Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 157: Perfect Maid

"Miss Elise, Her Highness Astrid has not returned yet."

In the third princess's palace, Elise, dressed in her work attire, sat at her desk with a report on newspaper sales in her hand. Beside her stood a pink-haired, blue-eyed maid wearing white stockings.

"At this time, Her Highness Astrid should have already taken a bath and gone to bed, but she hasn't appeared today. I don't know what's going on."

Lyra looked anxious, her hands clenched at the sides of her skirt.

After listening to Lyra's report, Elise showed no signs of panic. She held the report, her dark eyes slightly lowered, and after a moment, she spoke calmly.

"There's no need to panic excessively. Her Highness Astrid has her own considerations. Miss Lyra, just focus on your daily tasks and avoid behaving too differently from usual."

Could something have happened inside the castle, causing Miss Astrid not to return to her palace at the usual time?

Unlike Lyra, a country girl unfamiliar with politics, Elise had been by Astrid's side since she was very young, aware of many secrets within the palace and the intrigues among various factions. It was reasonable to deduce that in this small territory, no one would dare to offend Hibbort by targeting the third princess, Astrid Calliste, who served as a mascot.

Astrid's failure to return this morning was likely due to some unexpected situation, and the fact that she didn't even have time to communicate her plans suggested that these unexpected events might have suddenly occurred last night.

Perhaps something happened on Princess Amalia's side, which in turn affected Miss Astrid.

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After assigning tasks to Lyra, Elise left the room and sought out her private informant responsible for gathering intelligence within the palace.

The informant had no suspicious information; Capital had been calm yesterday, with no disturbances inside or outside the palace.

At least Her Highness Astrid's whereabouts had not been exposed.

Elise's original plan was to have breakfast and then go to Morser to collect the illustrations needed for the new issue of the newspaper.

However, with Astrid's situation unclear, this plan had to be temporarily postponed.

First, she would inquire with Sara, the maid responsible for delivering meals to Amalia, and then make corresponding arrangements.

Walking through the spacious palace corridors, Elise pondered silently. Twenty minutes later,

Sara, who had delivered breakfast to the fourth princess, returned to her room and immediately noticed the dark-haired woman sitting there with her eyes closed.

To avoid unnecessary suspicion from frequent meetings with Sara, Elise always avoided all possible eyes whenever she came, and she never informed Sara in advance of their meetings.

Firstly, it was unnecessary, and secondly, it served as a warning to Sara. Her Highness Astrid was not one for gentleness, and if Sara intended to play both sides, it was better to cut off that thought early.

"G-Good morning, Miss Elise," Sara stammered, looking at the head maid, who exuded a strong sense of pressure even while sitting quietly.

Elise opened her eyes and pursed her lips slightly to soften the serious atmosphere around her. After a couple of minutes, she spoke in a calm tone.

"Has Princess Amalia shown any unusual behavior these past few days?"

"Reporting to Miss Elise, it's the same as before."

"..."

Elise fell silent for a moment, her dark eyes as calm as a still well, but to Sara, they seemed excessively cold.

"Her Highness Astrid has other plans. You don't need to keep an eye on her for now. From now on, don't look at what you shouldn't see, and don't learn what you shouldn't know."

Sara already knew quite a bit about Amalia. Given Astrid's recent actions, it was only a matter of time before Sara was replaced by new personnel.

After all, Hibbort wouldn't care who was responsible for Amalia's daily life, and once a well-trained person was in place, the problem would be completely resolved.

While the head maid was busy handling external affairs for Astrid, inside the castle, Amalia placed her used dishes on the first floor and walked up the stairs back to her bedroom.

Auri had just finished breakfast and didn't seem sleepy. Seeing Amalia, she immediately snuggled into her arms. The golden-haired girl gently stroked the orange cat, her blue eyes lowered, lost in thought.

The sunlight outside was strong, casting large patches of light on the floor tiles. Amalia looked at the sun, silently removing her dress and stockings, leaving only her sleeping undergarments.

