The next morning, when Astrid woke up, she found that Charlotte was no longer there.
When she looked up, the woman was sitting at the dresser in a long gray dress, preparing for the day's lectures, and was tending to her hair.
"Little Astr is awake?" Charlotte glanced into the mirror, her lips parting lightly.
Astrid humd in a low voice, stepped into the slippers next to the bed, and got up.
She noticed the freshly lit sky outside the window and asked gently, "What ti is it, Lady Charlotte?"
Charlotte replied, "Five forty. If you're still sleepy, you can sleep a little longer."
Astrid had barely fallen asleep until the latter half of the night, and given her usual habits, this amount of sleep was far from enough.
"It's okay, I'll wake up after washing my face,"
Charlotte glanced at Astrid in surprise, murmuring to herself that she had indeed changed a lot over the years.
Not only did she not laze in bed, but she also didn't seem to need much sleep.
After a quick wash and tidying up her silver hair, which had just gotten out of bed, Astrid asked Charlotte if there were any clothes for her to wear outside.
"I magically cleaned all of your clothes yesterday and put them there."
Astrid saw the neatly folded shirt and dress on the cabinet, along with two thin, translucent black stockings.
She silently gathered them in her arms and went into the bathroom to change.
Charlotte sneered at this, the corners of her lips curling gracefully.
"She's grown up and has beco shy, not daring to change in front of her aunt anymore."
After a while, Astrid erged from the bathroom.
"Let's go to breakfast, and then we'll head back to the imperial capital," Charlotte said, standing up and taking Astrid's hand to lead her toward the dining room.
When the two arrived, Lyra and Elise had already finished breakfast.
Seeing Astrid's hand being held by Charlotte again, Lyra was montarily stunned but managed to remain composed, standing quietly in the corner without showing any outward reaction.
"Good morning, Elise," Charlotte greeted first, then turned to the pink-haired maid standing nearby and spoke softly. "This is Miss Lyra, correct?"
Caught by Charlotte's light brown eyes, which were tinged with a bright smile, Lyra nodded and responded politely, "Lyra Beckett... Good morning, Countess Charlotte."
Looking at Lyra, who appeared sweet, well-behaved, and sensible, Charlotte glanced at Astrid, whose expression remained cold and indifferent.
Astrid's gaze held no warmth or joy, exuding the aloof aura of a highborn aristocrat at all tis.
Astrid was now the most favored princess of the Valeria Empire.
While she had co to terms with her mistakes, it didn't an she was willing to lower herself to apologize to Lyra.
It was the pride of the Valeria royal family—or, as Charlotte would put it, their "stubborn stink."
However, it was already a significant step for Astrid to acknowledge her faults and seek to correct them.
Charlotte saw no need to push her further in this regard.
After a brief exchange with Lyra, inquiring about her dining experience and sleep quality from the previous night, Charlotte nodded with a smile, telling her she was welco to visit again if the opportunity arose.
Following a hearty breakfast, the group, guided by the servants, boarded the carriages.
Charlotte, feeling slightly dizzy from the journey the night before, had prepared two slightly larger carriages to ensure comfort.
The four of them split into two carriages: Astrid and Charlotte in one, and Lyra and Elise in the other.
The group then set off quickly toward the imperial capital.
"Lyra,"
In the carriage, Elise glanced at the pink-haired maid leaning against the window with a distant gaze and took the initiative to speak.
"Would you like to learn court dance?"
Hearing Elise's sudden question, a hint of surprise flashed across Lyra's cheeks.
Her legs tightened, and her hands rested gently on her knees.
"Why do you ask this?"
"Before you went to bed last night, your palms were subtly mimicking the movents of a court dance."
The gesture had been brief, likely less than half a minute, but Elise, in her ditative state, had noticed it.
"If you'd like to learn, you can request permission from Princess Astrid. If she agrees, we can add an extra dance class every morning."
Lyra was montarily confused.
Yesterday, she had rely raised her hands a few tis, gazing through her fingers at the moonlight outside the window and the ceiling above her head, thinking of her parents working hard in her hotown.
Had it been an unconscious movent?
Recalling Astrid's repeated reminders not to be greedy or overambitious, Lyra hesitated for a mont before shaking her head.
"I just thought the dance Her Highness perford was very beautiful. I don't particularly want to learn it..."
Even if she had asked, Astrid would likely have told her to focus on cooking and practice, just as she had refused to let her learn potion refining the first ti.
A qualified maid only needed to serve and protect her master.
She didn't need all those extra embellishnts.
Seeing that Lyra showed no real interest, Elise didn't press further.
She clasped her hands together on her knees, her legs neatly aligned, and re-entered her ditative state.
---
On the other side of the carriage, Charlotte and Astrid were engaged in a quiet conversation.
"Little Astr, have you uncovered the culprit behind your seafood allergy incident?" Charlotte asked.
Astrid feigned a frown and whispered, "Not yet."
"Is Lady Charlotte concerned about this too?"
Charlotte nodded, her voice soft. "Yes. I know soone in the maid team, and I asked her to help investigate, but there are no leads at the mont."
The clues were scarce, and the motive behind the attack was baffling.
Who would target an arrogant princess who, despite being favored by His Majesty, held no real power or political influence?
Astrid didn't elaborate. Instead, she curled her lips and said softly, "Lady Charlotte, you should have ntioned it earlier. I was so angry that I dismissed them all."
She hadn't expected the small maid team to be such a den of intrigue.
Aside from Lucas's people, Charlotte had also planted her own informants, and there was likely a share of influence from the second prince, Alistair, who was often away.
On second thought, it was no wonder Charlotte had managed to remain neutral in such an environnt.
She simply preferred not to take sides, but that didn't an she lacked political acun.
"It doesn't matter. The Elizabeth Academy of Magic isn't far from the palace. Little Astr, you can co to anyti if you encounter any difficulties."
As soon as she finished speaking, Charlotte seed to rember sothing and turned to Astrid with a serious expression.
"Little Astr, do you often associate with Prince Lucas these days?"
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