Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 297: Higher Will

On the other side, Lyra listened to the sound of water from the bathroom as the beauty took a bath, and the calmness in her heart slightly rippled.

Lyra knew that Astrid trusted her deeply, not only telling her about her next steps, but even not hiding crucial information such as the false alliance with Lucas and taking Princess Amalia away from the ancient castle.

But what was exposed tonight was so accidental, perhaps even Countess Charlotte didn’t know, it was Princess Astrid’s deepest secret, its importance self-evident.

Would Princess Astrid still trust her... or should she do something to show her sincerity...

When it comes to matters related to emotions, Lyra’s performance doesn’t seem very smart. If she were a bit more confident, she would think about Astrid’s actions and know that the other party would not doubt her promise to hold it for long.

Her legs subconsciously tightened, and the two knees wrapped in delicate white silk, slightly revealing flesh-colored smoothness, rubbed against each other. Lyra didn’t know whether to put her hands on the bed or on the hem of her skirt, her back and waist were also straight.

Princess Astrid said she wanted to take a bath, maybe she was also thinking about something...

Her gaze aimlessly wandered, Lyra saw the dark silk fabric rolled up by the bed, her eyes seemed to be burned by something, and she quickly looked away.

At this moment, the bathroom door opened, and a faint white mist overflowed. A tender, snow-white foot wearing sandals emerged from the mist, the delicate skin faintly revealing veins and blood vessels.

Astrid held a towel, carefully dried her hair, her delicate features exuding moisture, and her long, upturned eyelashes still had a few dewdrops hanging on them.

Seeing the person coming, Lyra’s body tensed even more, her slightly longer nails gently scratching the surface of her socks, quietly feeling the warm and fragrant body beside her.

Astrid did not take the initiative, she just used the towel to dry her silver hair slightly, then chanted a wind spell for the final cleaning.

"..."

Feeling that the surrounding wind had almost stopped, Lyra thought for a moment and found a topic to start.

"Astrid..."

"...How was the bath?"

Hearing this, Astrid’s fingers paused slightly, feeling a bit amused but still maintaining a calm expression on the surface.

"Not bad, the water temperature was just right."

"The most anticipated thing in summer is nothing more than the leisurely time after a bath."

Feeling relaxed all over, she could lie down in the soft bed later and enjoy the hard-earned sleep after a busy day.

"Ah... that’s good..." Lyra whispered, her fingertips gently circling on the soft thigh.

How to bring up that topic with Princess Astrid without it seeming abrupt...

Seeing her unable to find a good entry point for the main topic for a long time, Astrid put down her hair, leaned slightly forward, and turned her head to look at the girl.

"Can I trust you, Lyra?"

The cool female voice, having just taken a bath, carried a mature laziness and casualness, making Lyra’s heart tremble.

Sensing that Lyra was more nervous than she expected, Astrid leaned her body closer to the other party, a few strands of silver hair fell on the pink-haired girl’s hand, and a faint fragrance wafted into the air.

"Can’t I?" Astrid asked again.

At this time... how could she answer no...

Hearing this, Lyra swallowed her throat and whispered.

"You can..."

To avoid ambiguity and to emphasize, Lyra added.

"Astrid can trust me..."

They are friends and should keep each other’s secrets.

And Princess Astrid... is still...

Thinking of a certain identity she wanted to say but didn’t dare to, Lyra remained silent, quietly waiting for Astrid’s next words.

"Then what I’m about to say, Lyra, please keep it deep in your heart, and don’t mention or refer to it to anyone."

Having obtained the promise of the destined female protagonist, Astrid slowly spoke.

"Can you do that?"

"..."

After a brief thought, Lyra solemnly replied.

I can.

"In the name of Lyra Beckett, I swear to Astrid Calliste that I will not reveal the content of the following conversation to others. If I violate..."

Halfway through, Lyra felt something pressing against her lips, and looked down to see a slender, jade-like finger.

"No need to be so formal." Astrid’s hand slides down, across Lyra’s smooth and delicate chin and the invisible Adam’s apple.

"You said I can trust you, so I believe you."

With that, the woman raised her lips, showing a stunning smile.

"After all, Lyra is my best friend."

Suddenly, Astrid gave Lyra a friend card, the most important one. Feeling a warmth in her heart, Lyra looked at Astrid’s delicate face under the moonlight, her ears slightly burning, and then lowered her head, her fingers lightly lifting her pink hair to cover the blush spreading across her cheek like ripples.

"Mm... Astrid is also my best friend..."

Although they are just friends for now, she wants to take it further in the future.

Hearing Lyra’s words, Astrid’s smile broadened. Her bare, smooth legs, which had just been in the water, were casually crossed as she continued speaking.

"Since Lyra thinks the same way, I don’t need to keep hiding it anymore."

"I do know a special magical language, and using it to cast spells produces effects that are worlds apart from the same type of common incantations."

"Lyra should have guessed what I’m talking about..."

Astrid’s tone was serious and solemn, dispelling the lingering romantic thoughts in Lyra’s mind. The girl moistened her lips and softly replied.

"Astrid, do you mean... Elders Speech?"

