Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 256: Princess Astrid I will wait in nightgown

If she really defeats Lyra, can Prince Alistair protect her from the wrath of Princess Astrid?

Reneth bit her lip, a hint of self-abandonment flashing in her heart, but facing Vorelter, she didn’t dare nor need to ask this question.

Just as Princess Astrid had hinted, in the war for the throne, the role a viscount could play was minimal; she and her father weren’t even considered cannon fodder.

If she could turn the tables on Princess Astrid in this duel, it would certainly win favor with the second prince’s faction, but when it came to settling accounts later, Alistair would most likely not protect her at all costs.

A used tool has lost its value; it’s better to keep it on the negotiating table to see what chips can be exchanged.

As for whether this would cause dissatisfaction or defection among other minor nobles, Reneth thought about it all night and finally arrived at a rather pessimistic view.

In fact, alliances between nobles are merely games of interest and trade-offs.

They sided with Alistair only because his ascension could bring them enough benefits.

Emotional factors might exist, but they were definitely minimal. As long as Alistair handled the aftermath beautifully, no one would be dissatisfied with this small episode in the succession.

Except for the sacrificed.

"I don’t know," Reneth answered softly, her tone somewhat ingratiating.

Although she guessed that Vorelter’s sudden invitation to dinner was surely to make use of this duel, even as she sat at the dining table, Reneth still harbored a sliver of hope.

What if Vorelter knew there was no way she could defeat Lyra... and gave up...

Vorelter’s smile didn’t fade at her words. He tapped the table to signal the waiter to serve the dishes, leaving Reneth hanging for about half a minute before speaking slowly.

"You seem to have misunderstood my meaning."

Without giving Reneth more room for evasion, Vorelter got straight to the point.

"I said I have a way for Miss Reneth to win against her in the duel. The key question is, are you willing to do it."

"Are you willing to defeat Lyra Beckett in public?"

Watching the man’s lips gradually curl into a cold smile, Reneth clenched her fingers, cold sweat dripping down her back, her heart pounding in her chest.

She should refuse, but Vorelter must have considered this, otherwise he wouldn’t have made it so clear. It was less about asking for her opinion and more about forcing her to take a stand.

Her father had already sided with Alistair, deeply tied to the second prince in many aspects of interest.

If she stood up to oppose now, not only would her own interests be damaged, but she would also be suspected of ulterior motives by the opposing first prince, unable to gain trust, and would be internally ostracized by the second prince’s faction, caught between a rock and a hard place.

At this point, Reneth had no way to turn back; she could only continue down the path Vorelter pointed out.

"...I am willing," Reneth answered.

She could only blame herself for speaking too much, putting herself and her entire family in such a dangerous position.

Hearing the girl give him the answer he wanted, Vorelter smiled faintly, his cold tone finally warming a bit.

"Miss Reneth is really a smart person."

Whether this was sarcasm or praise, Reneth only felt a bitterness in her heart, a strong sense of regret filling her body once more.

After a while, the waiter finished serving the dishes. Reneth, looking at the cold, black-haired man across the table, had no appetite and finished her dinner listlessly.

Vorelter, on the other hand, ate a lot, gently wiped his mouth with a napkin, and took out a beautifully crafted long wooden box from his bag.

"Lyra’s current combat power is at least that of a peak Knight, and her magic level is above that of a middle apprentice. It’s indeed not easy for you to defeat her."

"So, I’ve prepared this for you."

Vorelter opened the wooden box, revealing a bottle of dark blue potion nestled in purple silk.

Reneth looked at the deep blue liquid flowing in the glass bottle, a chill creeping into her heart.

"What is this?" Reneth asked.

Vorelter’s fingers lightly tapped the back of his hand as he spoke in a gentle tone.

"A potion that can provide you with explosive mental energy. Drink it an hour before the duel. As long as Lyra hasn’t advanced to a Grand Knight or Sorcerer in these few days, she definitely won’t be your opponent."

