Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 511: "You’re just too adorable.”

Thinking about what she had just done for Astrid being replicated on herself, Lyra instinctively pressed her knees together. Her two legs, wrapped in smooth white stockings, pressed so tightly that only a thin slit remained between them. Her delicate cheeks flushed crimson, and even her blue eyes shimmered faintly with moisture.

Unlike Astrid’s dark suspenders that could be fastened at the thighs, the pantyhose on Lyra’s legs had been intentionally pulled higher than usual, reaching slightly above her waist due to her personal preference.

If she were undressing herself, it wouldn’t be an issue. But having someone else do it inevitably involves some intimate contact, and certain delicate fabrics would inevitably fall into the other’s view.

Just like how Astrid had slightly lifted her skirt earlier, crossing her long, dark-stockinged legs, no matter strictly how Lyra adhered to the knight’s code and tried not to look, her peripheral vision still caught sight of that exquisitely crafted patch of pure dark lace, like dark embroidery buried beneath pristine white snow.

"Astrid... you really have to help me... like that...?" Lyra murmured, her lips trembling slightly. The hard soles of her shoes scraped faintly against the carriage floor.

Thinking carefully, she truly couldn’t find a valid reason to refuse. She couldn’t possibly say that Astrid, now the esteemed Regent of the Empire, shouldn’t assist an ordinary Baroness with dressing.

Saying that would not only ignore their friendship, but also make her seem hesitant and unable to relax around Astrid.

Even though that was exactly how she felt.

Hearing her, Astrid gave a light, nonchalant "Hmm," elegantly crossing her long legs after changing into fresh stockings. One ink-jade-like dark-stockinged foot, lifted in a high heel, pointed its slightly glossy tip towards Lyra.

"What’s wrong? Do you think Her Highness the Regent is too delicate and fragile to handle such a delicate task?"

Although Astrid was of royal blood, she wasn’t entirely inexperienced in helping others undress, back then, Amalia loved sitting on her lap, asking her big sister to help her take off her socks.

Hearing Astrid’s words, Lyra’s breath caught again. Her fingers rubbed against the smooth fabric along her thigh as she whispered softly.

"N-no."

Of course, that wasn’t the reason.

"Then what is it?"

Astrid looked at Lyra with mild amusement, her right hand resting gently on the edge of her dark skirt. Her slender, pale fingertips neared the silky fabric, and just this tiny, insignificant movement brought back to Lyra the memory of how Astrid had gently grasped her skirt earlier, lifting it slightly to reveal a mesmerizing segment of snow-white thigh.

"Could it be... you’re feeling shy?"

As she spoke, Astrid tilted her face slightly, her crimson eyes glinting with tiny, playful sparks.

"Could it be that five minutes ago, when you fastened my garter, you saw something you weren’t supposed to?"

Finishing her sentence, the woman rested her other hand against her cheek, her long, delicate fingers touching her lips, her half-lidded eyes brimming with mirth.

"Then perhaps I should be the one to blame... for being too careless?"

A demon... a living demon...

It was Astrid who bent her knees and crossed her legs. It was Astrid who lifted her skirt with delicate fingers. Yet now, it somehow feels as if none of it had been intentional on her part, instead, it was Lyra who couldn’t resist the allure, ending up flustered and breathless like this.

Feeling her chest pound violently, Lyra clenched her teeth, biting her pink lips, and raised her voice slightly.

"I’m not shy at all..."

"If Astrid wants to help me, then just do it now..."

It wasn’t a big deal. After all, they’d slept in the same bed, hugged, and even kissed.

It was fine.

Seeing the pink-haired girl bite her lip and close her eyes, adopting a resigned, reckless expression as if ready to be manipulated, Astrid smiled gently.

"Alright then, here I come~"

The click of high heels on the carriage floor suddenly. Lyra straightened her back, her cheeks burning red, but still refused to open her eyes.

Although the darkness was unsettling, compared to watching Astrid slowly help her change clothes, Lyra found the former easier to accept psychologically.

After all, the latter might actually break her composure.

Sensing Astrid’s familiar rose scent, the same one from when she fastened the garter earlier, Lyra realized Astrid was right in front of her. She relaxed her hands, and her tightly pressed white-stockinged legs slowly parted.

