Thinking about it carefully, Astrid was the one who always accompanied Lucas during their outings, yet she was also the one who secretly warned Lyra to stay away from the eldest prince.
These two actions were contradictory and, no matter how one looked at it, confusing.
Astrid's pink lips curved slightly as she chanted a primary magic silence spell, isolating all conversation within the carriage without a trace of leakage.
After doing this, Astrid raised her eyebrows and gave Lyra a definitive answer: "No."
"Miss Lyra, have you forgotten the contract we signed initially?"
The contract Astrid referred to was the master-servant pact she had signed with Lyra that day.
It included clauses prohibiting the latter from eting with the Earl Velmont privately, requiring her to stay with Astrid at all tis without special orders, and stipulating that she could not leave until after a year of service.
Hearing this, Lyra nodded and said softly, "I rember."
The restrictions given by Astrid are not excessive, except for the one prohibiting etings with the Earl Velmont.
Everything else is essentially what a personal maid should do.
"Why are you still asking this question if you rember?"
Astrid straightened her legs, her slender heels making a crisp sound against the carriage floor.
"The next ti you sign sothing, don't just focus on the responsibilities you need to bear. I never said that the contract is only unilateral."
Lyra is not allowed to terminate the master-servant relationship without permission for one year, and the sa applies to Astrid.
As long as Lyra is unwilling, Astrid, too, cannot dismiss her casually without the other party making any mistakes.
"Don't doubt the promise of the Valeria royal family. Since Miss Lyra has beco my personal maid, I will also be responsible for you, provide due remuneration and protection, and will not hand you over to anyone else."
A seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl left her hotown and ca to the unfamiliar imperial capital, urgently needing enough love and a sense of security that could be reaffird repeatedly, sothing Astrid had overlooked.
She had been too preoccupied with exploring the world and refining her plans, never imagining that Lyra would feel like she was walking on thin ice under her own temperantal and seemingly harsh princess.
Thinking of this, Astrid's icy exterior softened slightly.
Though her tone remained even, it carried a gentler note than before.
"Do your job, never betray , and don't overthink anything else."
After listening to Astrid's cold yet sowhat comforting words, Lyra's eyes brightened.
Her white toes, wrapped in white silk, curled gently inward, and her heart filled with a strange, unfamiliar emotion.
But it wasn't a bad feeling at all... It was warm and fulfilling...
"That's... Your Highness Astrid..."
The girl licked her slightly dry cherry lips with her pink tongue, a nervous habit.
"Your relationship with Prince Lucas... Is it good..."
In the past, Astrid would certainly not have answered such a question, one that clearly shouldn't have co from a maid's mouth.
But now, seeing Lyra's timid and desperate need for reassurance, she brushed her hair back from her shoulders and replied in her usual cool tone.
"My relationship with him is complicated. It can be said to be both good and bad..."
"I don't like his character, but he is my nominal Imperial brother, and he does take good care of ."
Relatives with opposing personalities are common in real life.
Due to various factors, even if there's dislike, most people find it difficult to sever ties completely.
Hearing this, Lyra roughly understood what Astrid ant, and her heart leapt with a sudden excitent.
She's really not that kind of person...
"I see... Thank you, Your Highness Astrid!"
Looking at Lyra, who had suddenly brightened, Astrid chuckled inwardly but remained silent outwardly, lifting her gaze to the head maid sitting opposite.
"Lucas and I won't be together the entire way," Astrid said.
If she said that, Elise would understand her.
At half past four in the afternoon, the group of three arrived at the Elizabeth Academy of Magic in the center of the imperial capital.
Astrid stepped out of the carriage, showed the doorman the passage permit, and then led Lyra and Elise through the main entrance.
Generally speaking, Astrid does not need a permit to enter the Elizabeth Academy of Magic.
With her beautiful face, coupled with the imperial princess's iconic silver hair and red eyes, it is enough for the doorman to let her pass without question.
However, the current Astrid is not the one from the original story, and it just so happens that Charlotte also gave her a spare card for normal access.
According to the rules, it's better to have more than less.
The group walked through the decorative door with magical fluctuations, their small leather shoes clattering rhythmically on the floor tiles.
Lyra glanced at the stone steps and the shade of the trees around her, her eyes slightly distracted.
This was the academy she had dread of, a place that could change her fate.
As the most prestigious aristocratic academy in the entire empire, the Elizabeth Academy of Magic stands at the top in terms of both environnt and teaching quality.
Even from the outside, one could sense the quiet yet strong academic atmosphere.
Following Astrid across an arched bridge over the pond, several dieval-style buildings of moderate height ca into view.
The structures, with white walls and dark red clay bricks, were connected by sky corridors on both sides, adorned with tal openwork carvings of honeysuckle, the national flower of the empire.
