Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 472: Recording Crystals

Based on the arrangement of crystals within the Imperial Scepter, Amalia surmised that Hibbort had likely placed these magic crystals, engraved with time-reversal enchantments, in chronological order. The one she now held was probably the final crystal, most likely Hibbort’s last recorded moment before death.

The scene fully unfolded. The blond man lying in bed was no longer the robust figure he once was. Hibbort’s breathing was faint, his eyes lifeless, his withered hands hanging limply by his sides, as if death could claim him at any moment.

Beside him, the Imperial Princess sat on a chair, dressed in a black gown with silver hair cascading down like a waterfall. Her long, slender legs clad in black stockings were elegantly crossed, a cup of hot tea in her hand as she gazed worriedly at Hibbort before her.

Amalia sat upright, watching the scene unfold. Scattered light elements constructed the figures, while drifting arcane particles carried sound, reenacting everything through the crystal’s stored magic.

This was likely a moment less than a week before Hibbort’s death, the Princess Astrid’s visit during one of her regular court greetings. During that period, the late Emperor will conduct morning examinations for the princess, then return to his bedroom in the afternoon to rest as much as possible.

In the scene, Astrid gently assisted Hibbort in drinking tea, simultaneously mixing a calming magical potion into the tea for the Emperor to consume.

Amalia sat straight, her gaze fixed on Astrid’s hand tightly gripping the teacup handle. Her blue eyes darkened slightly as she listened to the father and daughter speaking in soft voices about Astrid’s childhood memories and the Emperor’s late wife, the deceased Empress.

After the two princes were secretly executed, Hibbort seemed to have only Astrid left as family with whom he could share such intimate conversations, due to lingering issues from the previous succession struggle, his relationship with several royal dukes was also strained.

Twenty minutes later, having listened to the princess and Emperor exchange casual family talk, Amalia put away the crystal, slightly inhaled through her nose, and exhaled a small breath.

Even that cold and ruthless Emperor had moments of deep emotion like those seen within the time-reversal enchantment. Yet, he had cast aside his own biological daughter from beginning to end, discarding her like worn-out clothing, showing not a shred of paternal affection.

If not for Sister Astrid, she might long ago have succumbed to pain and chosen to end her own life.

However, considering Hibbort’s genuine affection for his first wife, and then herself, a bastard daughter born from an unexpected accident, Amalia vaguely understood his mindset. But understanding didn’t change anything. The suffering and coldness inflicted upon her, even after his death, she would never forgive.

After finishing viewing the content, Amalia stood up, bending her knees slightly so the tips of her little leather shoes tapped gently against the floor tiles. She casually tugged her white thigh-high stockings upward to prevent wrinkling, then, looking at the warm afternoon light in the study, suddenly seemed to recall something. She walked to the door and asked the steward.

"Mr. Trin."

"When the late Emperor was alive, did he have the habit of recording the conditions inside his bedroom using crystals?"

Hearing Amalia’s question, Trin, the current Empress’ Buttler, unusually fell silent for several seconds before respectfully bowing to answer the little Empress’s inquiry.

"Your Majesty, the late Emperor indeed had such a habit."

To ensure no unforeseen incidents occurred and to preserve an accurate record of his final moments, Hibbort had made the most cautious arrangements.

Upon hearing this, Amalia lightly pressed her lips with a finger, lost in thought, then spoke again.

"In other words, the events from the night the late Emperor passed were also recorded within a crystal?"

But at that time, the Imperial Scepter had already been transferred; Hibbort no longer had the authority to use it, meaning he couldn’t bypass her to place that crystal into the independent space within the scepter’s gemstone.

In other words, this particular crystal hadn’t been collected and was most likely in the possession of one of the three people who had access to Hibbort at the time: Third Princess Astrid, Emperor’s steward Trin, or Academy Head Anthony.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Trin confirmed this statement.

Amalia listened, pursed her lips, and without hesitation asked, "Then where is this crystal now?"

"..."

After a brief pause, the middle-aged man dressed as a servant answered truthfully.

"Your Majesty, it is in the storage room where the late Emperor’s personal belongings are kept."

"Bring it to me."

Ten minutes later, with Trin’s assistance, Amalia obtains a new batch of crystals. Although called a "batch," there were only two crystals not yet absorbed into the Imperial Scepter.

