Two hours after the collapse of the barrier, in Charlotte's private estate, Astrid rested on the sofa, gazing at her fully healed arm.
She sighed inwardly, marveling at the magic of this world.
In her previous life, such a severe scratch would have taken at least ten days to heal completely.
Taking a sip of the healing tea handed to her by the attendant, she barely replenished so of the fluids lost due to her injury.
Crossing her legs, her eyes fell on Lyra and Elise, who were seated nearby.
Her expression softened slightly at the sight of them.
The two maids had been brought to the manor by Charlotte.
They were first examined by a healer to ensure their well-being, then given a chance to bathe and change into fresh maid uniforms before returning to the living room to attend to Astrid.
Coincidentally, the maids and bodyguards tasked with protecting Astrid had erged unscathed.
Yet, Astrid herself had sustained two injuries, one on her neck and one on her arm.
The only consolation was that the wounds were not deep and had been treated with advanced healing techniques, leaving them nearly healed.
Charlotte had returned to the scene to investigate the remnants of the enchantnt and interrogate Velrik Thalric, who had been stationed there.
Upon hearing of the incident, Lucas, the eldest prince, who had been lounging with so noble lady, hurried to Jones Farm to handle the aftermath.
Lucas was well aware that it was his half-sister, not him, who had befriended Charlotte.
Knowing that certain matters were better discussed without his involvent, he maintained a humble deanor during the exchange.
He expressed his deep disappointnt and dissatisfaction with Velrik in front of Charlotte, even offering to hold him accountable for his negligence.
This move was clearly an attempt to use Velrik as a scapegoat.
Charlotte, uninterested in engaging with the two-faced heir to the throne, dismissed Lucas after failing to extract any useful information.
She instructed him to take his people back for treatnt while she remained at the scene to search for clues about the barrier's formation.
The incident had far-reaching consequences, affecting not only the wealthy family that controlled Jones Farm but also the many poor farrs living nearby.
Even the empire's most favored princess, Astrid, would have to write a report to Emperor Hibbort to explain the situation.
Sensing that Charlotte would not return to the manor anyti soon, Astrid took her ti to recover.
She first regained so of her ntal strength through ditation, then began to ponder the reasons behind the danger she had faced that night.
First, she had overestimated Lucas's vigilance.
Astrid hadn't expected him to act so recklessly against the backtracking enchantnt.
Could it be that Lucas was so confident in her loyalty that he believed she wouldn't hand over the collected evidence to Emperor Hibbort?
Or was it possible that this incident wasn't orchestrated by him at all, but rather Velrik's own doing?
Thinking of the cold-faced Magnus, Astrid frowned.
Soone as conceited as Lucas would likely not tolerate his subordinates acting beyond his orders.
The truth of the matter still needed to be verified.
In any case, the core of the recording enchantnt was in her possession, and Lucas would eventually co to her to discuss the matter.
She could clarify things then. For now, this wasn't the most pressing issue.
What concerned Astrid more was another matter entirely.
Which of her actions had caused the plot, originally set to unfold years later, to arrive prematurely, nearly resulting in her and the protagonist's demise?
Lyra might possess the aura of a destined protagonist, but Astrid did not.
This was a matter of life and death, and it demanded careful investigation.
Astrid had originally thought that the dark spirits wreaking havoc was a result of Lucas's long-term sacrifices of living beings and his reckless ambitions.
However, it now seed that this wasn't entirely the case.
The original novel described countless dark spirits roaming the fields, slaughtering villages, with the core of their movent being a bright red monster nourished by countless resentful spirits beneath the land.
At this point, Lucas had not yet had the opportunity to carry out large-scale burials of living people.
The growth rate of the monster should not have been so rapid.
Moreover, the novel made no ntion of any enchantnt, and the location where Lyra and Charlotte stood was on solid ground, untainted by any falsehood.
Why, then, was the scene so eerily similar to Jones Farm?