Livia was gone... she no longer needed to dress up...

Her gaze lingered on the beautifully crafted princess dress on the bed. Amalia bit her lip, her left hand gently resting on her right arm, sitting on the bed in a duck-like posture.

She thought of how Livia had shown her the new clothes last night, the woman's lips always carrying a bright smile, her actions gentle to the core.

Her hand unconsciously fell onto the bed, feeling the smooth, silky touch of the fabric.

Amalia recalled how Livia had helped her put on her stockings, the woman wrapping her arms around her waist from behind, holding her in her arms, their hair entwined.

The warmth from Livia's legs seemed to linger at her waist, the faint scent of her hair continuously drifting into her nose, a scent that made Amalia feel extremely at ease.

After staring at the dress for a while, Amalia remained silent, the emptiness in her heart intensifying.

Livia didn't actually exist; she was just a fabricated identity created by Astrid to deceive her.

Closing her eyes, trying to erase the elegant figure in the white dress from her mind, Amalia relaxed her breathing, her shoulders leaning against the wall.

She had endured countless long nights alone before, and now she was just returning to that past.

Without Livia, she could still paint her paintings, she could still continue living.

Perhaps because she hadn't slept all night and hadn't rested effectively in the morning, after lunch, Amalia felt as if her mind was filled with lead, every movement a torment.

The entire morning had passed, and she still hadn't forgotten Livia. As the book said, to deliberately forget someone, you first have to remember them, and in this process, Livia's image became even clearer.

Holding hands, embracing, kissing, every thing they had done was constantly renewed, like a book that could never get past the prologue.

Feeling her head heavy, unable to sustain any more thought, the dual exhaustion of body and mind finally overwhelmed Amalia. The girl leaned against the pillow, not covering herself with the blanket, her body exposed to the air, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The wall clock ticked away, Amalia's breathing gradually steadying. After an unknown amount of time, Astrid walked to the room's door, her crimson eyes silently watching the person on the bed.

Amalia's current situation was still unclear, and Astrid, of course, wasn't comfortable leaving her alone for the entire day. So, instead of leaving at the usual time, she had taken a short rest in another room.

Although she hadn't informed her two personal maids in advance, Astrid trusted Elise's ability to handle things. The latter was a near-perfect head maid who knew what to do in her absence.

Listening to the golden-haired girl's soft, steady breathing, Astrid stood still for a while, hesitating before finally entering the room and approaching Amalia.

Carefully grabbing the blanket's edge to cover the girl, Astrid looked at Amalia's slightly trembling eyelashes, her pink lips now slightly pale, still tightly pursed even in sleep.

The fact that Livia was Astrid was too cruel for Amalia.

Recalling the question Amalia had asked her last night, Astrid's gaze deepened, her black-stockinged legs naturally pressing together as she slowly released the blanket's edge.

If given another chance, she still wouldn't choose to deceive Amalia. The latter would eventually learn the truth; it was just a matter of time.

Moreover, judging from Amalia's reaction, she had already sensed something but was unwilling to face it.

Compared to revealing the truth, Amalia might have preferred to maintain the status quo through self-deception.

What shattered her illusion?

Astrid thought of the two bottles of transformation potion that had been smashed and Amalia's complexly worded questioning at the time.

She was blaming herself for accidentally breaking the potion, also reproaching her for inadvertently handing over information related to the transformation potion.

If Livia's existence was a dream for Amalia, then her unintentional actions might have been the bell that woke her from that dream.

Following this line of thought, whether it was the answer that was seventy percent truth and thirty percent falsehood, or choosing to teach Amalia magic, her series of actions in the golden-haired girl's eyes might have been hinting that Livia Valeria didn't actually exist.

If that was indeed the case, then everything made sense.

The deceptive nature of Livia's identity wasn't the key point; what Amalia cared about was that she might have never truly liked her from the start, and all the intimate contact was just to see how much pain she would show upon realizing the truth.

