CHAPTER 318: TREE HOLE

Under the silvery moonlight, Lyra saw the usually cold face shrouded in a faint shadow, a crystal teardrop hanging on the eyelid, causing the two clear red pupils to mist over.

Princess Astrid... cried?

In this scene, Lyra felt a momentary daze, even subconsciously thinking that it might be water from practicing water magic that had accidentally splashed onto her face.

But if one insisted on saying so... Princess Astrid’s expression didn’t seem like it...

Unconsciously raising her hand to wipe away the teardrop from the person in front, the liquid melted into the texture of the skin, warm and moist, also proving from the side that this teardrop did not come from some kind of water magic, but was an external manifestation of emotions reaching their peak.

"Are you... crying..."

Hearing Lyra’s slightly trembling voice, Astrid was startled, then felt the skin under her eyes become slightly warm, the part pressed by the girl’s fingers even more moist.

"..."

Time stood still for a few seconds, Astrid lowered her gaze, took out a handkerchief from her bag, and wiped the side of her face wet with tears.

"Yes, it seems so."

When did it happen, how come she didn’t even notice herself.

The smooth silk fabric brushed over her skin, covering her eyes, blocking her vision and preventing others from seeing her eyes.

Was it affected by the illusion cast by Fanya...

Recalling the warmth like being immersed in amniotic fluid just now, and the tenderness named maternal love that seemed engraved in the depths of her mind, Astrid closed her eyes, silently feeling the turmoil in her chest.

Now she has both memories of her previous life and all the experiences of the original Astrid up to now, but the former dominates, hence the current Princess Astrid who is different from her previous personality.

No matter how she thinks, there is only one Astrid Calliste from beginning to end, the unchanged soul is the best evidence, in other words, Fanya is indeed her mother, not some background character that only exists in the novel setting and never appears in the main text.

As a child who lost the company of her parents since childhood, deep down she has a trace of longing for parental love.

Fanya’s phantom is like a trigger, on this extremely ordinary night, it draws out the emotions piled up in Astrid’s heart.

"I just thought of some things from the past, it’s nothing."

Wiping her tears took almost a minute, Astrid put the dirty handkerchief into a separate layer of her bag, her voice soft.

"Let’s go, don’t just stand here."

Admitting that she could be affected by childhood memories is not something hard to say, but indulging too much in sadness is not Astrid’s style, she believes that Fanya left this magic circle in her notes before leaving just to comfort the still young Astrid in the future, not to let her daughter be moved by the scene and fall into uncontrollable negative emotions.

Lyra looked at Astrid in front of her with slightly red eyes, her pink lips bitten pale by her teeth, after a moment, she responded in a low voice.

"Okay."

What exactly did Princess Astrid think of...

What should she do now?

Taking the lemon juice brought by Lyra, the two left the training tower in the night, because flipping through the notes delayed some time, there were no other students in the square, the empty evening breeze blew the skirt, revealing the absolute territory between the white stockings and the skirt, the cool touch effectively alleviated the heat of the approaching summer.

Looking at Astrid who was close at hand, and the extremely long shadow cast by the moonlight, Lyra lowered her head, the tip of her small leather shoes gently kicked a small stone on the roadside, making it jump from the flat road to the flower bed beside.

It was the first time she had seen Princess Astrid with such obvious emotional fluctuations.

She actually... cried...

Unconsciously walking near the dormitory building, Lyra tilted her head, seeing the tiny beads hanging on Astrid’s curved and upturned eyelashes, like dew falling on petals in the morning.

Would it be bad to go back like this?

Stepping on the hard stone bricks, one more step would lead to the path to the dormitory building, Lyra glanced at the half-drunk lemon juice in her hand, the transparent liquid gently shaking in the glass bottle.

After hesitating for a moment, Lyra turned around and did not walk towards the dormitory building, but stepped towards the other end of the square.

Astrid, following Lyra’s pace, did not notice the route adjustment, she felt the icy liquid sliding down her throat, while listening to the crisp tune made by her high heels, the bright red pupils reflected the crushed diamonds inlaid on the toe.

Reason suppressed the instinctive reaction of this body caused by excessive longing, while the emotional shake needed some time to digest.

Breathing the cool night air, Astrid followed Lyra until they finished the lemon juice and stopped in front of a bench.

"Lyra?"

Realizing that this road was unexpectedly long, Astrid looked at Lyra who was leading the way.

The pink-haired girl turned her head, looking at the elegant imperial princess beside her, her voice soft.

"I want to sit here for a while before going back."

Astrid narrowed her red eyes, did not ask why, just bent her knees and sat on the bench, telling Lyra the answer with her actual action.

’I’ll accompany you.’

Seeing this, Lyra took the glass bottle of lemon juice that Astrid had finished drinking, put them in a tied rope to hang steadily, then sat next to Astrid, her two white stockinged legs obediently closed together.

The evening breeze was not restless, blowing the layered leaves and branches, the rustling sound like waves, rising and falling.

Astrid crossed her legs at some point, her palm propping her chin, her gaze falling on the bricks in front of her, the thin black stockings covering her thighs gently swaying, emitting a warm luster under the light.

Not thinking about the key contents about magic and Elders Speech in the notes, just silently recalling the memories in her mind that she had once ignored, thinking they were worthless.

The original Astrid spent a lot of time with Fanya when she was young, or rather, with the identity of an Arcanist mage, it was already quite a difficult thing for the latter to accompany her daughter for such a long time, not just focusing on researching magic.

The lullaby hummed softly in the candlelight, the hand bound by the skirt unable to pull out, the wind full of wheat waves blowing on the face, and the myriad of stars briefly reproduced by magic.

Recalling carefully, these fragmented memories of the past Astrid seemed to have been supplemented at this moment, and as she thought, they became clearer.

