Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 179: You like Lyra, and you like me

Entering the fourth princess’s bedroom, Lyra saw the black-haired girl sitting at the table, her slender legs neatly together, her eyes calm as she looked at them.

To adapt to her future academy life in advance, Amalia now wore the two plant membrane almost all the time. Her naturally cold demeanor gave Lyra the illusion that Amalia and Astrid were actually sisters.

Grabbing the books, notebooks, and pens needed for magic study, Lyra followed Astrid to the desk, cleared the plates, handed them to other members of the maid team, and then sat down next to Amalia, ready for today’s magic lesson.

From Astrid, Lyra learned that Amalia was at the level of an Early apprentice. For a fourteen-year-old whose mental power was not yet stable, achieving this level was not just a matter of effort; her talent must far exceed that of ordinary people.

Unaware that the royal bloodline had an innate advantage in mental power training, Lyra could only marvel inwardly. Since coming to the Capital, she has encountered more and more geniuses.

Besides Elise and Astrid, there was now the fourth princess.

"Lyra, and Amalia..."

Astrid took a book related to magic circles from a maid, turned, and sat by the window, looking at the two sitting straight-backed at the desk, and spoke softly.

"If you encounter any problems, you can discuss them with each other first, and then tell me after you’ve reached a conclusion."

Firstly, learning magic couldn’t rely solely on teaching; the process of self-thinking and reaching conclusions was essential for seekers of knowledge. Secondly, Astrid hoped that Lyra and Amalia could establish a relatively stable friendly relationship through this series of interactions.

After all, in the original novel, Lyra and Amalia had always had a poor relationship due to principle issues, eventually almost coming to a life-and-death conflict.

As the bond and bridge between the two, one being her sister and the other her friend, Astrid naturally hoped they could get along well.

From the current perspective, they had no conflicts of interest, and Amalia, who had not yet become a tyrant, was unlikely to have principled conflicts with Lyra in her maid form. Their relationship probably wouldn’t develop as stiffly as in the novel.

"Also, Amalia, don’t force yourself to keep up with Lyra’s learning pace. You’re still young, and overexerting yourself might harm you, which would be counterproductive."

Afraid that Amalia might put too much pressure on herself because of her words, Astrid spoke up in time.

Looking at Lyra, who was opening her notebook to take notes beside her, and thinking of Astrid’s special care for this pink-haired maid, Amalia narrowed her eyes and after a while softly replied.

"Okay."

Although it wasn’t good to think this way, Amalia couldn’t help but feel a slight ripple in her heart.

Astrid’s words made her feel as if Lyra was as important to her as her own sister.

She only had Livia as her sister, and Livia only had her as her sister. Weren’t they supposed to be the most special to each other?

Similar thoughts swirled in Amalia’s mind, but after a moment, she forcibly suppressed this slight sense of bitterness.

In fact, Amalia knew she was somewhat sensitive and sometimes had a strong sense of possessiveness. Livia should have her friends, her social circle; she couldn’t belong solely to her.

Reason told Amalia that wanting to keep her sister by her side at all times was selfish and unrealistic, but whenever she saw Astrid showing concern for others, a voice in her head would jump out to tempt her, stirring her restless heart.

"Understood, Princess Astrid."

Lyra’s voice brought Amalia back to reality, and the latter shifted her gaze, focusing on the book in front of her.

If possible... she would try to be a good sister who understood and was obedient...

Seeing Amalia quickly get into the state, Lyra also put aside her inner strangeness, found the section they had studied last time, and quickly entered the elemental vision.

Noticing the gradual spread of magical fluctuations in this small space, Astrid crossed her legs, gently holding the edge of the book, her gaze tenderly fixed on the two sitting side by side not far away.

If everything were left to follow the novel’s natural course, the Holy Knight and the blonde Tyrant might never have sat together so harmoniously as they did now.

After watching for half a minute, Astrid blinked a few times, lowered her head, and flipped through the book.

Unfortunately, the bedroom was not as suitable as a dedicated practice room. Not only was the space limited, but it also couldn’t withstand overly destructive magic, making it unsuitable for learning.

Fortunately, apprentice-level magic was generally not strong, and this place was barely adequate for learning. By the time their strength was sufficient to cast intermediate magic, they would probably have entered the Magic Academy and had their own dedicated training grounds.

More than two hours passed in a flash. After the busyness, the head maid brought three cups of tea to the room. Astrid noticed Amalia gently rubbing her eyes, a hint of fatigue between her brows.

Thinking about it, it was normal. Long hours of study could easily tire even adults, let alone Amalia, who was still a young girl. The fifteen-minute break in between was not enough to recover the mental power consumed by chanting magic.

Lyra, sitting beside the black-haired girl, was slightly better off. On one hand, she was a middle stage knight, her physical and mental power reserves far stronger than Amalia’s. On the other hand, she was accustomed to this learning rhythm, so she naturally didn’t feel too tired.

"Amalia..." Astrid took a sip of tea and spoke softly.

"Do you want to take a break and play a few rounds of Grand Lord with me?"

Amalia was indeed a bit tired from studying and knew that continuing would be counterproductive, so she nodded and replied softly.

"Okay."

As soon as she finished speaking, Amalia heard Astrid speak again.

"Elise and Lyra, you come too. This game is more fun with more people."

Upon hearing this, Elise showed no emotional fluctuation, merely replying with a calm "Okay," while Lyra exclaimed.

"Eh, that... should I come too?"

Astrid elegantly put down her teacup and nodded slightly.

"Of course."

"I was making it while you were watching, so you should know the rules, right?"

Hearing this, Amalia instantly shifted her gaze to Lyra, then pretended nothing had happened and looked away.

"Yeah, I know the gist of it," Lyra replied.

