Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 204: Letter From Lucas

After a while, when tea and pastries were served, Astrid released her hand from Amalia’s thigh and spoke softly.

"Lydia, have you read the latest issue of the Empire Monthly?"

"Yes, of course."

"How did you find it?"

"The fashion showcase this time, that iris-patterned ruffled dress was exceptionally beautiful. And those lace-up metal stilettos, transparent stockings definitely suit that style better than white ones..."

Once on her favorite topic, Lydia began to chatter endlessly.

First discussing with Astrid whether silver heels paired better with strongly contrasting stockings, then moving on to the differences between patterned and plain stockings, and finally debating what shoes best matched puffy skirts, whether it was the shiny leather shoes with multiple laces or the more traditional loafers.

Amalia didn’t know much about these topics, so she just sipped her tea while watching Astrid.

The woman’s silver-white hair swayed gently in the breeze, revealing a small section of smooth neck above her dress collar.

Her cherry-pink lips, moistened by tea, looked increasingly tempting, the more Amalia looked, the more she wanted to take a bite.

On the other side, noticing that her conversation with Astrid seemed to have neglected Amalia, Lydia spoke softly: "Astrid, did you pick Miss Livia’s outfit today?"

"It looks really nice."

Hearing Lydia mention her, Amalia withdrew her gaze from Astrid. The next moment, she heard Astrid’s gentle voice.

"Yes, I chose it."

"But Livia was already adorable to begin with. These are just the icing on the cake."

The original novel didn’t describe much about the golden-haired, white-dressed girl tyrant, but in Astrid’s eyes, Amalia really suited this pure white attire.

Hearing this, Amalia’s lips pursed slightly. Whether it was deliberately maintaining her persona or genuinely feeling a hint of shyness, her fingertips gently pressed into the soft flesh of her thighs, causing the creamy white stockings to sink slightly.

"Miss Livia, have you ever tried pigtails?" Lydia asked.

Amalia nodded: "...Yes."

The first time she went out to eat with Astrid, she had worn pigtails.

Taking a bite of the blueberry cake in front of her, the soft texture and sweet flavor instantly captured Amalia’s heart.

Lydia also noticed Amalia’s slight pause and smiled as she spoke: "When Princess Astrid came over last time, she said the desserts here were sweeter than those in the palace, almost cloyingly sweet."

"She also mentioned that Livia would definitely like them."

Hearing this, Amalia glanced sideways at Astrid. The latter’s lips curved slightly, her arm propped at an angle, crimson eyes shimmering with fluidity.

"I really do... like sweet things..." Amalia said.

Seeing Astrid and Amalia exchange glances, the intangible atmosphere floating between them suddenly gave Lydia the illusion that she couldn’t intervene.

Princess Astrid truly doted on this sister she had picked up, and Livia seemed to greatly like this noble sister who had taken her away from cold and hunger.

How wonderful.

After a while, the conversation returned to the magazine. This time Lydia mentioned the new section in the monthly, an article by Charlotte about the development and future of magical devices.

"This article must have been written by Countess Charlotte, right? No one in the empire understands magical devices better than her."

Anyone who uses magical devices would be familiar with those two names, Fanya and Charlotte. It’s no exaggeration to say they’ve transformed the daily lives of nobles.

"Yes, she wrote it. I mainly handled the editing and publishing," Astrid said.

Besides wanting Amalia to experience normal social interactions, this tea gathering was also to gauge the promotional effect of this article.

Lydia clearly wasn’t a conservative noble. Or rather, at her age, most noble children hadn’t yet formed clear concepts of interest.

They grew up under their families’ protection, unaware of the hardships of the lower classes, and didn’t know where their wealth and privilege came from.

"My hair are so long. Every time I shower, it takes several maids a long time to dry it. Honestly, it’s quite troublesome."

"If there could really be a convenient hairdryer, I’d be quite excited about this new magical device."

"And the wind attribute crystals that can be timed to turn off. Mother says I have a cold constitution. Sometimes when the wind blows all night, I get too cold and have to curl up under the blankets."

While listening to Lydia expound on magical machinery and sipping her tea, Astrid maintained a faint smile.

For now, the vision she painted could indeed pique the interest of young nobles like Lydia.

While it couldn’t fundamentally resolve the potential impact of magical machinery development on the noble class, it could at least let this group experience the conveniences magical devices brought to their lives. Other issues could be addressed gradually.