For some reason, when her hand touched the cool surface of the stone, a subtle emotional shift stirred within the white-stockinged little girl’s heart, as if, upon viewing its contents, something significant was about to be revealed.

She dismissed the steward, returned to her seat, and channeled spiritual energy into one of the crystals.

This time, the scene she saw was set in a dining room. Hibbort and Astrid sat across from each other. Judging from Hibbort’s apparent health, this timeline was earlier than the previous crystal.

The clinking of cutlery against plates rang clearly, the swaying red wine sparkling in tiny shards of light beneath the lamps. Hibbort gazed at the silver-haired girl before him and spoke softly.

"...That child must hate me deeply, right?"

As soon as this sentence left his mouth, Amalia knew exactly who he was referring to, just as the two individuals in that conversation also silently understood.

Hearing Hibbort and Astrid discuss her in private for the first time, Amalia crossed her delicate legs wrapped in cream-colored stockings, lightly tapped her fingers on the desk, and instinctively straightened her posture.

"Mmm." The Astrid within the time-reversal enchantment gave an affirmative reply.

"She is extremely dissatisfied with Father’s past neglect and indifference."

Next followed Hibbort’s views on the entire matter of promoting Amalia to the throne, and Astrid’s sharp analysis of the two princes.

Hearing Hibbort admit he had been a failed father in raising his children, Amalia fluttered her eyelashes slightly, inwardly agreeing. Then, upon hearing Astrid comfort him by saying he had done his best, she couldn’t help but marvel at how gentle her sister truly was.

Whether toward her as a younger sister or toward Hibbort as a father, Astrid, caught in the middle, had done her utmost.

Once the topic of child-rearing passed, they moved on to specific arrangements for the coronation ceremony: who would place the crown upon the Emperor’s head, the events following the coronation, and most importantly, the position of Regent.

These matters Astrid had already discussed with Amalia, although certain details had been deliberately omitted, such as the very question Hibbort now posed to Astrid.

"Even now, I’m still curious, why did you bring her out?"

That night, Astrid hadn’t mentioned to Amalia that Hibbort had asked this.

The blond little girl instinctively narrowed her blue eyes, her heart hurriedly within her chest.

This question had once haunted her own mind as well. Yet, through her sister’s meticulous care and affection afterward, Amalia had gradually come to understand the reason.

It was Astrid’s love for her that drove her to take on this risk, one that didn’t belong to the Third Princess, nor was it necessary.

Yet, her sister had never openly discussed these things, never told her just how much she had sacrificed for the golden canary trapped within that castle, nor how many potential dangers she had quietly buried.

Upon hearing the question, Astrid lifted her gaze, looked at the blond man beneath the light, and slowly recounted her past with Amalia.

It all began with the unidirectional transformation potion, and Livia Valeria.

In her conversation with Hibbort, Astrid explained to him her reasons for choosing Amalia, a conversation she had already openly shared with her sister on the night they left the castle.

There was no reason for Astrid to develop genuine affection for a bastard daughter she had met only a few times and who had been locked away in a castle. At the beginning, their relationship was indeed driven by mutual benefit.

Amalia craved Livia’s gentleness, craved the rare warmth he offered her. Astrid, in turn, sought to cultivate her as a means to fulfill her ambitions of changing the nation.

Yet, after prolonged contact, Astrid gradually ceased being motivated solely by benefit when meeting this future heir to the throne.

As the scene showed Astrid recounting to Hibbort their shared beautiful memories, raising cats together, viewing paintings, eating, watching the moon, trimming shrubbery beneath the silver moonlight, lying together on that stiff little bed chatting and sharing their innermost thoughts.

Perhaps Hibbort felt little emotional impact upon hearing this, but the Amalia of the present, watching Astrid speak with unintentional tenderness, felt her chest increasingly tremble.

She had been a participant in these beautiful memories. Every experience Astrid mentioned, Amalia had treasured in her heart. Now, hear them retold through Astrid’s voice, the warmth and beauty of those days once again scattered around the young Empress, gently enveloping her.

From strangers to familiarity, then to an intimacy like that of true sisters, they had shared so many moments, lived through so many warm years unlike the loneliness of her childhood.