"The Elizabeth Academy of Magic has rules that duelists cannot drink potions during the duel, but the rules don’t say anything about before the duel. This potion takes effect slowly, lasts a long time, and leaves no trace afterward."

As a seasoned third-year senior, Vorelter knew how to exploit the academy’s loopholes.

Reneth’ breath hitched slightly, and after a few seconds, she reached out to take the wooden box.

Although the surface of the wood was quite smooth, when she actually picked it up, Reneth felt as if her fingers were pricked by splinters, a faint but sharp pain quickly transmitting to her brain through her skin.

After a moment, Reneth answered, "I understand what to do."

"Good, I hope Miss Reneth won’t disappoint me... and Prince Alistair’s expectations..."

"..."

"Thank you, Lord Vorelter, for tonight’s invitation."

"You’re welcome."

Watching Reneth stand up and leave with the wooden box, Vorelter quietly narrowed his eyes, leaning back in his seat, a hint of cunning and ferocity faintly visible in his gaze.

........

Time passed quietly, and the first week of compulsory courses for the new students quickly ended.

On the other hand, since Lyra and Reneth had agreed on the specific duel venue, both sides seemed to have briefly quieted down, not even meeting each other again.

According to Astrid’s investigation, after having dinner with Vorelter Redgrave, the son of Duke Thomas, Reneth had increased her daily training, clearly preparing for the weekend duel.

Reneth was just a minor character, but Vorelter was not so simple; he was Alistair’s close friend, and his words and actions more or less carried some of the second prince’s intentions.

Although she didn’t know exactly what the two had talked about that night, Astrid could pretty much guess.

It was nothing more than the conservative nobles trying to make use of the duel’s outcome to weaken her rising momentum.

For Lyra, this might just be a duel about honor, but elevated to a political level, it took on a special meaning.

As for whether Lyra would lose, Astrid had never worried. She believed that in a duel with an apology at stake, the destined heroine would never lose.

Even if Lyra’s strength were inferior to Reneth’s, under the arrangement of the world’s will, the protagonist would still burst out and defeat her opponent, let alone the fact that Lyra was stronger, and the gap was not small.

She just needed to handle the off-field work to prevent Vorelter from causing any trouble.

But speaking of Lyra, Astrid couldn’t help but think of her almost ascetic study habits this past week.

She attended classes during the day, and when there were no classes, she studied her notes. If classmates happened to be free, Lyra would forcibly suppress her social anxiety and actively seek sparring partners.

Linda, the class president of Class A, was one of the few nobles close to the reformist faction.

To build a good relationship with the third princess, Astrid, she often acted as Lyra’s sparring partner. Over time, she was naturally moved by the heroine’s charisma and became her friend.

As for the evenings, after dinner, Lyra would attend evening self-study on time, stay in the training tower for three hours, return to the dormitory, take a shower, continue reading magic books to ensure sufficient knowledge absorption, and then go to bed to recover and consolidate the mental energy consumed that day.

The original novel had mentioned Lyra’s study life more than once, often describing her studying hard for over a month.

At first, it didn’t feel like much, but now, living under the same roof with her, seeing this pink-haired knight under twenty only resting during meals, Astrid could truly appreciate Lyra’s strong willpower as the protagonist.

"Try not to waste too much mental energy this afternoon, get some good rest."

On Sunday morning, after breakfast, Astrid gently reminded Lyra, who nodded in response, carefully wiping her good village sword with a cloth, her pink lips parting.

"Okay, Astrid."

Turning around, she hugged Amalia, who was drawing at the table, kissed the girl on the forehead, and then left the bedroom with Elise, heading to the class for the elective course.

Basic Linguistics, taught by Professor Evelyn Protheus.

Today, Evelyn wore a light blue silk dress that accentuated her figure, with gold-threaded patterns on the cuffs.

The hem of the dress was slit up to six or seven centimeters above the knees, revealing her long, slender legs wrapped in transparent stockings.

She wore a pair of exquisitely crafted blue high heels, her snow-white insteps appearing even more delicate and smooth under the silk.

