Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 516: Arcane Particles

Charlotte’s desk stands on the east side of the large bed, close to the window. As soon as Astrid entered from the vestibule and turned around, she could see the raven-haired beauty sitting at her desk, facing away, submerged in work.

A small orange-yellow lamp sat at the corner of the table; its light became a brush, outlining the woman’s voluptuous, alluring figure. Her long black hair reached her waist, and a thin, pure white silk nightgown draped over her body, accentuating her mature and sophisticated charm.

Precisely because of this atmosphere, Astrid chose not to break it. Instead, as soon as she entered the room, she quietly approached Charlotte from behind, standing right next to the wooden study chair, and gently began massaging her shoulders.

The subsequent resonance spellcasting naturally continued in this posture. However, Astrid’s hands no longer massaged Charlotte’s delicate shoulders. Instead, they rested upon her collarbone, her arms wrapping around her neck, her cheek leaning close to the junction between shoulder and nape. Her unconsciously brushing pink lips could even feel the smooth, tender skin that had just been bathed, still emitting faint fragrant breezes and warm moisture.

And this directly led to an awkward incident.

"...Where exactly did you place your hand?"

Sensing an odd sensation from her body, though she wore only a thin silk nightgown with no undergarments, Charlotte’s voice lacked its usual calmness. Her pleasant tone even carries a hint of complex embarrassment and mild irritation.

Astrid startled slightly, her long legs sheathed in sheer black stockings rubbing faintly against each other. Her attention finally returned from the successfully cast magic to reality.

Warm. Soft. Delicate. Even through the thin fabric, she could still clearly feel the vast, overwhelming breasts, as majestic as the ocean.

In terms of softness, it was by no means inferior to the sensation Astrid had deliberately emphasized when teasing Lyra in the carriage. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The next moment, Astrid released her grip. Her arms, which had been wrapped around Charlotte, naturally withdrew, and her slender fingers returned to rest slightly upon the other woman’s smooth, rounded shoulder.

During moments of deep thought, Astrid often unconsciously stood quietly with her arms crossed over her chest. Yet, she was accustomed to her own body’s proportions, and instinctively knew exactly how much contact she made. With Charlotte, however, her estimation was clearly off.

Among all the women Astrid had ever known, only the Saintess of Light, Monica Angelis, could rival Charlotte in terms of mature feminine charm and physical allure. Even Professor Euphnie, who was relatively open with her, fell slightly short in this regard.

"Lady Charlotte... I was careless..."

Her fingertips still retain the unforgettable sensation of that smooth, snow-like softness. Astrid spoke softly.

"During the resonance spell experiment, I remained in a state of soul connection and completely forgot I was still embracing you, Lady Charlotte."

Her arms had originally been wrapped around Charlotte’s neck, embracing her aunt. But somehow, maybe because her body unconsciously sought a relaxed posture, her arms had slowly slipped downward, passing beneath Charlotte’s ribs, naturally encircling her slender, nightgown-clad figure. And as a result of this slight movement, her inward-facing palm had ended up exactly over a place it should not have touched.

Hearing Astrid’s explanation, Charlotte pressed her lips together, her delicate hand gently stroked her chest.

"Touching a single woman’s body like this isn’t exactly the behavior of a gentlewoman~"

As if regaining her composure, Charlotte’s tone returned to its pre-resonance state, laced with playful teasing, completely erasing the brief flash of embarrassment from earlier.

"But since Little Astr didn’t press too hard, I’ll let it slide this time."

Of course, Charlotte knew Astrid hadn’t done it intentionally. Still, as an elder, being treated this way by a younger person, regardless of intent, required a few words of admonishment.

Her heartbeat slowed down. The area Astrid had touched no longer burned as intensely as it had when she first noticed. Charlotte uncrossed her legs, the smooth, flawless skin of her thighs gleaming like snow beneath the hem of her nightgown.

After all, it wasn’t a big deal. They were both women; there was no need to emphasize distinctions between genders. Besides, she often lets Astrid stay over. During the early days of their reconciliation, she had even initiated invitations, letting the girl rest her head on her chest like she used to in childhood.