After casually discussing this topic for a while to ascertain Lydia’s specific attitude, when the conversation moved to the next stage, about the novel serialization, the young lady instantly became much more excited than before.

"Astrid, I’m desperate to read the next Chapter."

"Could you urge the author to update? It would be best if I could see the manuscript before the magazine is published. I really can’t wait any longer."

"The female lead like this is driving me crazy."

Seeing Lydia tightly grasp Astrid’s hand, Amalia’s eyelid twitched, but mindful of her persona, she quickly lowered her eyes without a word.

......

After leaving the Minister of Finance’s residence, Astrid roughly understood why domineering CEO novels were so popular in her past life; their appeal was indeed extremely broad.

Even Lydia, who originally preferred gentle second male leads, was becoming impatient with the development of the main romantic line.

Getting into the carriage, this time both Lyra and Elise were present. Astrid and Amalia sat on one side, the two personal maids on the other, facing each other.

"Miss Astrid, it wasn’t convenient at Lydia’s place just now. I have a letter here that needs your attention."

"A letter? Who’s it from?"

"Probably Prince Lucas."

Hearing this familiar name, Astrid slightly raised an eyebrow. Beside her, Amalia remained expressionless, her hand still resting on Astrid’s skirt.

The two dukes had taken sides with the two princes, and now they were further clashing over the ownership of a mineral vein.

At this moment, the crown prince should be engaged in an intense tug-of-war with the second prince. Where did he find the leisure to write to her?

Taking the envelope from Elise, Astrid opened it and carefully examined the contents. The first thing she saw was the line at the top:

"My dear sister Astrid Calliste..."

Recalling the greedy yet restrained look Lucas had given her, a chill ran through Astrid. Suppressing her discomfort, she continued reading, her furrowed brows gradually relaxing.

The gist of Lucas’s letter was to question her about promoting Charlotte’s magical machinery. While he didn’t explicitly say she was wrong, there was a subtle implication in his words.

There was no need to offend many potential nobles who might side with him for Charlotte’s sake.

Understanding the underlying meaning in the letter, Astrid held the paper, her right leg crossed over her left. The black high heels with lace-up ribbons on both sides swayed gently with her leg movements.

As a politically ignorant, malicious princess, she could completely ignore Lucas’s opinion, pretending she didn’t understand.

After all, gaining Charlotte’s support had also been the crown prince’s previous instruction.

As long as the former didn’t make radical moves with magical machinery, the connections and prestige she had accumulated over the years would still be a formidable political asset.

Holding the letter and pondering for a long time, Astrid leaned back against the carriage wall, a decision gradually forming in her mind.

Prince Lucas wouldn’t reappear until the second semester when the protagonist Lyra entered the Elizabeth Academy of Magic in the original novel. That meant there was still about a year before he returned to the capital.

Elandor had given a construction timeline of six to eight months for the airship.

By the time it was completed, Lucas wouldn’t even have started his journey back to the capital. When he arrived, it would be too late.

His naive and foolish younger sister would have already become inseparable with Countess Charlotte. Whatever he said would be in vain.

Thinking this, Astrid’s lips curved into a beautiful arc. The delicate black-stockinged feet hidden in the lace-up high heels curled slightly, as if telling everyone of her current joy.

Returning to the palace, Astrid immediately picked up a pen and wrote a letter to the distant Lucas, instructing the messenger to deliver it posthaste.

In the letter, she avoided mentioning future plans, only expressing her longing for her elder brother between the lines.

When Lucas received the letter and finished reading it thoroughly, he angrily smashed his wine glass to pieces. freёnovelkiss.com

"That foolish woman. I thought she was getting smarter recently, but she’s still as stupid as ever."

Looking at the glass shards and the blood-red wine on the floor, Lucas took a deep breath and sat back down.

The recent open and covert struggles with Alistairw had drained too much of his patience. Unconsciously, he had lost control of his emotions.

While Astrid’s reply wasn’t explicit enough, she might still act according to his hints.

After all, her lack of brains wasn’t entirely a bad thing. At least he could easily take over the newspaper she had founded in the future for his own use.

Licking his moist lips, and thinking of the wonderful life after his coronation, Lucas restrained his temper and waved towards the shadows.

"Set off immediately. Keep a close eye on Countess Charlotte."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The young crown prince was completely unaware that the real threat actually came from his seemingly foolish younger sister and the harmless-looking black-haired girl by her side.