Chapter 623: Massage
"Little Astr... is joking, right...?" Charlotte spoke softly, but her hand resting by the silver-haired girl’s waist ultimately squeezed.
No matter how one looked at it, Astrid was definitely at fault for her disrespect towards elders.
A slight punishment was in order... to stop her from being so unrestrained, even teasing her own aunt...
Besides, really, what was the point of adding an extra bed to a proper magitech research laboratory? People who didn’t know better might assume the Regent Princess had brought the decadent customs of the imperial nobility into the magitech project.
Feeling Charlotte’s subtle move, Astrid softly let out a low hum, her pink lips parting slightly.
"What does Lady Charlotte think?"
Hearing this, Charlotte narrowed her eyes, her gaze resting on the silver-haired beauty still seated on her lap. After a brief pause, she replied.
"...It was a joke."
Upon hearing this, Astrid shook her head, her cool crimson eyes shimmering with a faint smile as she gently said,
"No, it’s not."
"I really intend to have Amalia prepare an extra bed in this laboratory."
"One, so that when Lady Charlotte grows tired from daily research, you can rest properly and replenish your energy for the next round of work..."
As her words faded, Astrid moistened her lips. The soft, pink petals of her lips, slightly dampened from the flick of her tongue, glistening under the light like they’d been coated with a translucent glaze, enticing and alluring.
From Charlotte’s perspective, those delicate lips moved gently as a tender voice flowed out.
"...And second, if something similar to today happens again, we’ll at least have a place to lie down and make things more convenient."
"Isn’t that right, Lady Charlotte?"
Accompanying Astrid’s melodious, magnetic voice, a faint rustling of silk echoed through the air, suppressing Charlotte of everything that had just occurred.
The one she considered as her most treasured younger relative had, only five minutes prior, not only shared a soul connection and mental resonance with her, but had also been physically as intimate as lovers in the throes of passion.
Had it been Lyra in her place just now, it wouldn’t have felt any less natural.
"..."
"Is something wrong, Lady Charlotte?"
Noticing Charlotte had been lost in thought, Astrid gently waved her hand just before the woman’s eyes. Her fair skin and slender fingers shone brightly within Charlotte’s amber gaze.
Suppressing the strange sensation in her chest, Charlotte brushed a strand of hair aside and softly replied,
"Nothing...Just thinking, what Little Astr said actually makes sense..."
Lying side by side on a bed would indeed be better than their current situation, Astrid sitting on her lap with not even a sliver of distance between them.
Her thoughts regrouping, Charlotte suddenly became aware of what her legs were touching. Fluttering her eyelashes, she felt the tips of her ears warm and decided to speak up first.
"Let’s do as Little Astr suggests."
If she kept letting Astrid steer the conversation like this, the little authority she had left as an elder would vanish completely.
With the discussion about adding a bed settled for now, Astrid relaxed her waist, straightened her legs, and rose from Charlotte’s lap. The intricately designed, night-sky-colored long dress, previously half-spread, now gathered back together, concealing most of her smooth thighs, leaving only translucent glimpses of her knees and her black-stockinged calves adorned with exquisite embroidery peeking out from the hem, an unintentional allure that stirs the heart.
Returning to her previous seat, Astrid gazed at the elegant pair of silken-clad legs before her, and suddenly recalled the faint sting she’d sensed through Charlotte’s soul during their resonance spell. Her hand instinctively slides down her own smooth calf, touching the heel of her high heel.
She must have accidentally brushed against Charlotte’s leg back then.
Although Astrid had little experience in such matters, judging from the few times she’d accidentally bumped into Lyra, the sensation was definitely unpleasant.
Considering how even a knight like Lyra couldn’t quite endure contact with such a sharp object, a fragile mage like Charlotte would naturally be even more sensitive.
Just as Charlotte had calmed her emotions, she saw Astrid, whose hand had been resting on her shoe, suddenly looked up. The slender white wrist extended forward, and five delicate fingers gently touched her ankle.
In that instant, Charlotte tensed the muscles in her calf, her elegantly arched foot slightly lifted away from the semi-open silver stiletto.
