Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 55: Cat

Half a minute later, Elise detected a small creature, likely a stray cat.

With her target identified, she quickened her pace, turning into an alley with light steps.

As the head maid, she had to maintain her grace and composure at all times, even when Astrid wasn't present.

At the end of the alley, a dark kitten sat atop a pile of garbage.

It raised its body warily, its feline eyes fixed on Elise.

"Try to be gentle and don't hurt them too roughly."

Recalling Astrid's advice, Elise withdrew her mental energy and softened the sharpness in her demeanor.

Her usually indifferent dark eyes strained to convey a hint of tenderness.

She could have easily used her Master Knight level mental power to capture the black cat effortlessly, but that would have gone against Astrid's wishes.

She wanted to be gentle.

"Meow~"

The little dark cat let out a soft sound, and Elise bent her knees, crouching down halfway.

She reached into the maid's bag she had brought with her and pulled out a small box containing the fried salmon she had prepared that morning.

She took out a small strip of salmon and placed it on the ground, using a basic wind spell to waft the scent toward the cat.

The dark cat, catching the aroma, stretched its tense body slightly but remained in place, its eyes fixed on Elise with undiminished wariness.

If it were Lyra in this situation, she would likely first glance around to see if anyone was nearby.

If not, she might take the salmon and move closer, meowing a couple of times in an attempt to communicate with the stray cat in its own language.

But Elise was clearly not that kind of naive maid.

When her attempt to lure the cat with salmon failed, she removed her oil-stained white silk gloves and rummaged through her bag once more.

If the fish doesn't work... maybe something else will...

Her fingers brushed against a small iron box.

Elise blinked a few times, glanced at the beautifully decorated lunch box in front of her, and hesitated for a moment, her pink lips pursed slightly.

This was the snack she had been eating recently to keep her energy up between meals.

After a brief pause, Elise opened the box and took out a fluffy piece of cake.

She gently broke it open, revealing the rich, sweet jam inside.

A gentle breeze carried the aroma of the food toward the cat.

The little dark cat's nose twitched, and its front paws shifted slightly, betraying its growing interest.

Elise remained crouched, her gaze calm and devoid of any malice, simply watching the cat with patience.

After a few minutes, the dark cat cautiously approached Elise.

Seeing that she didn't move, it sniffed at the cake on the ground.

Elise stayed still, and the cat took a small bite of the cake.

Gradually, the tension in its body eased.

Perhaps because it had been hungry for a while, the little dark cat quickly finished the cake and took a few bites of the fried salmon.

Sensing the cat's growing comfort, Elise carefully reached out and touched its back with her palm.

At first, the cat's body stiffened, but it didn't pull away.

Instead, it allowed Elise to stroke it gently.

A few minutes later, Elise managed to pick the cat up.

Now full, the cat didn't resist and nestled into her arms, its earlier wariness completely gone.

Elise looked at the cat's pink nose and its unkempt fur, wondering what breed it might be.

She tucked the cat into a bag she had prepared earlier and took it back to the palace for a quick cleaning.

As she washed the cat, Elise noticed that her white shirt had gotten dirty from the dust on the cat's fur, and her milky-white stockings had a few dark stains on the knees.

But more importantly... why was the cat's fur losing color when it got wet...

As she watched the stray cat's fur turn a lighter shade, Elise fell into deep thought.

----

Meanwhile, in the alchemy lab, Astrid bid farewell to Elowen.

After a period of meditation, she placed the two potions she had brewed that day in front of her and examined them carefully.

When Elowen's batch of potions arrives, she'll need to take a good look at what other people's finished potions look like.

"Lyra," Astrid called softly.

Lyra, who was standing nearby, nodded. "I'm here, Your Highness Astrid."

"Fetch me some pen and paper."

In the future, there will be more and more of these potions, and without labels, it would be troublesome if they got mixed up during use.

Astrid stood up and glanced at the batch of potions in the cabinet, which had been brewed some time ago.

She began sorting them in order.

Once the pen and paper were ready, Astrid wrote down the name of each potion on small pieces of parchment and pasted them onto the surface of the crystal bottles for identification.

She then handed them to Lyra to store in a special potion bag.

Lyra took the crystal bottles, noting the neatly labeled names on each one.

She marveled at Princess Astrid's meticulousness while silently admiring the elegance of her handwriting.

Neat and clear, the writing not only reflected a delicate sense of beauty but also carried a subtle air of coolness and nobility.

It was truly unique, perfectly matching Princess Astrid's temperament.

------

"This is the cat you picked out?"

Looking at the little orange cat with its arms stretched forward and its body hanging limply from Elise's hands like liquid, Astrid reached out and rubbed the cat's head.

The orange cat raised its face comfortably, nuzzling the girl's soft, delicate palm with the top of its head.

"Hmm." Elise nodded, her cherry lips parting slightly.

"As you can see, Miss Astrid, this stray cat is quite affectionate and has a lovely appearance."

Indeed, the orange cat in her hands had thick, luxurious fur, snow-white paws, and an impeccable appearance.

Noticing that Lyra beside her was gazing at the orange cat with anticipation, Astrid let go of the cat and said lightly, "Lyra, you hold it too. Perhaps this cat only shows affection to certain people."

Was Astrid suggesting that she might be disliked by cats?

Lyra blinked, silently reminding herself that she was the most popular among the dogs at home.

Every time she entered the house, two dogs would circle her lap excitedly for ages.

Reaching out to take the orange cat from Elise's arms, Lyra moved gently, her sky-blue eyes tenderly gazing at the cat.

The cat didn't struggle at all, simply resting in Lyra's arms, its round eyes still fixed on Elise, who had been feeding and caring for it.

Seeing this, Astrid's expression remained unchanged as she began to consider the best time to give the cat to Amalia.

During the day, it would stay with Elise, and at night, before the fourth princess, Amalia, went to bed, she would have the cat brought into the princess's bedroom.

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After a while, the three of them left the alchemy room with the orange cat and headed to the dining hall for lunch.

Following the meal, Astrid returned to her bedroom for a nap, rising at two or three o'clock to study magic.

Meanwhile, Lyra accompanied Elise to catch up on the knight's course she had missed that morning.

As dusk approached, Astrid approached Elise to explain the next steps.

"Elise, take this cat to the castle where Amalia resides. Ensure no one sees you, but make sure the cat appears where the fourth princess can notice it."

After just half a day together, Astrid had grown fond of the orange cat.

However, considering that Amalia had endured far more loneliness and isolation in the deep palace than she, a favored princess, had ever experienced, Astrid set aside her desire to keep it.

"Giving the cat to Her Highness Amalia will create the illusion that it wandered in on its own, correct?"

Astrid nodded slightly.

"You truly are my personal maid. You guessed it at once... I want to see how my dear royal sister Amalia reacts to this cat."

If her response didn't align with Astrid's expectations, the latter would dismiss all her previous, perhaps naive, assumptions about Amalia.

She would then regard Amalia, along with Lucas and Alistair, as enemies to be either eliminated or tightly controlled.

Amalia was a stepping stone for her mother's rise into the aristocratic class, a means to enjoy glory and wealth.

She was also a lifelong stain in Emperor Hibbort's eyes.

While Astrid sympathized with her suffering, it didn't mean she would blindly accept everything about Amalia because of her tragic past.

If Amalia proved hopeless, Astrid wouldn't waste her efforts on her. It would be futile.

The choice lay with Amalia herself. How she treated this homeless stray cat would determine how Astrid would treat her in the future.

---

In the quiet solitude of the royal castle, a delicate blonde girl sat by the window, gazing at the dusk painted across the sky like burning clouds.