Princess’s Struggle for Survival

For most students, holidays mean relaxation and entertainment, but as the esteemed third princess and founder of the Empire Weekly, Astrid still has a lot of work to do.

After spending a night together, Astrid bid farewell to Charlotte the next morning and returned to the Capital from the Countess' estate. After a brief rest, she hurried to the residence of the Finance Minister, Florence, to meet her little fan.

Lydia Rossa, the second daughter of the Finance Minister, initially, Astrid approached her just to win over Florence, making herself an important bridge between him and the Velmont family, thereby gaining more leverage.

Now, even without considering the girl's political influence, Lydia herself is a witty person skilled in writing, with many novel ideas.

Sometimes, however, the girl is too focused on appearances; a person's looks directly affects her attitude towards them, being slightly warmer to the good-looking and relatively cold to the ordinary. But in a way, this isn't a bad thing, at least not for Astrid.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lydia."

Looking at the porcelain teacup and the gold-engraved table patterns before her, Astrid smiled slightly, her black-gloved hand gently twirling the hairband on her head, and sat down opposite Lydia.

"You too, good afternoon, Princess Astrid."

Lydia gave a look to the maids, and soon, various pastries were served in order, instantly filling the delicate little gazebo with the aroma of tea.

"Busy with studies, it's been a long time since I had afternoon tea with Lydia."

Astrid sipped her black tea, her gaze resting on Lydia's snow-white, delicate cheeks, softly praising.

"How does Lydia seem even more beautiful? Is it the nourishing environment of the minister's residence?"

Hearing such praise from the most dazzling gem of the capital, Lydia felt a bit light-headed, her legs together, her cheeks smiling even more.

"Princess Astrid is too good at complimenting people..."

"Recently, I've been controlling my weight. Even though afternoon tea is less frequent, it's really hard to endure."

But to receive a compliment from the third princess, Lydia felt it was worth it.

Hearing this, Astrid whispered softly, "Lydia's figure is just right, no need to intentionally lose weight."

A healthy body brings excellent complexion; there's no point in tormenting excessively for the sake of beauty.

Weight loss should be done in moderation.

After casually chatting with Lydia for a while, feeling the atmosphere warm enough, Astrid brushed her hair and promptly brought up the main topic.

"Does Lydia have plans to publish her works in the Empire Weekly?"

As Astrid entered the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, the things requiring her attention significantly increased, naturally leaving less energy and time for novel creation.

Previously, when the Empire Weekly changed from a bi-weekly to a weekly, Astrid considered finding someone to fill the vacancy in the serialized novel section and subsequently issued a notice seeking contributors. After a large selection process, Lydia's romantic short story stood out.

"Yes, I have such thoughts," Lydia picked up her teacup, answering softly.

"The Weekly mentioned that those who pass the preliminary review have the opportunity to receive personal guidance from the author of 'The Overbearing Prince and His Runaway Bride's Peerless Pampering.'

It's no secret among the capital's nobility that Astrid Calliste is the founder of the Empire Weekly, but the identity of the author responsible for the serialized novels has rarely been known, naturally including Lydia.

"Indeed, there is such a provision," Astrid nodded, then added.

"Lydia's writing has great potential, with a bit of polishing, it can be serialized in the Weekly."

This was Astrid's main purpose for this trip, to lure Lydia into becoming the main writer, deepening their connection while helping her share the pressure of novel creation.

"Does Astrid really think so?"

Hearing this, Lydia's eyes brightened, her tone couldn't help but rise a bit.

"Can I really publish my own writings in the Empire Weekly?"

Not to mention anything else, just the fact that the talk of other noble ladies during their afternoon tea comes from her hand is enough to satisfy Lydia's vanity, not to mention she also has the chance to meet and receive careful guidance from the idol she has been longing for.

That's the author of 'The Overbearing Prince and His Runaway Bride's Peerless Pampering'... famous throughout the capital's socialite circles...

Feeling Lydia's excitement, Astrid calmly drank her tea, then softly spoke after a moment.

"Yes, it's quite rare, Lydia's level has reached the basic standard for novel serialization in the Empire Weekly."

"With time, you might become the most famous serial writer in Capital, even the entire Empire."

With compliments and a big promise, which young girl at this age could resist Astrid's such a smooth process, especially Lydia, who is a true believer in appearances, always trusting Astrid's words.

"Then... when will Astrid arrange for me to meet her?"

"Should I dress formally, or just like now?"

As Lydia spoke, she shook her arm, the white puff sleeve waved a cute arc in the light.

"This is fine."

Astrid looked up at Lydia, speaking softly.

"I am the author of that novel, I will seriously tell Lydia where it needs polishing or changes."

A simple sentence like a depth charge dropped into the sea, Lydia was hit directly, her pupils constantly dilating.

"Princess Astrid... is the author of The Overbearing Prince?!"

So the idol she has been longing for is the silver-haired princess sitting across from her having afternoon tea?

Isn't this a bit too magical...

Hearing this, Astrid nodded, picking up a silk handkerchief to gently wipe the corner of her mouth.

"It's me."

Often, Astrid actually doesn't want others, especially those she knows well, to know that she is the author of that novel.

Even if others don't think so, Astrid herself easily feels embarrassed.

After half a minute to digest this information, Lydia's gaze towards Astrid changed again.

"Why didn't Princess Astrid tell me earlier..."

It's just too outrageous!

"Because you never asked me," Astrid replied.

