Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 225: Daily Life

"Princess Astrid, we’ve been out for so long, won’t Princess Amalia be unhappy?"

Lyra knew how clingy that cold tsundere girl was to Princess Astrid.

Outside the palace, she could still restrain herself a bit, but when it came to sleeping in the bedroom at night, they were probably only one step away from wearing the same nightgown.

Every morning when she went to Astrid’s room, Lyra could almost always see the two of them in disheveled clothes.

"I’ve told her, it should be fine." Astrid shook her head and said softly.

Mentioning the fourth princess, she couldn’t help but recall Amalia’s changes over the past half year.

The latter was no longer as cold as before, and could occasionally chat with her friend Miss Lydia.

Thinking of the soft girl who had been sitting obediently in her arms earlier, Astrid’s lips slightly curved up.

But then she thought of another person, her fingers slightly clenched, and a bit of loneliness appeared in her eyes.

Lyra, who was always paying attention to the princess’s state, also noticed Astrid’s slight change. In that instant, she seemed to sense a hint of loneliness from the other.

Princess Astrid...why did she suddenly give her a feeling of being alone...

She had a sister who relied on her, an aunt who doted on her, a sister who grew up with her, everyone was by her side at this beautiful moment.

Was it her own misperception...

The moonlight poured down, Astrid’s smooth and fair back not covered by the dress was exposed to the air, her snow-white skin emitting a cold porcelain-like luster.

The next second, that hint of loneliness flashed by. Astrid, holding the empty glass, slowly straightened up.

"Let’s go, if we stay any longer, we’ll really catch a cold."

Hearing this, Lyra hesitated for a moment, but still didn’t ask.

It must have been her overthinking...

Princess Astrid has the people she loves by her side, how could she be lonely?

Or...the person she’s missing is actually...

Lyra’s pupils slightly contracted, her cherry lips pursed into a line.

Could it be him?

-------

After the New Year’s Eve party, Astrid and her group stayed overnight at the Charlotte Manor and returned to the palace by carriage the next day.

Thinking that Elise and Lyra had been busy for almost a year and deserved a few days off,

Astrid directly approved a week of paid leave for them, while she herself enjoyed a pleasant holiday life.

She woke up naturally in the morning, had breakfast with Amalia, played with the Auri for a while, read some miscellaneous books, took a nap at noon, then had afternoon tea with a few noble ladies she was on good terms with, and took a walk around the palace before sunset, feeling the majestic and grand imperial capital.

After dinner, she sat at the table to brainstorm the next plot of her novel, then went to the bathroom for a bath, incidentally depleting her mental energy so it could refill and gain a larger capacity.

Time passed quietly, and the next issue of the Empire Monthly was released as usual on Friday, delivered by servants to every noble who subscribed to the newspaper.

This issue of the Empire Monthly announced two explosive news items: first, the Empire Monthly would officially be renamed the Empire Weekly starting next month, changing from two issues per month to one issue per week.

This revision was beneficial and harmless to readers accustomed to the monthly subscription.

They had long felt that the bi-monthly publication couldn’t satisfy their reading needs, so they had mentioned it in feedback.

Astrid, after fully considering production capacity and user needs, decided to proceed with the revision.

These upper-class individuals didn’t lack the money to buy two more newspapers.

Ensuring quality while increasing the reading frequency to once a week would definitely enhance user loyalty.

The second news was about the ascent of the magical device "The Fearless."

Although many nobles attended the New Year’s Eve test flight of the airship, more interested individuals couldn’t attend for various reasons and thus didn’t experience its shock and wonder firsthand.

To address this, Astrid specially added extra pages to the current issue of the newspaper, not only having Amalia draw the Fearless from multiple angles but also showcasing parts of its interior, such as the dining room, lounge, and control panel.

The explanatory text focused more on its structure, explaining its power source and operational principles, ensuring every reader could understand.

After carefully reading the newspaper, Gregor placed his cup on the table, the tea slightly splashing against the rim.

"Astrid Calliste..."

If the Emperor’s naming of this magical airship had already indicated his stance, then this report was the final piece of wood added to the blazing bonfire.

No... according to the Princess’s style, this shouldn’t be the last piece, but the beginning of an overwhelming wave of publicity...

Gregor lightly shook his leg, frowning.

A year ago, Astrid was just a foreign princess with nothing but beauty. How had she transformed so thoroughly now, even helping the Emperor solve his worries.

Lucas was really lucky to have such a sister to support him, making his future succession smoother.

