In the original battle plan, once the Kingdom of Velys deployed an Arcanist mage, the Valeria Empire would gain a legitimate war pretext to actively send in its top-tier forces, setting the stage for future command in judging the guilty, no matter how selfish or shortsighted a noble might be, none would dare question the necessity of an Arcanist mage’s involvement at such a critical moment.

Thinking of this, Duke Charles proposed a motion to completely purge all Kingdom of Velys soldiers within imperial borders.

If they could push the frontline back near Liya Tower Fortress, not only could the empire centralize its military deployment, but the openings left for Kingdom of Velys attacks would also diminish.

So... there was even less reason to let these fleeing enemies escape...

Several black dots streaked across the sky, the Arcanist mages spreading wind wings and advancing forward. White Maple Town had already been reduced to ashes under relentless magical bombardments. As supreme commander, Duke Charles immediately took the baton handed by Astrid and loudly issued orders.

"Reinforcements on both flanks are rushing to the battlefield. Try to hold back the enemy."

The Pope of Light Hebrew’s Divine Judgment Barrier had been shattered, and he himself must have suffered severe magical backlash. Even if his strength hadn’t declined much in the short term, he couldn’t possibly block the skies and cleanse the empire’s core leadership as he did moments ago.

This was the best opportunity. An Arcanist mage who truly wanted to flee would indeed be difficult to stop, but the masses of church knight formations beneath couldn’t sprout wings and fly away. They only needed to encircle their targets like hyenas hunting rabbits, gradually compressing their living space until the enemy collapsed from exhaustion, then finish them off in one sweep.

Hearing the crisp, orderly clashing of metal gradually receding into the distance, Astrid knew the Church knights’ defensive formation was retreating. Held in Astrid’s arms, Lyra simultaneously sensed several powerful auras leaving the battlefield, and the chaotic elemental particles beneath her feet in the ruins of White Maple Town were calming down.

The battle led by Arcanist mages was about to end.

Lyra felt as if she were one step away from shattering completely.

First, she had served as the central magic provider for White Maple Town’s dome shield, overseeing the entire situation and closely monitoring every spell that might strike the soldiers. Then, under immense pressure, she broke through to become an early Arcanist mage, immediately facing off against Hebrew, the long-renowned peak of this realm and Pope of Light.

She had withstood several Arcanist-tier light spells, then engaged in close combat against two Crusader, one-on-two. In the end, she took a full combo from five Arcanist mages, using every ounce of strength to slash through the barrier with a single strike.

Her legs and wrists had gone numb, unable even to grip a weapon. The Sword of Light slipped from her palm, instantly dissolving into motes of light that merged into Lyra’s delicate, rosy fingernails.

Seeing the Arcanist mages running, only Charlotte remained on-site as a force guard protecting the regent and the large number of city defenders. Astrid stepped forward, her sharp heel crunching on the ice layer with a cracking sound, then the ice nova shattered into scattered ice shards.

"You did well, Lyra."

Her smooth, silvery hair cascaded over her shoulders, covering the black skirt adorned with satin ribbons. Astrid spoke softly, her alluring crimson eyes gazing at the girl in her arms.

Having just endured a brutal battle, perhaps due to the Holy Light Armor remaining active, Lyra’s attire was still intact, except for a small tear near her shoulder, revealing pale pink skin clearly refreshed. Speckles of blood stained the surrounding fabric like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow.

Her pale fingertips gently touched the edge of Lyra’s wound. Astrid’s expression showed rare, pure tenderness, no teasing, no provocation, just incredibly gentle care.

"Are you injured anywhere else?"

Transitioning from a harsh battlefield into a soft, fragrant beauty’s embrace, the sudden contrast leaves Lyra momentarily dazed. Aside from a soft murmur of the woman’s name at the beginning, the Holy Knight, now released from armor defense, hadn’t spoken again, merely gazing at Astrid with slightly weary eyes.

"..."

Half a minute later, Lyra spoke weakly.

