Free Web NovelChapter 615: Restrain yourself
If Astrid hadn’t brought it up, perhaps Charlotte could’ve tried numbing herself, completely forgot what had happened over an hour ago, she hadn’t left her room, hadn’t walked down the corridor, hadn’t leaned her hand against the door, and certainly hadn’t heard the sound of blooming flowers from the other side of that single door.
Even if she couldn’t forget, at least it wouldn’t constantly circle her mind like it did while bathing, the delicate, alluring voice, completely different from the usual dignified Regent Astrid.
"Were you in your room the whole time?" The silver-haired girl beside her pillow asked.
That simple sentence instantly pulled Charlotte back to the long hallway filled with incense scent. Before she stood the ornate wooden door, its corners adorned with metal decorations, and on the other side of that door, separated by mere meters in space, were Astrid and Amalia.
At that moment, the door gently trembled, something clearly pressing against it from inside. And accompanying the vibration of the door panel was Astrid’s soft, cat-like panting.
If Charlotte wasn’t mistaken, that instant was exactly when the golden-haired, blue-eyed white-stockinged Empress pinned Astrid against the door. What collided with the door was exactly the smooth, flawless, proudly arched back she now lightly touched with her palm.
With that, the subsequent sounds became easily interpretable: Amalia’s knees, wrapped in soft cream-colored patterned silk stockings, freely thrusting forward; or her small, delicate yet steady white hands, capable of firmly gripping both the imperial scepter and the empire’s pride; or her smooth, fragrant shoulders decorated with white lace, perfect for placing fine black jade or tempting dark chocolate.
All was rewritten within the Arcanist mage’s imagination, far surpassing ordinary limits, to the point that Charlotte herself began spreading warm feelings through her body. Her lowered tea-colored eyes darted away, afraid to look directly at the Astrid beside her pillow.
The empire’s most dazzling gem, perfect in appearance, figure, and grace, having been her long-time bed companion, Charlotte knew well just how flexible this silver-haired, crimson-eyed enchantress truly was. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
That scenario... wasn’t impossible at all.
To be precise, it was highly probable. After all, they’d already moved beyond traditional settings. How much more extreme could this get?
An Empress and her favored consort, no amount of excess would be too much.
"..."
Seeing Charlotte remain silent for a long time, Astrid didn’t grow impatient. Instead, she gently played with her fragrant dark hair dangling at her waist, waiting patiently.
If earlier Astrid still harbored slight doubts, wondering whether she and Amalia being discovered by Charlotte might’ve been her own misjudgment, the other woman’s current silence had already explained everything.
Charlotte had definitely been there. Astrid just didn’t know exactly how long she had listened, or when she had arrived.
And also... Luckily, she hadn’t accidentally pushed open the door handle and collapsed into the corridor...
Compared to appearing before her aunt in disheveled clothes, with even her stockings torn, that scene would’ve been far more embarrassing, something close to social death.
Astrid silently pondered, while the respondents Charlotte’s heart similarly twisted and turned, unable to calm down.
Should she say something vague to brush it off? Or flat-out deny it?
Ultimately, whether as the involved party Astrid or the eavesdropper herself, both will find the situation awkward.
Her mouth slightly dry, her accelerated heartbeat and slightly turned body causing her ample curves to sway gently beneath her nightgown, Charlotte opened her lips and softly replied.
"Not exactly staying in the bedroom the whole time."
Immediately after the words left her mouth, even Charlotte’s pupils were slightly constricted. Under the covers, her smooth, tender long legs rubbed lightly against each other.
Why had she said that?
Perhaps because she always tried to remain honest with Astrid, or due to some other unclear psychological reason, Charlotte didn’t deny having left.
And once those words were spoken, there was no turning back.
Just like that time she’d drunk too much, Charlotte’s cheeks flushed with heat. She thought to herself that after all these years of being single, the few times she’d ever felt shy had all wondered because of Astrid. She continued speaking.
"There were many points from this afternoon worth pondering. I thought maybe I should talk with Astrid again, perhaps we’d discover something new."
"So after my bath, I intended to go to Astrid’s room... for a brief discussion..."
"If you were busy, I’d just leave it."
And then came the opening thunderclap, an incredibly dreamlike O. Henry-style ending.