Although it sounded somewhat unbelievable, what Astrid described seemed to be the most impossible scenario Lyra had imagined.

The third princess of the Valeria Empire, Astrid Calliste, truly mastered Elders Speech.

As soon as the words fell, Lyra saw the silver-haired woman before her, who resembled a water lily, nodded slightly. Her crimson eyes shimmered with a watery glow, reflecting Lyra’s face.

"That’s right, it’s Elders Speech." Astrid’s fingers tapped her thigh as she spoke softly.

"I can understand and recite it, and I can even comprehend most of the meanings."

Hearing Astrid’s frank admission, Lyra, who had already suspected as much, stiffened slightly. Her fingers, which had been stroking her white stockings, suddenly let go, as if she had just experienced a mental storm.

Over the long years, millions of people have tried to decipher Elders Speech, but apart from the supreme Spell Creator, Gemini, no one has been able to comprehend these special ancient languages.

Now, Astrid was telling her that she could understand Elders Speech and had demonstrated its fluent use in front of her.

Could Princess Astrid become the second Gemini, or perhaps the second Spell Creator in human history?

Thankfully, Lyra was just an early sorcerer who had only been practicing magic for a little over a year. If it were other powerful figures from the Elizabeth Academy of Magic who understood the significance of Elders Speech, or Professor Evelyn Proseus, their reactions would likely be several times stronger than Lyra’s.

"Gather... free... Ice... Spear...."

Lyra opened her mouth and uttered a few short English words with a pronunciation that seemed awkward from a modern perspective.

"...Is this part of Elders Speech?"

Astrid nodded upon hearing this and softly repeated the words.

"Gather the free ice elemental particles, forge a sharp ice spear."

Without using mental energy to guide the elements’ trajectory, merely speaking this magical incantation wouldn’t trigger any magical fluctuations.

"This is the ancient incantation for the high-level apprentice ice spell, Ice Spear."

In the forest, she had used this incantation to temporarily suppress the spread of the dark mist.

After hearing this, Lyra repeated the incantation following Astrid’s tone. Although there were slight pronunciation errors in many places, she managed to read it mostly correctly.

"What a unique language..." Lyra said.

The common language of humans in this world was closer to a mix of Yiddish languages like German, Hebrew, Aramaic, Romance and a few others. After getting used to the former, reading English did feel quite strange.

Hearing this, Astrid smiled slightly but didn’t say much. After trying a few times and noticing that Astrid kept watching her, Lyra fell silent and after a while said.

"Astrid, you said you understand most of Elders Speech, so besides this Ice Spear spell, do you know many other ancient incantations?"

If each one was as powerful as what Astrid had demonstrated tonight, Lyra couldn’t imagine what these ancient incantations would become in the hands of a grand mage or even higher.

Perhaps by then, moving mountains would be a mere thought.

Astrid didn’t deny it and softly admitted.

"Yes."

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that as long as she had the corresponding ancient incantation and her mental energy was sufficient, there was a more than 99% chance she could directly recite it. At least in the ancient texts Astrid had noticed so far, there were no obscure characters she couldn’t understand or pronounce.

Hearing Astrid’s admission again, Lyra’s already numb heart stirred once more. However, she soon thought of Astrid’s slightly inferior mental energy reserves compared to others, and the fervor in her heart gradually cooled.

Although such powerful incantations could allow a mage to cast extraordinary spells, Princess Astrid was hindered by her lack of sufficient mental energy to support them.

It feels... such a pity...

Raising her eyes to look at Astrid under the moonlight, Lyra didn’t see any regret on the other’s face. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke.

"Then... how did Astrid come to understand these magical incantations?"

Even if she participated in magical language classes every week, Lyra didn’t think the knowledge taught by Professor Evelyn would be enough for Astrid to decipher these texts passed down from ancient antiquity.

"Well..." Astrid paused slightly upon hearing this, playing a little coy.

"I’ll tell Lyra when the time is right."

The topic involves the composition of the entire world, and Astrid didn’t intend to reveal too much to Lyra at this point.

For one, she didn’t want to be completely exposed and without secrets in front of the young girl. For another, letting the pure and sensitive Lyra, who was at an age of many emotions, know that she was just a character in a book would only add unnecessary worries and pressure.

Hearing this, Lyra nodded, realizing that Astrid had already shared many secrets with her tonight. To press further would be somewhat impolite.

"I understand... Astrid..."

Even if Lyra didn’t fully understand the workings of the empire or the entanglements of noble interests, as Astrid’s former personal maid and a servant who frequently interacted with high society, Lyra knew that the secret of Elders Speech, once leaked, would definitely cause immense trouble.

Even magical devices that benefited the nation and its people faced such suppression. If someone suddenly deciphered Elders Speech, who knows what chaos would ensue? Astrid probably held back from revealing what she knew due to this very concern.

"I won’t mention to anyone that Astrid can understand Elders Speech."

Lyra placed a hand on her chest, once again assuring Astrid that she wouldn’t leak the secret.

Astrid looked at the serious-faced Lyra before her and smiled slightly.

"Alright, I know."

