CHAPTER 327: LYRA LIKES ME?

The moonlight was thick, even the wind through the forest carried a slight chill. In the quiet countryside courtyard, Astrid heard Elise’s calm and clear statement, causing subtle ripples in her heart.

Could it be that Lyra had a crush on her? How was that possible?

Astrid instinctively wanted to deny it, but since the speaker was her most trusted head maid, Elise, whose professional skills were excellent, her judgment must have some basis and not be mere speculation.

Although it felt absurd at first, as her thoughts flowed, some clues she had always overlooked surfaced in her mind. Astrid remains calm and speaks slowly.

"I didn’t hear clearly just now, what did Elise say?"

The ironclad straight woman in the original work, the Holy Light Knight who seemed immune to the word "love," how could she suddenly fall for her?

Could it be that she had some hidden attributes?

Hearing the disbelief in Astrid’s words, Elise silently stared at her, not speaking for a long time.

"I don’t think Lyra’s feelings for the young lady are still at the level of friendship."

Perhaps it was a case of the observer being clearer than the participant. As someone who was both outside and close to the vortex between the two, Elise views Lyra from a much more objective angle than Astrid.

What maid would blush after working for more than half a year just from touching the mistress’s freshly changed underwear? What maid would secretly observe her employer with such fervent and longing eyes, only to hide them the moment she was discovered?

Not to mention the other things, like the tender expression when helping Astrid comb her hair, the slightly reddened ears when teased by the former, and the serious look when asking for advice on how to make the scarf look better while preparing a gift.

"Lyra really likes the young lady, this kind of liking is the same as the love between ordinary men and women," Elise said.

The emotions the other party held were also effective evidence for her judgment that Astrid and Lyra had an intimate relationship. However, since Lyra’s status as a bedmate was directly denied by Astrid, Elise could only erase the label of mutual affection in her heart and replace it with Lyra’s unrequited love for Astrid.

The woman’s cool tone blended with the silver light filling the courtyard, like raindrops falling on a lake, causing layers of ripples. Astrid gracefully crossed her legs, her fingers slightly gripping her chin.

"Why do you think so?"

She wanted to try to see things from Elise’s perspective and understand the reasons behind her judgment.

Upon hearing this, Elise did not hide anything and told Astrid everything.

"There are many places where it can be seen... As I previously thought Lyra was special in the young lady’s heart, the reverse is also true..."

"Lyra is particularly sensitive to the young lady’s touch, even a simple handshake can evoke a noticeable emotional response from her."

During the time when Lyra first became a personal maid, Astrid had arranged for Elise to teach her combat skills one-on-one, including adjusting wrist angles and pointing out the necessary force points for specific movements. These actions, which taught how to efficiently wield a sword, inevitably involved physical contact.

During the above process, Lyra did not show any significant changes and completed all the training with high concentration.

In other words, when facing the combat skills teacher, Lyra was completely normal. But when it came to Astrid, not to mention more intimate physical contact, even just sitting with their thighs touching in a carriage, this pink-haired girl would become very unnatural, even squinting her eyes to secretly observe Astrid beside her. Sometimes, for reasons unknown, her cheeks would also turn slightly red.

In Elise’s eyes, Lyra in this state only highly overlapped with one kind of creature.

A young girl in the throes of first love.

As Elise explained this part of the discovery to Astrid, the silver-haired princess, who thought she knew Lyra well from reading the original novel, fell into deep thought. Her red eyes slightly lowered, her straight and slender black-silk legs gently swaying in her vision.

What Elise said made sense. Upon careful recollection, Lyra seemed to only have significant reactions to her teasing. Whether it was Linda, Lina, or Elise, Lyra never showed a trace of shyness in front of them during daily interactions.

The reason she only realized this now was probably because among those people, only she would tease Lyra so mischievously, not stopping until the other party was blushing.

"What else?" Astrid blinked her eyelashes a few times and then spoke.