The skirt rustled faintly. Lyra felt two hands appear at her waist, locating the waistband of the pantyhose and gently slipping underneath.

Astrid’s knuckles were slightly cool. Her smooth nails brushed against skin like tiny pebbles, causing Lyra to shiver involuntarily. Her ten delicate, ivory-like toes curled inside her small leather shoes, lightly gripping the reinforced tips of the white stockings.

Compared to the visible tense Lyra, Astrid’s movements were effortless and smooth. Patiently and gently, she removed the pantyhose down to Lyra’s knees, then grasped one small, white-stockinged foot and lifted it slightly.

Since it was halfway off, the fabric had loosened, forming lovely, delicate wrinkles around the girl’s slender ankle.

Feeling Astrid’s hand grasped her ankle, Lyra trembled slightly as her exposed legs cooled in the air. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she cracked her eyes open just a slit.

Astrid’s hair, as radiant as the Milky Way, hung before her. Leaning forward slightly, her flat, smooth back was wrapped in the dress, revealing only her round, ivory shoulders.

The glint of light on her nails flashed. A thick white pantyhose appeared beside Lyra. Noticing this, Astrid paused for a moment and looked up at her.

The pink-haired girl, sensing the movement, immediately shut her eyes tight, continuing her charade of an unconscious Holy Light Knight.

Seeing everything, Astrid curved her lips, then placed the girl’s legs on her own knees and carefully pulled the new pantyhose up, first over the calves, then the thighs. Each time she lifted, she meticulously smoothed out the wrinkles, aligning the seam at the toe perfectly.

Finally, she pulled the waistband up to its original position.

Because the skirt blocked her view, Astrid couldn’t tell if both sides were even. So she placed her fingers on Lyra’s waist, gently holding the edge of the stocking.

The woman’s cool fragrance wafted over again. Lyra assumed Astrid had noticed her peeking earlier and was now leaning closer to check if she had opened her eyes. Nervously, she pressed her back against the carriage wall, waiting for the ordeal to end.

Her legs were now fully covered by the silky fabric, no longer exposed to the draft. The carriage swayed gently with the rhythm of the rolling wheels. Lyra brought her legs together again, her eyelids insisted to lift even a millimeter.

Then, unexpectedly, Astrid leaned down gently and pressed a soft, lingering kiss onto Lyra’s lips.

The warmth of the kiss stirred Lyra. She opened her eyes slightly, her blue irises hazy with daze. At the same time, Astrid’s hand on her waist slowly withdrew.

"Whether it’s aligned or not, Lyra can just feel it for herself."

The kiss had lasted only a few seconds. Astrid blinked, speaking softly as she pulled away.

"As for the rest, I won’t help you with that."

Still dazed, Lyra heard Astrid continued.

"Though, Lyra’s fashion taste is still just like it was back at the academy."

"Very cute~"

"???"

As for what exactly Astrid meant by "aesthetic taste," there was no need for further explanation. Lyra’s trembling hands, now tightly clenched over her chest, clearly showed she understood.

No flashing patterns. No noble-style elaborate decorations. Just a pure white set, fitting for a maiden’s innocence.

Now completely flustered, Lyra didn’t reply. She quickly pulled the pantyhose up to her waist. Her blushing face, without needing to touch, was visibly scorching hot just from its color.

Astrid had only been here for a few days... and already, the number of times Lyra had blushed had surpassed the total she’d experienced in the entire Northern Region, even including those caused by the cold wind...

Princess Astrid... must definitely be some kind of succubus...

Taking several deep breaths, she focused her Master Knight precision mental energy to calm her body, slow her blood flow, and lower the temperature of her cheeks. Lyra extended her pink tongue to moisten the lips Astrid had just kissed, then noticed between them the two dark and one white items that had been removed.

"How... should we deal with these...?" Lyra asked softly, her voice still carrying a hint of breathiness.

Astrid tilted her head, gazing at the crumpled pile of stockings.

"Just find a place to burn them."

"Eh... just burn them?"

