CHAPTER 316: MAGIC NOTES OF FANYA

Astrid always travels with her head maid, Elise. Firstly, Elise can take care of her daily needs, saving her a lot of time and energy on trivial matters. Secondly, the Master Knight’s strength can also serve as a bodyguard, ensuring the safety of the imperial princess.

As for Amalia, although Lyra didn’t ask the Fourth Princess if she wanted to come along, given the cold little girl’s clinginess to her sister, if Astrid were to visit, she definitely wouldn’t stay alone in the capital. Therefore, before leaving home, Lyra discussed with her parents, saying that there might be more than one guest next time.

"Alright, then it will be up to you two elders."

After listening to Lyra, Astrid opened the iron box, looking at the neatly arranged dried meat inside, her voice soft.

"It seems Lyra’s parents really dote on their daughter~"

Although she hasn’t seen their family interactions firsthand, from the details Lyra usually reveals about her life, it’s clear that the chosen female lead grew up in a relatively happy family.

Lyra nodded slightly upon hearing this, responding softly.

"Father and mother are really good to me..."

This goodness isn’t just about doting; it also includes tolerance and understanding towards her. Not every parent would have the courage to sell everything to support their daughter’s education just because she said she wanted to learn magic.

After she graduated from the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, she must repay her parents’ nurturing kindness. Setting a small goal first, buying a three-story house with a garden and a large balcony in the town next to the village, for a strong person who has graduated with the strength of a Grand knight, this really isn’t difficult.

After speaking, seeing Astrid remained silent, Lyra suddenly realized something, her thin lips pressing tightly together.

Oops, mentioning these things... Princess Astrid might have thought of her own...

Even without deliberately inquiring, Lyra had heard a bit about the Third Princess’s biological parents who ventured deep into the abyss and are missing. Bringing up related topics now might unintentionally touch the deepest scars in Astrid’s heart.

She should be more careful...

In fact, Astrid was indeed moved for a moment, but she quickly controlled her emotions, calming the palpitations brought by the original host’s memories.

"Let’s eat outside the palace tonight, as a celebration for Lyra’s return," Astrid said.

Lyra glanced at her a few more times, making sure Astrid’s emotions were stable before softly replying.

"..."

"Alright."

Having only had a quick bite in the carriage at noon, Lyra was now not only exhausted from the journey but also starving to the point of feeling her chest stick to her back. If not for the joy of meeting Astrid, diluting her hunger, she would probably have found a restaurant to enjoy a good meal already.

Noticing Lyra’s gaze lingering on her, Astrid spoke leisurely.

"What’s the matter, staring at me like that, do you miss me that much?"

"Or... do you want to hug me again?"

Looking at Astrid’s slightly shifted shoulder strap from her earlier movements, the creamy skin exuding an enticing whiteness, Lyra swallowed her throat, and after a moment, whispered.

"Then... can I..."

Not expecting Lyra to return not only more beautiful but also bolder, Astrid didn’t turn her head, just glanced at Lyra with the corner of her red eyes. Yet, this less than half-second glance added an indescribable allure to the already captivating silver-haired princess in Lyra’s eyes.

"..."

"If you want to, you can," Astrid whispered.

Hearing this, Lyra hesitated for a few seconds before reaching out again, gently embracing Astrid’s waist.

This time, it wasn’t a face-to-face hug; Lyra hugged Astrid from behind, her smooth silver hair cascading in front of the girl, accompanied by a strong floral scent.

From Lyra’s perspective, she could see the smooth, snowy white skin under the black lace, the delicate collar bone slender and lovely, so beautiful it was hard to let go.

Holding Princess Astrid like this, besides the heartfelt sense of fulfillment, there seems to be an added illusion that the other wouldn’t disappear from her fingertips.

Switching the perspective to Astrid, being hugged from behind by Lyra was a first for her. This feeling of showing her back easily gave her a slight sense of being bound.

It was only because it was Lyra holding her, the Holy Light Knight with a high moral standard and the stupid maid who spent every day with her, that she didn’t feel a sense of unease from being so firmly controlled in this position.

After gently hugging for a while, Lyra reluctantly let go, looking at the silver hair she had messed up, wanting to reach out to tidy it but stopping, then remembering her former role as a personal maid, she boldly smoothed Astrid’s hair.

As a secret admirer, she didn’t have a legitimate reason to tidy the hair of the one she liked, but as a maid, grooming her owner’s hair was part of the job.

Even if she wasn’t the princess’s personal maid now.

Feeling Lyra’s nimble fingers flying through her hair, Astrid naturally relaxed her body, letting the other tidy her hair.

"By the way, Astrid."

"I can control the armor proficiently..."

As soon as the words fell, Astrid saw the white-dressed girl in the mirror glowing, and the next second, the holy armor enveloped her body, the long pink hair trailing at her waist, even the hand helping her tidy her hair now wore a gauntlet with iron pieces, making crisp sounds with movement, clearly a Holy Light Knight ready for battle.

Through the mirror’s reflection, Astrid carefully examined the full view of the armor, and after a while, softly spoke.

"Wearing it makes Lyra seem like a different person."

Clothes make the man, a saying that never goes out of style.

Noticing the admiration in Astrid’s eyes, Lyra felt a sweet sensation in her heart, waiting until she finished tidying the hair before dispelling the Holy Light Armor.

"Changed into what..." Lyra asked.

Astrid paused for a moment upon this, giving Lyra an unexpected hearing answer.

"From a maid puppy to an armored puppy."

She couldn’t very well say that her chosen female lead aura had strengthened.

"Huh? What kind of comparison is that!!"

Lyra reacted after two or three seconds, her voice suddenly rising.