Both unexpected and logical.
Hearing this, Astrid blinked, her long lashes catching moonlight, making the crimson eyes beneath even more vivid, gradually gaining an extra layer of allure.
"So, how did you end up giving up on that idea, Lady Charlotte?"
The gentle female voice entered Charlotte’s ears, adding even more heat to her already rising temperature.
Astrid... did she have some special fetish?
Did she really want to hear Charlotte say out loud exactly what she’d discovered?
Charlotte tidied her hair, using her snow-white wrist to half-cover her face. After a brief pause, her pink lips parted slightly.
"I just thought it was late... that asking tomorrow would be fine too..."
As the words faded, Charlotte suddenly realized something, her delicate eyelashes trembling slightly.
She had cast a soundproofing barrier for Astrid and Amalia. If Astrid was perceptive, she might’ve already noticed some clues, which was probably why she was asking this now.
And... Why was she so nervous?
As Astrid’s elder, facing her own adopted daughter, even knowing such matters shouldn’t make her act so unnaturally. At most, she should only feel slightly awkward when it came to related education, but considering she herself had never experienced any intimate life, she probably wasn’t in a position to say much either.
Lovers being delighted with each other, some private bedroom matters were only natural.
What was wrong with her?
Trying to readjust her identity, viewing the matter purely as an elder, Charlotte gently exhaled, gradually feeling her heartbeat inside her chest returning to calm.
Once emotionally stabilized, the woman spoke softly.
"Astrid..."
"Yes, Lady Charlotte?" freёweɓnovel.com
Charlotte fluttered her eyelashes a few times, her voice gentle.
"Stay in moderation."
Pleasure was good, but excessive pursuit could exhaust both mind and body.
Even ordinary people with one partner can overindulge to the point of harming their health. Astrid, having both the Holy Light Knight and the Empress, needed to be even more cautious in this regard.
Hearing Charlotte’s words, Astrid nodded slightly, speaking softly.
"I know about such matters."
Same as what she’d told Amalia. It was strange, really, both her partners thoroughly enjoyed scheming with her, to the point Astrid once wondered if they were addicted.
But considering how one craves what one deeply enjoys, and given they were in their prime, enjoying physical activities wasn’t surprising.
"And besides... most of the time, the ones who should really be thinking about restraint are Lyra and Amalia..."
"..."
After spending over ten seconds processing Astrid’s statement, Charlotte lightly coughed, her tea-colored eyes shimmering with ripples.
What kind of wild, untamed words were these?
Why did she have to state such bedroom matters so accurately to an elder like her?
Charlotte might lack experience, but as an adult, she possesses basic understanding of romantic matters. Plus, in the past, the Valeria Empire’s noble circles had seen no shortage of same-sex gossip. She roughly understood how two girls could embrace the grand harmony of life.
Fingers, tongues... even direct contact...
So was her little Astrid actually the dominant one in bed?
Looking behind her to confirm Astrid wasn’t pressing down her hair, Charlotte straightened her back, picked up the teacup on the nightstand, and took a small sip, alleviating the strange dryness in her mouth.
"In any case, as long as you remember."
But if she was truly that capable, why had she heard Astrid’s voice the most tonight, rather than Amalia’s? The latter had simply kept calling "sister" in a tender voice, still using the old title even as lovers. Could it possibly be some strange roleplay?
"There’s one more thing..." Charlotte steadied her mind and continued.
"...Next time, no matter what, make sure to activate the soundproofing barrier."
Even if not doing so felt better, even if it was within her own private chambers, disturbing others must be avoided.
Hearing this, Astrid nodded, replying gently.
"Mm."
She really had just forgotten today, not because of any strange fetish.
Hearing Astrid obediently say "Mm," Charlotte fell silent. After half a minute, she finally spoke again.
"And remember to lock the door too..."
After showering again, out of curiosity, Charlotte, whose body heat had just subsided, opened her own door for a glance. She noticed only that the door handle connecting the Regent’s private bedroom and the inner chamber had tilted slightly downward, accompanied by faint trembling.
As if someone inside had gripped it tightly, unwilling to let go, yet subconsciously fidgeting with the handle due to continuous body tremors.
