Amalia secretly breathed a sigh of relief and handed the gem to Livia.
"Of course."
To servants, these jewels adorning luxurious clothing were indeed expensive, but for a royal like Livia, born into nobility and free from worries about food, clothing, or other expenses, her standards were naturally higher.
Amalia had been most concerned that Livia would look down on the bargaining chip she offered.
Since the other party expressed a desire to examine the gem closely, it ant her offering was at least acceptable at first glance.
Livia took the gem and inspected it carefully, though her true focus was on silently pondering its significance.
The gem was completely transparent, free of any impurities. It felt cool and smooth in her palm, a pleasant sensation.
But Livia couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen this gem sowhere before...
After searching her mory thoroughly, she couldn't pinpoint the source of this familiarity.
Livia raised her head, returned the white gem to Amalia, and parted her pink lips slightly.
"The gem is of excellent quality and well-preserved..."
"What books does Miss Amalia wish to exchange it for?"
In fact, even if Amalia had asked to borrow the books or requested them directly, Livia would not have refused.
However, since Amalia had proposed a trade, Livia decided to go along with it.
Livia knew that showing too much enthusiasm might make Amalia suspicious.
The more she refused to engage in a transaction with a girl of such peculiar temperant and instead offered help as a gift, the more Amalia might suspect her of having ulterior motives, potentially leading to less communication between them.
Seeing that Livia seed to appreciate the gem, Amalia blinked and asked softly, "May I see what books are available?"
Livia nodded, her eyes softening even further.
"Of course."
The books she had brought recently were mostly popular general knowledge books to help readers understand the world, along with so miscellaneous stories to pass the ti. Only a small portion of them were related to magic.
With Livia's permission, Amalia turned and walked to the bookshelf, her gaze intently scanning the titles as she browsed through them one by one.
"Geography of the Valeria Empire," "Common Spices," "Afternoon Tea and Daily als"...
"Feel free to take whatever you like," Livia said, standing behind Amalia with her arms crossed, speaking at just the right mont.
As soon as Livia finished speaking, Amalia's eyes settled on a book about the history of the Valeria Empire.
Her blue eyes narrowed slightly, and her gaze lingered for a long ti.
The book was placed on the top shelf, near the corner. Due to her petite stature, Amalia was at least half a head shorter than Livia, standing at less than 1.55 ters tall.
She could only reach the book by standing on her tiptoes.
The next mont, Amalia's smooth calves, hidden beneath her nightgown, tensed as she stretched.
High shelves were indeed the natural enemy of every person with short height.
Seeing this, Livia stepped forward with a gentle smile, retrieving all the books Amalia might want and placing them on the counter for her to choose from.
As a smooth arm entered her field of vision, Amalia caught sight of Livia's long, sunlit blonde hair.
The elegant princess dress did little to conceal the woman's curvaceous figure, revealing her slender collarbone and a glimpse of her fair, softly rising chest.
"Which one would you like? Or perhaps all of them?"
Looking at the thick stack of books on the table, Amalia relaxed her tiptoes, bit her pink lips, and felt a pang of frustration.
Why did she need Livia's help even to get a book?
"Thank you, one book will be enough," Amalia replied calmly.
She picked out the book on imperial history that she wanted from the pile, then turned to face Livia.
"Ms. Livia, how many books like this can I get in exchange for this gem?"
Judging by market value alone, Amalia's piece of gem was more than enough to trade for an entire bookshelf, let alone a few books.
"These books are borrowed from the Royal Library of Valeria. Strictly speaking, they don't belong to , so I can't transfer ownership of them to you, Miss Amalia."
She paused briefly before continuing, "If you're willing, you can use this gem to exchange for the right to read these books. Each book can be kept for a maximum of seven days."
"As compensation for not being able to own them, you may borrow up to 20 books from every month. The loan period is temporarily set at two years. During this ti, I will regularly add new books."
Livia's proposal essentially shifted the transaction from a purchase to a lease.
From Amalia's perspective, this arrangent was far more suitable for her needs, and the cost was remarkably low.