Astrid stood up, took the Grand Lord manual from Amalia’s bedside, and handed it to Elise. The sound of her high heels clicking on the floor tiles echoed. "That’s enough."

"This game isn’t actually difficult."

Ten minutes later, the four sat around the table, taking turns to roll the dice according to the rules.

Since Amalia and Astrid often played, they knew how to win better, so they had a huge advantage in the first round, easily eliminating Lyra and Elise.

In the second round, Astrid went a bit easy, deliberately loosening up on a few points. Amalia clearly noticed but didn’t follow Astrid’s lead, instead taking the game even more seriously.

"Lyra, you’re out." ƒreewebɳovel.com

Seeing the wooden figurine representing the pink-haired maid land on her property, Amalia spoke calmly, her gaze seemingly fixed on Lyra but her peripheral vision on Astrid.

Perhaps the relaxed atmosphere of the game diminished the status gap between master and servant. Hearing Amalia’s words, Lyra’s hair drooped, and she spoke softly.

"I didn’t play well... I shouldn’t have hesitated earlier..."

"Otherwise, I feel like I wouldn’t have been out so quickly..."

With a good property, she should have been more decisive and bought it directly.

Amalia gave her a deep look and after a few seconds slowly said, "Hmm, Lyra’s luck is indeed good, even reaching before me."

"But unfortunately, not decisive enough."

Sometimes, having the first move doesn’t guarantee victory.

With that, the game continued, and Elise was soon out, leaving only Astrid and Amalia in the game. After another round, Astrid’s luck was slightly worse, and she ultimately lost.

They played four rounds in total. The game didn’t rely much on skill but more on strategy and luck. Even though Amalia gave it her all, she only managed to win two rounds, while Astrid and Elise each won one, and Lyra lost all four.

"Alright, after playing for a while, it’s time to refocus and continue," Astrid said.

Glancing at the clock, there was only an hour left until lunch. In the afternoon, Astrid had to prepare materials for the next issue of the Empire Monthly, while Lyra and Elise had to practice their combat skills. During this time, Amalia could move freely in the room.

"Okay," Amalia and Lyra replied simultaneously.

After finishing lunch at the dining hall, without Astrid needing to say anything, Elise proactively packed a portion to take away.

Watching Amalia slowly finish her thick soup, wipe her mouth, and then rinse her mouth in the bathroom, Astrid was about to leave when she heard the black-haired girl speak.

"Astrid... aren’t you taking a nap..."

The soft voice reached her ears, and Astrid’s steps paused slightly. She turned her head to look at Amalia, who had already taken off one of her white stockings and was sitting with her legs bent on the bed.

The girl didn’t continue speaking, but Astrid could read the meaning in her eyes.

Can you stay with me?

"I usually don’t have the habit of taking a nap..." Astrid turned around, the sharp screech of her high heels rubbing against the floor tiles echoing.

"But now I’m feeling a bit sleepy."

Just as Livia could understand the hidden dependency in Amalia’s words, the latter could also sense the sister’s doting care for her sister in the other’s response.

Lying down in the bed with Amalia, Astrid initially didn’t plan to take off her clothes, but upon realizing that the metal accessories at her waist would press against Amalia’s arm, she got up and removed the pure black dress.

After all, it was summer, and wearing only her underwear wouldn’t be cold, especially with another person in the bed.

As the woman lay back down beside her, Amalia hugged Astrid and softly said.

"Sister..."

Astrid responded tenderly, and then Amalia continued.

"Are you and Lyra very close?"

Due to her own experiences, although Amalia was of royal blood, she didn’t have the inherent arrogance of nobility, nor did she hold any discriminatory or prejudiced views towards others’ status.

However, she also knew how the nobles of the Valeria Empire viewed commoners. They never considered those struggling to make ends meet as equals, let alone someone like Astrid, an imperial princess.

Admittedly, although Amalia knew that Livia was Astrid, she still felt a bit conflicted when facing her. Just as she wouldn’t doubt Livia’s ability to treat commoners well, she would subconsciously feel that Astrid had an air of noble arrogance, an impression that was deeply ingrained.

Lyra was a commoner, not even a local of the imperial capital. In the words of some nobles, she was a country bumpkin from the backwaters, unworthy of standing on the same starting line as them.

Hearing Amalia’s question, Astrid paused.

"Lyra... is a very hardworking girl..."

"I might not have told you why she became my personal maid this year."

There wasn’t much to hide about her entanglement with Lyra, so Astrid simply told Amalia the whole story.

However, since she currently didn’t like Tristian and didn’t want the fourteen-year-old girl to know too much about romantic relationships, Astrid omitted that part, only mentioning that she had someone replace Lyra’s position.

"So, sister, you want to compensate her?"

Halfway through, Amalia thought of something else. Astrid had mentioned similar things to her before, like wanting to compensate her and be a loving sister.

"Part of the reason is," Astrid answered truthfully.

"Lyra has shown great talent in magic, and I want to take this opportunity to nurture her."

Hearing Astrid’s response, Amalia, for some reason, let out a soft sigh of relief.

If it was just compensation and investment in her promising future, she wouldn’t feel that obvious sense of bitterness.

However, this feeling didn’t last long before Astrid continued.

"In terms of relationship, it’s complicated between us."

"But if we’re just talking about Lyra’s personality, I quite like her. She’s a good girl."

I quite... like her...

So, she wasn’t mistaken.

Hearing this answer, Amalia fell into a brief silence, her eyes fixed on the exposed fair skin of the person in front of her, not speaking for a long time.

After half a minute, she kissed Astrid’s collarbone as usual, then lifted her head and whispered in her ear.

"Good afternoon, sister."

What she really wanted to say wasn’t this, but...

You like Lyra, and you like me.

Which of these two likes is deeper?