"Probably... not...?"

Her tone carried a hint of guilt. The reason was simple, Lyra truly didn’t know if she had other injuries, much like when she was a child and didn’t feel pain from bumps or bruises until she saw the bruises during her evening bath.

Astrid naturally understood Lyra’s meaning. Maintaining her princess carry, she hugged the exhausted knight tighter, her gaze tracing down the girl’s hair strand by strand, scrutinizing every inch of skin without missing a spot.

Aside from the tear in her shirt, Lyra’s upper body clothing showed no damage.

Although they were still on the battlefield, all retreating soldiers from White Maple Town had already fled into the protective bunker and wouldn’t dare emerge without orders. Thus, only Astrid could witness this beautiful sight, though to be fair, a stunning pink-haired girl being cradled in the arms of the empire’s most beautiful woman, with her back and thighs held like this, was itself a magnificent painting.

Noticing Astrid holding Lyra in a princess carry amid the ruins, with the maid captain behind her holding a parasol at the ready, Charlotte didn’t disturb this reunion’s warmth. While maintaining vigilant focus, she extended her spiritual sense, driving gentle winds to search the flat frozen plain.

Meanwhile, Astrid’s gaze passed over Lyra’s straight, slender calves. Even this thin layer of fabric had no holes, probably truly no wounds.

She quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes lingered on the girl’s now-closed legs, her delicate white feet exposed to the air without knight boots. The elegant arches of her soles sparkled under the light, their curves resemble crescent moons, looking overall like two tempting, creamy snow cones.

Just as she was thinking she should have a pair of the girl’s maid-era leather shoes stored in her spatial container to help Lyra put them on, Astrid belatedly realized the ruby had already disappeared into the spatial vortex. Instinctively touching her chest, she felt no more of that cool sensation.

Although it was a precious item left by her mother, likely even a keepsake, Astrid didn’t regret detonating it, even if it was a bit of a shame.

Compared to a mere inanimate object meant solely for remembrance, the life of the person before her was clearly more valuable. If Fanya could see this, she would surely agree.

The silver lining was that Astrid had already broken through to peak tier Magnus before, unlocking everything inside. Strictly speaking, the keepsakes Lorien left, her daughter had already obtained them all.

"It seems there are no other wounds," Astrid said.

After checking the physical level, it was time for deeper mental inspection. Facing the regent’s mental intrusion, Lyra completely dropped her resistance, allowing the other to enter freely.

Actually... this feeling of one’s soul being submerged by a familiar person was quite relaxing...

No need to worry about harm, as if floating on warm water, filled with sweet fragrance, and a sense of emptiness in her heart being completely filled.

Five minutes passed. After confirming the other was unharmed, Astrid finally relaxed, using wind magic to tidy Lyra’s disheveled hair. Knowing she likely didn’t even have the strength to open her mouth, Astrid chose for mental communication instead.

"Congratulations, Lyra..."

"...on successfully breaking through to Arcanist mage rank."

Wanting to become stronger to protect more people, reaching this point meant Lyra had fulfilled a long-held wish.

Hearing the familiar female voice echo in her mind, Lyra softly hummed in response.

"What’s the overall battle situation... like now?"

Seeing Lyra still concerned about the war despite being this weakened, Astrid briefly explained, starting from receiving the barrier intelligence to the entire battle’s outlook.

"Your efforts paid off, Lyra."

"Due to the barrier’s destruction, Hebrew is most likely in a weakened state. To protect the holy relic and avoid being counter-ambushed by us, he can only announce a retreat."

In this battle, Lyra’s on-the-spot breakthrough and extraordinary performance had significant effects, slicing open the [Holy Radiant City], cutting through the [Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment], greatly damaging the Light Holy Church’s forces while also shaking their morale.

Hearing this, Lyra quietly breathed easier, recalling Astrid’s earlier mention of the barrier’s instability, then asked.

"So at that moment... Was Astrid cooperating with me?"