The second building from the left was the office building Charlotte usually used.
Astrid put away her parasol, followed the route from mory to find Charlotte's office, and lightly knocked on the wooden door.
Knock...
The brief knock faded, but no one ca to answer.
Astrid knocked a few more tis to confirm that Charlotte wasn't there and then went to the office next door.
"Charlotte has a class in the afternoon, and it should be now..." Elowen, the Alchemy professor, glancing at her schedule.
After a mont of thought, she added, "...Room 402, Building 3."
Seeing Astrid thank her and turn to leave, Elowen, the Alchemy professor, continued, "There are five minutes left before class ends. Charlotte should be back soon. Her Highness Astrid might as well wait here for a while."
Hearing the short-haired woman address her directly, Astrid wasn't surprised.
She nodded, sat on the office chair nearby, and softly thanked her again.
Elowen had heard Charlotte praise Astrid extensively earlier that morning.
She had initially thought her best friend was exaggerating, perhaps viewing Astrid through an overly favorable lens.
But now, seeing Astrid's politeness, her composed deanor, and her lack of complaints,
Elowen's opinion of the princess began to shift.
Could it be that the notoriously delicate princess had truly changed?
Recalling how Charlotte had sprayed perfu that morning, claiming it was a gift from Astrid for her birthday, Elowen found the scent quite pleasant.
She was also curious about the process of creating such a potion, and now seed like a good opportunity to inquire.
"Your Highness Astrid, I heard you made a bottle of perfu for Charlotte?"
Astrid bowed her head slightly and replied softly, "Yes, that's correct."
Elowen's full na was Elowen Velmont, and she was also a mber of the Duke Velmont family. By blood, she was the aunt of Lina and Tristian Velmont.
Elowen didn't concern herself with the conflicts among the younger generation.
Her focus was solely on the alchemy she refined and the channels that could help her family accumulate wealth quickly.
Elowen had long observed that the perfus currently circulating among the aristocracy were monotonous, lacking novelty, and often led to awkward situations where multiple people emitted the sa scent.
Although she was skilled at refining potions, she didn't know much about flavor blending.
The perfus she crafted in her free ti were average, indistinguishable from other products on the market.
However, the bottle Astrid had concocted made her sense a glimr of business opportunity.
"That bottle of perfu has a strong sense of layering and a versatile scent. It's a rare and excellent product. I wonder if Princess Astrid learned it from soone else or figured it out little by little?"
Astrid hadn't expected Elowen to bring this up, but since Charlotte hadn't arrived yet, she didn't mind continuing the conversation.
"I usually don't have much to do in the palace, so I pass the ti by experinting with these essences,"
The silver-haired princess in the original novel did have this habit.
She loved all kinds of scents, which was why she maintained her own garden and had a drawer full of perfus.
Elowen nodded thoughtfully and quickly offered praise.
"Princess Astrid is very talented, far better than . I've tried countless tis and still haven't mastered the trick."
It seed that even the so-called "vase" in the eyes of the public had advantages that were difficult for ordinary people to achieve in certain areas.
Hearing that Elowen was studying perfu-making, Astrid, who had been a professional in this field in her previous life, felt a rare spark of interest.
Noticing the perfu bottle on Elowen's table, she slightly parted her cherry lips.
"Is this Professor Elowen's own perfu?"
Elowen humd in acknowledgnt and handed the pale blue bottle to Astrid.
"Your Highness Astrid can take a whiff."
She wanted to hear Astrid's thoughts.
Removing the cork, a faint aroma wafted into the air.
The girl brought the bottle close to her nose, sniffed lightly, and whispered after a mont.
"Inside is hibiscus... and a small amount of lavender..."
The scent of this bottle was sowhat muddled, clearly indicating that the concoctor hadn't controlled the proportions of the two essences well.
The fragrance was too light and lacked depth, likely because the aging process had been skipped.
Seeing that Astrid had imdiately identified the materials she had used, Elowen's eyes showed a hint of admiration, and she quickly set aside her earlier doubts.
"Then what do you think is lacking in my bottle of perfu?" Elowen asked.
Astrid raised her eyes slightly, her tone calm.
"The purity of the perfu isn't sufficient, and the scent is too faint. You'd probably need to use half the bottle at once for it to have a noticeable effect."
From Astrid's perspective in her previous life, a perfu of this quality wasn't even comparable to the five-dollar bargains sold at street stalls.
Elowen nodded in agreent.
She had also felt that she hadn't done well in this regard, perhaps using too little of the essences.
Just as she was about to ask Astrid for advice, the sound of crisp footsteps echoed in the corridor.
An ink-haired beauty with a striking figure and charming deanor passed by the office.
Her eyes imdiately landed on Astrid, who was seated in a black dress.
"Astrid, why are you here?" Charlotte asked, with curious tone.
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