Lyra might be a bit slow, but she will definitely keep her promises.

Thinking about what simple and easy-to-learn spell would suit Lyra, Astrid propped her chin on her hand and back half a minute spoke.

"Lyra, repeat after me in my tone and pronunciation."

"With a focused mind, I summon light."

This was the ancient incantation for the beginner apprentice light spell, Light. Teaching this to Lyra as an introduction to Elders Speech should be just right.

Hearing this unique tone, Lyra immediately understood that Astrid wanted to teach her a certain spell. She focused her mind and repeated it several times.

When Astrid felt Lyra’s pronunciation was clear enough, almost approaching the standard of Mandarin, she reminded her gently.

"With a focused mind, I summon light."

Lyra obediently did as told, but right from the first step, she felt her mental energy sink into a quagmire, suddenly becoming extremely sluggish.

Was it an illusion... or did she make a mistake somewhere...

Lyra continued trying to channel her mental energy, but the transparent force scattered in the air, unable to transform into mana that could guide the elemental particles.

"Astrid..."

"I think... I can’t cast this..."

Through her elemental vision, Astrid saw Lyra’s mental energy at a standstill. Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly, and her delicate brows furrowed gently.

The English incantation she recited shouldn’t be a problem, and the method of mental energy channeling didn’t differ significantly from her own.

"With a focused mind, I summon light."

Astrid softly recited the incantation, and the next second, the entire room was filled with a bright white light. The light from the woman’s palm stretches their shadows, pulling them all the way to the wall not far behind.

The incantation was correct, the method of mental energy channeling was the same, so why were the results so different?

After a moment of thought, Astrid spoke again.

"Lyra, try again."

As soon as Astrid finished speaking, Lyra immediately felt the other’s mental energy close to her own. The two invisible forces intertwined and merged in mid-air, inseparable.

"Alright."

Swallowing her throat, Lyra attempted the failed Light spell again. This time, Astrid followed Lyra’s mental energy completely, with every step identical to her previous, except that the transformation of mental energy into mana stalled again.

Professor Rowen from magical theory class once said that magical incantations mainly served as catalysts in the process of transforming mental energy into mana during a spell’s casting. The current situation clearly indicates an issue with the incantation.

But the key point was that the incantation Lyra recited was almost identical to what Astrid had said. Although the words were spoken slowly, they were clear and distinct, with no mistakes.

Could there be another variation affecting the casting of ancient magic?

Thinking this, Astrid gently brushed her hair, her right leg crossed over her knee swaying slightly, her fair and delicate foot drawing an elegant arc in the air.

What difference between her and Lyra could cause a spell to succeed or fail?

Looking at Astrid, who was slightly frowning, Lyra wisely remained silent. After a moment, Astrid spoke.

"Lyra... listen carefully to what I’m about to say..."

"Mental Energy , [With focused mind]."

The woman repeats the same word in two languages, the first in the common human tongue, the second in English.

Lyra listened carefully, mentally equating the two words.

"Gather light elements and bloom them in one spot, [I summon light]."

Astrid earnestly taught Lyra the meaning behind this ancient incantation. Although it wouldn’t enable Lyra to scientifically understand English in a short time, it would suffice for now.

After hearing Lyra briefly explain the reasoning behind the incantation, Astrid nodded, signaling her to begin. The girl then started recanting the incantation.

Unfortunately, this time Lyra still stalled at the step of transforming mental energy into mana.

Reciting the incantation without understanding its meaning couldn’t successfully cast ancient magic. Reciting it after understanding the meaning still failed. Another possible factor affecting the casting of ancient magic was ruled out.

Astrid looked thoughtful, unsure where the mistake lay.

That dark-haired girl could also use ancient magic. What did she have in common with Astrid, and what differed from Lyra?

Recalling the other’s slightly probing gaze and the inexplicable "mother" she had uttered, Astrid had a new idea.

Dragon language magic had a feature called exclusivity, where only beings belonging to the dragon race could use it. Could this Elders Speech also have a similar feature, usable only by a select few?

The attacker felt her aura and called her mother, sensing some special connection between them. Could this connection be the bridge that allows them to use Elders Speech?

Following this line of thought, Astrid recalled something Evelyn had mentioned before: when she studied Elders Speech, she felt a mysterious force that made her forget or go in circles in a certain misconception. This force seemed to modulate preventing her from deciphering Elders Speech.

It’s almost like... a higher-level will...

Thinking this, Astrid glanced at the wall clock. It was 11:30; it was getting late.

Their assessment had ended, and they could likely rest at the inn for another day tomorrow, so there was no need to rush to sleep tonight.

Turning her head, she looked at Lyra, who had her white-stockinged legs together and the tips of her shoes touching. Astrid slowly spoke.

"It’s a bit late, Lyra."

The pink-haired girl blinked a few times, thinking Astrid meant it was time to rest and she should return to her room. Just as she was about to get up, she heard the other’s calm voice add.

"Otherwise, you can continue sleeping with me tonight."

Lyra’s movement to get up paused, thinking she had misheard.

"I’ll help you learn a foreign language," Astrid explained.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel