Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 151: Progress

Feeling her hair being gently stroked by someone's hand, and listening to Livia's soft and steady tone, Amalia lowered her eyes, the light in her emerald pupils flickering on and off.

Could Astrid Calliste really say such things... She herself was the princess doted on by Hibbort...

Why would she care how the emperor treated a bastard daughter, and with what mood she had just spoken those words.

Livia... Who are you exactly...

Sniffling, Amalia closed her eyes, silently feeling the cool and smooth touch of the woman's skin, the delicate stocking on her cheek like a cloud in the sky, soft and smooth, carrying a faint, unique fragrance of Livia.

"Sister, why are you asking me this?"

After a while, Amalia spoke in a low voice.

Before answering Livia's question, Amalia had hesitated for a long time, but ultimately decided to tell the other her true thoughts.

Astrid was Astrid, Livia was Livia, the latter would always be her dearest sister.

Whether she refused to believe it or was deceiving herself, as long as Amalia hadn't truly confirmed they were the same person, she wouldn't hold anything back from Livia as her sister.

As for the possibility that Astrid was Livia, and that asking about Hibbort was just to collect leverage, it wasn't impossible, but it wouldn't affect how Amalia would answer later.

If Livia really told Hibbort what she said, then no matter how the cold emperor would deal with her in the future, Amalia wouldn't be moved.

Compared to being disliked and punished by Hibbort, or even physically eliminated, the feeling of betrayal by her closest kin would strip Amalia of her will to live even sooner.

If the only light in her life was also a fabrication, Amalia herself didn't know how she could continue to live.

Hearing this, Livia blinked, her fingers gently stroking the golden hair in the girl's hair.

"Because I want to understand Amalia more."

"...and also to care for you a little more."

Knowing Amalia's attitude towards Hibbort, Astrid was basically certain that the conflict between them was irreconcilable, and she could give up some unrealistic ideas in advance.

Hearing Livia say this, Amalia's heart trembled slightly, and in a place the other couldn't see, she bit her lip hard.

"Sister..."

"Hmm?"

"You'll always stay by my side, right?"

"..."

Hearing this, Livia smiled gently, leaned down, and kissed Amalia's temple lightly.

"Of course, I'll always be here."

Perhaps to gain a bit of security from her sister, Amalia would always repeat similar questions, and Livia's answer was always the same.

She would stay by her side.

Hearing this, Amalia relaxed her legs, her arms encircling Livia's waist, feeling the slenderness of the other's body.

Livia was always like this, never stingy with words or actions. She seemed to know how to fill the unease in her heart, always hitting the mark.

"Want to play a game of Grand Lord?" Livia rubbed the golden-haired loli's head and said softly.

Smelling the comforting fragrance from her sister, Amalia nodded and answered in a low voice.

"Okay."

.....

For the idle noble youths in Capital City, time always passed quickly. Unknowingly, the hyacinths in the capital had already withered, and the midday sun was starting to become a bit irritating.

During this time, several major events had occurred within the Valeria Empire. First, Duke Charles, who was responsible for guarding the border, had destroyed a monster nest, obtaining a large amount of crystal stones while also finding a spatial ring left behind by an unknown person inside.

Second, the Pan-Human Alliance had reached some kind of agreement with the mermaid race in the deep sea, mediated by the Velmont family, and some mermaid tears rich in magic began to appear in the capital's auction house.

Third, two new types of exquisitely crafted perfumes had entered the noble market.

Compared to the rough and inferior products of the past, these perfumes were more easily accepted, and even caused a trend among the younger crowd.

If a family didn't have a bottle of Ocean Summer or Silver Petal Dusk, they were either not nobles at all, or their taste and aesthetic sense needed improvement.

Even Astrid had to admit, Elowen's marketing skills were indeed impressive. To achieve such immediate results, a newly started newspaper was far from enough.