"I promised her, I would one day take her out of the castle and show her the world beyond the cage."

The orange-yellow light illuminates Astrid’s cheeks, rendering the Imperial Jewel’s exquisite features even softer, her skin like snow, so refined she seemed almost otherworldly.

"I didn’t want to break that promise, especially not to someone who relied on me so deeply and considered me as her sister."

"To do so would be too cruel to Amalia."

Her eyes suddenly grew warm and damp. Amalia bit her lip, unable to let the images in her mind continue, forcing herself to suppress her emotions and keep watching.

"You could have chosen to bring her out at the very end," Hibbort said.

Typical of that man.

Hibbort’s words slightly cooled Amalia’s emotions, but Astrid’s following words reignited the flame within her heart.

They concerned the exposure of Livia’s identity, something Astrid had never told her, a sister’s inner monologue.

"Whether I am Astrid Calliste, or Livia Valeria... regardless of whether my appearance changes, or whether the clothes I wear match your memories..."

"That heart, pounding faster every night as I step into the castle, cares deeply for her."

In the dim castle, moonlight broke through the window. The blond little girl in a simple white dress waited quietly, until she heard familiar footsteps, then rushed into the person’s arms like a little bird. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

At that moment, through the pure white ceremonial dress, Amalia truly had heard Astrid’s heartbeat, the same joyful acceleration upon seeing her.

"One thing I’ve never falsified is my love for her."

"This emotional influence has affected my judgment, making my choices less rational."

"Your daughter, Astrid Calliste, is someone who can be swayed by emotions."

She was both a princess who needed to consider politics and the older sister of that frail girl.

But in that moment, Astrid made a choice loyal to her emotions, not purely from a standpoint of benefit, simply wishing to take Amalia out of the cage.

This was a sister’s pure and sincere love for her younger sibling.

The flow of mental energy wavered, causing the crystal’s projected image to flicker. Amalia promptly stopped channeling energy, closed her eyes, and pressed one hand to her chest.

She already knew these things. She already knew her sister’s love for her.

Yet... when hearing Astrid express these feelings to Hibbort...

She still found it so difficult to control herself.

Sister...

Fingertips rubbing against the crystal’s edges, after about a quarter of an hour, Amalia forcibly calmed her emotions and once again channeled spiritual energy into the crystal.

Hibbort, having received his answer, gave a slight nod, then brought up the origin and functions of the Imperial Scepter. He brought the scepter close to Astrid and demanded she swear an oath.

To swear, for the duration of her life, eternal loyalty to the Valeria Imperial Family, to the Empire’s next Empress, Amalia Valeria, making her commands the highest priority for action, never to disobey in any way.

Although these were regulations written in Imperial law, the Imperial Scepter’s tangible punitive power gave the oath a greatly greater weight.

Sister... surely she didn’t agree...

Amalia instinctively switched at the Imperial Scepter in her own hand, then turned her head to continue watching Astrid’s spectral image.

The figure in the scene pondered briefly, didn’t immediately swear as Hibbort requested, but instead analyzed the current situation, arriving at an answer that she need not swear.

Now that the Empire’s power rested in her hands, whether to swear was entirely Astrid’s personal choice.

Seeing her sister’s logical and well-reasoned analysis successfully reject Hibbort’s demand, Amalia quietly breathed a sigh of relief for Astrid’s rationality, yet simultaneously felt an indescribable trace of disappointment.

It should be this way... but why...

...was she disappointed?

The recording continued forward. Hibbort affirmed Astrid’s viewpoint; she indeed didn’t need to swear.

But just as Amalia thought the matter would end there, Astrid took the Imperial Scepter and the golden strand of hair representing the person to whom the oath was sworn, and spoke softly.

"...Astrid Calliste hereby swears."

The clear female voice echoed through the enchantment, like silver beads falling onto a porcelain plate. Amalia’s eyes widened slightly, the soles of her shoes scraping softly against the floor tiles.

"I shall remain loyal to Amalia Valeria in both the capacity of sister and subject, ensuring she holds the Emperor’s ultimate decision-making authority, and I shall never subjectively seek the throne by any means."

"Whether she grows old, falls ill, or loses her way and cannot find her path home."