Princess's Struggle for Survival

Chapter 614: Can’t Let Amalia Lead

"Good girl, go to sleep, darling."

"Mmm, good night, sister~"

"You too, good night, Amalia."

Bending down to kiss the golden-haired maiden curled under the covers, limbs limp, pink lips slightly parted like delicate petals, Astrid straightened her legs. She picked up the spatial glove resting on the nightstand and slipped it on, slowly channeling mental energy into it.

A few seconds later, scattered fabrics on the bed dissolved into particles of light, stored within the silk glove’s internal space. Astrid looked around, spotting cream-colored thigh-high stockings scattered across the carpet, along with a torn black pantyhose and a broken thin strap.

Walking over, she let her ankle brush against the fabric. These items were also merged into the storage space. The spacious room was now left only with the lingering, intoxicating scent from their earlier intense performance, mingling with the faint, fresh scent of shower gel emanating from their hair.

Her legs were still a bit weak, but after one shower she already felt much better. Astrid glanced at the distant dressing mirror. The reflection showed her cheeks faintly flushed, her crimson eyes shimmering with a delicate moisture, clearly, the aftereffects hadn’t completely faded.

Even when teasing her little maid before, Astrid had always remained in control. No matter how unrestrained she became, she had always kept it within limits, never truly humiliating herself.

Tonight, letting Amalia take the lead, she actually found it a little hard to adjust.

Amalia, who usually behaved so soft and sweet in front of her, even during those special moments when her two smooth, silky white feet felt like a kitten’s delicate paws, had actually shown such aggressive initiative.

It was truly unexpected. It reminds Astrid of a saying from her past life: "Both thunder and gentle rain are blessings from the sovereign."

Still, for the vast majority of the time, Amalia was the epitome of a sweet, gentle younger sister. Only in rare moments did she reveal that dominant side of an empress.

And honestly speaking... the sensation had actually been quite nice...

Walking to the entrance, seeing the slightly lowered doorknob and the lavishly decorated bedroom door, Astrid recalled how cool the metal ornamentation had felt against her back, and the peculiar sensation of gripping the handles tightly, like a drowning person unwilling to release their lifeline, yet constantly afraid of applying too much force and accidentally pushing the door open into the hallway.

The mix of these two emotions intensify her feelings, making everything come even faster.

"..."

Why were both her lovers such seemingly innocent, adorable girls, yet so imaginative and skilled in practice?

Was it something about her?

A certain imperial succubus seemed to have found the root of the problem, yet still held no clear awareness of her past cruel teasing habits.

Finally, she took a few breaths to steady her heartbeat. Astrid bent down and neatly placed the silver, intricately crafted, lace-up high heel, a Lolita-style shoe that had been on her smooth, silk-stockinged feet, before turning off the lights and leaving the room, returning it to silence.

The imperial consort’s bedtime ritual had ended. It was time to have a nighttime chat with her aunt Charlotte.

After locking the room, faint traces of residual magic caught Astrid’s attention.

Was this the head maid’s doing?

Under those circumstances, one couldn’t possibly maintain clear awareness of the outside world. Apart from physical limitations, mental perception was also impossible.

Unless she really was made of ice and wood.

Activating her elemental vision to detect magical fluctuations in the air, Astrid realized it was the residue of a silence barrier. Fluttering her eyelashes, she was about to cease channeling mental energy when she suddenly felt something off.

It was true the head maid often handled such inconvenient matters for her, but this time, the aura lingering in the magical residue didn’t seem to match that of the aloof, mature woman.

It feels more like... her own aunt...

If Astrid hadn’t previously attempted co-casting magic at zero distance with Charlotte, she might not have noticed the difference. But since they had experienced the intimate fusion of mental energies, they were exceedingly familiar with each other’s signatures.

The deeper she probed, the more certain she became. Even the incense burning in the long corridor seemed to mix in a unique scent belonging only to a mature woman.

What she and Amalia had done earlier... had it possibly been...

At this thought, Astrid arched an eyebrow. Her delicate, alabaster toes curled slightly, gripping the silver sandal.

A rare chance to relieve stress early, and she forgot to set up a silence barrier, only for her aunt, who happened to be staying overnight in the palace, to walk right into it?

At the mere thought of what might have happened, Astrid’s already cooled body warmed slightly. Her blood flow quickly waned, and her entire delicate figure beneath the white nightgown flushed faintly.

An entrance, sisters, an exquisitely classic combination, unfolding in the medieval Valeria Empire.

She had originally thought letting Amalia take the lead once, switching from defense to offense, was already pushing the limit. She hadn’t expected the situation to be even more "dangerous" than she’d imagined.