That was far more intimate than what had just happened half a minute ago.

Reminding herself repeatedly that this was just a minor incident, Charlotte refocused on the earlier resonance spellcasting, and gently parted her pink lips.

"Let’s return to the topic of [Mimetic Particles]. I’ve completely memorized the casting steps Little Astr just performed, and every elemental particle reaction is etched in my mind."

As she spoke, Charlotte fluttered her eyelashes. A gentle breeze suddenly rose from Astrid’s silver-white moonlit hair, softly lifting and caressing the long strands.

"Does this count as success?"

Within the elemental vision, invisible and colorless arcane factors simulated pale green wind elemental particles, weaving together into a soft breeze. Aside from a faint sense of artificiality, the arcane factors perfectly mirrored the characteristics of actual wind elemental particles.

Feeling the wind brush through her hair, gently stroking her cheek as if with a hand, Astrid raised her fingers, allowing the breeze to swirl and tenderly kiss them. She praised softly.

"Ladu Charlotte truly is a magical prodigy; you mastered it after seeing it just a few times."

Due to limited mana reserves and the significant impact differing elemental affinities had on spellcasting, Astrid had only simulated ice and dark elemental particles when chanting the universal incantation of [Mimetic Particles].

She hadn’t expected Charlotte, on her first attempt, to switch to another element and successfully cast the wind-element version of [Mimetic Particles]. In a way, this proved Charlotte had fully grasped the spell’s operational principles and casting method.

Receiving Astrid’s praise, a hint of pleasure, so subtle even Charlotte didn’t notice, flickered in her eyes. She continued casting, successively simulating lightning, fire, and light, elements commonly used in magi-weapons.

Unlike Astrid, a peak tier Magnus, Charlotte, a middle tier Arcanist mage, possesses a mana reserve as vast as the ocean, sufficient for her to cast over a hundred peak tier Magnus spells consecutively.

After exhausting all attempts, Charlotte ended the casting and gently took Astrid’s hand, speaking softly.

"How much more do you know about this spell, Little Astr?"

Even after casting it several times herself, Charlotte still felt exhilarated by this novel magic.

"Lady Charlotte wants to know about the underlying structure of arcane factors?" Astrid asked gently.

The effect of [Mimetic Particles] was to allow arcane factors to temporarily replace certain elemental particles, achieving identical external effects. This transformation clearly involved the fundamental nature of both arcane and elemental particles. Understanding it could answer many unresolved questions in magical theory.

Charlotte nodded, her eyes gleaming as she gazed at Astrid. Beyond her usual warmth, a new layer of eager desire, like that of seeing a priceless treasure, shone in her eyes.

Indeed, for a mage, knowledge truly was treasure.

After a moment’s thought, realizing Astrid likely had much to say, Charlotte glanced at the distant chair, then at her own legs. After a brief pause, she deliberately uncrossed them.

"Sit down and talk, Little Astr."

Her intense thirst for magical knowledge made Charlotte unwilling to waste time on anything else. Astrid narrowed her eyes slightly, recalling her earlier action, and ultimately chose not to follow the implied suggestion of sitting on Charlotte’s bare thighs. Instead, she brought over a chair and sat beside the woman, speaking gently.

"How much does Lady Charlotte know about arcane factors?"

Charlotte paused briefly, then calmly voiced her thoughts.

"Archaic factors are a universally existing magical essence, a kind of particle-like magical element, serving as the essential medium for casting all arcane spells."

"Unlike various elemental particles, whose distribution varies across regions and times, arcane factors are ever-present, whether in the deep sea or volcanic regions, night or dawn, from the southern archipelago of the Pan-Human Alliance to the northern snow mountains of the Kingdom of Velys."

"This is exactly why even mages highly specialized in a particular elemental magic still regard arcane magic as a mandatory discipline. In environments where elemental particles are scarce, arcane magic becomes their sole lifeline."

Pausing briefly, Charlotte continued.

"The above is textbook knowledge. At my current level, my understanding of arcane factors runs deeper..."