In the Valeria Empire, silk fabric was a luxury only the upper nobility could afford. Let alone the fact that Astrid’s stockings were specially made for the royal family, crafted from expensive materials with exquisite workmanship.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that a single pair of stockings Astrid casually discarded might equate to several months, or even half a year’s worth of food for many ordinary people.

Hearing the hesitation in Lyra’s voice, Astrid fluttered her eyelashes and opened her lips.

"If you feel too attached and think it’s wasteful, you can purify them with Light-element magic, then soak them in hot water."

Astrid’s current wealth allows her to wear and discard stockings freely. Combined with her memories of a past urban life, a time of advanced light industry, Astrid instinctively treated such items as disposable after a few uses.

Lyra froze slightly at Astrid’s words, her gaze lingering on the silk fabric nearby.

"..."

Perhaps because her rise from poverty to wealth had been too sudden, Lyra still couldn’t get used to this kind of noble extravagance.

Her fingers gently touched the pantyhose she had just taken off. The delicate fabric dissolved into light particles and merged into the Sword of Light.

According to Astrid, this holy sword was likely of a divine rank equal to or even higher than the Plague Bringer. As such, it was the most suitable storage vessel. Within that radiant, holy sanctuary, Lyra didn’t even need to use purification magic.

With the white item gone from the seat, only Astrid’s discarded dark pair remained. The silver-haired, red-eyed gem of the Empire shook her head slightly, her tone faintly teasing.

"Anyway, I’m too lazy to make Elise wash them. I’ll just burn them with fire magic later."

"Or... if Lyra wants to help me wash them, feel free."

With that, Astrid elegantly crossed one dark-stockinged leg, no longer looking at the pink-haired girl beside her.

Lyra paused, then lowered her gaze again.

Burning them... was too wasteful...

Her hand on the seat gently reached out, touching the smooth silk fabric. Whether it was due to the fire-element crystal in the carriage or the lingering warmth of the woman’s body, Lyra felt a residual heat that made her heart tremble.

But... she just couldn’t stand to see things wasted...

That was all.

For some reason, Lyra felt complex, as if what she was touching wasn’t lifeless fabric, but Astrid’s very skin.

Lyra... stop thinking nonsense...

Washing the master’s undergarments was also a maid’s duty. It was just that back then, she hadn’t been assigned to such tasks, so she had never done it.

That’s exactly it!

Convincing herself with this excuse, the two dark garter stockings that had just been on Astrid’s legs dissolved into light and entered the Sword of Light. Lyra gently stroked her left chest before speaking.

"By the way, Astrid..."

"Are we only changing this one piece?"

According to standard procedures for entering and exiting plague zones, they should also change their outerwear, skirts, shoes, and everything that needs cleaning.

Astrid nodded slightly, answered honestly.

"Yes. While you were helping me take off my stockings, I suddenly realized something, a blind spot I hadn’t considered before."

"If both the [Surging Tide of Light] and [Resonance Hymn of the Glorious Cathedral] can repel the plague, then as the ones release them, we should naturally be protected as well."

"In other words, we don’t actually need to clean our clothes. Those pathogens simply can’t cling to us."

Now that Astrid mentioned it, it did make sense. Lyra lowered her head thoughtfully, then noticed something off in Astrid’s words.

"Astrid just said you realized we didn’t need to change clothes... when I was taking off your stockings?"

Then why did she later "help" her change again?

"Mmm." Astrid’s lips curled into a tempting curve, her red eyes fixed on Lyra across from her.

"So then... you still... did that..."

The pink-haired girl stammered, unable to form clear words, her face flushed, her eyes filled with both shyness and a silent accusation that Astrid had teased her.

"Did what?" Astrid probed.

"Ss-still..."

The image of the woman’s fingertips gliding over the smooth, silk-covered curve of her waist and back lingered in her mind. Lyra’s ears turned crimson to the very tips.

"...Astrid knows exactly what I mean."

Seeing the girl struggle so hard to say only that, Astrid let out a soft puff of breath through her nose and smiled.

"Pfft, Lyra..."

"You’re just too adorable."

It made her want to indulge in mischief, to see just how much the innocent little white flower would endure before finally fighting back.