Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 527: Steel Hearted

After hearing Astrid’s words, Lyra’s long-held worries finally settled. She straightened her legs beneath the blanket, rubbed them gently against the cotton fabric, and then cautiously edged closer to the person beside her.

Feeling Lyra’s joy, Astrid faintly, then casually draped her legs between the pink-haired girl’s knees. Instantly, Lyra bent her knees, enclosing Astrid’s bare calf, left exposed beneath her white silk nightgown, with her own smooth, silk-clad legs. The soft, delicate sole of her white-silk-covered foot lightly brushed against Astrid’s bare skin.

"At any rate, after tonight’s talk, my trust in Monica has definitely increased..."

"At least her motives are quite clear, and the intelligence she’s provided holds significant value."

Trust those you employ; distrust those you doubt. With both the original storyline and current realities reinforcing her stance, Astrid had come to acknowledge this ally within the Kingdom of Velys.

Hearing Astrid shift to serious matters, Lyra quickly shed her girlish demeanor. She gently closed her legs and spoke softly.

"Astrid... the Saintess of Light mentioned it’s still not time to restore faith to its proper path."

"Does that mean... she intends to let this war continue...?"

Until the kingdom suffers severe casualties, until public outrage grows uncontrollable, until then, the peace-loving Princess Iris and Monica, the Saintess of Light secretly building a new Church of Light faction, will emerge from the shadows. Only then will they strike, dismantling the current kingdom and church leadership entirely.

This situation bears some resemblance to the Valeria Empire. So long as the Liya Tower Fortress remains unbroken amid the blizzards, the nobles protected by soldiers remain oblivious to pain. Only when the border defenses collapsed and Kingdom of Velys’s army advanced directly toward their properties and farmlands would they finally regret their earlier inaction, regret not contributing to that impregnable defense.

"Judging by current circumstances, that seems to be the case." Astrid didn’t deny it, her voice was somewhat cold.

"Although the situations are different, the essence of people in both nations is the same."

"A kind of unavoidable shortsightedness."

The nobles of the Valeria Empire refused to invest early to protect their own interests, still lost in dreams of an impenetrable imperial border. Meanwhile, soldiers in the Kingdom of Velys were severely brainwashed. Only when casualties mount and flames spread will they gradually realize they aren’t sacrificed for honor.

In war, they are merely tools used by those in power to invade other nations. They commit countless crimes on behalf of war instigators, only to realize in the end they’re no different from livestock, disposable consumables to be discarded once used.

"Amalia has already used the Empire Weekly to clarify the nature of this war to all domestic nobles: the Kingdom of Velys intends to annihilate our empire, and we must resist with our entire nation’s strength."

"Yet, responses from the nobles are few and far between. Enthusiasm for this war of national defense is shockingly low."

Of course, Amalia’s primary motive was to make future price negotiations smoother. But the evident self-interest and shortsightedness displayed by some nobles still left Astrid deeply disappointed.

"Some maggots need to be cleaned out."

Once the war ends and the new empress accumulates sufficient prestige, she’ll seize the momentum of magical-mechanical reform to thoroughly deal with the scum within the system.

For now, these people can just be noted in Her Majesty’s little book. Astrid knew full well Amalia had a grudge-keeping habit, those nobles with disloyal intentions were already under her watch, simply awaiting the right moment for reckoning.

Hearing this, Lyra also sighed softly and whispered.

"If only... things weren’t so complicated."

At eighteen, she might’ve thought warfare was merely a simple, brute-force contest, where the stronger side wins, end of story.

But in reality, too many factors influence war. It’s far from simple, war is politics continued by other means.

Lyra could command a third of the defensive line, yet couldn’t influence the entire battlefield. Ultimately, she was just a soldier, a sharp blade.

Feeling the girl in her arms, Astrid gently embraced Lyra’s soft, sweet body, her cheek resting against a few strands of pink hair that had fallen onto the pillow. For once, she didn’t tease the other with words or touch.

"Lyra already understood these truths long ago, didn’t you?"

Astrid spoke softly, each breath from her delicate nose carrying a faint, cool fragrance.

"Ever since your hard-earned academy spot was swapped by someone’s manipulation, ever since that cool glass of wine spilled onto your hair at the banquet, ever since you were assigned as the personal maid to the very culprit."

"Nothing involving people is ever simple."