The above three major events were not difficult to notice if one paid attention. Each noble family head basically had their own intelligence network and sources of information, and the existence of the Empire Monthly provided a channel for those young nobles and ladies who usually didn't pay much attention to learn about current events.

From a practical perspective, if you didn't purchase the Empire Monthly, not only would you gather less information, but you would also feel out of place during afternoon tea and conversations with friends and sisters. This was unacceptable for any noble youth who was enthusiastic about socializing.

As the monthly sales of the newspaper gradually increased, Astrid and the Velmont family also made a fortune. There were even voices in the market hoping that the Empire Monthly could change from a biweekly to a weekly publication.

Regarding this proposal, Astrid could only say that her heart was willing but her strength was insufficient.

With Elise's assistance, she already had her own intelligence team, but compared to other deeply rooted old nobles, this was at most a fledgling, with the only advantage being its independence from the royal family, a force she could truly command at will.

On the surface, collecting the information needed for the newspaper's publication, while secretly investigating the movements of various figures, Astrid generally didn't interfere easily.

Most of the time, the organization's operations were handed over to a nearly perfect head maid.

In the bedroom, a silver-haired beauty leaned lazily by the window, her arm propped up with her palm supporting her chin, holding a small thin booklet in her other hand, her right leg lightly resting on her left knee.

The sunlight fell on the thin black stockings covering her skin, the refracted light adding a layer of alluring color to the already delicate and well-proportioned legs.

"Elise, please keep an eye on the spies left by the eldest prince recently."

"Understood, Miss Astrid."

"How are the negotiations with Mrs. Lysandra going?"

"She is willing to use the Ocean Heart in her possession as the centerpiece for the next jewelry appreciation event, but she has an additional request."

"What request?"

"Her youngest daughter will be one month old next month, and she hopes to receive a blessing about beauty from the princess of the Valeria Empire, known as the gem of the empire."

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"..."

"I will send my blessings on time," Astrid said.

Elise nodded upon hearing this: "Understood, Miss Astrid. If there's nothing else, I'll go attend to my duties."

After bidding farewell to the busy head maid, Astrid continued to sit in her place, her gaze shifting from the desk to the window, where she saw a pink-haired girl in maid attire walking in the garden.

Lyra was carrying a large basket of clothes, walking on the cobblestone garden path. When she reached the door, she exchanged a few words with two other maids responsible for laundry, then carried the items into the palace, heading towards Astrid's room.

This was her fourth month as a personal maid.

It was the changing of seasons, and Princess Astrid had purchased a batch of new clothes.

To reward the maids for their hard work and dedication during this time, Elise had also bought each of them a few summer outfits for use during their monthly leave or occasional outings.

In Lyra's view, this was another testament to the princess's kind and considerate nature towards her subordinates. However, in reality, Astrid had done this to cover her tracks.

She had mentioned preparing some new clothes for Amalia, but because her own body measurements were vastly different from the pettie girl's, directly ordering them might raise unnecessary suspicions, so she had come up with a compromise.

Under the guise of rewarding the maids, she could purchase clothes with a lot of leeway in size, and it wouldn't be so easily noticed by spies.

Knocking on the door, hearing a "come in" from inside, Lyra pushed open the bedroom door, stepped in lightly, and saw the silver-haired princess sitting by the window, her legs crossed in black stockings, feeling a faint sense of awe once again in her heart.

No matter how many times she saw her, Princess Astrid was always so beautiful.

"Princess Astrid, should I put these clothes directly in the wardrobe?" Lyra asked softly.

Astrid shook her head, her voice cool.

"First, sort them by size, and set aside the ones that aren't mine."

Some of these were for Amalia, which she would bring to her at night.

Lyra obediently said "okay," then went to the wardrobe, found a place to sit, and began sorting through the clothes one by one.

A long-sleeved black high-neck dress with lace and ruffled decorations, this one was probably Princess Astrid's, as both the style and size matched.

A pure white sleeveless strappy dress, obviously smaller than the previous one, probably for the fourth princess Amalia in the deep castle.

