Chapter 604: Wishing you happiness
Outside the laboratory, Lyra sat on a maintenance bench, her hands propping up her cheeks as she quietly gazed at the magic-energy-driven sword before her.
Besides the magic-energy musket designed to counter long-range magical bombardments, the city defense cannon, and plasma throw bombs, Charlotte had invented numerous close-combat weapons for soldiers to arm themselves with.
For example, the sword in front of her now, engraved with elemental crystals at the junction between hilt and blade, ensured that the user didn’t need to expend mental energy to manipulate elemental particles. The moment the blade touches an elemental barrier, the crystal behind it will automatically generate an enchantment of the corresponding elemental magic, helping the user break through the shield.
In a sense, this invention granted ordinary people who couldn’t manipulate mental energy the ability to harm mages, thereby significantly increasing the strategic value of non-mage military units, no longer mere cannon fodder unfit even for frontline duty, relegated only to logistical roles.
However, its problems were equally obvious. Extremely simple operation, extremely low usage difficulty, merely a light swing will activate it. Without soul verification, practically anyone could pick it up and swing it. Such magic-energy weapons, capable of threatening their own safety, would never be approved for mass production by the nobles of the Valeria Empire. Even if they did benefit military development, it would absolutely cross the line.
Before discussing overall benefits, they care more about whether their personal interests were harmed. Unregulated magic-energy weapons were unstable bombs, ready to detonate at any moment.
Thus, on top of this simple magic sword, Charlotte had added numerous restrictions, identity recognition features common to all magic-energy weapons, officer-level permissions, plus external crystal source repulsion arrays, burst switches activating mental energy to activate, and other restrictive measures.
Compared to the technical expertise involved in the sword itself, these deliberately designed safety measures were the real bulk of the effort, consuming much of Charlotte’s thoughts.
Then again, it made sense. Just like the mysterious wands of mages or the silk-magic longswords of knights, places with established design templates weren’t difficult, skilled artisans could simply forge them. The only thing Charlotte needed to do was replace the core activation element, the human user, with a preset crystal.
Of course, someone like Lyra, who possessed the [Sword of Light], didn’t need this low-tier magic-energy-driven sword at all. The faint glow emitted by the elemental crystal wasn’t even comparable to the light elemental particles stirred by a casual wave of her hand.
Her small black leather shoes lightly tapped together. Her two milk-white, smooth, silk-stockinged legs were bent and pressed together. Her elbows rested on her knees, leaving a faint indentation on her soft, creamy thighs beneath the pale pink skirt.
Astrid had been inside with Professor Charlotte for a while now. She wondered how their conversation was going.
Lyra lowered her head slightly, staring at the glossy tiles reflecting the side of her shoes. Her lips quietly tightened, and a hint of worry flickered in her sapphire-like pupils.
She had wanted to face things openly with Astrid, after all, no matter what, as the one being loved, she should stand by her side at a moment like this.
But after their discussion in the carriage, Astrid had still told her not to rush. Let her first figure out Professor Charlotte’s general stance, whether she can accept the fact that she was lesbian.
Then, they’d adjust their approach accordingly.
Her long, cherry-pink hair cascaded down to her waist. The soft cotton sleeves gently brushed her cheeks. At this moment, Lyra resembled a worried family member anxiously waiting outside a delivery room for news.
Full of tension and anxiety, yet also harboring hope for a good outcome.
If Professor Charlotte agreed... that would be perfect...
Having waited in the workshop for nearly an hour, the youthful pink-haired girl appeared to be observing the magic-energy-driven sword, but in truth, her mind had long wandered elsewhere.
Good things come to those who persevere. After drinking half a cup of tea handed to her by a maid, Lyra heard two distinct, clear footsteps, sharp and fine, completely different from the sound of loafers on the floor.
Realizing the person she’d been waiting for had emerged, Lyra quickly set down her teacup and stood up, turning to look at Astrid and Charlotte.
The succubus princess in black dress and red eyes remains dignified and coldly beautiful. But the mature, ink-haired beauty beside her, wearing a well-tailored noble dress, seemed to have changed somehow.
