Chapter 635: Pink Haired Fool
In truth, Astrid’s guess was absolutely correct. Noticing the surprise and joy flickering in her beloved’s eyes, Lyra’s expression grew even gentler. Her blue pupils continued to shimmer brightly, even with her back facing the sun.
Then, she flapped her wings made of mental energy and quickly flew toward Astrid as if treading on air.
Next, the pink-haired girl pressed her face against the windowpane. Her slightly flared pink-white skirt and the tips of her little leather shoes together pressed against the transparent glass of the regent’s bedroom.
"Eh?" Lyra touched it tentatively, her expression somewhat puzzled.
"..."
Looks like someone’s fool-meets-beauty trait hadn’t changed at all, still exactly the same as before.
Seeing this, Astrid curved her lips, her voice tinged with amusement.
"Didn’t Lyra forget? The palace underwent renovations before you leave..."
"This window can now only open outward."
Through the glass, Lyra heard Astrid’s crisp, melodious voice. Her cheeks flushed slightly as her delicate figure stepped backward.
"Oh...is that so..."
"I forgot..."
Hardly had her words faded when Astrid, leaning forward against the windowsill, reached out her hand. Her snow-white fingers gently slide open the latch. Instantly, the cold outdoor air rushed into the room, carrying with it a faint hint of Lyra’s scent.
"Pfft, haven’t seen each other for over half a month, and you’re still so cute, Lyra."
Crimson eyes reflect the girl’s lovely face. Her skirt fluttered into disarray from the wind, but she had no time to fix it, revealing half of her tempting, snow-white skin. Her delicate collarbone faintly peeked through the night-colored sheer fabric.
Astrid stretched her arms, leaving her embrace open, her cool face carrying a tenderness like still water.
"Welcome back, my dear knight~"
Stunned for several seconds, Lyra gazed at the silver-haired beauty before her, her features partially shadowed yet still naturally stunning. Longing that had built up over their time apart surged in her heart, warming her eyes until they felt hot.
In the next instant, Lyra flew in from outside the window and dove into Astrid’s arms like a fledgling reuniting with its mother, wrapping her arms around her beloved’s waist.
Although she controlled her strength, the excitement in her heart was genuine. Astrid felt the impact from Lyra, her body instinctively stepping backward a few paces.
Since Lyra had been outside the entire time, her outer clothes, hair, and stockings were all slightly chilled. The temperature difference was immediately noticeable upon entering the embrace. Yet Astrid didn’t let go, instead, she continued holding Lyra, warming her with her own body heat through the thin ceremonial dress.
"I missed you, Astrid."
Feeling heat enveloping her, Lyra inhaled Astrid’s cool, fragrant scent. Her palm resting on the fabric of the dress, she whispered softly.
"I missed you so, so much..."
Such a direct confession of emotion might sound overly sweet, but Lyra couldn’t think of any other words to convey her true feelings to the one she loved.
She had missed Astrid, missed her since the moment they parted, missed her during meals, wondering whether Astrid would like the dishes her parents had cooked, what Astrid had eaten today.
She missed her before sleeping, imagining that if Astrid were here, she could now be holding her, resting her head on her shoulder, gently nuzzling Astrid’s freshly washed silver hair with her face.
She missed her upon waking, picturing the Princess with her hair loose, her eyes just opening, languid, alluring.
She felt she had become completely inseparable from Astrid.
Anyway... Astrid had already said so...
Expressing love and affection wasn’t something shameful at all.
It’s better to say it when you like someone...
That was what she thought. But after speaking, Lyra still felt her cheeks burning, her pointed ears and the roots of her hair growing warm.
The cold wind outside couldn’t chill a heart overflowing with joy and longing.
Sensing Lyra’s excitement, Astrid wrapped one arm around her neck, their full figures pressing together, while the other hand reached behind to gently stroke the pink-haired girl’s hair.
"I missed you too, Lyra."
Despite her many responsibilities and a busy schedule, whenever she had a moment to pause, she always found herself thinking of the pink-haired knight far beyond the imperial capital.
Hearing this, Lyra narrowed her eyes slightly, then leaned against Astrid’s shoulder a while longer, feeling her chin rest on smooth, fragrant skin, no fabric in the way, just pure skin-to-skin softness.