What was she doing?
For a moment, Charlotte found herself unable to speak, only watching Astrid, who had bent down to gently stroke her ankle. Her long silver-white hair flowed down naturally, nearly brushed against the floor tiles.
Astrid gently lifted Charlotte’s leg. The ornate silver metal band encircled her pale, soft feet, and the thin silk fabric glided beneath her palm, carrying with it the smoothness and warmth of skin.
"I wasn’t careful earlier, did I accidentally hurt you, Lady Charlotte...?"
"Does it still hurt?"
The sheer, translucent silk shimmered with a hazy beauty under the light. Astrid slightly raised her arm, lifting the high heel off the ground and gently elevating Charlotte’s silk-covered calf.
The already straight leg line became even more pronounced when fully extended. The skin, sheathed in transparent stockings, was smooth and delicate, like a piece of fine jade.
Recalling where she might have touched, Astrid’s fingers lightly brushed the spot, then heard Charlotte softly hum in acknowledgment.
The exact spot was on the sides of her calf. Earlier, in order to maintain the stability of their mental connection, both had instinctively dampened physical feedback. Astrid hadn’t controlled her strength well, and Charlotte hadn’t clearly registered the pain, causing the slender heel to press continuously against her skin, ultimately leaving faint red marks.
"It’s my fault... I should’ve paid more attention...."
Her fingers gently supporting the foot, Astrid’s voice carried a hint of self-reproach.
It truly was her fault. If she’d just taken off her shoes earlier, this wouldn’t have happened, high heels were not only a torture device for the wearer, but also a sharp weapon for anyone unfortunate enough to be struck by them.
Feeling the warmth radiating from Astrid’s palm and the soothing magical energy flowing in to ease the pain, Charlotte didn’t pull her leg away. Instead, she looked at the silver-haired girl before her, half-bent over and gazing at her with gentle concern.
"It’s nothing. Little Astr was just trying to assist with magitech research, this kind of accident is understood."
"It was only a rare occurrence. Not noticing was only natural."
Hearing Charlotte’s comforting words, Astrid’s guilt only deepened.
To her, this wasn’t a rare occurrence at all. Having experienced millions of battles, Astrid had long learned how to avoid such mishaps, just as Lyra used to occasionally get hurt by her, but now never did.
"..."
"Regardless, I was at fault."
"As compensation, let me massage your leg a little longer."
Hearing this, Charlotte pressed her lips together, watching Astrid diligently channeling magical energy for her. After a few seconds, she quietly said,
"...Okay."
This was supposed to be... a junior showing respect...
Why was she, the aunt, feeling so nervous?
Outside the window, the sun shone brightly. The shadows cast by tree branches gradually shifted, growing longer and thinner. Occasionally, a cold wind blew, causing both the treetops and their shadows to sway.
After more than ten minutes, the pain-relieving arcane magic ceased, and Astrid’s leg massage finally ended.
"Little Astr... have you been specifically studying this recently?"
The last time Charlotte had received such a heartfelt service from her was back when Astrid still lived in her private estate, a time of close, intimate childhood.
Back then, young Astrid knew nothing of massage techniques. She was simple-hearted, only wanting to ease her aunt’s fatigue, her movements were clumsy at first, only gradually improving over time.
Later, when Astrid moved into the palace, as the Empire’s Third Princess, she only needed to receive massage from maids, she no longer had to give them to others. Naturally, she must have let the skill fade.
Astrid shook her head gently, speaking softly.
"I just never forgot."
Not only did she retain the memories of this life, but in her previous life, she had also done similar things for her younger sister. Back then, whenever one of them was tired, the other would rub their shoulders or massage their legs. Although she’d never studied science, Astrid still retained a general sense of what felt best.
Charlotte assumed Astrid was referring to their past sweet days together. A warm feeling flickered in her heart as she softly said,
"I see... I thought Little Astr might’ve..."
"...Never mind."
Such a trivial thing, yet the Empire’s Third Princess remembers it so vividly.
She truly cares about her... Perhaps from the beginning, it was she who had chosen a different path, and it was she who had chosen to distance herself, not Astrid.