These white stockings were also likely for her, as she had never seen Princess Astrid wear white stockings.

While sorting the clothes, Lyra couldn't help but marvel at how much better Astrid and Amalia's relationship had become, and sometimes she wondered how beautiful the princess would look in these clothes.

Astrid glanced at the wardrobe door, her gaze quickly settling on the books on the desk.

Apart from the latest issue of the Empire Monthly, the rest were books related to magic and some popular science books.

After nearly two months of magic study, Amalia was already proficient in releasing some beginner-level apprentice magic. Although not as fast as the protagonist Lyra's practice speed, she was definitely among the best in her age group.

Although Amalia might not be willing to admit it, Astrid speculated that the girl's extraordinary magical talent was likely due to her royal bloodline.

Apart from the iconic golden hair and blue eyes, the Valeria Imperial family had another characteristic: they possessed magical or combat talents that many commoners could not reach.

For example, the 28-year-old eldest prince Lucas was already a peak Master Knight, and the 24-year-old second prince Alistair had also touched the level of a Intermediate Master Knight.

It was important to know that each step forward for a knight or mage required exponentially more time and effort. From an early apprentice to a Peak Apprentice, it might not be as difficult as from an Intermediate Master Knight to a Peak Master Knight.

A 28-year-old Peak Master Knight was a true genius, and these were not isolated cases in the history of the Valeria Empire.

As her mental power continued to improve, the effect of the transformation potion on Amalia was gradually weakening.

She had now reached the level of an early apprentice. Although she couldn't directly transmit mental power to see through illusions like a peak apprentice, she would soon notice something was off about her sister.

From the moment she chose to teach Amalia magic, Astrid had anticipated this day, but she hadn't expected the golden-haired girl to learn so quickly.

Even with her talent, those points that required rote memorization would take a long time to understand.

She even suspected that Amalia spent eight out of ten hours studying magic when she wasn't around.

While thinking, Lyra finished sorting the clothes. She packed them into a bag and left the wardrobe.

"Princess Astrid, the clothes you wanted are all sorted."

Astrid nodded and had Lyra put them aside. She would check them again later.

If one of her clothes, belonging to the villainous princess, was brought to the castle and seen by Amalia, the sensitive little girl might overthink it.

Now was not the best time to reveal Livia's identity. When Amalia reached the level of a mid-level apprentice, she would consider gradually revealing her identity, giving Amalia enough buffer time.

"By the way, Lyra."

After thinking about Amalia's situation, Astrid thought of Lyra and called out to her.

Lyra had made great progress recently, breaking through to mid-level apprentice in magic, and according to Elise's prediction, she would be promoted to peak knight before this winter.

This progress far exceeded the description in the novel. Astrid remembered that when Lyra entered the Elizabeth Academy of Magic in the second year, both these data points were at the beginner level, lagging far behind other empire nobles who had private tutors.

As for Astrid herself, her current mental power level was barely comparable to a mid-level apprentice.

"What is it, Princess Astrid?" Lyra's voice was soft, her sky-blue eyes quietly looking at the other.

Astrid asked: "Have you tried on the new summer clothes?"

Lyra was slightly startled upon hearing this, but quickly responded gently: "Yes, I have."

After all, she had just turned eighteen, and had a bit of a girlish heart. Lyra would try on the new clothes a few times after finishing her maid duties for the day and returning to her room.

"How do they feel?"

"The dresses and shirts are beautiful, and the stockings are very comfortable... Thank you, Princess Astrid!" The girl's voice was light, carrying obvious joy.

Whether it was the fabric or the style, Lyra felt they were all particularly good, and what made her happiest was that with these summer clothes, she could save some money on buying clothes.

Looking at Lyra, whose eyes showed bright joy, Astrid suddenly felt a faint sense of guilt.

She had only done this for Amalia, but it had made Lyra so happy.

It felt like giving away leftover scraps to someone, only for them to treat it as a rare treasure, wanting to keep it as a collection.