CHAPTER 328: AM I NOT CUTE ANYMORE?

Returning to the residence, walking up the wooden stairs to the second floor, the hard-soled shoes made creaking sounds on the steps, especially noticeable in the night.

Astrid quietly ascended to the second floor, followed closely by Elise, who was holding the repaired magical energy kettle. The moonlight, cascading like a waterfall through the window, elongated the shadows of the two, one after the other.

If everything was as Elise said, and Lyra liked her, then her way of interacting with the other should also change.

After understanding the girl’s feelings, it might no longer be appropriate to tease Lyra as before.

The thought of not being able to freely tease that adorable pink-haired dog in the future suddenly brought a hint of loss to Astrid’s heart, but it was quickly suppressed by reason, silently accelerating that her current personality was truly at its worst.

On one hand, she couldn’t bring herself to like the other, and on the other, she wanted to maintain the status quo, continuing to satisfy her own mischievous interests by teasing Lyra.

When did she become so bad?

Looking at the room not far away, Astrid slowed her steps, her crimson pupils sinking into the shadows, unlike their usual lightness.

Perhaps influenced by another memory, at this moment, she was neither her past self nor the Astrid Calliste from the novel, but a compromise between the two, retaining aspects of both personalities.

As she reached the door of the room and was about to push it open, Astrid heard crisp footsteps from the stairs behind her. Turning around, she saw a tuft of pink hair emerging from the stairs, followed by a snow-white, delicate face.

Lyra had changed into a white nightgown, wearing sandals of the same color, lifting a towel to dry her wet hair, with one eye open and the other closed. Seeing Astrid standing at the door, her eyelashes, moistened by water, trembled slightly.

"Astrid, haven’t you rested yet?"

Hearing Lyra’s words, Astrid didn’t respond as usual but stood still, her cold red eyes quietly staring at the pink-haired girl who had just taken a bath.

Being stared at by Astrid like this, Lyra felt inexplicably nervous, swallowing unconsciously, her hand gently smoothing down her hair with the towel.

"Astrid?"

Lyra called out softly again, and finally, Astrid moved. She glanced back at Elise, who, receiving the signal, pushed the door open and entered the room, leaving only Astrid and Lyra in the corridor.

"Yes, I just sat with Elise in the yard for a while. I’ll take a shower and then sleep."

Astrid looked at Lyra, her gaze fell directly on the clear sapphire-like pupils. Compared to her usual laziness and casualness, the woman’s gaze this time carries a hint of inquiry.

Lyra vaguely sensed something different about Astrid, her moist tongue slightly moistening her lips, she whispered.

"Oh... I see..."

"Then Astrid, be careful not to catch a cold when you shower later."

Astrid casually responded with an "okay," her gaze still resting on Lyra’s face, as if she could see something through the latter’s eyes.

Astrid... what’s wrong...

Just after taking a shower, Lyra felt that Astrid seemed completely different from before.

It was as if, at this moment, she wasn’t wearing the nightgown but was standing naked in front of Astrid, seen inside and out by the other.

Having just taken a shower, her slightly flushed cheeks now felt even hotter. Unaware that her little thoughts had already been exposed, Lyra nervously rubbed her thighs a few times, her voice soft.

"Ah... by the way, Astrid..."

"I asked my parents, the carriage to the town will arrive the day after tomorrow, we can go that morning and stay until evening."

Although she didn’t know exactly what had happened, it wouldn’t hurt to find a topic to talk about.

After hearing this, Astrid nodded slightly, her penetrating gaze finally moving away from Lyra’s face, her pink lips parting.

"Okay, I know."

The moment the woman’s gaze shifted, Lyra quietly breathed a sigh of relief, her raised heartbeat returning to normal, and her white toes gripping the sandals relaxed at the same time.

"Then... is there anything else, Astrid?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Astrid shook her head, her right hand resting on the door handle.

"Nothing."

Now didn’t seem to be the best time to talk about those things.

She hadn’t fully confirmed Lyra’s thoughts, and the second-floor hallway wasn’t suitable for conversation.

Pushing the door open, Astrid turned sideways, her smooth waist-length hair swaying with her skirt.

"Good night, Lyra."

For now, she will end it here, and she will also take the long night to digest the information she had received from Elise.

Watching Astrid’s leg step halfway into the room, Lyra pursed her lips and responded softly.

"Good night, Astrid."

As soon as Lyra finished speaking, Astrid nodded and walked into the bedroom, the door making a slight sound as it closed.

As the silver-white figure disappeared from view, Lyra slightly opened her mouth, wanting to say something but stopping, ultimately just softening her eyes and quietly tidying her wet pink hair.

Maybe it was her imagination?

She always felt like Astrid... seemed to know something...

.........

In the following two days, Astrid remained the same as usual, accompanying Amalia around the village during the day, seeing things that weren’t in the imperial city, and returning to the residence at night, eating and sleeping on time, almost the same as her life in the palace.

But Lyra always felt that something had changed after that night, though she couldn’t figure it out for a while.

"...Lyra?"

A cold female voice awakened Lyra’s spirit, the girl looked around and found herself in a narrow space, quickly recalling that this was the carriage to Kost Town.

She had been distracted by her thoughts just now.

Astrid looked at the dazed pink-haired girl beside her and then spoke.

"Lyra, are we having lunch in Kost Town too?"

According to the other’s plan, they were to stay in Kost Town from morning until tonight.

Hearing this, Lyra was momentarily stunned, then quickly replied.

"Yes, I know a pretty good restaurant in Kost Town."

"We can try it."

Lyra had only heard that the restaurant was good, but because the dishes were expensive, she, living frugally, had never been there herself.