The original Astrid would indeed do such things, just not to this extent. If it were the original Astrid, the moment she heard Amalia call her 'sister,' she wouldn't have been able to suppress her inner mischief and would have revealed the truth to her.

In the end, this fourteen-year-old girl, who had lacked love since childhood, couldn't build enough trust in the identity of Astrid, nor could she gain enough sense of security from her without the enhancement of the transformation potion.

She was afraid, afraid that her intentions were impure, afraid that all the warmth she had received before was just an act.

In this state, Amalia was like a little hedgehog, temporarily retracting her spikes when facing Livia, whose identity hadn't been revealed, exposing her soft belly to her.

But if she were facing Astrid, she would quickly raise her spikes, showing a state of alertness.

As she thought this, Astrid's hand, which hadn't completely pulled away, was gently encircled by a pair of slender arms. Amalia's eyes were still closed, not yet awake, but upon feeling the warmth, her eyelashes, like little brushes, stopped trembling, and her brows gradually relaxed.

Astrid looked at her arm, tightly encircled by the other, realizing that pulling away abruptly might wake Amalia, so she had no choice but to let her hold on.

The transformation potion only affected the observer, not the drinker. This wasn't the first time Astrid had let Amalia wrap her arms around her like this.

At least from the sensation, it wasn't noticeably different from how the golden-haired girl usually held her.

After some thought, Astrid took out the unused bottle of transformation potion from her bag, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one go.

Compared to Astrid, perhaps Amalia would rather see Livia first when she woke up.

.....

A gentle and pleasant breeze, sunlight that was direct but not scorching, and a fragrance that seemed like a mix of grass and wood, all of it composed a lazy and peaceful afternoon.

Amalia slowly opened her eyes, her blurred vision taking in the familiar ceiling.

The coolness on her chest told her she hadn't changed her nightgown before sleeping, and the slightly constricting feeling reminded her she was still wearing her bra.

Sensing that her arm seemed to be embracing something warm, Amalia instinctively leaned closer, her nose pressing against Livia's arm, her delicate nose bridge causing the woman's soft skin to slightly indent.

Livia... why is she here at noon...

Her nose lightly sniffed, her entire nasal cavity filled with the pleasant scent of citrus. Amalia didn't bother to think about why Livia hadn't left, instinctively moving her head closer to Livia, nuzzling against her.

After half a minute, Amalia's thoughts, still hazy from sleep, gradually cleared. At the same time, Livia felt a sudden itch on her arm.

It was the sensation of eyelashes brushing against skin, Amalia was awake.

Realizing this, Livia didn't speak, just continued to let her slightly sore arm rest, allowing the golden-haired girl to hold onto it.

Perhaps the afternoon atmosphere was too comfortable, or perhaps Amalia thought she was still in that unawakened dream, she didn't immediately let go of Livia's arm.

Her fingers slightly curled, her previously steady breathing becoming somewhat erratic, though it was hard to notice without careful attention.

Time quietly passed, with occasional bird songs coming from outside the castle.

Amalia could feel the smooth touch on the back of her hand, that was Livia's hair, which she had played with on many nights.

Her eyes filled with sunlight, her closed eyelids glowing red. Amalia lowered her head, pressing her eyes against Livia's hand, whispering softly.

"Sister... I just had a nightmare..."

"I dreamed that you left me."

Before she even finished speaking, the grip around Livia's wrist tightened.

"It's okay, Amalia," Livia gently ruffled the girl's hair, her tone tender.

"As long as you want, I'll always be with you."

Hearing the soft female voice, unchanged from before, the love and care hidden within the words, Amalia's body trembled slightly, her eyes seemingly unwilling to open.

After half a minute, Livia felt a faint warmth and dampness on her right arm, as if some liquid had moistened the bedsheet.

She looked down at Amalia, a hint of heartache flashing in her eyes.

"Sleep a little longer, Amalia."