Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 275: Trial of Sword (5) - Second Trial

Perhaps it was because the face before her was all too familiar, too deceptive, that upon hearing Astrid’s straightforward question, Lyra even entertained the idea of directly revealing the truth to her.

However, no matter how much a fake resembles the original, even if the appearance and voice are nearly identical, the Astrid Calliste before her was still not the Princess Astrid she knew.

Seeing Lyra standing silently in place, Astrid crossed her arms, her cold red eyes quietly observing the girl, her diamond-studded high heels occasionally tapping against the floor tiles, producing a crisp and pleasant sound.

Even these subtle body movements were exactly like Astrid’s... What a realistic illusion...

"Still not planning to speak?"

Noticing Lyra’s strong wariness towards her, Astrid narrowed her eyes, her fingertips lightly brushing her arm, her long silver hair casting mottled shadows on her neck.

"Although I just said I came to the court on a whim, that doesn’t mean I have plenty of time."

"If Miss Lyra is so unwilling to cooperate, then quickly think of a reason to prepare for the second trial. My patience is limited; once it’s worn out, even if you want to speak, it will be too late."

After speaking, Astrid slightly turned her body, her fingers lightly lifting, the key symbolizing freedom emitting a bronze hue under the light.

The cell was dim and silent, apart from the sound of each other’s breathing, there were only the rhythmic taps of high heels, as if striking Lyra’s heart.

Astrid silently counted down from ten to zero in her mind. If Lyra still didn’t speak by the time she finished counting, Astrid would have no intention of saying more.

This pink-haired girl was indeed interesting, but this interest could only sustain her to come and take a look after dinner.

On the other hand, Lyra was also hesitating whether to speak her mind to the illusion before her.

What did the sword that pulled her into this illusion want to see?

Time quietly passed, and when Astrid counted to three, the girl in the cell softly spoke.

"Because I don’t agree with their actions."

Whether it was slaughtering unarmed civilians or simply indulging their desires by brutally torturing surrendered prisoners, Casto and his men’s actions on the battlefield had crossed Lyra’s moral bottom line, to the point where when she first arrived in Vansterlin Village, for a moment she thought she was in the hell described in storybooks.

Hearing this answer, Astrid slightly retracted the key in her hand, tilted her head, and continued to ask Lyra.

"Disagree... Is that your reason for attacking them?"

"Can you be more specific?"

Hearing this, Lyra looked at the silver-haired princess outside the iron bars, who seemed to be from another world, and then spoke.

"As Your Highness Astrid said, I did all this not to protect the Emperor’s property, but purely out of personal desire."

At the military court, Casto’s words were somewhat exaggerated, but in Lyra’s view, being able to speak so clearly in such a situation meant that her actions must have had some negative impact on the army’s plans.

To put it more seriously, if it was indeed as Casto said, and there were disguised enemy targets among those civilians, whether intentional or not, she had indeed jeopardized the empire’s security.

"Personal desire? Can I interpret that as Miss Lyra admitting to being a spy?" Astrid said.

Lyra shook her head: "I was not instructed by anyone or any organization, and my motivation was simply because I couldn’t stand the atrocities Casto committed in Vansterlin Village."

"Just because he massacred civilians and tortured prisoners?"

"Yes."

"I thought there might be a reason for him attacking first, and I didn’t expect Miss Lyra to have planned to attack them from the very beginning."

Hearing Astrid mention the word "attack," Lyra slightly curled her fingers, her left leg leaning against the wall, the iron chains around her ankles clanking.

"Rather than attack... Now that I think about it, what I should have done was stop their atrocities..."

At that time, she was blinded by anger, like a torch soaked in alcohol, easily ignited by the smallest spark, and the axe swung at Lyra was the first spark.

If she had noticed Casto and his men’s military insignias earlier, and tried to negotiate calmly like Princess Astrid, perhaps the outcome wouldn’t have been mutual destruction.

Although she really wanted to send these unscrupulous people to a military court.

"What if you couldn’t stop them?"

Astrid rubbed the key, looking at Lyra with interest.

"Would you make the same decision as before?"

The woman’s tone showed no emotion, making Lyra somewhat unsure of her stance.

"..."

"This question, I cannot answer."

Just like when Astrid once asked her the argument about sacrificing a stranger or her parents, without experiencing it firsthand, Lyra didn’t know what decision she would make.

Perhaps a single thought, a single action, could influence her judgment.

"But one thing is certain, if negotiations fail and Casto cannot provide a reason for his actions, I will still swing my sword at him," Lyra said.

In her heart, slaughtering surrendered prisoners and innocent civilians was never something a qualified knight should do, no matter how many excuses there were, it could not justify such actions.

Hearing Lyra say this, Astrid slightly tilted her head, her smooth silver hair falling on her chest, covering the exquisitely crafted dark blue brooch.

Lyra’s reason was so straightforward... It’s a bit hard to judge...

To call her naive, the crucial accusation in the courtroom didn’t fit the term, to call her scheming, the motivation behind Lyra’s actions was so simple, so pure.

Originally harboring a somewhat inexplicable fondness, Astrid looked at the pink-haired girl before her, who, despite wearing a prisoner’s uniform, still stood straight with clear eyes, and suddenly chuckled.

"Miss Lyra is really an interesting person."

On one hand, she claimed to want to negotiate and stop, on the other hand, she was already prepared to swing her sword.

The person before her didn’t feel like a young girl under twenty, but more like an adult who understood the world wasn’t black or white.

So contradictory it was somewhat cute, making her wonder who had trained this junior knight named Lyra Blackwell.

After half a minute, Astrid softly spoke.

"But such words alone are far from convincing me."