From the perspective of an outsider, this information could provide very little intelligence, even less than a random worldview supplement from the author in the novel. But for Astrid Calliste, this is the inevitable experience that supports her existence, and also the childhood that once brought her endless laughter and joy.

Fanya is a responsible mother, at least in the past memories, she did everything she should do, even more than most mothers.

It’s just a pity that this gentle mother, the powerful Arcanist mage, later disappeared under the abyss... still don’t know if she is alive or dead...

Feeling the fragments of memories constantly flashing in her mind, after a while, Astrid’s gaze refocused, seeing the soft legs like a cream beside her, she slowly raised her head.

Lyra was also looking at her, the sky blue pupils filled with worry and concern.

Was it because of her previous actions, which scared Lyra?

It’s also right, she really hadn’t shown another side besides being strong in front of Lyra, suddenly seeing this princess who always liked to bully people cry, it’s no wonder Lyra would think of something.

Gently exhaling, Astrid took the initiative to speak.

"How do I look?"

"..."

Look?

Lyra was slightly puzzled upon hearing this, but still carefully examined the face that could topple nations and cities in front of her.

It must be said that it is indeed the beauty that even the widely-traveled emperor has repeatedly praised, the most dazzling gem of the empire is beautiful from any angle, without any blind spots.

"...Very beautiful."

Getting this answer, Astrid raised her eyebrows, her voice low.

"I asked about the state... does it still look like I just cried?"

She initially thought that Lyra took her for such a long walk to let her state recover, so that she wouldn’t be noticed by Amalia when she returned to the dormitory, but now it seems that she overestimated Lyra.

But the other party was probably also to let her blow in the wind, take a longer walk, the result is the same.

Lyra, after listening, looked at Astrid seriously, then shook her head.

"It’s no longer visible."

Blown by the wind all the way, the originally wet red pupils had already returned to their usual state, the long eyelashes no longer had teardrops.

Hearing Lyra’s words, Astrid nodded slightly, just about to say something more, the former spoke first.

"Astrid..."

Lyra moistened her throat, her fingers pinching the white stockings, her voice extremely low.

"If you have anything unhappy... you can always tell me..."

"Don’t worry that I would be unwilling."

Princess Astrid, such a strong person, also has moments of crying, as a friend, she hopes to be the other party’s confidant.

"Tell you... find a tree hole?" Astrid curved her lips, casually lifting a strand of silver hair.

Hearing Astrid’s words, Lyra blinked a few times, her tone puzzled.

"Tree hole? What is that?"

A single tree hole Lyra can understand, but combined with the context it’s a bit confusing.

"A metaphor." Astrid replied.

The short response not only did not alleviate the confusion in Lyra’s heart, but made her even more unable to understand Astrid’s meaning.

Seeing the pink-haired girl in front of her as stupid as ever, Astrid tapped her thigh, explaining in a low voice.

"An object that can hide secrets, and also vent dissatisfaction."

"When I have accumulated enough negative emotions, want to find a place to pour them into, it is the most suitable choice."

Lyra blinked a few times upon hearing this, nodding thoughtfully.

"That is... a venting channel?"

Just like when she was wronged as a child, she would cry and tell her mother, when she grew up and felt embarrassed, she would vent to the pillow, hug it and cry all night to make her feel better.

Princess Astrid is also a human, and should also have her own venting channel.

"You can understand it that way." Astrid said.

But in the final analysis, no one is willing to accept the long-term negative emotions of others, even best friends or couples need to grasp a certain degree. If the so-called tree hole is a specific person, while confiding, one should also consider the mood of Mr. Tree Hole or Miss Tree Hole.

After listening to Astrid’s words, Lyra was silent for a few seconds, her gaze falling on the woman’s smooth and snow-white cheek, after another half minute, she spoke.

"In that case... I don’t mind..."

"Don’t mind what?"

"Don’t mind being your tree hole."

After speaking, Lyra poked out her pink tongue, lightly licked her dry lips, her tone firm.

"If you have anything unhappy, or other things you want to confide..."

"...Just vent them all on me, I can bear it."

Hearing the chosen heroine say such ambiguous words in the previous life’s internet, Astrid’s expression did not change, just her eyes gradually deepened.

Being stared at by Astrid, Lyra felt a faint shyness in her heart, but considering that now is the critical moment to express her attitude, the girl did not lower her head shyly as usual, but continued to meet Astrid’s gaze, the sapphire-like eyes reflecting the woman’s eyes.

After a long time, Astrid chuckled. The first time she laughed tonight, the curve of her lips seemed to carry some kind of magic, attracting Lyra’s gaze.

"Okay, I understand."

"In the future, I will vent all the bad things on Lyra~"

Although she said so, Astrid of course would not really do so, a person can only carry a limited amount of negative emotions, even the Holy Light Knight cannot escape.

After listening to Astrid’s words, especially the rising tone at the end, Lyra suddenly thought of some ambiguous and charming things, the next second she quickly shook them off, thinking that she was daydreaming again.

"Then... can Astrid tell me now..."

"Next time, I have almost digested it."

Actually, whether to talk about the longing for parents or not doesn’t make much difference, moreover, she has already calmed down, talking about it again might stir up the aftermath.

Lyra blinked a few times upon hearing this, confirming that Astrid had no intention of loosening, paused for a moment and spoke.

"When I was unhappy before, I would hug my mom, but when I grew up, I wouldn’t do that anymore..."

"Um, that... what I mean is..."

The pink-haired girl lifted her skirt, revealing the white stockings slightly pressing into the flesh of her thighs, the snow-white between the sock root and the skirt made people unable to look away.

"Would you like... to pillow for a while..."

Under the bright moonlight, Lyra’s voice blended into the evening breeze, so low it was almost inaudible.