It was denied that Elise’s words were indeed very persuasive, at least making Astrid waver by three or four points.

However, to prove that Lyra liked her, these "evidences" were far from enough.

Hearing Astrid’s words, Elise told her about another side of the pink-haired girl, or rather, Lyra as seen by others outside of Astrid’s perspective.

"The scarf given to the young lady was knitted by Lyra over a long period of time. Before that, she specifically asked me about the young lady’s favorite flower and inquired about the embroidery method of cornflowers."

"On the way here, the young lady closed her eyes to rest due to fatigue. Besides looking at the road signs outside the window, Lyra spent the rest of the time gazing at the young lady..."

"There was also a time when the maid in charge of cleaning the clothes was sick and took leave. It was Lyra who helped wash and dry them. I remember when she moved the clothes basket out of the young lady’s room, her entire face was red..."

As a Master Knight, Elise had a good memory. Plus, it was the duty of a personal maid to guard against hidden dangers for her mistress, so she was particularly attentive to Lyra’s changes.

"Later, after entering the academy, she also took the initiative to mention wanting to help me, that is, the young lady Astrid, with some academic affairs, such as organizing notes for elective courses..."

"And..."

One by one, everything points to one thing: Lyra definitely had feelings for Astrid that went beyond friendship.

The cool evening breeze blew through her hair, slightly easing the inner turmoil. Astrid listened quietly, her pair of cold red eyes always lowered, making it unclear whether she was thinking or examining the texture of the silk covering the white and tender skin on her knees.

After hearing so much from Elise, even if Astrid was slow, she could react to many small details she had previously overlooked.

No wonder Lyra was so easily shy, even hesitating for a long time before inviting her to her home, as if she had been struggling with herself for a long time.

Recalling their first hug, their first time sharing a bed, and the other party bending down to help her massage her feet, the shy charm displayed on that snow-white pretty face.

Lyra... actually harbored such thoughts towards her...

This was too outrageous... it really exceeded her expectations...

Understanding everything, the reality before she gave Astrid a great psychological impact. The woman couldn’t help but frown, her pink lips tightly pursed.

Seeing that Astrid hadn’t spoken for a long time, Elise also tacitly cooperated and fell silent. The master and servant sat quietly on the bench, neither speaking again.

Lyra liked her... no, it was still just a speculation, not confirmed...

Although after communicating with Elise, Astrid already agreed with seventy to eighty percent in her heart, but nothing was absolute. If Lyra didn’t think so, it would make her seem self-important.

But what if it was true... what should she do...

From the known information, Lyra most likely harbored affection for her, and there was a possibility of confession in the future.

Would her acceptance or rejection affect the future storyline of the heroine destined?

Thinking of the Holy Light Knight in the novel, Astrid unintentionally raised her hand, her gaze falling on the thin skin of her wrist where blue and purple veins intertwined, her brows furrowing even tighter.

If what Elise said was true, that Lyra’s affection for her had reached the point of wanting to become lovers, then even if she didn’t agree, according to the other party’s gentle and strong personality, she probably wouldn’t have a broken heart because of this. As a friend, Lyra wouldn’t do anything detrimental to her or Delphise.

In other words, no matter what decision she ultimately made, it wouldn’t affect Lyra’s future general direction. At most, she would develop towards another world line where the destined heroine had no romantic line.

"..."

Thinking this far, Astrid took a deep breath, put down her crossed legs, and her eyelashes covered her pupils.

You are a bit cold-blooded.

Facing the young girl’s possible passionate feelings, her first thought was actually to consider the pros and cons of rejecting her. Whether it was the subsequent possible actions or the act of thinking about this matter itself, it seemed a bit unfair to Lyra who liked her.

Then, returning to the most important point, did she like Lyra?

Did she like her?

In her mind, a certain pink-haired girl’s shy and blushing face appeared, too shy to look at her. Thinking of the meticulous care during her time as a personal maid, and that heart that always radiated light and warmth, gentle and sincere.