The more mature and steady Lyra appeared, the more suspicious Astrid became, but there was one thing that always puzzled her.

That was the faint emotion that had been spreading in her heart since the afternoon.

She seemed... not to want to make things difficult for Lyra...

Shaking her head to block out these relatively emotional thoughts, Astrid’s peripheral vision caught the knight’s sword she had specifically brought out.

The notch on the blade seemed to flicker with light, quickly disappearing.

"However, Lyra..."

"According to your description, your actions were only to save those civilians caught in the crossfire."

"Taking risks and bearing the blame for them, even ending up in prison, why do you call it ’selfish’?"

A knight who stood up to protect innocent people, labeled as selfish, seemed somewhat inappropriate.

Hearing this, Lyra slowly lowered her gaze, her eyes falling on the cold iron chains, and after a while, her pink lips parted.

"Because what I did was also to satisfy my own desires..."

"... What drove me to retaliate was the anger and sense of justice that filled my heart."

She didn’t want to see civilians massacred, and she felt discomfort and anger at Casto’s actions. It was these things that supported Lyra in raising her sword.

"What I pursued was inner peace, and all my actions were based on this purpose. Ultimately, saving them was also to please myself, to satisfy the part of me that didn’t want to see killing and bloodshed."

"So, all the consequences of this action, I should also bear..."

Hearing this, Astrid blinked, her voice low.

"In that case, why did Miss Lyra argue in the military court?"

"Didn’t you say you should bear this responsibility?"

Lyra nodded, not denying it.

"I should accept judgment, but the person judging me should be fair."

"My defense was based on reality, presenting arguments for the judge’s reference. I will not escape the punishment I deserve, nor will I accept unjust accusations."

Thinking about it, the insufficient evidence for the treason charge aside, Lyra’s defense was all based on the empire’s laws, with legal basis, so it indeed made sense.

"What if the judge couldn’t give you a fair trial?"

Astrid’s words echoed in the empty cell, Lyra restrained her gaze, her sky-blue eyes reflecting the gray-black floor tiles. After a moment, the girl softly exhaled.

"I will do my best to fight for it..."

"If he leads to an unfair trial...due to power or personal desire... "

"I will still follow and uphold my justice."

For a prisoner, speaking like this was already clearly overstepping, akin to a commoner warning the emperor that if he raised taxes without reason, she would revolt and overthrow the rule.

"Miss Lyra, have you forgotten my identity?" Astrid timely reminded.

"The person of power you speak of is standing right in front of you."

The Third Princess of the Valeria Empire, in terms of status and position, there were few more powerful than her.

Perhaps knowing she was in an illusion, Lyra acted more boldly than before, she parted her lips, her voice soft.

"Will Your Highness Astrid kill me?"

Astrid pretended to think, then spoke after a while.

"Currently, I have that intention."

"How about with this sword?"

After speaking, the woman took out the sword she had been keeping in the shadows, her fingers lightly caressing the blade.

"The craftsmanship is good, but the material is a bit lacking."

Using the gap between the iron bars, Astrid pointed the tip of the knight’s sword at Lyra, who looked at the cold glint of the blade and slowly stepped forward, letting the tip press against her left chest.

Seeing this, Astrid narrowed her eyes: "It seems Miss Lyra is determined that I won’t kill you."

"If Your Highness Astrid really wanted to, you wouldn’t have brought this sword." freewebnøvel_com

If the other party wanted her dead, there was no need to do it personally in such a situation.

Watching as the tip of the sword slightly pierced the coarse cloth, Astrid let go, and the knight’s sword fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

"I will have them thoroughly investigate Casto and the extent to which that attack affected the original plan," Astrid said.

"Including him and his accomplices, anyone who violates the empire’s laws will be duly punished."

At this point, Lyra naturally understood the underlying meaning of the woman’s words. She would give her a relatively fair trial, and gathering evidence was the most important step.

"Thank you, Your Highness Astrid."

"Hmph, consider it as me having plenty of free time and wanting to find something to do, just for fun."

The Princess Astrid in the illusion still had the same awkward personality as in reality, clearly being kind to her but always reluctant to admit it.

Looking at the silver-haired beauty outside the cell, thinking that she was just an illusion, Lyra mustered her courage and softly spoke.

"Your Highness Astrid is indeed a very good and gentle person."

"I like you more and more."

Out of personal desire, Lyra added an extra adjective to her original statement.

Hearing this, Astrid’s expression slightly froze, her cold red eyes still showing no emotion.

"I’m not as good as you think."

After speaking, Astrid picked up the key and gently placed it on the railing. Seeing this, Lyra proactively spoke.

"Your Highness Astrid... You didn’t take the sword..."

Although she didn’t know how strong the shackles on her hands were, with this sword, she had an extra chance to break free.

Hearing this, Astrid touched the headband on her head, her tone calm.

"It’s your thing after all, take good care of it."

"Whether you keep it as evidence or use it to escape, it’s up to you, as long as Miss Lyra can do it."

Taking one last look at Lyra, Astrid closed the door, and as the light dimmed, even the scent in the air seemed to fade slightly.

Lyra looked at the spot where Astrid had stood, and after a moment, her gaze fell on the knight’s sword lying at her feet.

In the darkness, the long sword was like raw stone hiding jade, layer by layer peeling away, revealing the spotless, faintly glowing pure white blade.

Seeing this, Lyra’s pupils slightly dilated, her pink lips unconsciously tightening.

This is... the Holy Sword of Light...

Meanwhile, outside the prison, Astrid softly instructed the warden.

"Ensure Lyra Beckett’s three meals a day are properly arranged, don’t skimp. I need her to stay healthy until the second trial."

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fre(𝒆)novelkiss.com Only