After embracing in warm silence for a long while, Lyra manipulated wind element particles to close the window behind her. Then she lifted her face, meeting Astrid’s gaze.
"I want a kiss." Lyra said.
Astrid smiled without replying, slightly tilting her face. Her bright red eyes half-closed into mere slits, their flowing crimson depths glimmering faintly.
Just kiss me already, why tell me?
Did she hope for a refusal?
Receiving Astrid’s response, Lyra fluttered her eyelashes, casually tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear, and leaned forward to press her lips.
Compared to any previous time, this reunion kiss was longer and more passionate. By the time it truly ended, Astrid had already been gently pushed onto the soft bed, while Lyra had kicked off her little leather shoes. Her two white-stockinged legs lightly rubbed against the fabric of Astrid’s clothing.
"Still the same as always, I see."
"Same in what way?"
"This habit of pinning me down."
Astrid curved her lips. Her moist, vivid lips seem to still retain traces of that softness.
"No wonder... you like calling me ’Your Highness’ during those moments..."
Astrid’s words had struck a strange nerve. Lyra’s cheeks flushed even redder. She leaned forward again, silencing the teasing woman with her lips.
Letting Astrid speak was a mistake. This mischievous woman will never miss any chance to tease her.
After a while, they parted. Lyra looked down at Astrid, her silver hair now disheveled on the bed, and spoke softly.
"I just wanted... to feel Astrid more directly..."
"At that distance and posture earlier, this was the only way."
This kind of embrace makes it feel as if the other person could never disappear, her arms full of warmth, soft body and that refreshing, heart-soothing fragrance.
It was as if every void accumulated before had been instantly filled.
Sensing Lyra had slightly relaxed her strength, Astrid took the chance to shift her body sideways. The early tier Crusader, possessing immense physical strength, instantly became a fragile, delicate girl, easily flipped over by Astrid.
Thus, their positions reversed. Astrid leaned forward and kissed Lyra first, then spoke.
"Tell me, Lyra, how was your trip home?"
"Did you have a good time?"
Hearing Astrid’s question, Lyra made no effort to get up or struggle. Instead, her two feet, small and delicate, covered in thick white stockings, gently wrapped around Astrid’s legs.
"Mm, my parents were very happy to see me, finally completely at ease..."
"Since I’d already written letters to inform them in advance about coming home, they prepared so, so many delicious dishes. The moment I arrived in Morin Village, before the sky had even fully darkened, I was already sitting in the cozy kitchen enjoying a big feast..."
Lyra had stayed home for just over a week. Recounting everything from start to finish didn’t take long. Astrid listened quietly, first to tales of rural hunting, where the Sword of Light had been repurposed into a tool for spearing game fish, then to casual family stories.
Lyra spoke of her elders’ concerns about her joining the military and their joy at her safe return, then shared experiences of cleaning game with her father and helping her mother bathe the puppy.
Perhaps humans naturally have a strong urge to confide in their partners. Lyra even specifically mentioned spending a while talking about how, while cleaning the room, she’d found her long-missing little cloth doll and some strange little stones she’d collected in the past, hidden in a box under the bed.
On a rational level, these things seem meaningless, offering no real help to Astrid, nor serving as important information. Yet seeing the pink-haired girl lying in her arms, smiling as she spoke, and seeing the happiness reflected in her blue eyes, Astrid felt an equal sense of fulfillment.
Amalia once said that in her eyes, Lyra was a person favored by fate, someone who had been swimming in happiness since childhood.
She wasn’t wrong. Lyra truly was an unblemished flower blooming from happiness.
Noticing Astrid had been staring at her face the whole time, Lyra, embarrassed by the gaze, blushed faintly at her ears and whispered softly.
"W-what is it?"
Staring at her so deeply... wouldn’t anyone feel shy?
She hadn’t said anything strange, just shared her experiences at home.
"Nothing much." Astrid shortened the distance between them. The faint, fragrant breath from her delicate nose lightly brushed against Lyra’s skin.
"Go on, Lyra. What happened next?"
Feeling Astrid’s scent growing stronger, Lyra’s heart pounded, then she continued.
"Then, I put the little stones back into the flowerpot... and happened to see a longhorn beetle resting on a vine not far away..."
