Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 198: If only she were a boy.

Seeing that Lyra was still standing there without moving, Astrid picked up her wine glass and took a sip, her tone calm.

"What do you understand?"

"Princess Astrid... didn’t you tell me to tidy up my clothes?"

"..."

Suddenly realizing that the person by her side wasn’t the always understanding, perfectly composed head maid Elise, but this simple-minded, occasionally clueless chosen heroine and clumsy maid, Astrid spoke softly.

"I had the waiter prepare an extra set of utensils and ordered an extra dish. Lyra, do you think I’m going to use two sets of utensils to eat twice?"

After serving for so long, as an imperial princess, she had no habit of bringing food back to the palace. As for whether it might be for Amalia to try, not only would it be too late by the time they finished eating, but she also wouldn’t give Amalia food that had been reheated after cooling. At most, she would bring Amalia to the restaurant to try it fresh next time.

"Princess Astrid, you mean..."

"That’s the dish I ordered for you. We won’t have time later for you to eat separately. You need to be full to have the energy to serve in the afternoon."

Expecting Lyra to understand her subtext would probably take some time, so Astrid simply told her directly what to do next.

"Don’t just stand there. The food will get cold."

"Oh... understood, Princess Astrid!"

Lyra had already been hungry from the aroma, and now that she had Astrid’s permission, a glimmer of light flashed in her sapphire-like eyes.

So that’s why Princess Astrid was staring at her...

Sitting on the sofa on the other side of the private room, she opened the takeaway container and placed the food on a plate, carefully holding the knife and fork, making sure not to spill any of the meat sauce or gravy.

Whether it got on her skirt, stockings, or the leather sofa nearby, these sauces would be a nightmare to clean.

As she ate, Lyra carefully went over what Astrid had said earlier. During a formal meeting like this lunch with Countess Charlotte, the host would never allow a maid to join the table, which was why Astrid had to find a reason to "pack" a dish for her.

Princess Astrid probably wanted her to try the food here too... Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble...

When she left the palace, Lyra had brought some dry bread for energy, but its taste without any sauce was rather unremarkable, certainly not as good as what she was eating now.

Princess Astrid might always have a sharp tongue, but her actions were truly kind.

Watching Lyra, who was eating with her head down in the distance, Charlotte lowered her voice and asked Astrid with a hint of teasing, "Little Astr, do you always bully her like this?"

She could also tell that Astrid didn’t dislike Lyra.

Astrid cut a piece of steak, glanced at Charlotte, and replied in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I’m just making sure she won’t be bullied by others in the future."

Given Lyra’s current learning progress, by the time she enters the Elizabeth Academy of Magic next spring, this knight, who in the original story wasn’t even considered an apprentice, would likely jump two small levels in strength.

Hearing the underlying meaning in Astrid’s words, Charlotte also glanced at Lyra, who was quietly eating on the sofa, gently stroking the metal fork in her hand, her voice soft.

"I feel like what Little Astr really wants to say is..."

"Only you can bully Lyra."

Charlotte’s voice was very soft, but compared to Astrid’s earlier statement, it was slightly louder.

Lyra, after all, was a middle stage knight with sharp ears, especially when her name was mentioned, making it hard not to notice.

Hearing Charlotte’s words, Lyra’s knees, which were originally flat, unconsciously tightened, her white silk legs rubbing against each other, making a faint hissing sound.

Back then, at the entrance of the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, she was harassed by a noble lady, who publicly humiliated her with harsh words.

It was Princess Astrid who appeared in time to help her out.

"My people, only I can bully them."

She stood under the parasol, wearing a luxurious black dress, her silver hair fluttering, her exquisitely decorated diamond-studded high heels clicking crisply on the ground.

Although from a normal perspective, Princess Astrid’s actions were most likely to maintain her own dignity, after all, as an imperial princess, having her people slandered by others was somewhat of a slap in the face, and any noble with a temper would not tolerate it, especially when the other party’s status was far below her own.

But no matter what, Princess Astrid’s actions were in her defense, and that was enough.

Hearing this, Astrid scooped a spoonful of the restaurant’s signature smoked mashed potatoes and spoke softly.

"Why does Lady Charlotte think that?"

"Because, I’m also Little Astr’s reader~"

Charlotte’s eyes were smiling, her tone slightly teasing.

"I bought every issue of the Empire Monthly, and I’ve read the corresponding novel section carefully, ’The Overbearing Prince and His Runaway Bride’s Peerless Pampering,’ not missing a single Chapter."