Flipping through the drawings of the magical airship, Gregor’s brows gradually relaxed.

After a long while, the man gently exhaled and picked up the household registration documents on the other side, carefully reviewing them.

Now that the Emperor’s attitude was clear, as a key minister, even if he privately believed that magical devices were fraught with hidden dangers, he couldn’t openly defy the Emperor’s orders.

Stances could change at any time. His power came from the royal family, so he had to fully comply with the Emperor’s will.

Otherwise, with a single order from Hibbort, someone else could replace him as the Minister of Internal Affairs.

In the Valeria Empire, imperial power nominally stood above everything. The so-called Council of State was merely the Emperor’s private advisory group.

But even if he could let it go, the major nobles whose actual interests might suffer wouldn’t give up easily.

People always tend to maintain the status quo, especially those who have already secured their share of the cake.

Astrid, Charlotte, Elandor... the path for magical devices was still long, and even with the Emperor’s protection, it was destined not to be smooth sailing...

Meanwhile, in the palace, Hibbort listened to his subordinates’ reports while flipping through the new issue of the Empire Monthly.

His majestic blue eyes slightly narrowed, his demeanor lazy but always exuding an undeniable aura of authority.

Astrid’s recent actions were surprisingly in line with his opinions, and the results were even better than he had anticipated.

At the critical point when magical devices were under the spotlight, she first used the physical object to silence critics, then guided public opinion with the media, striking while the iron was hot, boosting support to an unprecedented peak in a short time.

A very smart approach, but once the discussion heats up, the previously submerged contradictions and problems would only become more naked and sharper.

"How has Astrid been recently?" Hibbort asked in a low voice.

The man respectfully bowed his head, speaking clearly: "Your Majesty, Princess Astrid hasn’t been doing much recently. Most of the time, she rests in her room, occasionally having tea and chatting with other ladies."

"Which ladies?" Hibbort asked again.

The servant reported a few names. After hearing them, Hibbort thought for a moment without saying much, waving his hand to dismiss him.

As the man reached the door, Hibbort suddenly spoke.

"By the way..."

The servant immediately stopped and stood by the door.

"What’s that scent on you?" Hibbort asked.

Even from several meters away, Hibbort could still smell the faint tea fragrance emanating from the servant’s clothes.

"It’s a new product launched by the Velmont family at Princess Astrid’s request, a perfume called ’Leisurely Afternoon.’ It’s been selling quite well recently," the servant answered respectfully.

Having received the answer, Hibbort nodded and said in a low voice.

"A very nice perfume..."

"...Next time, prepare a bottle for me as well."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

...

"Princess Astrid, if this magic only intermittently supplies mental energy, can it significantly reduce the total amount of mental energy required without affecting the actual effect?"

In Amalia’s room, Lyra held a charred twig and softly asked Astrid.

"My mental energy supply skipped a beat just now, but the flame wasn’t affected at all. I tried a few more times and found that the activity frequency of the fire element particles didn’t decrease at that moment..."

Lyra was learning the peak apprentice spell, Flame Wall.

A mage could supply mental energy to activate and drive fire element particles to arrange themselves, causing them to continuously burn on combustibles and connect into several walls of fire that affect the target’s movement.

Its advanced version was the caster’s primary spell "Flame Prison," where the caster no longer relied on specific combustibles and could create walls of fire out of thin air to restrict enemy movement.

Hearing this, Astrid put down the magic book, thought for a moment, and answered.

"Lyra, what are the characteristics of the fire element?"

The pink-haired maid thought for a while, then softly said.

"Among the six basic elements, the fire element is the most active and most likely to react to external stimuli... It has poor compatibility with ice and water elements, and due to its strong fluidity, it has good compatibility with the wind element..."

"Lyra just mentioned its strong activity, right?"

"Yes."

As soon as she finished speaking, Astrid picked up a few small sticks, softly chanted a spell, and personally demonstrated for Lyra and Amalia.

Under the elemental vision, the two apprentices saw the fire element particles guided by a transparent force, eventually forming a scorching flame wall.

Though the wall’s size was slightly smaller.

"My mental energy is supplied intermittently, as Lyra mentioned," Astrid said softly, while controlling the mental energy activity.

"If the interruption lasts a bit longer, it will become like this."

In the next second, the flame wall turned into several flame pillars, with only a slight connection between them.

"The strong activity of fire element particles means that in an activated state, they are more eager to move than other low-activity elements."

"And compared to the elusive wind element particles, they are different. A brief loss of guidance won’t affect the original activity trajectory of fire element particles."