Hearing Astrid's somewhat joking remark to Lydia, Lyra, standing straight-legged beside them, blinked, her gaze lingering on the woman's slightly raised lips, the attractive curve of which carried a mischievousness she was all too familiar with.

'Is Princess Astrid teasing Miss Lydia…'

A subtle emotion suddenly surged in Lyra's mind, making her heart feel a bit sour.

'So Princess Astrid doesn't just bully me... she's the same with Miss Lydia...

Am I not the most special one…'

An indescribable sense of gloom filled her heart, Lyra lowered her head, looking at the surface of her little leather shoes, not knowing what to think.

'Could it be... that now even being bullied by Astrid makes me happy...

Am I doomed?'

On the other hand, after learning that Astrid was the author herself, Lydia immediately began to ask about the questions she cared most about, such as the specific settings of the novel's female lead, possible daily life stories after marriage, and some foreshadowing and details buried in the novel's serialization.

Facing such an enthusiastic fan, Astrid had to answer one by one, satisfying Lydia before continuing the previous topic.

"If you indeed have relevant intentions, you can prepare an outline first, I will read it carefully and give feedback to make it as appealing as possible to more readers."

Popularity and traffic are what Astrid values most, although the Empire Weekly already has a group of fixed users, no one would mind their core competitiveness being too strong.

"Yes, I understand," Lydia replied.

With double filters, Astrid's image in Lydia's heart has now reached an unprecedented level.

So beautiful, talented, and still an imperial princess, Princess Astrid is simply perfect.

'I really wonder what kind of person could be worthy of her in the future.'

After discussing some details about commercial manuscripts, Astrid first showed Lydia the contract prepared in advance by Elise, which mainly stated the author's submission dates and the required manuscript quality, waiting for the other party to confirm before discussing the next step of cooperation.

"Need to provide over eight thousand words of commercial manuscript weekly, and can apply for leave in case of emergencies..."

"...Do the best to keep updating until completion."

After reading the detailed information, Lydia slightly nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Princess Astrid, I can do it."

Earning manuscript fees is secondary for a noble lady like Lydia who doesn't worry about food and drink; what she values most is whether she can write stories that many people like.

"So..."

Astrid drank her tea, the cup clinking against the saucer as she put it down.

"Then let's wish us a happy cooperation in advance, Lydia."

Solving the manuscript supply issue also settled a worry for Astrid.

"Yes, I will work hard to write works that everyone likes!"

Lydia speaks with great enthusiasm.

.........

Leaving the Finance Minister's residence, Astrid and Lyra got into the carriage, first returning to the palace for dinner, then went to the training tower of the Elizabeth Academy of Magic to start the daily mental power training.

Perhaps because of the agreement with Charlotte to explore the abyss together, Astrid's need for her own strength became increasingly urgent, and the time spent in the training room was also much longer than usual.

Thanks to the convenience of ancient spells, Astrid's mental power growth rate significantly increased. Not long after breaking through to the early stage of Sorcerer, she vaguely felt she touched the threshold of the middle stage.

Of course, part of the reason is also that her mental power reserve is too low, making promotion easier compared to others.

Unfortunately, Lyra and Amalia cannot use this method to increase their mental power, otherwise, their cultivation speed would also see a qualitative breakthrough.

After the practical assessment, Astrid tried to let Amalia experiment a few times, and the result was the same as Lyra's: Amalia also couldn't chant ancient spells, or could read them but wouldn't cause any elemental fluctuations.

It seems there's an inexplicable force affecting them, which can be seen from Astrid later asking Lyra about the ancient spell she taught her that night.

The female protagonist with MAX learning ability forgot the meaning of those few sentences in just a few days, which definitely seems problematic.

Thinking about it, it's really not easy for Evelyn to translate and remember the basic elements.

Closing her eyes and leaning back in the seat, feeling the fatigue in her mind from long-time spell chanting, Astrid silently waited for her mental power to recover while contemplating the next steps.

Lydia's side should be fine, the key lies in Florence's attitude; If the Finance Minister loosens up, the cooperation can naturally continue.

When she has free time, she will have more time to investigate the information about the black-haired girl, and perhaps the dean's journey to the Monster Mountains can also bring her some good harvests.

In the other training room, Lyra, who had just used a light waterfall, felt a faint hum from the holy sword, and a mysterious feeling appeared in her heart.

The last time she felt this way was during the practical assessment, where she used the light waterfall to repel the thick darkness.

Calmly feeling, Lyra swung the light sword, the free light elements condensed into a few illusory armors around the girl, vaguely similar to the light holy armor from the original work.

The mental power dismissed and attached to the light element particles, Lyra watched as the shoulder guards on her shoulders gradually solidified, and couldn't help but feel excited.

This is... light armor...

In her vision, the light emitted by the light waterfall became the perfect filler for the armor, millions of light elements surged around Lyra, the waves even drove away some wind element particles, causing the girl's pink hair hanging behind her to sway gently.

.........

Time passed by, when Astrid opened her eyes again, it was already past nine in the evening. Feeling the alert from the door's barrier, the woman went forward to twist the handle, pushing the door open to see Lyra standing outside.

Before the pink-haired girl could speak, Astrid spoke first.

"How's the practice going?"

Hearing this, Lyra blinked a few times, answering softly.

"Feeling okay, still the usual speed."

Keeping a calm mind and working bit by bit, haste makes waste.

"By the way, Astrid."

Thinking of her earlier experiment, the defensive armor created using light elements, Lyra pursed her lips and said.

"I want to show you something."