"I remember the prince in it also said something similar to the female lead."

Charlotte had been following Astrid’s debut work, and as an elder, she should pay more attention to it since the author was Astrid herself.

Although she didn’t like some parts of the plot, Charlotte knew it was Astrid catering to the readers, so she didn’t have any strong feelings about it.

What impressed her the most was the middle part of the story, where the prince left a sentence that moved countless fans to the woman who had once run away from him.

In this world, only I can bully you, don’t even think about it for other guys.

Realizing which sentence Charlotte was referring to, Astrid’s hand holding the knife paused for a second, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, her snow-white and delicate toes lightly scratching the tip of her black stockings.

When she wrote it, she was completely immersed, following the prince’s character step by step, which wasn’t too embarrassing, but now, looking at it alone, it was really quite shameful.

"Lady Charlotte is teasing me again..."

But thinking about it carefully, she did seem to have said something similar to Lyra.

The villainous princess in the original story did share some similarities with the overbearing prince she wrote about, especially in the way they completely disregarded others’ feelings, as if they were carved from the same mold.

After speaking, Astrid subconsciously glanced at Lyra, who, noticing the gaze, immediately blushed at the roots of her ears, then quickly pretended not to notice, using her knife and fork to cut the meat, eating in small bites.

After so long, she had almost understood what kind of person Princess Astrid was.

Gentle, kind, even as a noble, she didn’t inherently discriminate against commoners. The external displays of disgust and arrogance were just a necessary cover in the palace.

Perhaps, just a little, a tiny, insignificant possibility.

Princess Astrid stood up to speak at that time just to prevent her from being bullied by that noble lady, or perhaps this thought carried more weight than maintaining her own dignity.

Perhaps she had always been very important in Princess Astrid’s heart.

The perfectly fried steak entered her mouth, the light spiciness and sweetness giving her taste buds the ultimate enjoyment.

Lyra felt Astrid’s gaze shift away from her, relieved but also with an imperceptible sense of loss.

Without looking up at Astrid, Lyra just lowered her head, staring at the table leg by her leather shoes, the silver-white metal surface blurry, even the reflection of the other person unclear.

The prince in Princess Astrid’s story, although flawed in character, still took care of the female lead in a very awkward way. Sometimes, Astrid gave Lyra a similar feeling.

On the surface, she acted overbearing, but upon closer thought, making her sleep early, eat on time, these were actually for her own good, even finding ways to give her a raise.

Not paying attention to the force when the fork hit the plate, a sharp screeching sound spread through the room the next second. When Lyra realized it, she instinctively stood up, placing her hand on her chest to apologize.

"Princess Astrid, Countess Charlotte, I’m sorry, I’ll be quieter."

Looking at the pink-haired maid who was like a startled bird, Charlotte replied gently.

"It’s okay, I don’t mind."

After speaking, she glanced at Astrid, her tea-colored eyes rippling.

Are you usually scaring her too much?

Understanding the meaning in Charlotte’s eyes, Astrid slightly shook her head, also replying to Lyra that it was okay, continuing to look at the person across the table.

From her understanding of Lyra, the other party could make such a loud noise and then hurriedly stand up to apologize, which could only mean one thing.

Lyra had been distracted, and what she was thinking about made her anxious.

Had something happened recently? During this time, she had only been focusing on Amalia and hadn’t paid much attention to Lyra’s social interactions.

On the other hand, Lyra, who had been forgiven by the two, gently sighed in relief, bent her legs to sit on the sofa, then stood up again to adjust her skirt behind her hips.

What had she been thinking...

They had only met a few times, how could Princess Astrid’s defense of her have any other reason...

Looking back, Lyra found that she seemed to have placed herself in some rather inappropriate roles. If Princess Astrid was the prince in the story, then who was she, the one being taken care of by the other party?

The little wife who discovered on her wedding night that the other party didn’t really love her... so she angrily ran away from the wedding...

Lyra, oh Lyra, have you been reading too many romance novels lately? Even if Princess Astrid is so good, in real life, they are just master and servant, there aren’t so many strange plots.

Moreover, both Astrid and she were girls, the premise of this idea didn’t match.

Her restless heartbeat gradually calmed down. Lyra looked at the delicious food on her plate, her pearly teeth lightly biting her pink lips, a sudden, inappropriate thought popping up in her heart.

If she were a powerful mage, able to easily earn enough money for a large estate with her own abilities, she could buy many, many beautiful clothes that Princess Astrid liked, and these delicious foods.

If only she had met Astrid earlier.

If only she were a boy.