Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 197: Model Of Flying Ship or Hot Air Balloon

Although she had heard about the concept of airships from Astrid, Charlotte’s understanding of these flying transport vehicles was still limited to her imagination.

"Airships?" Charlotte murmured softly, her mind constantly pondering what such a vehicle might look like.

"Little Astr... how do you plan to do this..."

She hadn’t even seen a rough model, only knowing that the so-called airship must rely on wind attribute crystals for propulsion.

Sensing Charlotte’s confusion, Astrid picked up the bag she had brought with her and pulled out a drawing.

"This is the exterior design of the airship that I had Livia draw. The internal structure will need to be designed by specialized craftsmen, but the general idea is already there."

Astrid handed the drawing to Charlotte, who took it and lowered her eyes to examine it carefully.

On the paper was a massive sphere, mostly brownish-gray in color, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. Below the sphere was a square cabin, clearly designed to carry people or transport goods.

In addition to the drawing, Astrid had added some notes, such as the purpose of each part of the airship and some reference suggestions.

"Livia is very skilled at depicting buildings and objects. This drawing is almost exactly what I imagined the airship to look like."

Astrid gazed at Charlotte’s black hair cascading over her chest. The pure black mage robe couldn’t hide the other woman’s striking figure, and even the strands of hair seemed to sway slightly with the rise and fall of her chest.

"Lady Charlotte, if you have any questions or want to know anything, feel free to ask."

After Astrid finished speaking, Charlotte continued to study the drawing intently. After a while, she pointed to the sphere on the paper.

"Little Astr, you plan to use this to provide lift?"

"How exactly do you plan to do that? By attaching wind attribute crystals around it?"

If wind attribute crystals were used to supply the airship with lift and adjust its direction, then what was the purpose of making such a large cover? To act like a sail?

Astrid shook her head and responded softly, "I do plan to install some wind attribute crystals in the lifting cover, but their main function isn’t to provide lift for the airship. Instead, they’re meant to be used for steering."

This wasn’t hard to understand. Charlotte herself was an Arcanist level mage specializing in wind magic, so she immediately grasped that Astrid intended to arrange wind attribute crystals around the sphere, using staggered activation to generate thrust in a single direction.

"So this large cover is used to..."

Hearing Charlotte trail off, Astrid gently picked up the thread.

"It’s specifically designed to hold air."

"Lady Charlotte, you should know that when fire element particles become agitated, they cause nearby wind element particles to move faster.

Inside this balloon, their movement is limited.

Once they reach their limit, they will push the balloon outward. At the same time, because these wind element particles are moving rapidly and occupying more space, the density of wind elements inside the balloon will be lower than outside, making the overall weight lighter."

"As long as we place fire attribute crystals inside this large balloon and use a magic circle to remotely heat them, once the lift is sufficient, the airship will naturally rise into the sky."

This was the first time Charlotte had heard of using heat to lift a manned cabin into the sky, rather than relying on the thrust generated by wind magic. She gently clasped her chin, her expression thoughtful.

She had been dealing with wind elements for a long time, from her days as a weak apprentice to her current status as an Arcanist level mage. She knew how many wind attribute crystals it would take to lift such a heavy object into the sky.

If Astrid’s idea was reliable, then they would only need a small number of fire attribute crystals to achieve the same effect that would otherwise require a large number of wind attribute crystals.

"Using fire attribute crystals to provide sufficient and continuous lift, while the surrounding wind attribute crystals adjust the direction and speed of travel..."

Charlotte murmured to herself, her gaze shifting to the cabin at the bottom of the drawing.

Astrid had drawn an arrow pointing to the bottom of the cabin, with a note explaining that a sufficient number of wind attribute crystals needed to be placed there. In case of an emergency, if the airship were to fall from the sky, these crystals could release reverse thrust, providing enough cushioning to assist in a smooth landing.

Moreover, since this was only an emergency measure and wouldn’t be used frequently, the crystals placed at the bottom wouldn’t be drained of energy during normal ascents, allowing them to be stored and reused, significantly reducing the cost of flight.

Such a creative idea had come from the mouth of this eighteen-year-old girl.

Considering that only a day had passed since the news was announced and her meeting with Astrid today, even if Astrid had started thinking about the airship when the article was finalized, that would still be less than two days.

Astrid had to manage her social engagements while also putting in effort for this challenging ideal of hers. She should have been living a more relaxed life, not burdened with such mental strain.

Thinking this, Charlotte felt as if the drawing in her hand weighed a thousand pounds, and her delicate lips unconsciously tightened.

"Little Astr, it must have taken you a lot of time to come up with this..."

The woman put down the drawing, a wave of warmth rising in her heart as she looked at Astrid with an unusually gentle gaze, mixed with a hint of an emotion she had never felt before.

