In the evening, Elise, who had finished handling the relevant affairs, returned to Astrid's room.
As soon as she entered, she saw Lyra moving a small chair and placing it beside the bed.
Lyra's waist was slightly bent, and she looked at the person in front of her with a worried expression.
"How is Her Highness Astrid doing now?" Elise asked softly.
Hearing this, Lyra bit her lip and replied in a low voice, "I gave Her Royal Highness Astrid a Greenstone flower every two hours, as instructed by the doctor. Now, her face is no longer red, and the acne has almost disappeared..."
Elise listened as she approached. She noticed a few unused greenstone flowers on the bedside table and nodded imperceptibly.
"Well, thank you, Miss Lyra."
Lyra had stayed with Astrid for most of the day without eating a single meal. Elise estimated that she must be hungry by now.
At this moment, Astrid, who had been silent, twitched her eyelashes a few times.
Her eyes slowly opened, and her pink lips parted slightly.
"Lyra, you don't have to accompany me. Go and have dinner first."
She had something to say to Elise alone.
"But... Your Highness Astrid..."
Seeing the concern in Lyra's beautiful eyes, Astrid waved her hand weakly, her voice low.
"Are you going to disobey my orders?"
Her words left no room for argument. Lyra slowly stood up straight, holding the hem of her skirt in her palms, her tone slightly aggrieved.
"I wouldn't dare. I'll go now."
Listening to the clatter of the little leather shoes on the ground, Astrid sat up and patted her faint forehead with the back of her hand.
"Elise, how are things going?"
"Everything went according to plan. All the maids, including the cook, have been dismissed..."
Elise paused, then quickly continued, "What should we do next? Do they need to be punished further?"
Although the specific culprit couldn't be identified, knowing Astrid's character, she would rather err on the side of severity than let anyone go unpunished. It seemed these maids would all face consequences.
Astrid knew in her heart that if she wanted to make the act more convincing, she had to embody the temperament of an angry, willful princess.
"Deduct their salaries for the next two months."
"Wait until they leave the palace, then add that amount to their severance pay, in your name."
After all, these maids were merely poor workers caught in the crossfire of political struggles, used as pawns by Lucas and swept into a whirlpool of power.
Being removed from the center of authority might not be such a bad thing for them.
"Understood, Miss Astrid," Elise replied.
Meanwhile, Lyra, who had been sent away by Astrid to have dinner, sat alone in the dining room. In front of her was a plate of roasted potato strips and a bowl of beef and broccoli soup.
"Did you hear? Someone added seafood to Princess Astrid's breakfast today."
"Of course, I heard. Princess Astrid was furious. Apparently, the entire maid staff was dragged in for questioning."
"Yes, I heard about it too. A friend of mine was there. She said Princess Astrid smashed the dishes on the table, and the floor was covered in soup and broken glass."
As Lyra listened to the servants whispering about the strange events in the palace, she picked up a fry, placed it in her mouth, and chewed slowly.
Astrid had indeed frightened her that morning.
Lyra had never seen the princess truly angry before, and she hadn't expected her temper to be so intense.
If she ever upset Princess Astrid, would she face the same wrath?
The thought of Astrid smashing plates and shouting in front of her made Lyra's brows furrow slightly. The fries in her mouth suddenly lost their flavor.
Astrid was allergic to seafood. It was impossible for the maids who had served her for so long not to know this.
Whether it was carelessness or deliberate, it was natural for Princess Astrid to be angry.
But why did Lyra feel so uneasy? Was it because Astrid had directed her anger at innocent people?
Or was it because she had secretly hoped for something else?
Recalling the cream ice cream Astrid had handed her on the street just two days ago, Lyra took a sip of the beef soup.
Her thoughts then drifted to the silver-haired princess lying weakly in bed earlier that day, and her emotions grew even more tangled.
Even now, Lyra wasn't entirely sure how she felt about Princess Astrid.
If it was hatred, she shouldn't have been so worried earlier.
But if it wasn't hatred, she had never shown the same animosity, and even felt pity for the innocent maids caught up in the mess.
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Lyra quickly finished her dinner and returned to her bedroom to focus on her mental exercises.
There was no use dwelling on these thoughts. It was better to spend her time studying.
After practicing a few spells, Lyra remembered that she hadn't had time to go out and borrow a book today.
Seeing that it was already late outside, she realized the library must be closed. After a moment of thought, she got up and knocked on the door of the next room.
"Who is it?"
"Your Highness Astrid, it's me, Lyra."
"Come in."
Pushing the door open, Lyra found that Elise was no longer there.
Astrid was sitting on the bed, a thick potion book in her hands. She looked slightly surprised when she saw Lyra enter.
"Is something wrong at this hour?"
Lyra glanced at Astrid, whose complexion looked much better than it had that morning, and answered honestly.
"I was practicing magic earlier and ran into something I didn't understand. I wanted to borrow a book, and while I was at it, check on Your Highness's condition."
From the looks of it, Astrid seemed to have mostly recovered.
"I didn't drink much of the soup, and after resting all afternoon, I'm basically feeling fine now."
"Take whatever book you need, or you can stay here and read. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly."
Thinking of Astrid's advanced knowledge of magic, Lyra felt tempted.
However, she was hesitant, not wanting to disturb Astrid's rest.
Just as she was about to politely decline, Astrid spoke again.
"I'm fully recovered, so don't worry about that."
Without needing to think too deeply, Astrid could tell what Lyra was concerned about just by looking at her hesitant expression.
This kind of young girl, who wore her emotions on her sleeve, was so easy to read.
After a brief pause, Lyra finally spoke softly.
"Well... if that's the case…"