Especially in the way she looked at her, there was now an indescribable depth in her gaze.
Lyra’s heart clenched slightly. Her eyes met Astrid’s, catching the quiet tenderness hidden within those calm, clear eyes, like a still, deep pool, unruffled.
Although Lyra couldn’t read Astrid’s thoughts as exactly as the head maid did with just a glance, as her closest lover and former personal maid, she could grasp the general idea.
This probably meant... it was okay...
"Astrid... and Professor Charlotte..."
Her legs instinctively pressed together, her voice unusually tense. Lyra looked at the two before her and spoke softly.
"Are... you finished with the serious talk?"
Hearing Lyra’s words, Charlotte, still a bit at a loss on how to face her prodigious student, remained silent. Astrid promptly stepped in and took over.
"Yes, we’ve mostly finished."
Seeing the bench where Lyra had been sitting, Astrid, right in front of Charlotte, took her hand and signaled the maid to clear the area of bystanders, then sat down beside her.
"Lady Charlotte, don’t just stand there. Come, sit and talk."
Although it was Charlotte’s own workshop located in her estate, Astrid seemed to have become the host, and yet none of the people present felt anything amiss, simply following her lead and sitting down together.
"A moment ago, Lady Charlotte and I were discussing the upcoming plans for the magic-energy equipment exhibition."
"On the twenty-fourth of next month, the exhibition hall of Elizabeth Academy of Magic will display a batch of newly developed magic-energy devices, inviting nobles from across the Empire to attend."
Starting with this topic greatly eased the initial awkwardness between the two women. Sitting in the middle, Astrid gently crossed her legs, skillfully placing herself between Lyra and Charlotte. Being close enough, she could even catch the distinct scents lingering by her nose.
One was fresh and sweet, like washed citrus, with a faint trace of jasmine upon closer inspection. The other was rich and deep, like night-blooming spider lilies and lavender fields, exuding a mature, alluring fragrance that was hard to resist.
With this clever framing, Astrid, acting as a bridge, continued sharing future plans with Lyra, occasionally letting Charlotte explain, naturally drawing the two into conversation.
Feeling herself being held by Astrid, her hand resting on smooth thighs, Lyra’s ears burned. She kept her voice soft and melodious as she spoke.
"So that means, Professor Charlotte’s exhibition this time won’t just include what I saw in the workshop?"
Charlotte nodded. Her gaze fell to her own smooth, rounded knees. The sheer, translucent stockings completely covered her skin, making her already long, white legs appear even more alluring.
"Yes. I still have some blueprints. I’ll commission the craftsmen to build them as soon as possible."
As she spoke, the ring on her finger glimmered faintly. Lyra paused briefly, then continued.
"So... the items I saw earlier also need modifications?"
"Yes. At least enough to make them acceptable to everyone."
"..."
Leaving the conversation between Lyra and Charlotte, Astrid, the storm’s core, quietly listening without speaking, only chiming in with occasional affirmations when necessary.
Yet no matter how they talked, both Lyra and Charlotte still carried another matter weighing on their minds. When the topic finally ran its course, their attention unconsciously shifted back to Astrid.
As the elder, Charlotte felt she should take the initiative.
"Lyra..."
"Yes? Professor Charlotte?"
Hearing the woman call her name, knowing the main event had arrived, Lyra tensed her lower back. Even her hand on Astrid’s thigh instinctively tightened, her pale, slender fingers gripping the black-silk-covered softness, causing a slight indentation, though not enough to make it spill easily like the other two places on her body.
"I’ve heard from her about you and Astrid."
Charlotte glanced at the ring on her finger, then looked back at Lyra, speaking gently.
"Though even now, I still feel an overwhelming sense of unreality, but considering everything you and Astrid have been through, it’s not impossible that you ended up together."
Just what Charlotte knew, from the wine-spilling incident at the banquet that nearly canceled Astrid’s admission, to becoming her personal maid, her sworn knight, and now her gentle little girlfriend.