Without a doubt, Astrid, who had read the original novel, had a high opinion of the original work. If she didn’t like it, her first thought after crossing over wouldn’t have been to get along well with Lyra, but rather, under the influence of the original host’s memories, she would have been more inclined to nip the destined heroine in the bud.

Liking was certain, but what about love? This time, Astrid didn’t think for long, and in just a few seconds, she came up with an answer.

Her feelings for Lyra were far from reaching the level the other party needed, at least at this stage.

There was no heart-pounding feeling when hugging someone she liked, nor the intense and passionate love described in romance novels.

She liked Lyra’s outwardly soft but inwardly strong personality, her one-in-a-million appearance, but that was all.

Realizing this, Astrid’s thoughts gradually gathered, and she reached out to touch her left chest. The heartbeat under her palm was steady and orderly, and the previously turbulent heart lake also calmed down as her thoughts returned to peace.

Whether she loved or not, her instinctive desire to reject meant she wasn’t currently suitable as the best candidate for a lover or partner.

Especially since the other party was a young girl in the throes of first love, with rich inner emotions.

"I’ll pay more attention to Lyra’s side," Astrid added after a while.

"After all, these are just our unilateral speculations, there’s no definitive evidence."

Hearing this, Elise tilted her head to look at Astrid, her voice calm.

"Okay, Miss Astrid."

Rather than talking to her, Astrid’s words were more like talking to herself.

Once it involved Lyra, Miss Astrid would indeed become a bit different.

After sitting under the moonlight for a while and breathing in enough fresh air, Astrid smoothed her hair with her hand and returned to the state she was in before hearing Elise speak.

"It’s about time, we should go back."

The sound of the magic hot water kettle disappeared, indicating the water had boiled.

Elise felt the silence barrier dissolved, picked up the kettle’s handle, and stood up with Astrid.

Looking at the head maid standing straight in front of her with her legs together and a graceful figure, Astrid reached out to retrieve the maid’s bow she had previously undone. The thin fabric once again covered the proud snow-white, and facing those lead-black eyes without any fluctuations, recalling the meticulous analysis just now, Astrid narrowed her eyes and spoke softly.

"Elise."

"I’m here, Miss Astrid."

"I feel like you’re not the type of person who lacks emotions."

Being able to see Lyra’s emotions so clearly, Elise herself didn’t seem to be as cold as her appearance suggested.

Hearing this, Elise’s movements didn’t pause, and she continued holding the kettle’s handle, walking to Astrid’s side.

"Perhaps the young lady is not wrong."

She certainly had emotional activities, she just didn’t like to show them on the surface.

"Then why do you always give off a cold feeling?" Astrid asked again.

After a moment, Elise replied, "Maybe it’s a habit."

There was no special reason, probably because she found that Astrid had been spoiled by the emperor and wouldn’t listen to any words that went against her, so she started to become taciturn and continued to this day.

"Does the young lady wish for me to be more enthusiastic?"

Hearing Elise’s words that sounded like a robot asking for a command from its master, Astrid shook her head, her pink lips slightly parted.

"It’s unnecessary to unintentionally show it."

"What I mean is, don’t suppress yourself too much."

"Rest when you’re tired, tell me when you’re happy, vent when you’re down, these are all human nature, even the perfect and elegant head maid is the same."

Sometimes, throwing a bunch of things to Elise, Astrid herself feels a bit guilty, like when they went on a trip, the one responsible for handling the logistics was still the ever-dutiful head maid in front of her.

After hearing this, Elise was silent for a few seconds, then replied softly.

"Okay, young lady."

Seeing that Elise still looked serious, Astrid wasn’t sure if she had taken it to heart, but considering that everyone had their own personality and couldn’t be forced, maybe Elise really preferred to be taciturn like this, so she didn’t speak again.

Moreover, now there was another more important matter that Astrid needed to worry about.

She had to think about how to get along with Lyra.