Suddenly, she wasn’t sure whether she should meet Charlotte at this hour. Standing in the corridor, Astrid pondered briefly before finally striding forward with her long legs toward her elder relative.

Amalia was already asleep, the lights off. If she went back, the girl would surely demand more affection, and she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep until the early hours.

Everything needed moderation. Excess damages the body. Even with a short cooldown, it was harmful in every way. Besides, if she didn’t go to see Charlotte tonight, they’d meet eventually. She couldn’t let such a minor embarrassment drive a wedge between them.

In that moment, Astrid unknowingly mirrored Charlotte’s actions, lightly placing her hand on her chest to calm her heartbeat, before arriving at the room across the hall.

Hearing the knock, Charlotte, who had been lying in bed unable to sleep, was momentarily startled.

Who would come at this hour... Could it really be Astrid? freёwebnoѵel.com

Just having been intimate with her lover, and now coming to see her, how strangely delicate.

"Who is it?"

A lazy voice came from inside the door. Leaning against the doorframe, Astrid projected her voice into the room.

"It’s me, Lady Charlotte."

The cool, clear voice entered her ears, carrying a faint trace of moisture.

It was indeed Astrid. But Charlotte, who had just heard a far more seductive voice, paused for a moment, forcibly clearing those inappropriate, capturing sounds from her mind.

"Come in."

Upon receiving permission, the silver-white figure stepped into the room. Instantly, the moonlight streaming through the window seemed to dim slightly in her presence.

"Good evening, Lady Charlotte~"

Astrid walked gracefully to the bedside, her fair skin disappearing into the bright silver strands of her hair, pale as snow.

"Good evening...Little Astr..." The raven-haired beauty replied softly, sitting up.

Noticing the hesitation in Charlotte’s voice, Astrid’s gaze deepened. Her initial guess of seven or eight out of ten now shot up to nine. Smoothing the hem of her nightgown, she sat beside the other woman.

"Is the palace comfortable for you?"

"Is there everything you need, Lady Charlotte? You can always tell me." ƒrēewebnovel.com

The atmosphere was modulated tense. Both Astrid and Charlotte could sense it, although the latter was unaware that Astrid had already deduced her earlier actions.

"The furniture is complete... the clothes fit well, no need to buy more..."

"I see..."

Astrid nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly lowered her face slightly. Her delicate nose brushed against Charlotte’s arm, which lay outside the covers, and she inhaled slightly.

"It seems Lady Charlotte just took a bath. What a lovely scent of shower gel."

Exactly the same as the lingering fragrance in the corridor. Even if she wanted to bury her head in the sand, she couldn’t deny it now.

Startled by Astrid’s sudden move, Charlotte’s hand instinctively twitched. The intricately carved ring on her finger sparkled in the moonlight.

"Special-issue bath elixir. If you like it, I can give you the recipe, Lady Charlotte."

"It’s one of the few exclusive blends not traded with the Velmont family for market circulation. But I don’t intend to reveal the ingredients..."

"...Just like the custom perfume I made for you back then. It’s your special blend."

Having spoken, Astrid extended her hand for Charlotte to smell. The scents of their shower gels were indeed different, the former more serene and reserved, the latter leaning toward the noble charm of a mature woman, with a softer, more mellow dry-down. The most fitting description would probably be "amber perfume."

Hearing Astrid say this, Charlotte narrowed her eyes slightly, her delicate teeth gently biting her cherry lips as she spoke softly.

"Little Astr is thoughtful. I really like this scent."

"Good."

As the words fell, the room fell into brief silence. Misjudging her own overthinking as the cause of the awkwardness, Charlotte chose to speak first.

"Why aren’t you staying with... Amalia? Why come see me so late?"

"Well, Lady Charlotte rarely visits the palace. I couldn’t just leave you lonely after dinner, could I?"

Noticing a slight wrinkle near Charlotte’s shoulder on the bed, Astrid reached out and smoothed it.

"Lady Charlotte is someone very important to me. Even with a lover, I still want to spend more time with you."

"Besides, I think Lady Charlotte has many things she wants to say to me."

She indeed had many questions, but standing in the corridor, listening to the beautiful sounds just beyond the door, Charlotte simply couldn’t bring herself to push in and interrupt this harmonious duet.

"So... you won’t be going back tonight?"

"Of course not. I said I’d keep Lady Charlotte company."

Why did she feel like she was sliding irreversibly down the path of rotating bed partners? Astrid gently rubbed her legs together and asked softly.

"Is something wrong, Lady Charlotte...?"

"Don’t you welcome me?"