"But a long-term lack of mental energy guidance will inevitably cause them to move towards the root, which is the burning wood itself."

These were things mentioned in "Basic Element Theory," a book generally borrowed by mages at the caster level.

Lyra’s question involved some out-of-syllabus content, but she was already an advanced apprentice, so it was good for her to know more.

After listening to Astrid’s explanation, Lyra nodded thoughtfully, then began her own experiments.

Amalia also tried to cast a spell, and the sounds of two chanting spells echoed in the room one after another.

Feeling the air was slightly hot, Astrid got up to open the window, letting some cold air in, then went to the next room.

In the bedroom, a tall, cold beauty with black hair and eyes sat at the table, with two cups of steaming tea beside her.

Elise had been waiting for a long time.

"Miss Astrid, compared to the first-day sales of the previous four issues, this week’s Imperial Monthly sales have shown significant growth."

"We can consider adopting the method you mentioned earlier, charging in advance based on a one-year subscription."

Astrid took the tea, slowly sat on Elise’s bed, and kicked off her high heels to relax.

"Alright, I’ll find an opportunity to talk to the Velmont family about it."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Elise replied.

"Professor Elowen also has this intention. She has invited you to meet at the Morin Tea House tomorrow afternoon."

"Tomorrow afternoon?"

After thinking for a while, it seemed she had nothing scheduled then. Astrid took a sip of tea and softly responded.

"I see."

"Tell Elowen I’ll be there on time."

At this time, could it be related to magical devices?

...

"Professor Elowen, long time no see~"

At noon the next day, in the restaurant, looking at the petite figure of the potions professor Elowen in a shirt and trousers across the table, Astrid smiled and greeted her.

"I haven’t seen Professor Elowen recently. I heard from Lady Charlotte that you returned to Duke Velmont’s territory. How was the trip?"

The Elizabeth Academy of Magic was on winter break, and professors from various colleges also had a rare vacation.

Elowen was no exception. She had been away from the capital during this period, and even the matter of the special edition was discussed by Astrid with another member of the Velmont family.

"Yes, everything went well. I heard that Princess Astrid and Countess Charlotte did something big recently..."

Elowen gently adjusted the frame of her gold-rimmed glasses.

Under the sunlight, the woman’s slightly curly hair and neat cuffs exuded a scholarly and steady aura.

Hearing this, Astrid smiled slightly, propped her arm on the table, crossed her black-stockinged legs, and softly explained the part of the story that Elowen could know.

"It seems that the bill His Majesty mentioned is still far off."

Elowen took a sip of tea and said gently.

"I saw in the monthly magazine that you plan to use the Fearless as a sightseeing vehicle for customers to ride?"

Astrid nodded slightly: "Yes, but definitely not now."

"Now the whole country’s attention is focused on the Fearless. Since the test flight has been successful, why complicate things?"

Many people are eager for the Fearless to have issues at this critical moment, and those who want to sabotage the airship are not few.

If the Fearless encountered any malfunction during the ride, it could easily damage the public image they had just built for magical devices.

The pie can be drawn first and made when necessary.

"Princess Astrid is right." Elowen nodded in agreement, then brought up another matter.

"By the way, congratulations to Princess Astrid for passing the entrance exam of the Elizabeth Academy of Magic."

Astrid responded gently: "Thank you for your concern, Professor Elowen."

The entrance exam started last month, consisting of two assessments: sensing elements and the ability to guide mental energy.

For those who had never been exposed to magic, these two assessments were as difficult as climbing to the sky. Without textbooks or teachers, the threshold was already over their heads.

But for Astrid and Lyra, the villainess and the destined heroine, this was as simple as it could be.

"When Princess Astrid enters the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, I think my good friend will be happier than now."

"Lady Charlotte?"

"Yes, it’s obvious that she likes you."

Elowen always spoke in a flat tone, including now, without any fluctuation.

Hearing this, Astrid picked up the teacup and said softly.

"I will take more care of Lady Charlotte."

In the future, with closer proximity, contact will be more convenient.

"So... Professor Elowen invited me here today just to catch up?" Astrid said.

She thought Elowen was here to discuss new business.

"Well, sort of." Elowen nodded, then continued.

"If there’s anything else, there is indeed one thing recently, but if I were to discuss it, sincerity might not be enough."

"Oh?" Astrid’s face showed a hint of confusion.

As the sister of the family’s head, if her sincerity wasn’t enough, who else could it be?

The Duke Velmont? Or Earl Tristian Velmont?