Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 220: Dancing with Charlotte

"Thank you, Lady Charlotte, for helping me out earlier. Otherwise, I would have had to come up with a decent excuse to politely and gracefully decline his invitation."

Hearing Astrid’s words, a faint light flickered in Charlotte’s eyes.

Her arm, which was wrapped around Astrid’s waist, tightened slightly, and her fingers gently pinched the tender flesh at Astrid’s side.

"How many times have I told you, Little Astr, you don’t need to thank me..."

"Well, we’re in a ballroom, so it just slipped out."

"Hmm? So you have to keep up formalities with your aunt when we’re outside?"

Feeling Charlotte’s warm breath against her ear and hearing the slightly coquettish tone in her voice as her red lips parted, Astrid narrowed her eyes. The next second, she heard the woman speak.

"The wind that could carry our voices has been calmed by me, and we’re so close that no one else can hear us."

As Charlotte said, this part of the dance required intimate cooperation between the two.

Astrid could feel the smooth, silky touch against her palm, Charlotte’s snow-white back, which was not covered by her dress but only lightly concealed by her dark hair.

"Lady Charlotte seems very happy tonight," Astrid said.

She could sense Charlotte’s joy from both her words and her body language.

"Mmm," Charlotte didn’t deny it, her tone light as she began to share with Astrid the gains she had made earlier.

After Hibbort’s speech, the nomination, and the invitation to the ball, where he publicly acknowledged her contributions, some nobles, including the Minister of Finance, Florence, had indeed shown a slight change in their attitude toward magic device.

Although this change was insignificant in the face of the conservative forces within the empire, and the number of people who could support their reforms was still minuscule, there was no doubt that the emperor’s support had given them the strongest card to play against the conservatives.

This magical airship was also a groundbreaking achievement in the field of magic device.

"It’s all thanks to you, Little Astr," Charlotte said.

Hearing this, Astrid replied softly, "I’m glad I could help Lady Charlotte."

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Charlotte speak again.

"Since that’s the case, let’s return to the earlier topic, shall we?"

"Little Astr, are you sure you no longer have any feelings for Tristian Velmont?"

After careful consideration, Astrid found that she couldn’t feel even the slightest flutter of attraction toward Earl Tristian. She nodded.

"Yes, I don’t."

"Is Lady Charlotte very concerned about my love life?"

Even the shift in the conversation felt a bit awkward, unlike the usual calm and composed countess.

Hearing Astrid’s question, Charlotte blinked a few times and said softly, "Little Astr is the most important person to me. Is it wrong to care a little more?"

"Of course not, but from the tone of Lady Charlotte’s voice, it seems like you don’t want me to get too involved with Tristian."

"..."

Charlotte fell into a brief silence. When Tristian had invited Astrid to dance, she hadn’t been pleased. In fact, the thought of just refusing on Astrid’s behalf had crossed her mind. freёnovelkiss.com

After a long pause, Charlotte spoke.

"The Velmont family will be a very important partner for us in the future. It’s good for you to have a good relationship with Tristian, but if it gets too close, it could affect our collaboration. After all, he represents an entire ducal family."

At Tristian’s level, the considerations were never just personal but extended to the entire family. He himself would never be confined to matters of love.

"I understand, Lady Charlotte. You can rest assured that there will never be anything more than friendship between us," Astrid said.

Searching her memories, Astrid recalled that Charlotte had always maintained a neutral stance toward the original owner’s pursuit of Tristian.

In Charlotte’s eyes, Tristian was, after all, one of the capital’s outstanding young talents.

If Astrid married the future head of the Velmont family, she would at least avoid being coveted for her beauty and could live a peaceful and comfortable life in her later years.

Given that, why had Charlotte’s attitude suddenly changed?

Charlotte also realized that her reason wasn’t entirely convincing, even to herself, so she added, "Besides, the last time you asked Earl Tristian to dance, he coldly refused. This time, he should be left hanging."

As an elder, Charlotte naturally leaned more toward Astrid.

After hearing her sister’s words, Astrid leaned close to Charlotte’s ear and replied softly, "Alright, alright."