It wasn’t yet time for class, and not many students had arrived.

Evelyn spotted the silver-haired princess with her extraordinary aura among the crowd and stepped forward in her high heels, her thigh lightly leaning against the desk through the fabric of her dress.

"Long time no see, Princess Astrid~"

Evelyn gently smoothed her skirt, whether intentionally or not, Astrid could see a glimpse of the woman’s smooth thick thighs through the slit in her blue dress, glowing with a warm, alluring luster in the sunlight.

"Have you missed your teacher... or..."

"...missed our private lessons?"

Evelyn lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear, her lips moving minimally, as if whispering something very private.

Hearing Evelyn’s slightly teasing tone, Astrid placed the prepared textbook on the table and spoke.

"Of course, my dear Miss Evelyn."

"That private lesson really taught me a lot. I often toss and turn at night, digesting it over and over."

Before Astrid could finish, Evelyn suddenly let out a soft moan.

Fortunately, the woman reacted quickly, covering her lips with her hand, masking the soft sound that was about to escape, turning it into an elegant cough.

Looking down, Evelyn saw the corner of the book slightly sinking into the silk fabric.

Due to her half-sitting, half-leaning posture by the desk, her originally perky curves now appeared visibly soft.

Astrid, however, acted as if nothing had happened, just placing the book back in front of her, as if the action was merely coincidental and not worth further attention.

This girl... how could she be so bold...

Could it be that Charlotte had taught her something in advance?

Evelyn, who had been outmaneuvered by her junior, remained calm, her hand resting on her hip, gently smoothing the slightly wrinkled skirt, her voice seductive.

"Since Princess Astrid has such a strong thirst for knowledge, why not come to see me earlier."

"As I said before, if Princess Astrid comes alone, evening leisure time is also fine. To make the knowledge exchange smoother, I even bought two new nightgowns~"

What does the smoothness of knowledge exchange have to do with nightgowns, and why mention it specifically?

Facing Evelyn’s increasingly obvious flirtation, Astrid curved her lips, her crimson eyes calmly staring at her. After a while, she slowly spoke.

"Then I’ll trouble Miss Evelyn to bathe and change early, waiting for me in your best state."

Evelyn’s delicate fingers seductively traced her lips as she whispered softly.

"Alright, my room key is still in the usual place, but please try not to tell me in advance which day you’ll come."

"Otherwise, it would be just like a regular class, without any surprise. I look forward to an unexpected meeting."

With that, the class bell rang. Evelyn glanced at the orderly students around her, straightened her posture, and gracefully walked to the podium on her long, slender legs.

"Take out your textbooks and get ready for class. I’ll call roll first to get to know everyone."

As it was an elective course, seating arrangements were relatively free. As the teaching assistant, the head maid sat beside Astrid this time, witnessing everything with a calm tone.

"Is the young lady interested in Professor Evelyn?"

Astrid nodded, opening her textbook.

"Yes, we can investigate further."

She had previously asked Elise to investigate Evelyn’s background. This linguistics professor’s private life was actually quite clean, almost strictly following a routine of classroom, library, and home.

Moreover, Evelyn didn’t seem to be as proactive with anyone else, whether of the same or opposite sex, as she was with Astrid.

Was Evelyn just doing this for fun, or was she up to something, eyeing her status and connections?

Or was her sexual orientation... not what she had initially thought...

Could Evelyn be a lesbian...

This thought flashed through Astrid’s mind but was quickly dismissed.

Both in her past and present lives, almost everyone she knew was straight. With such a ratio, how could there be so many lesbians?

Elise, having received the task, was about to confirm something when Evelyn on the podium began calling roll. Considering it would be inappropriate to ask now, she could only let it go.

Whether it was that or not, it didn’t affect her continued investigation of Evelyn.

But... It seems the young lady is also interested in this type of figure...

The head maid thought for a moment, glancing down at her own ample curves and her white-stockinged legs, her gaze thoughtful.