"..."
"I will."
Accidentally brushing against Charlotte’s leg, Astrid responded softly, feeling the smooth skin. Her delicate face, still faintly flushed, looked even more refined under the light, the perfect fusion of languidness and allure reflected in her blood-red eyes.
What a ridiculous coincidence, she and Amalia rarely fought all the way to the doorway, rarely forgot to lock the door, and got caught by Charlotte, resulting in this round of stern admonishments.
There was indeed nothing more to say. After a brief silence, Charlotte shifted the conversation to the afternoon’s matter, the very topic she’d originally intended to discuss with Astrid.
Seeing her aunt deliberately moving past that little incident, Astrid had no intention of bringing it up again. Instead, she cooperated in discussing historical texts concerning ancient humans, even handing over to Charlotte the magical device she’d discovered within her ring.
It was a grappling hook gun filled with internal gears, lacking springs. Instead, at the muzzle sat a wind-element crystal, the whole mechanism fired via air pressure.
Due to its age, the barrel was severely rusted, and all wind-element particles within the crystal had escaped. Astrid couldn’t use it directly. Carefully examining the exterior, she spotted a type of text slightly different from those in ancient books.
A series of connected, somewhat weathered characters, structurally clearly distinct from ancient human language, obviously not of the same origin.
"Can you make anything out, Astrid?"
"It somewhat resembles the prototype of modern goblin language."
A slender white fingertip rested on the muzzle, smooth and delicate. Charlotte stared at where Astrid’s finger lay, her voice low.
"Goblin language?"
"Mm. I took advanced linguistics as an elective before. I’ve studied elvish, goblin, and dragon languages. This structure strongly resembles goblin script."
Just as Astrid had speculated the texts in those books were ancient human language, this writing indeed bore certain similarities to modern tongues.
"Combined with the historical records about goblins in the texts, this was likely a magical artifact created by intelligent goblins of that era." Astrid spoke softly.
Legend had it that in ancient times, goblins possessed their own mechanical fortresses. Using gears, metal, levers, and magic crystals, they created a highly advanced empire. Then the world-ending disaster came, destroying all research overnight. Their descendants could only huddle in mountains or underground, barely surviving.
"How certain are you, Astrid?"
"About sixty to seventy percent. I’ll need to consult Professor Evelyn. She’s a leading expert in linguistics, frequently deals with such matters, and definitely understands goblin language better than I do."
"We might need to ask her to help analyze those ancient human texts we recovered."
If they contain useful information, it might better assist Astrid in understanding this world.
"But regardless of that, at least one thing is certain..."
"The development of magical machinery in ancient civilizations seems no worse than modern times."
Astrid lay sideways on the bed, gazing at the rust-covered grappling hook gun. Charlotte’s mental energy clung to it, preventing rust from falling onto the bedding. The intricate mechanical structure revealed itself from the broken cross-section, seeming to convey the splendor of the past.
"It’s just a pity... they ultimately couldn’t withstand the world-ending disaster...."
Staring at an ancient artifact that modern craftsmen would struggle to quickly replicate, Charlotte’s voice grew low.
"I’ll have the artisans study it carefully, see if they can create something similar."
"As for the muzzle’s air pressure mechanism and the magic crystal’s operational array, leave that to me."
Throughout the entire empire, no one had more experience with magical machinery than Charlotte. In terms of theoretical knowledge, a mid-tier Arcanist mage was already the pinnacle among all researchers.
Indeed, she was the most suitable.
Hearing this, Astrid nodded, encouraging Charlotte’s thoughts. They continued conversing for a long while, discussing everything from arcane factor activation of spatial arrays to their next research direction, including specific material requirements and potential application scenarios.
Unknowingly, the night deepened. The bell from Elizabeth Academy of Magic reached the imperial palace, reminding everyone it was time to sleep.
Feeling it was about time to rest, Charlotte appropriately concluded the topic. Remembering Astrid’s initial mention of giving the ancient human books to Evelyn for analysis, she casually added one last reminder.
"Although Evelyn and I get along fairly well, as an elder, I must say... she sometimes lacks discretion and can’t gauge interpersonal boundaries properly..."
"When you interact with her, Little Astr... please keep an eye on her..."