Astrid answered truthfully, "Not really. It just took up some of my free time."

In her previous life, she had seen similar sightseeing facilities and even experienced them herself.

Compared to coming up with the idea of a hot air balloon or airship, the more difficult part was explaining the scientific principle of thermal expansion and contraction in terms of elemental particle activity from a mystical perspective, so that Charlotte could understand how it worked.

Even so, Astrid had only spent less than an hour finalizing the draft, which she then handed over to Amalia to draw. She only provided the inspiration and some minor details.

Hearing Astrid’s words, Charlotte paused for a moment, her gaze lingering on those clear, bright red eyes. She thought Astrid was trying not to worry her, which was why she spoke so calmly about not spending much time on it.

Perhaps it wasn’t urgent the day before yesterday, but after suddenly receiving the news yesterday, she had already come up with a draft today. Had she even slept?

Was it really necessary to go to such lengths for her...? Delaying by a week or two wouldn’t have been a problem...

Looking at the paper filled with annotations, thinking about Astrid’s conversation with Hibbort and her casual remarks just now, Charlotte picked up her teacup and gently blew on the surface.

The ripples that spread across the surface seemed to mirror the waves in her heart, reflecting that snow-white, delicate face.

Just something she did in her spare time...? Impossible...

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly as Charlotte looked up and saw the light in Astrid’s eyes.

"After we finish eating, Lady Charlotte, stay with me a bit longer."

"The design of the airship is still only on paper. We need to discuss it more deeply."

The materials needed to build the airship, the strength of the balloon, the high-strength ropes connecting the balloon to the cabin, and a host of other details still needed to be discussed.

"Alright," Charlotte replied.

Caught up in their conversation, both of them had forgotten to order. Charlotte picked up the menu that had been under the drawing and casually selected a few dishes before handing it back to Astrid, who quickly glanced over it, made a few marks, and then handed it to Lyra.

"The dishes I’ve marked with a wave, have the waiter bring two portions. One to be served here, and the other to be packed for takeaway."

"...And one more thing, my utensils fell on the carpet and got dirty. Please have them prepare another clean set, including the plates."

Lyra saw that the forks and knives in front of Astrid and Charlotte were neatly arranged, the tips that would touch the food resting on a clean silk cloth, reflecting a silvery metallic sheen under the light.

They didn’t look dirty at all.

Though she was a bit puzzled, Lyra didn’t ask any questions. Instead, she followed the order, took the menu, and left the private room to instruct the waiter.

After a while, the waiter brought the first half of the dishes on a cart and handed it to Lyra, who pushed the cart into the room, set the plates in front of Astrid and Charlotte, and then placed the takeaway dishes and clean utensils to the side before returning the cart.

"Lady Charlotte, the grilled steak here is a specialty. It’s said to be paired with a sauce made from a unique northern herb and pepper. It’s slightly salty at first, but if you taste it carefully, you’ll find it’s sweet and spicy."

The sound of the knife cutting through the steak was subtle. Charlotte took a small bite, feeling the fragrant juices burst in her mouth, a unique flavor spreading across her tongue.

"It really is good. No wonder they’re so confident in spending so much on advertising."

Astrid chuckled lightly, "These things are always complementary. I had Elise investigate it personally."

The restaurant wasn’t far, so it was easy to try it out once.

Taking a sip of juice, Astrid looked up and saw Lyra still standing straight at the door, quietly guarding. She silently watched the pink-haired maid for a while, the fork lightly touching the plate with a faint sound as she chewed the tender beef she had just put in her mouth.

Noticing that Princess Astrid’s gaze had been on her for a long time without moving, Lyra was a bit confused, wondering if she had done something wrong. She quickly lowered her head to check her attire.

The hem of her skirt wasn’t revealing or stained, everything was normal. Her shoes had no obvious dust, the laces were tied neatly in the middle of her feet, and her thigh-high stockings seemed to be aligned properly, though they were hidden under her skirt and couldn’t be seen.

After some thought, she realized that the white stockings at the back of her knees might have wrinkled when she squatted down to get the sealed container from the cart earlier. Lyra carefully reached behind her, grabbed the top of the stockings, and pulled them up slightly.

Seeing this, Astrid became even more puzzled as she looked at Lyra not far away, her gaze gradually moving down from the other girl’s face to the hand that should have been out of sight but had accidentally peeked out, and the slightly flesh-pinching white stocking on her thigh.

"Lyra, after we finish eating, Lady Charlotte and I have things to do. We don’t have time to wait for you."

Lyra’s mind didn’t process this immediately, thinking that Astrid was urging her to tidy up quickly, so she quickly let go of her stockings and smoothed out her skirt.

"Understood... Princess Astrid..."