"It was as big as my palm, clad in glossy black armor."
"Even though it’s winter, I never expected to see such a large one..."
She spoke for quite a while. Seeing Astrid only occasionally respond while mostly listening quietly, Lyra moistened her lips and asked.
"Astrid... are you tired of listening...?"
The silver-haired beauty shook her head, her voice soft.
"Not at all. It’s very interesting, Lyra."
Taken individually, the stories might seem dull. But because the one telling them was Lyra, they became so much more fascinating.
Astrid could almost see in her mind’s eye the adorable girl crouched by the window, carefully peeking so as not to scare the insect away.
"..."
"Really?" Lyra asked, half-doubtful.
Astrid softly replied, "Mm."
"Anything related to Lyra, I’m always willing to listen."
Whether this could be classified as sweet talk, no one knew. But hearing it, Lyra’s breath caught. Her sapphire-blue eyes shimmered with tiny light, and her already flushed cheeks deepened into a rosy hue.
"I’m glad you like listening..."
Putting herself in Astrid’s shoes, if Astrid were to tell her about noble social circles, breakfasts and dinners, or the leisure books she’d read in the afternoon, she’d be happy to listen too.
"If there’s ever anything you’re not interested in, tell me, okay?"
"Everything you say, I love to hear."
The first sentence came straight from Astrid’s heart. The second might carry a bit more of a love-confession undertone.
But even if Lyra did talk about things Astrid wasn’t particularly interested in, it wouldn’t matter, because it was Lyra. As her partner, Astrid will patiently listen until the end.
After all, she loved her.
Struck again by Astrid’s directness, Lyra’s body temperature rose. She wanted to bury her face in Astrid’s dress, but found the reversed position inconvenient. Instead, she tightly pressed her two white-stockinged legs together and turned her face away.
"Astrid... saying sweet things again..."
To prevent the mischievous woman from taking advantage, Lyra quickly asked another question.
"So what has Astrid been doing these past days?"
Besides the magical machinery exhibition that Lyra already knew about, surely many other things had occurred.
For instance, right now, Lyra, whose connection to Astrid’s soul was extremely deep, could feel that Astrid’s aura had become stronger than before.
Could it be that during the past half-month she’d been away, Astrid had already reached Arcanist Mage?
Hearing Lyra’s words, Astrid calmly recounted everything that had happened, the urban reforms driven by Amalia, accompanied by Charlotte in researching ancient human ruins, and the incident where she was attacked by a strange force during her ascension to Arcanist Mage.
Hiding dangers from her partner only to cause a massive crisis later was a classic trope in dramas and novels, Astrid had no intention of repeating it.
Moreover, Lyra had now grown. She could appropriately rely on her too.
After hearing everything, the pink-haired girl tightly bit her lower lip with her front teeth. The romantic atmosphere from earlier had quietly dissolved by half.
"So everything is completely stabilized now?"
"Mm, I haven’t sensed any other issues for now."
Like Charlotte had been at the time, Lyra checked her thoroughly, layer upon layer, fearing that Astrid might have some hidden illness unknown to others.
Astrid gently stroked Lyra’s tightly bitten lip with her fingertip, urging the girl not to be so tense. Her voice was gentle.
"Don’t worry. If anything comes up, I’ll tell you."
"..."
It had been so close. If not for Professor Charlotte’s timely assistance... she might have never seen Astrid again...
After a brief silence, Lyra spoke softly.
"From now on, no matter where you go, I’ll try my best to stay by your side, Astrid."
"If anything happens, I can immediately help, so you won’t have to bear the burden alone."
Astrid had once mentioned that she always felt like the main character of the entire world.
If things really were as Astrid said, then she would definitely have the strength to protect the princess she loved.
Hearing Lyra’s words, thick with concern, Astrid’s heart warmed. She softly hummed in affirmation.
"Okay. I believe in you, Lyra."
How deeply her little maid loved her, how much she cared, she knew it was better than anyone.
For the sake of all those who love her, she will never lose herself again.
After these words, the two lay on the bed and kissed once more. Slightly breathless, Lyra fluttered her eyelashes and spoke softly.
"By the way, Astrid..."
"...There’s one more thing. I want to tell you."
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