"I promise Lady Charlotte that apart from work, I won’t have any other interactions with Mr. Tristian."

Hearing this, Charlotte’s lips curved slightly, a sense of satisfaction washing over her. But she quickly caught herself and bit her lip, saying, "Why does it feel like Little Astr is just humoring me?"

"Not at all."

Astrid chuckled softly, her voice gentle.

"If doing this makes Lady Charlotte happy, then I’ll gladly do it."

"Compared to Tristian, I like you much more, Charlotte."

Hit by her niece’s straightforward words, Charlotte’s movements faltered for a moment.

But soon, Astrid extended her right leg, gently pressing against Charlotte’s knee, guiding her back into the dance.

A few seconds later, Charlotte leaned forward, letting her hair fall over her ears and closing the distance between them even further, so that Astrid couldn’t see her slightly flushed cheeks.

"Little Astr, your words are so sweet now."

One moment, she was politely thanking Lady Charlotte, and the next, she was saying she liked her much more. The shift was a bit too sudden.

And... such a powerful statement wasn’t something just anyone could handle...

"Because I only say these things to Lady Charlotte."

Faced with another direct hit, Charlotte steadied her steps, suppressing the slight flutter in her heart.

"...Me too."

The music continued to play, and before they knew it, Astrid and Charlotte had danced three songs. Feeling her energy waning, Astrid spoke up as the current dance came to an end.

"Lady Charlotte, shouldn’t we move on to the next activity?"

Recalling their earlier plan, Charlotte replied softly, "...Yes."

After asking Hibbort for permission to leave, Astrid, Charlotte, and Lyra left the ballroom and returned to the third princess’s palace under the night sky to pick up the little princess who had been waiting in the bedroom for a long time.

Hearing the rhythmic sound of high heels at the door, Amalia, who had been staring out the window while holding her cat, snapped out of her thoughts and instinctively glanced at the clock. It was half an hour earlier than the time she had agreed to meet Astrid.

Was her sister coming to pick her up early?

Realizing this possibility, Amalia couldn’t help but smile, a surge of joy quickly spreading through her limbs.

Nothing could make her happier than this.

Her small, white-stockinged feet lightly brushed against the carpet as she found her slippers.

Amalia got up and walked to the door, as if sensing something. Just as she placed her hand on the handle, she heard a soft voice calling her from outside.

"Livia, it’s time to go."

Pushing open the door, Amalia saw the silver-haired princess, her cheeks slightly flushed from drinking.

She immediately reached out and hugged Astrid tightly, inhaling the intoxicating scent of roses mixed with alcohol that clung to her.

Her delicate face pressed against Astrid’s chest, her jet-black hair gently brushing against the fabric.

After their usual sisterly hug, Amalia quickly slipped on her lace-up shoes and, holding Auri, stepped out of the room.

The head maid had already prepared a carriage at the palace gates. The five of them, plus the cat, set off toward the outskirts of the city.

This carriage wasn’t particularly large. Due to their different statures, the more mature head maid and Countess Charlotte sat across from Astrid, while the petite Lyra and the even smaller Amalia sat on either side of the princess.

Lyra looked at the people in the carriage, all of whom seemed to have a close relationship with Princess Astrid.

Each of them wore expressions of either gentleness or calmness, as if they all knew exactly what was coming next.

It’s so late... What are we going out of the palace for?

Lyra was a bit puzzled, but sensing the atmosphere where everyone else seemed to understand, she suppressed her curiosity.

Charlotte had known about Astrid’s New Year’s Eve plans beforehand, and Elise was the main assistant.

Amalia had heard Astrid mention it briefly before the ball started. In fact, the only person who had no idea where they were going or what they were doing was a certain pink-haired maid.

But when the carriage arrived at their destination and Lyra saw the massive silhouette of the Fearless, she began to guess Astrid’s intentions.

The princess was planning to ring in the New Year aboard the airship, high above the city of Post.

The sound of hooves and wheels gradually faded away. Under the silvery moonlight, Astrid stepped onto the long staircase, the diamonds at the tips of her high heels glinting as she moved.