"In my view, arcane factors themselves may very well be fragmented mana, like a key to manipulating rules, a special vessel carrying magical energy."

"Regarding this, I’ve discussed it specifically with the headmaster of Elizabeth Academy of Magic, Anthony. He reached a similar conclusion, suggesting that successfully analyzing arcane factors might be the necessary condition for Arcanist mages to break through to the next stage."

"He even mentioned your mother, Fanya, once spoke to me about it. She believed arcane factors possess some transcendent connection with time and space..."

Under the warm, dim light, Charlotte softly explained her understanding of arcane factors. Astrid listened attentively while voicing her own insights.

"...Lady Charlotte’s thoughts are indeed reasonable. Mother’s journal repeatedly emphasizes the critical nature of arcane factors."

"So... let me share my own perspective on arcane factors..."

.............

Half an hour later, after Astrid’s complete logical hearing chain of reasoning, Charlotte slightly furrowed her delicate brows, her fair wrist unconsciously supporting her smooth chin. Her thick thighs pressed close to the edge of the wooden chair, their overlapping revealing faint indentations and slight compressions of snow-white flesh.

"So Little Astr believes... arcane factors are smaller entities than elemental particles?"

"Mm. If viewed from this angle, wouldn’t it completely explain the operating principle of [Mimetic Particles]?"

Astrid gently swayed her calf. Having lost the elegantly decorated, gem-encrusted high heel, her smooth, black-stockinged foot rested under the light, presenting a soft, alluring chocolate hue.

"The reason arcane factors are ubiquitous throughout the world is precisely because they are the smallest constituent elements. [Mimetic Particles] allows them to exhibit the properties of a specific elemental particle, based on this fundamental logic."

"Under specific arrangements and compositions, transformed by mana generated from human consciousness, they temporarily solidify into a particular elemental particle."

From Astrid’s past-life scientific perspective, arcane factors were the most fundamental, indivisible atoms in chemical reactions, while subsequent elemental particles were specific molecules formed from them.

Of course, attempting to fully explain magic in this world using past-life science wasn’t realistic. Here, arcane factors didn’t have subdivisions like carbon, oxygen, or hydrogen atoms. Ice and water elemental particles weren’t defined as solid and liquid states in the physical sense, but rather as two distinct elements in magical theory that could convert into one another.

"Just think... Charlotte..." Astrid whispered gently.

"The ice blocks created by [Ice Spire] eventually melt into water. Some of the ice elemental particles disperse into the air, carried away by wind particles, while most transform into milder water-property particles, visible within the elemental vision."

Finishing, Astrid’s gaze fell upon the damp water stain on the desk, the remnant of the melted ice.

"Isn’t there also a subtle fluctuation of arcane factors during this process..."

"It’s just that since arcane factors are so abundant in the air, nearly omnipresent, the entire process resembles dropping a water-filled bottle into the ocean, making it impossible to observe any flow difference between the inside and outside of the bottle from an external view."

"Isn’t that right, Charlotte?"

Here, Astrid turned her head to look at the raven-haired beauty beside her. Charlotte stared silently at the water stain, her gentle chestnut eyes veiled in a faint, watery shimmer.

Both Anthony and Fanya had expressed clear interest in arcane factors before. Yet neither had ever uttered words as revolutionary as what Astrid had just spoken.

All elemental particles were formed by arcane factors arranged in specific orders, meaning arcane factors were the very foundation of the entire edifice of magic, even the fundamental substance shaping the world itself.

If one could fully control it... wouldn’t one become the omnipotent, omniscient Spell creator of legend?

Knowing her words carried overwhelming implications, Astrid fell silent, patiently waiting for Charlotte to finish her thoughts.

Minute by minute, in the warm privacy of the bedroom, Charlotte, after prolonged contemplation, found no flaws in Astrid’s reasoning, nor could she raise any objections.

From the day she began learning magic until now, every spellcasting principle seems perfectly compatible with this explanation.

Could it truly be as Astrid said... that the world was a vast existence composed of millions of arcane factors...

In this instant, Charlotte felt her entire worldview had been utterly shattered by Astrid’s words.