Hearing this, Charlotte’s eyes grew complex. On one hand, she wondered whether, given Astrid’s current sexual orientation, they should maintain their previous level of intimacy. On the other, the faint, soul-deep moans she’d heard made her cheeks flush faintly, her body temperature, just lowered by a second shower, rising again. Even her smooth, pale legs beneath the covers rubbed against each other somewhat unnaturally.

After a moment, to appear as natural as possible and to avoid potential harm Astrid with small, absent gestures that used to be normal but now weren’t, Charlotte gently lifted the edge of the blanket, revealing a segment of snow-white arm and the stark contrast of her black silk nightgown.

"Then lie down and talk," Charlotte said.

Astrid glanced at her aunt, her bright red eyes reflected in the tea-brown irises, the cornea still holding a faint trace of moonlight.

"Your kindness is too great to refuse."

Lying down beside her aunt, the soft blanket felt especially warm with the presence of a tender, delicate body. The air between them overflowed with her scent, as if she had just lain down in a garden in full spring bloom.

Sensing her own bare, smooth legs inevitably brushing against Charlotte’s, the woman who had officially declared her sexual orientation didn’t tense up excessively. But Charlotte’s calf tightened for a brief moment. As the smooth skin lightly rubbed, transmitting a sensation like fresh tofu, she gradually relaxed.

"Lady Charlotte..."

"Mm?"

Aren’t you nervous?

After holding back the faint shyness within her nature for a while, Astrid adopted a demo closer to her former self from her past life when dealing with Charlotte.

She had already done "it" with Amalia. Being caught by an elder wasn’t a big deal.

That embarrassment paled in comparison to the intense guilt she felt when, at the peak of ecstasy, Amalia still called her "sister."

Hearing Astrid’s words, Charlotte fell silent for a moment, lifting a strand of black hair that had fallen down, asking gently.

"Am I?"

"Mm, it feels strange," Astrid added softly.

"It’s a bit awkward. You don’t seem like your usual self, Lady Charlotte."

It would be stranger if she weren’t awkward. Was there really someone who could hear such intimate secrets and remain completely unaffected?

"..."

Thinking that all of this stemmed from the day Astrid revealed her sexual orientation, Charlotte paused for several seconds before shifting the topic.

"Maybe it’s because I know Astrid is in love, so I feel a bit at a loss."

"There might also be some part of it because I learned that the one Astrid loves... is a girl."

Indeed, just speaking such topics could unconsciously bring embarrassment. Gazing at the beautiful face resting on the pillow, especially those bright red eyes that seemed to hold stars, Charlotte’s heartbeat quickened slightly.

Astrid smiled gently upon hearing this, speaking softly.

"I knew it. Even though Lady Charlotte expressed blessings toward my, Amalia’s, and Lyra’s feelings..."

"...deep down, there’s still a tiny bit of unease."

It wasn’t hard to understand. Astrid could also grasp Charlotte’s occasional inner conflict.

If it were her, and a junior relative she’d always been close to suddenly told her they were a lesbian and had feelings for a girl, Astrid probably wouldn’t have accepted it that quickly either.

Wait... didn’t she actually have such a lesbian junior?

Only that the person the girl liked to be herself, who had then tearfully threw herself at her.

Hearing Astrid say this, Charlotte relaxed a little. Her hesitant expression softened into her usual warmth, her clear, tea-colored eyes quietly watching Astrid.

"As long as Astrid understands, that’s enough."

"So... sometimes I feel nervous about certain physical gestures..."

In Charlotte’s view, this was exactly the reason for her discomfort.

Other than this, there was no further reason, nor would there ever be.

"But I still really like Little Astr. It’s not like I’m rejecting it."

She wasn’t opposed; she just hadn’t yet adapted to how to interact with a junior relative who had changed her sexual orientation. Should they continue being so intimate, or seek changes that wouldn’t hurt feelings?

Hearing this, Astrid curved her lips, gently sweeping a strand of black hair behind Charlotte’s collarbone, her breath warm and soft.

"Lady Charlotte, in some ways, you’re really adorable."

"We’re family. There’s no need for so many twists and turns or overthinking. Lady Charlotte is just not used to it yet."

"After spending more time together, it probably won’t feel this way anymore."

In Astrid’s eyes, as long as familial affection remains pure, even greater intimacy between her and Charlotte wouldn’t be harmless.

Not everyone has a special existence like Amalia. In her own words, "sister-pushing younger sister," the worst child in the world.

Moreover, Astrid now had Lyra and Amalia. Even if she had indeed briefly awakened her true sexual orientation due to her aunt’s affectionate gestures, because of this mature beauty, there would be no further deterioration or boundary-crossing in their relationship.

At least both she and Charlotte could be certain of that now.

After speaking, Astrid blinked her eyes and asked softly.

"By the way, Lady Charlotte..."

"Were you in your room the whole time?"