Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 290: “Be careful!!”

Suddenly being asked this question by Astrid, Lyra’s hand, which was lightly covering her forehead, trembled slightly.

However, due to the small movement, it quickly returned to normal.

She did dream... but that dream was really hard to talk about...

Through her fingers, Lyra could see the pure black pleated skirt Astrid was wearing.

The deep blue brooch accentuated her proud fullness, her slender waist was almost too delicate to hold.

If Astrid knew that she appeared in her dream in such a scene, Lyra would probably want to find a hole to crawl into immediately, rather than just covering her blushing cheeks with her hand, trying to look as if nothing was wrong.

"Hmm..."

Lyra controlled her tone and let out a low hum. Astrid continued to look at her, her cold red eyes flowing like water, resembling a pair of clear, transparent rubies.

"Was it a nightmare?" Astrid asked her.

Lyra remained silent for a few seconds before softly replying.

"...No."

"It’s just... it was a bit unexpected..."

Astrid’s demeanor, words, and actions in the dream were exactly the same as the Astrid she knew, but the act itself would never happen in reality.

She should have buried these feelings deep, never letting Astrid find out.

Or even if she did, the development of the plot would definitely not be as dreamy as in the dream.

Princess Astrid... seems to have never shown any emotions towards the same sex that go beyond friendship and kinship...

Given the current situation, if she chose to confess, she would most likely be rejected by the other party, and it would be impossible for such intimate physical contact to occur, along with the intermittent yet lingering deep kisses.

"Unexpected?" Hearing this word, Astrid softly repeated.

"Can you tell me, what exactly was unexpected?"

Thinking of Lyra slightly biting her pink lips in her sleep, combined with this answer, Astrid suddenly felt her curiosity piqued.

What kind of dream did Lyra have?

"..."

Faced with Astrid’s questioning, Lyra touched the tip of her shoe and fell into a brief silence.

The unexpected thing was simply that Princess Astrid knew her feelings and chose to confess on her birthday night, teasingly hooking her chin with her toes, leaning in to kiss her, and eventually falling together onto the large bed in the bedroom.

How could she possibly tell Princess Astrid about this directly...

Recalling the smooth sensation that slid from her neck to her chin, even through a layer of silk, Lyra could feel the warmth and softness of the other party’s foot, not to mention the sweet, rose-like fragrance that kept wafting into her nostrils.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt the atmosphere in the room at that time was unbearably ambiguous.

Lyra moistened her throat, her other hand quietly resting on her thigh, pinching the milk-white skin slightly.

"I... can’t say it..."

Isn’t this the so-called... erotic dream...

Could it be because they were too close last night, which led to that unrealistic fantasy just now?

"Is that so?"

Judging from Lyra’s tone, she probably didn’t want to reveal more. Astrid didn’t mind too much, nor did she feel any sense of loss.

She simply thought that the dream might be something Lyra found hard to talk about.

Everyone has secrets they don’t want to tell others, and the future Holy Knight is no exception.

"Then Lyra, sit for a while longer, to calm your mood a bit."

After saying this, Astrid turned around to retrieve the crystal she had placed earlier. She had just taken half a step when she heard Lyra speak.

"Astrid... um..."

Looking back at the pink-haired girl sitting under the big tree, Astrid noticed Lyra’s slightly red neck and the wrist that was directly exposed to the midday sun, so white it was almost dazzling.

"Is there something else?" Astrid asked her.

Lyra paused for a few seconds, her heels touching the ground, her white-stockinged legs, which had been stretched out flat on the grass, bent and hugged to her chest.

"If Astrid really wants to know, I’ll tell you when I’ve sorted it out and the opportunity arises..."

In the past, Lyra probably wouldn’t have been so affected by Astrid’s simple "Is that so?"

The Astrid she knew was like that, elegant with a hint of aloofness, often not prying into others’ privacy.

But now that she was sure she had fallen in love with Princess Astrid, the change in her mindset also brought differences in their interactions.

She would feel anxious because of such responses and would overthink even the slightest change in the other party’s expression.

Hearing this, Astrid narrowed her eyes, vaguely guessing that Lyra seemed to have misunderstood something, her voice slightly lowered.

"Alright, then I’ll wait to hear it later."

She had lived for nearly fifty years in total across two lifetimes, and she wasn’t petty enough to get angry with a friend over a dream they didn’t share.

But... even with such emotions, Lyra still didn’t want to talk about it now. What exactly happened in the dream...

Could it be related to her?

Picking up her staff, looking at Lyra who had lowered her head after speaking, nervously rubbing her stockings and skirt, Astrid lightly touched the sapphire at the top of her staff.

It must be said, she was even more curious about Lyra’s dream now.

.........

Ten minutes later, the two had finished resting.

Astrid didn’t immediately proceed to the core area as planned but first had Lyra chant a lightness spell to reach a higher vantage point with a better view.

"What’s wrong, Astrid?"

On the thick tree trunk, Lyra looked at the distant mountains and layers of green leaves and softly asked the silver-haired princess standing beside her.

Hearing this, Astrid brushed her hair and opened her pink lips.

"While you were resting just now, I observed the distant environment and found something unexpected."

"In the direction we’re facing now, a rescue signal appeared an hour ago."

Sending a rescue signal requires the user to actively activate the defense barrier stored in the magic crystal, so accidental triggering is almost impossible.

After listening, Lyra stood on tiptoe, looked at the direction Astrid pointed, and then lowered her gaze to the ground, observing the tree shadows on the grass.

"That’s... the northwest direction, right?"

"Yes, it’s very close to our destination."

Students who dare to hunt at the edge of the core area usually have some skills.

Astrid wasn’t sure if they had encountered a high-level magical beast that had strayed from its usual habitat or if they had simply misjudged the situation.