And why had the monster, which was supposed to appear two years later, seemingly grown within the barrier?
Things were beginning to take a troubling turn, and even Astrid, who was familiar with the plot, felt a faint sense of dread.
If it hadn't been for her earlier efforts to build a rapport with Charlotte, she wouldn't have had the hairband that saved her.
Without the assistance of the mature and beautiful countess, she would likely have perished in the dungeon.
She was also grateful for the batch of potions Elowen had given her the previous night as a gesture of goodwill.
Without them, their escape would not have gone so smoothly.
Her tiny butterfly wings had only fluttered a few tis, yet they had already altered the course of so many events.
From now on, Astrid would have to rely less and less on her foreknowledge of the novel's plot.
She needed to focus on accumulating strength, whether through political connections or magical studies.
Both were essential and could not be neglected.
Plans to reach out to the Fourth Princess, Amalia, needed to be expedited, as did the perfu deal with the Velmont family.
A win-win partnership would be the first step toward gaining their support.
Halfway through her thoughts, Astrid heard crisp footsteps approaching.
Charlotte entered the room, her staff glowing faintly.
"Everyone, you may leave and rest for now. Your services won't be needed here for the ti being."
At Charlotte's command, all the servants departed, leaving only Astrid, Charlotte, and Astrid's two personal maids in the living room.
"Astrid," Charlotte said softly as she sat down beside the silver-haired girl, gently covering the back of her hand with her own.
"The exact casualties are still being investigated, but one thing is certain: elental vision probing has confird that soil rehabilitation on Jones Farm has been successful, allowing the land to be reactivated and replanted with crops."
This was good news for Prince Lucas, at least.
He wouldn't have to spend a fortune on livestock to restore the land.
Catching the faint scent of roses in the air, Astrid parted her pink lips slightly.
"Lady Charlotte, are you saying... the long-standing issue of barren land in the imperial capital has finally been resolved?"
Charlotte nodded, her voice clear and steady. "It seems so, at least for now. That strange state of the land has disappeared with the collapse of the enchantnt."
To prevent a recurrence, Charlotte had chosen not to dismantle the retrospective enchantnt that she deployed for recording.
Instead, she allowed it to continue functioning, recording everything that occurred on the land.
"By the way, Astrid," Charlotte added, reaching into her robe and retrieving a crystal stone. She handed it gently to Astrid.
"This is the recording of the scene before and after you entered the enchantnt. I've seen everything that happened along the way."
This ant that Charlotte had witnessed the entire process, from the formation of the dark fog to its spread.
Taking the crystal stone from Charlotte's hand, Astrid sent a wisp of ntal energy into it, activating the magic circle.
Soon, an illusory projection appeared before everyone.
Since Charlotte had initially set the magic range to cover the entire barren land when establishing the retrospective enchantnt, the area to be viewed was far too vast to fit within the confines of a living room.
To address this, Charlotte refined the projection's focus, locating Astrid and her party within the chaotic scene.
She then used her ntal energy to achieve a perspective-following effect, allowing the group to observe the events as they unfolded.
As the scene replayed before her eyes, Lyra's gaze grew slightly distant.
Her palms rested on her knees, her jade fingers gently rubbing the white silk over-the-knee socks she wore.
Though she had heard of how this magic worked, witnessing it firsthand filled her with a sense of awe.
Arcane magic... truly remarkable...
Unlike Lyra, the others present showed little emotional reaction.
Charlotte and Elise, being an Arcanist and a Master Knight respectively, had seen far more of the world than Lyra.
As for Astrid, she had experienced sothing akin to this in her previous life, 3D movies.
The three-dinsional projection from the crystal stone stirred a hint of nostalgia within her.
She wondered how her talkative sister was faring in reality, whether she had moved on from her grief and embraced a new chapter in life.
"Little Astrid, look here..."
Charlotte's gentle yet cool voice interrupted Astrid's thoughts.
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