As long as humans exist, even parents harbor complex emotions toward their children, unspoken desires for them to achieve certain successes, vanity in using their accomplishments to showcase their own superior parenting, or even treating their children as mere tools for lineage continuation, completely disregarding their thoughts.

In a way, Lyra being the pure, kind Lyra wasn’t just due to her own nature, it also stemmed from the nurturing of her kind parents. But how many parents in novels truly offer protagonists pure, unconditional love? And even fewer strangers without any connection.

Nobles high above cannot truly comprehend the suffering of commoners, that’s why they choose war as their final solution. Yet, fearing being affected themselves, they hesitate even to deploy legendary mages.

Feeling the warmth of Astrid’s body, her cheek pressed against the bare, delicate neck not covered by the nightgown, Lyra could almost perceive the sound of blood flowing beneath that thin skin.

"I’m just... feeling a bit... disappointed...."

Rationally, she knew people had their own selfishness, such things had existed since ancient times and wouldn’t disappear. But emotionally, watching familiar people fall before her eyes, only to be told they must sacrifice their lives and wait for the perfect moment to end the war...

"... ..."

Understanding the source of Lyra’s disappointment and knowing her healthy mindset would allow her to recover quickly, Astrid still felt an indescribable negative emotion upon seeing the pink-haired girl’s head droop, her ears and tail seem sagging as well.

It felt like her heart had been tugged.

Gently hugging Lyra’s back with both hands, Astrid nuzzled her nose into the girl’s hair and inhaled softly, then spoke after a moment.

"I know, Lyra."

"Since that’s the case..."

No grand reasoning could be offered, perhaps none truly exists to justify the evils caused by human nature. Astrid simply whispered in an extremely soft voice.

"I’ll hug you."

Her two tender, bamboo-shoot-like legs gently pressed together, rubbing against Lyra’s milk-white silk-covered legs, filling the girl’s arms with her lover’s warmth and softness.

Even the deepest sorrow would ease slightly when embraced by someone beloved, especially for Lyra, who always considered herself a hopeless romantic.

Before her eyes was a cascade of silver hair as dazzling as the Milky Way. The long, curved lashes softened the slightly intense crimson eyes, perhaps because Astrid had shed her usual opulent princess gown, and wasn’t wearing her midnight-hued, seductive black-chocolate sheer stockings.

At this moment, the Astrid embraced her and had completely reined in her usual icy, alluring aura, becoming gentle as water.

Lyra felt her heart melt, returning Astrid’s embrace with equal strength.

"I will hug you too, Astrid."

Why do we feel... like children now, hugging each other back and forth...

Inhaling Astrid’s fragrance, Lyra’s mood quickly lifted, rapidly escaping the low she’d been in.

It might be childish... but it feels quite nice...

Earlier, before her bath, Astrid had playfully hugged her from behind. Truthfully, Astrid’s own body smelled wonderful too.

The scent tempted her to go deeper, to fully savor that refreshing, captivating allure.

Time passed, no one knew how long, before Astrid slowly spoke.

"Lyra, after everything ends, I’ll join you in judging the guilty."

"Those war profiteers who made this world less beautiful, we’ll personally witness their demise."

This was the best way to console the fallen soldiers, aside from treating their families well.

Hearing this, Lyra nodded slightly and softly agreed.

"Mm."

Together, they will send these damned ones into the grave.

Hearing Lyra’s words, Astrid fluttered her eyelashes, paused for half a moment, then spoke again.

"By the way, Lyra."

"Do you mind if I use a bit more torture equipment before executing them?"

As she spoke, Astrid’s previously gentle tone gained a sharper edge. Lyra stiffened slightly, surprised by the sudden question.

Would she mind... reenacting the soldiers’ pain upon the war profiteers who gave the orders?

After a brief silence, Lyra answered softly.

"...I think... I don’t mind letting them end their lives in agony."

As she finished speaking, the light mark on her fingernail faintly shimmered.

"Dying an ordinary death is far from sufficient to atone for their crimes."

"Those who instigate war should depart this world miserably, and they certainly don’t deserve entry into their so-called divine realm."

As the words fell, Lyra realized what she’d just said. Her blue eyes slightly narrowed, and even the delicate toes hidden beneath her smooth white silk curled up.

What... did she just say...

Half a minute later, the girl cautiously spoke.

"Is it... bad of me to think this way?"

Her tone sounded both worried that her lover might come to dislike her, and uncertain whether she was still walking the right path.

Wouldn’t doing this mean being consumed by hatred, just like so many stories where a once-righteous knight gradually descends into darkness due to such negative emotions?

