Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 279: Semester Ending

If it were in the illusion, Lyra might have boldly expressed her thoughts. freёwebnoѵel.com

However, now that she had returned to reality and faced the real Princess Astrid, her ability to express herself suddenly became limited.

She could normally communicate with her classmates and friends without any issues, but when it came to her beloved, Lyra always felt that her mouth was a bit clumsy, and she felt shy about saying anything.

Noticing Lyra’s slightly red ears, Astrid seemed to suddenly remember something and then spoke.

"I’m quite curious about what I did in the illusion."

"Besides visiting the prison and collecting evidence, did I not say anything extra to you?"

Of course, you did, and the words and tone were almost the same as the original, with the same penchant for teasing.

Lyra pursed her lips and spoke softly.

"That’s not the case... I did have some other conversations with that Princess Astrid..."

For the next ten minutes, Lyra briefly recounted her conversations with Astrid, including their private discussions about justice in the prison and the small gesture of gifting a sword.

Perhaps due to a bit of guilt, Lyra did not mention the part where Astrid teased her, only selectively sharing the information that needed to be known.

After listening, Astrid nodded, her hand resting on her thigh, gently rubbing, the skin of her palm and the shallow edge of her fingernails brushing against the stockings, producing a subtle and pleasant sound.

"Is this how Lyra sees me?"

Without a doubt, the Astrid in the illusion was not the original nor herself. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have answered that way regarding the seafood question.

This body is indeed allergic to seafood, but in her previous life, she had tasted many sea fish and shrimp.

"I feel quite flattered~" Astrid replied.

What surprised her the most was that in Lyra’s heart, she had such an extremely positive image.

But upon careful consideration, it made sense.

Her actions so far shouldn’t have been too radical, and the favorability in Lyra’s heart should have far exceeded that of an ordinary friend, steadily increasing on that basis.

This is a very good virtuous cycle. When someone has a strong affection for another independent individual, even if there are minor flaws in their personality, they will be smoothed out by the positive filter generated by this affection.

Conversely, if someone strongly dislikes another, even if they make a small mistake that doesn’t matter much, the dislike in their heart will multiply.

After teasing the girl in front of her, looking at her slightly lowered head and the hands on her knees that were now hidden, Astrid gently picked up the sword, her bright red eyes reflecting the broken light from the sword tip.

The original Astrid Calliste in the story would probably consider this sword a lifelong nightmare, but now she could examine it up close. The world is indeed full of wonders.

On the other hand, seeing that Astrid’s attention was completely focused on the Sword of Light, Lyra blinked a few times and opened the book that had previously sealed the holy sword.

Perhaps there were still some secrets in this ancient book that she didn’t know.

After a while, after inspecting the Sword of Light, Astrid saw Lyra flipping through the book and probably guessed what was on her mind.

It might disappoint Lyra, but that book was just an ordinary light magic book, at least in the original plot.

However, considering that her previous actions had already made Lyra suspicious, Astrid chose not to speak up.

After all, reading more magic books wouldn’t hurt, and it would enrich Lyra’s knowledge.

"Being recognized by the Sword of Light shows that Lyra has a high affinity for light elements."

"The previous test results must have been due to the instrument’s error. You can focus more on light magic in the future."

Hearing Astrid’s words, Lyra’s gaze shifted from the book to her face, and after a moment, she nodded slightly.

"Yes, I will practice more."

Even though Lyra had vaguely guessed that her light element affinity test had gone wrong, without a definite confirmation, she still often felt uneasy.

The gap between being exceptional and being average was too large, and the psychological impact was like falling from a mountain to a deep abyss.

Lyra both hoped that everything would go as she wished and privately feared that everything she thought was just a coincidence or a misjudgment.

Now, with the Sword of Light, Lyra could finally confirm that her talent was not bad.

She was well-suited to learning light magic and might surpass most mages.

Grasping the hilt of the Sword of Light, Lyra could feel the deep connection between it and herself.

The sword seemed to become an extension of her body and soul, and with her thoughts flowing, she could accurately sense every wisp of wind and every beam of light on the blade.

An exceptional affinity for light elements, a unique weapon in the entire empire.

If she could become a strong person comparable to Countess Charlotte, or even stronger than her.

Perhaps by then... her dream could really come true...

Noticing the indescribable special look in Lyra’s eyes, Astrid brushed her hair and put down her black-stockinged legs, the sound of her high heels hitting the floor just right to remind Lyra, and the faint possessiveness in her blue eyes disappeared without a trace.

The seed of confidence was sown in the girl’s heart, and with time and effort, it would grow into a towering tree without her noticing.

...

There were only two weeks left before the first semester of the first-year students at the Elizabeth Academy of Magic ended.

With the increasing number of exams, this period was called the exam week by many students.

Magic humanities, arcane theory, basic elemental studies... one exam after another left the nobles who had the leisure to drink afternoon tea with no free time.

Every day, they were either reviewing their notes or training their mental strength.

Recently, the number of people attending evening self-study in the training tower had significantly increased.

The academic atmosphere among the students became more intense, and Lyra, who had been working hard, was naturally no exception.

However, as a top student in Class A, she didn’t have to worry about failing.

The reason she worked harder was to become stronger than before, to not let down the high tuition her family had scraped together, and to satisfy a little bit of her budding affection.

If she could emit a bit more light and heat, she might be more suitable to stand by Princess Astrid’s side.

If the person she loved was a shining diamond, then she couldn’t be too dim.

She had to be bright enough to catch the light that spilled from the edges.

With this thought, Lyra’s grades in every subject managed to be at the top, and her overall evaluation was the highest.