Everything Astrid and Lyra had experienced could easily be serialized in the Empire Weekly.
"Though I’m embarrassed to admit it, when it comes to love, as an elder, I actually lack any reliable basis for judgment, and can’t offer either little Astrid or Lyra any useful advice."
Without personal experience, no amount of advice or examples could help.
"So the only thing I can give you is my blessing as an elder."
"I hope you, little Astrid, and Amalia, can all find happiness."
Since you’ve decided to walk this path, try to go as far as you can. At least in Charlotte’s view of love, passionate feelings for a lover should last until the very end of life.
Of course, this was a relatively idealized perspective. Who could ever truly understand emotions? But in Charlotte’s opinion, even if once-blazing feelings eventually fade into routine, the one who first cooled should, out of responsibility, try to maintain it.
Hearing Charlotte’s words, Lyra gently pressed her chest. Her heart trembled violently, only slightly less intense than when she’d succeeded in confessing.
"Professor Charlotte... you don’t mind... girls being together with girls?"
"Hmm, do I look like an inflexible old fossil?"
"Oh, no, no, that’s not what I meant."
Charlotte Ashketer, leader of the reformist faction, throughout the entire Valeria Empire, within the noble elite, there was probably no one more progressive-minded than her.
While other mages either indulged in pleasure, lost in soft comforts, or traveled distant magical pursuits detached from worldly affairs, she was the only one who chose to pause, turn her gaze to reality, and attempt to apply theoretical magic for the practical benefit of all humanity.
"Professor Charlotte is a senior I deeply respect, and an incredibly skilled mage..." Lyra said.
She had seen Charlotte’s noble integrity, her refusal to sink into corruption like the common nobles, and witnessed her sacrifices and efforts for the common people. Even without the factor of Astrid, Lyra would still say the same. This was also supported in the original novel: with no external interference, the destined heroine Lyra and the Arcanist mage Charlotte truly would form a mentor-student, close friendship.
"I’m just... just..."
Hearing Lyra’s halting words, Astrid promptly intertwined her fingers with hers, speaking for her to Charlotte.
"Lyra is just... too happy."
This silly little maid had already gathered so much courage rushing in; she could handle the rest.
Who else but her, after all, was the unwitting culprit stirring the hearts of two young girls?
Originally, they had planned to tell Lady Charlotte together. But considering it might not be easy to accept, she hadn’t let Lyra come in.
Hearing Astrid’s gentle explanation, the last trace of doubt fading from Charlotte, she slowly spoke.
"Little Astrid... you truly spoiled Lyra so much..."
Not wanting to let the other bear even a bit of pressure, coming alone to ask her.
The pink-haired girl sitting beside her blushed faintly. Her hand, clasped by Astrid on her thigh, slightly opened, her pale back resting against black silk, continuously sending her brain the exquisite sensation of warmth and smoothness.
Being said this by someone other than Astrid, wasn’t it incredibly embarrassing?!
It wasn’t that she was overly sensitive.
Seeing the conversation fully opened, Astrid didn’t deny it, softly responding to Charlotte.
"In love, I don’t possess Lyra’s courage, to cut through thorns and blaze a path through the fog. So I must prove it through actions, tenfold."
Prove? Prove what?
Could it be... that she loves her that much?
Surely it wasn’t that kind of proof?!
Lyra’s delicate face turned even redder. The refined toes beneath her fine silk stockings curled and flexed against the creamy sock tips. Even her straight, silk-clad calves tense slightly, pressing together.
Charlotte watched Lyra’s reddening ears and the snow-white neck gradually tinged with cherry pink, then quickly returned her gaze to Astrid’s face.
The silver-haired, red-eyed noble girl wore a calm expression, yet her eyes held determination and tenderness.
"..."
Astrid had indeed grown up, in every way.
In this instant, a whirlwind of emotions surged within Charlotte. Her legs, clad in sheer stockings, swayed slightly. In the end, all she could say was:
"Treasure each other. Living well together matters more than anything else."
Yet... her heart still feels strangely empty...