After hearing Livia's words, Amalia slightly opened her mouth, and her blue eyes lit up unconsciously.
This blonde girl, who had lived in the castle for a long ti, spent her days either drawing or reading at the table.
If there were no limit on the number of books, her reading speed would certainly not be slow.
It was estimated that Amalia would take at most a day and a half to carefully read a whole book from beginning to end.
Livia ntioned that she could borrow twenty books a month, which was more than enough for her.
Moreover, compared to exchanging gems for a few books at a ti, this thod of borrowing books was clearly better and more sustainable.
Seeing that Amalia had been staring at her in a daze and hadn't spoken for a while, Livia curled the corners of her lips and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Could it be that... Miss Amalia is unwilling to accept this deal?"
How could she not be willing? Thinking that she would have almost endless books to read in the future, the girl's usually cold face brightened up noticeably.
However, rembering Livia's presence, she quickly restrained herself and answered in a low voice.
"No, I do."
Her tone was slightly more urgent than usual, enough to reveal that Amalia was not entirely calm inside.
Livia smiled softly, her pink lips parting slightly.
"That's fine. I don't engage in forced transactions."
As soon as the woman's voice fell, Astrid suddenly recalled how she had once forced Lyra to beco her maid.
She thought to herself that it was only because the other party wasn't present at the mont; otherwise, it would be hard for her not to feel resentful.
"Take a few more books back at a ti. As long as the books are in the bookcase, I can lend them out."
Amalia nodded and responded quietly, "...Yeah."
Being able to reach a deal with Livia was already a pleasant surprise, not to ntion that the conditions offered by the forr were far more generous than those of the black-hearted maid.
Even though Amalia harbored an undeniable prejudice against the people of the Valeria family, she couldn't help but re-examine the noble and elegant blonde woman in front of her.
She had helped her, there was no denying that.
Noticing that Amalia seed to have let go of her initial psychological pressure and her movents were no longer as cautious as when she first arrived, Livia softened her expression.
Gently supporting her arm with one hand, she looked at the girl with a faint smile.
With more books available for borrowing, Amalia naturally made her selections much faster.
She didn't need to overthink which book she wanted to read the most.
She simply took down any book that seed interesting or potentially helpful and placed it on the counter.
Soon, five or six books were stacked there.
Livia noticed that the books Amalia had chosen were mostly educational books, covering topics like history, geography, and painting.
Only one of them was a storybook, the kind that children her age typically enjoyed the most.
"Miss Amalia, do you want to learn to paint?"
Seeing a book titled 'A Brief History of Art of the Valeria Empire' and another called 'Mastery of Oil Painting' stacked together, Livia asked Amalia with so curiosity.
She read these to better understand the overall worldview of the novel's setting.
If she weren't an insider, she wouldn't have been interested in such dry, professional books, especially when they were placed alongside several novels and storybooks.
Amalia was silent for a mont after hearing this, then nodded slightly.
"Yeah, I want to learn."
Although she felt that her current paintings were decent, they were the result of her own exploration.
She had never undergone any systematic training or compared her work to that of master artists.
Even though she recognized her shortcomings, she didn't know how to improve them.
Amalia had always wanted a book related to painting.
She hadn't taken one earlier because she subconsciously assud Livia might be unwilling to part with such a specialized item.
Art books were different from novels and storybooks.
The latter were often widely circulated, but the forr, like magic, were typically monopolized by the wealthy or nobility, making them inaccessible to ordinary people.
After all, the maid was just a servant and didn't have the ans to help Amalia acquire painting books.
Hearing the blonde girl's answer, Livia nodded thoughtfully, her voice calm.
"Would you show your paintings soday?"
Perhaps this could be a good way to deepen her relationship with Amalia.
As soon as these words were spoken, the air seed to pause for a few seconds. Amalia raised her eyes and looked at Livia beside her.
In the other's gaze, she saw the reflection of a slender figure in a white dress.
"..."
"If you really want to see them, you can."
Amalia held the book, her cherry-pink lips moving slightly.
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