Astrid blinked, then answered gently.

"Never thought my little knight would show signs of being steel-hearted."

"...Steel-hearted?" Lyra sounded puzzled.

What did that mean?

"Roughly speaking, it means Lyra looks all soft and pink on the outside, but when decided, exceeds my expectations." Astrid gently kissed Lyra’s forehead, using physical affection to soothe her.

"Thinking this way isn’t bad. You just need to know whether you’re doing it out of disregard for life, or as judgment upon those burdened with grave sins."

"If gods truly exist, I believe they wouldn’t be so rigid. As Monica said, the Lord doesn’t hesitate to punish violent offenders."

Astrid had brought up this question mainly to gauge Lyra’s mindset. She hadn’t expected that aside from Amalia, whose personality carried slight obsession and cruelty, the usually gentle, pink-haired girl would align so perfectly with her on this matter.

Feeling like she’d rediscovered Lyra anew, Astrid moaned comfortingly.

"You haven’t strayed from the right path. On the contrary, suppressing your true feelings early allows your future actions to become clear and unobstructed."

Halfway through, Astrid took Lyra’s hand, pulling it out from underneath the blanket toward where the moonlight shone through.

Silver light poured in, illuminating their two pristine, snow-white hands overlapping, fingers interlaced. Lyra’s soft, pink, rounded fingernails caught the light, the sword-shaped luminous mark shining brilliantly.

"See? Even the Sword of Light doesn’t oppose you."

Following the woman’s smooth, fair arm, Lyra saw the light mark too.

"... ..."

Now that she thought about it... it was true...

Even though Astrid had said many times, "Be yourself, Lyra," she had still been overthinking.

"So..."

Astrid drew out her words, her five slender, delicate fingers dancing slightly on the back of Lyra’s hand.

"Shouldn’t we be going to sleep now?"

The matter of Monica had been discussed thoroughly. Now, they just had to wait for implementation.

Hearing this, Lyra nodded gently, placing their intertwined hands back under the covers. But with a small, secret intention, she didn’t loosen her grip.

Astrid naturally noticed this but didn’t bring it up, allowing Lyra to keep holding her hand.

After exchanging goodnights, they embrace and close their eyes. Having deeply talked for so long today, their sleeping posture became especially intimate. Slightly squeezed by Astrid, Lyra found her breathing a bit strained. She loosened her arms slightly while thinking of something else.

Earlier tonight, when Monica said she wanted to offer everything to Astrid, she’d nearly...

As a woman, facing her most beloved person, Lyra tried hard not to overthink. But in this quiet moment, a faint anxiety still crept in.

Especially since the person in her arms was such an outstanding, beautiful Imperial Regent.

After hesitating for a while, the girl tentatively spoke.

"Astrid... are you still awake...?"

Hearing Lyra, Astrid softly hummed.

"Mm?"

"That... I..."

Afraid that if Astrid opened her eyes, she’d lose the courage to continue, Lyra bit her lip and whispered.

"Do I... not attract people as much as Miss Monica?"

"Like... my figure... or how it feels to hug me."

As the words left her, Lyra’s chest rose and fell slightly, seemed feeling shame over what she’d just said.

"... ..."

On the other side, Astrid quickly ran through mental images of both Monica and Lyra, her memory settling on the magnificent, delicate snowscape she’d seen in the light mirror tonight.

Lyra... still worries about such things...

Amused, Astrid still gave a concrete answer to Lyra’s question.

"If I saw hugging Lyra uncomfortable, or thought your figure was terrible, I’d be staying at Lady Charlotte’s place every night."

In terms of figure, her own aunt, who perfectly embodies mature feminine charm, was probably unmatched by anyone.

But Astrid didn’t care about such things. Or rather, she herself had been personally appointed by the late emperor as the Valeria Empire’s most beautiful woman, her standards in this regard weren’t particularly sensitive.

Compared to mere physical comfort during a hug, she cared far more about who the person was. Otherwise, how could Amalia, whose figure was the most slender of them all, have endured so many nights?

"Don’t overthink it. Our Lyra is a once-in-ten-thousand beauty."

How else could she be the fated main heroine? On this matter, Astrid still trusted her sister’s taste.

Hearing Astrid’s words, Lyra’s cheeks grew even redder. Her legs beneath the blanket rubbed slightly as she softly replied.

"Then... that’s settled..."

"I was just... curious...."

"Goodnight, Astrid!"