Although puppies are cute, being thought of as one by Astrid all the time, no matter how you think about it, is strange.

Astrid gasped upon hearing this, not continuing the topic, glancing at the wall clock, her voice gentle.

"It’s almost time, I’ll have Elise book a table first, Lyra can rest in her old room for a while."

"Of course, if you want to watch me change clothes, Lyra can stay a bit longer, I don’t mind."

Facing Astrid’s blatant teasing, Lyra stepped on her small leather shoes, turned around with a red face, and walked towards the door with her white silk legs.

"Not really..."

This time, she indeed lied.

...........

That night, after welcoming Lyra at the noble restaurant, Astrid specifically kept the head maid back in her room, asking her a question about the former.

"Elise, why didn’t you tell me Lyra was coming back?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Elise answered.

"Because Miss also wanted to see her, keeping some surprises helps to relax the mood."

After all, Astrid had once given an order that if Lyra visited late at night, she wasn’t to be stopped, just let her in. Receiving this order, the head maid naturally categorized Lyra as completely trusted, and considering the possible role of this personal maid as a bedmate, she didn’t inform Astrid in advance this time.

Listening to Elise’s expressionless answer, Astrid fell silent for a moment, her gaze lingering in the woman’s cold ink-colored eyes, feeling as if she had misunderstood something.

"Sorry Miss, I took the liberty."

As soon as Elise finished speaking, Astrid shook her head, her pink lips parting.

"No, you did well."

In the middle of writing something, suddenly hearing Lyra knock on the door, Astrid indeed felt a sense of surprise bubbling up in her heart, along with a significant relief from her mental fatigue.

After discussing the recent arrangements with Elise, Amalia, having taken a bath and changed into a nightgown, pushed the door open and entered, seeing the head maid also there, she obediently waited for Astrid and Elise to finish speaking before getting into bed to warm it for her sister.

...........

The days Lyra returned to the capital were at the end of the summer vacation, and soon, the new semester at Elizabeth Academy of Magic began, and everyone moved back from the palace to the academy dormitories, starting a new round of course selection and learning.

Since the growth of mental strength differs from the acquisition of paper knowledge, the latter can be compensated for with diligence even if one’s learning ability is poor, while the former has an insurmountable gap, with different people having different talents and performances, naturally leading to differences in the upper limits of strength one can reach.

After a year of accumulation, the strength among students had already shown a clear division, the original study classes no longer applicable, having been shuffled and reclassified, with Astrid and Lyra this time being assigned to the S class, along with the original A class president, Linda Jostlin.

Entering a new class means entering a new environment, with the identity of the imperial princess’s close friend, and without the original story’s villainess deliberately making things difficult, coupled with her own solid strength, Lyra in this timeline no longer faced the world as an enemy like the traditional protagonist, but fully utilised the chosen female lead’s personal charm, making her social interactions surprisingly smooth.

Since that competition last year, no foolish noble dared to step forward to challenge Lyra, the outcome of Reneth made everyone see one thing clearly, declaring one’s stance too early makes one an easy target, it’s best to weigh one’s own energy before trying to curry favor with one side.

After the midterm test, in the training tower, Astrid held a deep blue brooch, softly chanting ancient spells, dazzling ice crystals appeared out of thin air in the open space, the spreading cold instantly turned water into ice shards.

The mental strength compared to a standard mage should be at the level of a peak Sorcerer, but the actual reserves were indeed a notch below that of a middle stage Sorcerer, relying on ancient spells and high affinity with ice elements to have the strength to crush peers.

Astrid looked at the dragon-like solid ice before her, lightly tapping her fingertip, the inherently indestructible ice body, lacking the support of mental strength, began to gradually melt at room temperature.

This semester she continued to choose the advanced linguistics course taught by Professor Evelyn, studying multiple magical languages including goblin and orcish, of course, there was no shortage of extracurricular exploration in Elders Speech, the frequent teaching between teacher and student even led Evelyn to directly give her bedroom key to Astrid, making it convenient for the latter to seek in-depth exchanges with her at any time.

It was also because of this that Astrid’s visited to the library and Evelyn’s residence significantly increased, her understanding of the latter’s living habits reached an unprecedented height, including when she took naps, when she bathed, so much so that when Charlotte occasionally heard news of Astrid visiting Evelyn’s residence again, although she wouldn’t say anything on the surface, she would pull her out for dinner or invite Astrid to stay at the manor every few days.

This is probably the inexplicable competitive spirit between mature women sometimes.

After drinking some water, Astrid penetrated her mental strength into the ruby pendant on her chest, through layers of mist, this spatial storage device reveals more of its original appearance under the action of higher quality mental strength.

Half a minute later, Astrid held a black-covered notebook in her hand, something she discovered in the space, standing out from everything around.

Opening the notebook, a single line was written on the title page.

[Fanya’s Magic Notes, recording the inspirations that may appear in the mind at any time]

Looking at the beautiful handwriting at the beginning, Astrid slightly narrowed her eyes, memories from the past began to awaken.

Judging from the memory fragments of her childhood, this was indeed the handwriting of the original host’s mother, Fanya.

Magic notes... Are they about the insights on her journey of advancement?

The notes of a peak Arcanist mage, even in the library, should be among the top-tier materials, not everyone has the qualification to view them.

Astrid stared at the line on the title page for a while, then her fingers slightly turned the page.

And as the new page came into view, the woman’s deep red pupils slightly widened, her lips quietly pressed together.

The content of the first page wasn’t much, the title page was concise, but absolutely impactful.

[I suspect there is a special restriction on ancient spells, it does not belong to this era, nor to any soul born of this era]