Unaware that her words had unintentionally cleared the original Astrid’s past misconducts and even made Charlotte doubt her own memory, causing her to feel even more guilty, Astrid put her gloves back on and, with a flow of mental energy, retrieved the prepared research materials from her spatial storage device.
"If Lady Charlotte is alright, then let’s continue."
Her main purpose here is still to discuss magic research with Charlotte. After so many unexpected incidents and delays, the development progress of the communication device will fall behind again.
Seeing Astrid quickly compose herself, Charlotte gave a slight nod, quickly setting aside her personal emotions and shifting into researcher mode as she softly spoke.
"Arcane factors can be fixed as points and lines. Based on this, our first step is to determine all possible transportation methods."
Turning around, she saw rows of special metal rods placed on the table, clearly prepared by Astrid as one of the potential materials they might need.
"Lady Charlotte previously studied magitech cannons, so you should be familiar with the magical patterns related to elemental particle transmission."
"Indeed. Little Astr wishes to replicate them, then attempt to change the transported material to the more fundamental arcane factors?"
"Mm. If elemental particles can pass through, there’s no reason arcane factors can’t."
Charlotte nodded in agreement, continuing.
"The only concern is whether the fixed arcane factors will scatter during transmission."
Elemental particles were inherently stable, maintaining their form without requiring mental energy to stabilize them. Charlotte wasn’t sure if these artificially fixed pseudo-elemental particles could withstand magical pressure.
"In any case, let’s try it first."
If they could directly replicate the patterns, researchers with ready-made templates would save a great deal of effort.
................
After a long while, Charlotte picked up the special metal tube on the table, densely engraved with magical patterns. The silver-white metal gleamed under the light, surrounded by faint magical fluctuations.
After several attempts, they had made minor improvements based on the original design, resulting in a pure magical pattern template dedicated to transmitting arcane factors.
This circuit can carry signals from one end to the other at incredible speed while maintaining the fixed shape of the arcane factors. Based on the length of the metal tube, it achieved a short-range arcane signal transmission.
"Thus, the arcane factors shaped by Little Astr at the other end can be sent via mental energy, transmitted all the way to the end, where I can receive the signal."
Gently stroking one side of the metal tube, Charlotte aimed the cylinder towards Astrid and softly said,
"Let’s try once more?"
Astrid raised her hand in response, grasping the other end of the metal cylinder as she silently channeled her mental energy.
Since Charlotte possessed greater mental energy and was more skilled at controlling arcane factors, she took charge of initiating the signal. A few seconds later, the silver metal tube emitted a faint glow, and continuously magical fluctuations rippled through the air.
On the next breath, Astrid received Charlotte’s signal. Her crimson eyes half-lidded, her cherry-pink lips softly uttered the correct response.
"Dot, line, line, dot, line, dot, dot."
A very short message.
Charlotte nodded approvingly upon hearing it, surprised by the accuracy of the magitech tube’s information transmission.
"No omissions, no errors. This spell formation appears viable for now."
"However, considering the massive difference in difficulty between short-range and long-range transmission, even if we stack the same formation repeatedly, the cumulative errors will eventually become enormous."
At this distance, even a slightly raised voice would be audible without the magic tube. They were still far from their ultimate goal, creating a magic device capable of fast, long-distance message transmission.
Seeing Charlotte express both dissatisfaction and excitement, Astrid smiled slightly and gently said,
"Then let’s continue expanding along this research path."
"Lady Charlotte, keep engraving the magic circles. Let’s try longer-distance information exchange and calculate the errors as accurately as possible."
Then, based on actual performance, we can optimize with additional magical enhancements.
Charlotte hummed in agreement, her fingers lightly traced the newly made metal tube, her amber eyes sparkling with anticipation.
If they truly succeeded in creating the magitech device they envisioned, the mountains and rivers that once hindered military communication would become easily traversable, and casualties caused by delayed intelligence would drastically decrease.
It would be a groundbreaking achievement, surpassing even, in certain aspects, the combined sum of all the magitech weapons they had ever studied.