Astrid could have competed for this position, but her practical results were indeed average.

Moreover, the exam papers were capped at 100 points, so there was no need to obsess over it. She just answered casually and got a decent top-five ranking.

Besides, the joy that Lyra felt when she saw her ranking was much stronger than that of Astrid, who had been through the exam system.

This was good. Every effort had its corresponding reward, as beautiful as in a fairy tale.

But who could say it wasn’t? The small skirmishes in the early stages of the academy were the easiest times for the destined heroine.

Compared to the bloody battlefields and royal struggles in the original story, the Elizabeth Academy of Magic was almost a half ivory tower.

The pen moved across the paper, leaving dark ink marks.

Lyra checked the exam paper one last time, heard the bell for submission, and after greeting a few classmates, packed her things and left the exam room.

This was an elective exam on knight combat skills, so Astrid didn’t participate with her.

Following the path she had walked countless times to and from class, Lyra returned to the dormitory, took off her loafers, and placed them in the shoe cabinet.

Her white-stockinged feet stepped on the soft carpet and gently walked towards her bed.

"Finished the exam?"

Astrid, who was writing, casually asked her, and Lyra paused for a moment before softly replying.

"Yes."

"How did it go?" Astrid dipped her pen in ink and asked again.

"It felt pretty good. I should get a high score."

This elective course had both practical combat and theoretical exams.

Today was the second round of the theoretical exam, and Lyra’s score in the practical combat was already high. As long as she didn’t hand in a blank paper, she would pass.

Hearing Lyra’s answer, Astrid stopped talking and continued writing her novel manuscript, the rustling sound of writing echoing in the dormitory.

Since the Empire monthly magazine became a weekly, the amount of manuscripts she needed to write had multiplied.

The time that was already insufficient became even tighter.

Considering that she would only get busier in the future, Astrid solicited manuscripts from nobles across the empire through the newspaper.

Once she found suitable candidates, she would consider increasing the number of pages for the novel section, changing from serializing one work per issue to serializing two works.

This would both increase the content of the weekly magazine and prevent new writers from struggling to adapt, affecting the reading experience.

After all, for the nobles of the Valeria Empire, serialized novels had only been around for less than a year.

The plot settings and pacing required for serialized works needed to be deeply studied.

It was better to test the waters first. If it worked out in the future, it would greatly reduce the time Astrid spent on the imperial weekly.

Although strictly speaking, as the editor-in-chief, Elise was busier than her.

She not only had to fill the newspaper’s content but also handle raw material procurement and negotiations with the Velmont family.

The original Astrid really hit the jackpot by drawing the head maid card.

Hearing the clear sound of writing behind her, Lyra stretched her legs and casually adjusted her socks and the disordered skirt, then turned to look at her other two roommates.

Amalia was practicing water magic, her white dress slightly covering the girl’s thin back, revealing only two small legs as tender as lotus roots.

The skin on her legs was so white it seemed like she had just soaked in milk.

If Amalia hadn’t been wearing a nightgown, Lyra would have suspected she was wearing a very thin pair of white stockings.

On the bed opposite the little girl, Elise was sitting on a chair with her eyes closed, resting.

On her desk was a magic thermos, the white mist from the spout indicating the water was about to boil.

After a while, four cups of hot red tea were ready. Looking at the porcelain cup handed to her, Lyra softly thanked her and gently blew on the rim of the cup.

The dormitory was peaceful and warm, and everyone was doing their own thing without interfering with each other. Lyra liked this atmosphere, and her mood completely relaxed.

Her fingertips lightly touched the cup, and a sword-shaped light mark emitted a faint glow.

After this period of training, Lyra had initially mastered the use of the Sword of Light and found a relatively suitable combat style for herself.

Focusing on combat skills and using light magic as a supplement, she increased her physical flexibility through buff spells and negative dispels.

Since the Sword of Light was just a sword with relatively strange materials when not fully released, it wouldn’t attract too much attention.

With the reason of being gifted by Princess Astrid, it wasn’t strange for an ordinary civilian to have a good sword of her own.

When the tea went from hot to warm, Astrid’s manuscript was finished. The woman lowered her head and took a sip of tea, her slightly furrowed brows from thinking about the plot now relaxed.

Learning magic was mentally exhausting, and writing was too. The combination was almost deadly.

She really wanted to lie down on the bed and have a good sleep.

Rubbing her sore temples and feeling the warm tea on her tongue, Astrid slowly swallowed and then spoke softly.

"By the way, we are going to the Monster Mountain Range next week?"

This was a required course for every semester at the Elizabeth Academy of Magic and the last exam for the students.

A three-day monster hunting trip to the Monster Mountain Range, with scores based on the rarity of the magic materials obtained and the difficulty of defeating the corresponding monsters.

Lyra didn’t immediately respond, and after realizing that Elise hadn’t answered, she realized Astrid was talking to her.

"Ah... it’s almost time."

The exam rules didn’t allow for the presence of mentors or any others, so Elise and Amalia couldn’t participate.

This exam, only she and Astrid would go together.

Hearing this, Astrid nodded, her hands reaching behind her neck and gently brushing her silver hair, letting it fall naturally down her back.

"It’s about time to prepare. Clothes for changing, and a sleeping mat for temporary rest."

For a three-day trip, these were necessary daily necessities, especially in the current hot weather, where a portion of mental energy had to be allocated to create water for washing.

Smelling the suddenly more obvious cold fragrance of her hair, Lyra suddenly thought of something, and her heart beat faster.

They were in the same team... so they would have to sleep together...

Just like with Princess Amalia...

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