In a sense, this time she was taking advantage of Astrid’s presence, if it were just Lyra alone, she would never have gone to such a restaurant.

After hearing this, Astrid nodded faintly, her voice calm.

"Okay, then let’s follow Lyra’s plan."

With that, Astrid rubbed the cat in Amalia’s arms and continued to rest with her eyes closed.

Looking at the woman’s long and upturned eyelashes and the slender white fingers protruding from the orange cat’s furry back, Lyra blinked a few times, her gaze gradually softened.

She suddenly realized something.

The reason she felt Astrid had changed... seemed to be because the other hadn’t teased her recently...

The former Astrid loved to tease her with various words and actions, finding joy in it, satisfying her own mischievous interests.

But in the past few days, the other seemed to have suddenly quieted down, not only without any overstepping actions but also spending most of the time in calm conversation, completely different from the past.

This version of Princess Astrid... makes Lyra feel somewhat unfamiliar...

And somewhat lost.

Although she felt extremely embarrassed when Astrid teased her, this emotion wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience, but one day when the other didn’t do it anymore, Lyra felt an uncontrollable emptiness in her heart.

Was Astrid being so restrained because she felt that teasing her couldn’t bring joy anymore, or was there another reason?

Although she didn’t want to admit it, Lyra clearly realized one thing: she didn’t seem to dislike Astrid teasing her at all, or rather, she secretly hoped the other would do it.

As long as Astrid was still teasing her, it would indirectly show that she was needed by the former, just as Astrid had said before, the reason she loved to tease her was because "Lyra is cute."

Now that she wasn’t teasing her anymore, did it mean she wasn’t cute... and not that important anymore...

Completely unaware of the other’s wavering girlish heart, Astrid, while petting the cat, rested with Amalia leaning against her until the carriage stopped and she opened her eyes again.

Getting off the carriage, the outdoor sunlight was strong. Elise stood behind the two princesses, about to raise the parasol when she suddenly saw Astrid’s gaze and retracted the umbrella in understanding.

Their first stop was to visit the morning market in Kost Town, where the townsfolk bought ingredients and various sundries. Attending such a gathering, using a parasol in the crowd will attract too much attention.

But even without doing so, because the group’s average attractiveness was too high, the actual rate of people turning their heads was still not low.

Tomatoes, cabbage, chicken, perch... fabric, ore, buttons, scissors...

All daily necessities could basically be found in the morning market.

Compared to the overall prices of the market in the eastern district of Post City, the morning market in Kost Town was at least 30% to 40% lower, and due to regional reasons, the price of beef here was even only a little over half of that in the imperial capital. It was exactly this huge price difference between the two places that made Lyra want to stay in the imperial capital for the first year to earn more money to take back.

Holding her sister’s hand and walking through the bustling streets, Amalia’s face was calm, listening to Lyra’s conversations with the vendors about the prices of each item, her cold red eyes constantly reflecting the racks and rugs filled with goods.

The price of two tomatoes was equivalent to one cabbage, and the unit value ratio of perch to chicken was about one to two. This was the price level in the empire’s remote towns.

Remembering the approximate prices of each item and recalling their refined products, Amalia looked at the vendors filling the stalls with sacks, her eyes slightly narrowing.

Compared to the self-sufficient economic structure within the village, the commodity exchange in the town’s market had higher risk resistance and allowed wealth to flow faster.

After visiting the morning market for over an hour and buying some local handicrafts as souvenirs, Astrid’s group headed to the restaurant Lyra mentioned for lunch.

Since magical energy devices were only circulated among the nobility, there was no restaurant in Kost Town equipped with ice-based cooling devices for heat relief. They used a more ancient method, spreading crushed ice around the room to cool down with the melting cold air.

Walking on the soft carpet, with flattering conversations in her ears, Astrid shook Amalia’s hand and whispered.

"Doesn’t it get hot holding hands for so long?"

From the moment they got off the carriage, Amalia had been holding her hand, walking all morning without letting go.

Hearing Astrid’s words, Amalia shook her head and finally released her sister’s hand.

Because she liked it, even though it was midsummer and the weather was hot, with some sweat in her palms, she still couldn’t bear to let go.

Seeing this, Lyra pursed her lips and didn’t say much, signaling the waiter to serve.

"I heard from a friend that the pickles here are delicious."

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

In the plan, they were to stay in Kost Town for a day. After lunch, they found a hotel to rest, waiting for the hottest part of the day to pass before going out again.

The purpose of Astrid’s trip was to let Amalia see more of the empire under the emperor’s rule, whether it was traders or farmers, the developed imperial capital or the remote mountain villages, understanding what the people in different regions truly need and what they rely on to live.

Thus, even while resting, Astrid didn’t forget to answer Amalia’s questions, including the political structure at the bottom of the empire’s operations, how small and medium nobles and localities achieved self-governance, and how the emperor’s decrees were implemented from top to bottom.

No one was born to be an emperor. Amalia couldn’t become a wise monarch immediately upon taking the throne. Even though what Astrid was teaching now was quite superficial, it was still a good start.

Take it slow, there were still two years left, which should be enough for her to fill in the missing internal governance points for the loli tyrant.

If it really didn’t work out, when the other took the throne, Astrid could temporarily serve as a national teacher or regent for a while, waiting until Amalia was trained by her and had enough control before handing over the power.

On the other side, looking at Amalia nestled in Astrid’s arms and whispering, Lyra turned her head, glanced at the blazing sun outside the window, and after a moment, shifted her gaze back to the room, obediently crossing her legs and observing Astrid with the corner of her eye.

Astrid... what’s wrong recently...

Why has she suddenly become so cold to me...

Did I do something wrong?