From the moment Lyra mentioned the resonance of the Sword of Light, Astrid had sensed something was not quite right.

"So... what should we do next?" Lyra leaned against the tree trunk, her voice soft.

"Should we continue deeper?"

Continuing deeper might lead to the same crisis, causing them to be eliminated early.

Given the current situation, returning to the Ghost Wolf territory to hunt might be a better choice.

Hearing Lyra ask for her opinion, Astrid remained silent for a few seconds before replying.

"What do you want to do?"

In the original plot at this point, Lyra hadn’t yet obtained the pure and flawless Sword of Light, so there was no resonance.

If they continued following the novel’s storyline without delving deeper, it would actually be a safe approach.

Lyra looked at Astrid, who was looking at the distant trees, her expression as calm as ever, showing no emotion.

"..."

The crystals given to them by the professor could perfectly defend against magic attacks below the level of a Magnus. High-level magical beasts with Magnus-level strength were definitely not common even in the outer areas of the core region.

If they were only scouting at the border between the two areas, there should be no chance of a magical beast breaking through the defense barrier.

At most, they would be eliminated early and lose some points, but their safety was unlikely to be threatened.

"I think... I want to go and see..." Lyra said.

Hearing this, Astrid nodded and softly replied.

"Alright."

Honestly, both advancing and retreating had their own merits. Astrid’s personality leaned towards the second, more conservative choice, as following the original plot was the safest approach.

But slightly deviating from the plot trajectory might not necessarily be a bad thing.

Like in the Jones Farm, although they encountered a life-and-death crisis, they also gained a lot.

Firstly, they removed a thorn near the imperial capital. Secondly, they collected a lot of dirt on Lucas and gained a boost in trust.

Thirdly, they comforted their own conscience while also increasing the favor of the destined heroine, killing three birds with one stone.

After seriously discussing the next hunting plan, Lyra and Astrid walked along a route slightly south of the original plan, trying to avoid the high-level magical beasts that might force them to be eliminated early.

As they walked and hunted the magical beasts along the way, the sun in the sky quietly shifted its position, and the two got closer and closer to their destination.

Besides the prominent mountain rock marked on the map, the boundary mentioned by the professors also included a more obvious stream that ran north and south.

"Lyra, we’re here."

Looking at the stream flowing by her boots, Astrid stopped and focused her attention on the dense forest across the stream.

Although she agreed with Lyra’s decision, it didn’t mean they should be so bold as to ignore the professors’ warnings and rashly enter the core area.

This stream was the end point of this operation. No matter what happened, they would not cross it.

Lyra gripped her sword tightly, quietly sensing the various elements floating in the air around her.

The tremor from the Sword of Light reminded her that the object causing the resonance was still deep in the west of the ravine, in a more dangerous location in the mountains.

"Not close enough, right?"

Astrid crouched down and observed the arrangement of water element particles in the stream through her elemental vision.

Under the sunlight, the water was clear and bright, and the arrangement of water element particles was normal, with no discordant magical fluctuations.

"Yes." Lyra opened her eyes and added.

"But it’s closer than before."

From the feeling transmitted, they would need to walk at least another day to reach the source of the resonance.

"Let’s stop here, Astrid." Lyra said.

Going deeper might encounter attacks that even the defense barrier couldn’t withstand.

Rather than chasing an uncertain answer, Lyra hoped for the safety of the person beside her. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Hearing this, Astrid nodded in agreement.

"We can walk along the stream a bit further."

The assessment lasted for three days in total.

They only needed to return to the mountain entrance by the evening of the last day, so there was still plenty of time.

Lyra slightly nodded and walked south with Astrid.

"Speaking of which, Astrid..."

"...Where will we rest tonight?"

The sound of the flowing stream was in her ears, and the wind from the depths of the forest carried a cool, grassy scent that blended with the moisture, giving it a refreshing smell.

"Back to where we rested at noon, or find a new place." Astrid said.

"Just not around here."

The area around the stream seemed safe, but it’s always good to be cautious.

Speaking of resting, Astrid thought of last night’s events, and the corners of her lips slightly curled up.

"Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"Do you think my sleeping posture is too bad, affecting Lyra’s night watch?"

There was indeed an effect, but it wasn’t negative; it was more like helping her focus.

After all, being held by someone she liked so much but hadn’t confessed to, Lyra’s excitement lasted from the first half of the night until the early hours of the morning, still hard to extinguish by dawn.

"Not really..."

’Actually, I quite like sleeping with Astrid.’

Such straightforward and passionate words, Lyra of course couldn’t say them out loud. She just held her sword in one hand and fiddled with her skirt with the other.

Astrid looked at the pink-haired girl reflected in the stream and continued.

"Really not affecting?"

Lyra nodded, her voice soft.

"Yes."

In a way, last night also fulfilled one of her unrealistic fantasies, like Princess Amalia, being intimately embraced by Princess Astrid.

The hard heels of her boots clicked on the stones, and Astrid recalled Lyra’s shy expression in the morning, her voice softening.

"Speaking of which, I couldn’t sleep at all when lying alone before, but after Lyra came, I could sleep."

"Perhaps you have some sleep-inducing magic."

Holding something to sleep might sound a bit childish, but Astrid knew that saying these words would make someone even more embarrassed than herself.

Sure enough, Lyra’s footsteps paused.

"Probably... a misconception..."

Was that a compliment from her?

Hearing this, Astrid pursed her lips and continued.

"But if Lyra doesn’t like it, you can move away a bit at night."

This wasn’t her deliberately teasing, but in the summer, it’s easy to get hot, and being too close might not be comfortable for both.

Lyra was slightly stunned, turned around, and let out a low sigh. Just as she was about to say something, a gleaming bone spike suddenly shot towards Astrid in front of her.

"Be careful!!"

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