid sweet and comforting, as if warming her heart.

"I think I heard that you’re not planning to go home during the summer break, but to stay in the capital to work?"

Astrid couldn’t remember if Lyra had actually told her this, but at least it was in the plot.

Hearing this, Lyra felt a warmth in her heart, thinking that even an offhand remark had been remembered by Astrid, and her tone involuntarily rose.

"Yes, I plan to stay and earn some tuition." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Even though she would miss home, earning money was equally important. The cost of living in the capital was high, but she had a dormitory to stay in, so she didn’t have to worry about accommodation expenses. Plus, she wasn’t picky about food, so she wouldn’t spend much on meals.

In every way, the capital was a good place to earn money.

Lyra had already planned that in the last month of the semester, she would start looking for a decent job, like baking pastries at a bakery or working as a waitress at a restaurant. In her free time, she could also practice combat skills to ensure her studies didn’t fall behind.

Having served as Princess Astrid’s maid for a year, she had enough experience in tasks like serving tea and making desserts.

Looking at Lyra, who was holding the milk tea with a sparkle in her eyes, Astrid pursed her lips and after a while spoke slowly.

"Since Lyra has decided to stay in the capital, I think finding a new job would be quite troublesome for you."

Lyra nodded, not denying it.

"Yes, so I’ll start looking before the semester ends."

The head maid had taught her that a qualified maid must be prepared in advance, not waiting until the master had finished eating to check if the napkins were clean.

Whether Lyra was foolish or overly cute, or perhaps both, Astrid took a sip of the milk tea and spoke softly.

"What I mean is... the third princess of the Valeria Empire might need a personal maid during the summer break..."

"I wonder if Miss Lyra Beckett has any interest in this."

As soon as Astrid finished speaking, Lyra’s steps came to an abrupt halt. The girl’s mouth slightly opened, her brain working rapidly.

Personal maid?

Her?

She had thought she might never serve Princess Astrid again as she had the previous year, but now she had once again received an invitation from her.

Although she was still to serve as a personal maid, many things were completely different from when they first met... Whether it was Princess Astrid’s attitude or her own thoughts now...

Looking at the girl’s lips, moist and pink under the starlight, stained with milky white liquid, Astrid continued.

"The salary remains the same. If you’re unwilling or feel that being my maid is too tiring, you can refuse directly."

"I won’t get angry over something like this."

Thinking that Princess Astrid was secretly taking care of her again, Lyra, who was hesitating whether to accept, immediately responded upon hearing this.

"That’s not the case!"

"..."

"Being Princess Astrid’s maid makes me happy."

If she could help her parents settle their later years, even without a salary, she would be willing to stay by her side.

Hearing this, Astrid chuckled, her fingers brushing her hair band, her silver hair swaying in the wind.

"Good, then you can stay in your old room."

Reaching the dormitory building, Astrid finished the last of the hot milk tea, while Lyra was still immersed in the beautiful imagination of returning to her life as a maid.

She could still help Princess Astrid with her hair, and accompany her when she went to other noble ladies’ afternoon teas.

So wonderful... Suddenly looking forward to summer even more...

"Achoo..."

A clear sneeze was quite noticeable in the quiet air. Astrid raised her right hand, pressing the back of it against her lips, gently sniffing with her delicate nose.

"Princess Astrid... you’ve caught a cold..." Lyra said.

After a moment of silence, Astrid said nonchalantly.

"Perhaps."

Although her affinity with the ice element was strong, it didn’t mean she was made of ice. She could still catch a cold if she got chilled.

"Achoo..."

As soon as she finished speaking, another distinct sneeze followed.

Hearing this, Lyra quickly accompanied Astrid back to the dormitory. Elise’s desk drawer had some herbal medicine for colds, which could be boiled and taken.

"No need to be nervous, it’s just a minor cold."

Astrid took out the key to open the door, her voice slightly nasal.

Seeing this, Lyra’s concern did not diminish, only slightly relieved after Elise served Astrid the medicine.

But then again... if Princess Astrid has a cold...

Does that mean Princess Amalia can’t sleep with her tonight?

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m