In Lyra’s judgment, that slash, which even she couldn’t perfectly replicate, could indeed cut through the sun, but it should still fall far short of completely destroying the barrier.

At that time, besides the space-tearing sword aura, massive amounts of dark elemental particles had adhered to the outer layer of the light shield, along with powerful spatial convection, which ultimately shattered the barrier.

"Mmm." Astrid didn’t deny it.

"I sensed someone inside trying to break through the spatial barrier, so I prepared in advance. When the timing was right, we ignited it simultaneously from inside and out."

This amplified the slash’s power exponentially, even catching Hebrew off guard, a mere early tier Arcanist mage actually piercing the Divine Judgment Barrier.

So that was it.

With her doubts resolved, Lyra gently closed her knees, her soft calves pressing against Astrid’s arm, the skin slightly indented, radiating warmth, the delicate texture of the fine white tights clearly perceptible.

But... How did Astrid create such intense spatial convection...?

Even if Astrid could decipher ancient language, her mental quality was still that of a peak tier Magnus, how could she possibly release space-related magic?

Had she used some external object?

Lyra’s gaze shifted, landing on Astrid’s ornate bodice. Dark pleated ribbons concealed her ample cleavage, and the precious gem matching her eye color was nowhere to be seen.

Could it be... Astrid...

Her thoughts swirling, Lyra instinctively bit her lip. After a moment of silence, she asked quietly in her mind.

"The pendant Astrid detonated... was it that gemstone necklace?"

As a former personal maid and lifelong pursuer of the princess, Lyra knew perfectly well what that ruby meant to Astrid.

The third princess’s mother, Fanya, had disappeared beneath the abyss, and this ruby-made spatial storage device was the companion item she left for Astrid, now seems, most likely a keepsake.

From Astrid wearing it constantly, almost never taking it off even before knowing it was a spatial storage device, one can see how much she values this keepsake.

Facing Lyra’s question, Astrid replied softly.

"Correct."

Spatial storage devices were products of ancient humans, each broken one meant one less. Across the entire empire, they were priceless and non-circulating. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

When Lyra subdued the Sword of Light, Astrid had implicated her to display the holy sword’s might but not reveal its spatial storage capability, to avoid being targeted.

"At that time, among those present, only I possessed an artifact capable of triggering spatial ripples."

So this task could only be done by her, no matter how reluctant she was.

Hearing Astrid’s answer, Lyra swallowed slightly, her toes gradually intertwining like crossed silver crescent moons.

"So... Astrid blew it up...?"

"Mm, it was the only way."

The Empress’’ scepter from Amalia did contain other spatial storage devices, but since the empress was currently in the capital, there was no way to suddenly have her air-drop to White Maple Town just to deliver a spatial ring.

Not only was there no time, but politically it was also impossible.

Seeing Lyra’s conflicted gaze, Astrid gently raised her fingertip, poking the girl’s pink-tinged knee. Her slightly grown-out nails hooked at the fabric, her tone calm.

"Sadness aside, it was a necessary sacrifice."

"Compared to the city defenders who fell on distant borders, sacrificing their young lives, my loss is dismissed."

Meeting Lyra’s gaze with her bright red eyes, Astrid turned and walked backward, the clicking of her shoe tips on the ice layer echoing in both their ears.

"Besides, living people are always more worth cherishing than dead objects, especially when among them are those I hold most dear."

Even setting aside rationality, disregarding the empire’s losses and the terrifying consequences of losing this battle, even as the past arrogant, beauty-only villainous princess, Astrid would still have made this choice.

Lyra, Charlotte, lives of those she cherished, how could any of them be less important than a gemstone?

Hearing this, the pink-haired girl slightly lowered her eyes, her emotions exceptionally complex.

Beings... most cherished in Princess Astrid’s heart...

Lyra could now be one hundred percent sure that Astrid wasn’t just referring to Professor Charlotte, but also to her.

She was someone cherished by the other.