Chapter 718: Ways to Control Holy Relic

"By the way, Astrid..."

In the quiet bedroom, as she breathed in the clean fragrance that slowly spread the moment the person beside her sat down, Lyra straightened her legs.

"Back then... what did you think of... coming to hug me...?"

She had clearly already lost the ability to think, like a fragile raft adrift on a raging sea, helpless against the lash of wind and storm, able only to drift with the waves.

As the one linked to her spiritually, Astrid should have been able to feel that same powerless, hazy sensation.

Astrid didn’t speak at once. She merely kept her long black-stockinged legs crossed, slowly folded her fair arms over her chest, propped her cheek with one hand, and only after a moment did she open her mouth.

"To be honest, I didn’t think that much."

The instant Lyra’s breathing changed, Astrid, as her intimate pillowmate, noticed something was wrong. And in the very second she sensed Lyra’s consciousness blurring, she almost instinctively chanted a spell, formed wings of wind, and rushed to her side.

"Probably... some kind of instinctive reaction?" Astrid said.

Just like Charlotte back then. When faced with Astrid, who was about to lose herself, she chose to deepen the connection, using her own existence to pull her niece in her arms back to reality.

Modern human magical theory couldn’t explain such a phenomenon, nor could it find any so-called principle behind it.

But just as Charlotte said then: when someone looks like they’re about to go far away, people’s subconscious reaction is to reach out and pull her back.

What’s more, the person about to go now was that idiot maid and guardian knight who had stayed by her side for so long.

"...Instinct, huh?"

Lyra seemed to half understand, half not. Her sky-blue eyes fluttered lightly, and her long lashes caught specks of broken light, matching the silvery, exquisite crown above her head.

Without thinking too much, merely from a bodily reflex, she chose to go to such a dangerous place and embrace someone who might be in danger.

Warmth suddenly spread through her heart. Not the scorching heat of holy fire invading, but a natural temperature born of a lover’s protective care.

After half a minute, Lyra spoke in a soft, delicate voice.

"Good thing the wings of light on my back didn’t have too high a temperature..."

She could arrange elements through magical arrays to adjust the external manifestation of light-element particles, making them possess high-temperature properties. Earlier, in the fight against Moserria, Lyra’s six wings of light had stayed in a burning state the whole time; just fanning the air could even stir up layers of flame-waves.

"If it really were that hot, I definitely wouldn’t have hugged you from behind."

Astrid cast her a sidelong glance, as if looking at some idiot.

From the results, they only needed physical contact, so long as their bodies touched, even if it was just holding hands, it would ensure her soul stayed connected to Lyra.

Hearing Astrid say that, Lyra curved her lips and asked in a small voice.

"Then if the wings of light hadn’t been dismissed, what were you going to do, Astrid?"

Simply hold hands and blend souls with her?

Facing the pink-haired girl’s confusion, Astrid lifted her brow slightly. In her chilly red eyes was reflected Lyra’s face, and her elegant, black-stockinged legs that had been crossed without her noticing had already been lowered.

"Of course... I’d go around to your front."

Seeing the silver-haired princess sitting on her lap and facing her, Lyra’s cheeks instantly bloomed with a faint blush. Even her legs, relaxed and stretched out moments ago, bent again, to let the beauty in her arms sit properly.

A cool, delicate fragrance drifted through the air. Though separated by two layers of silk, Lyra could still sense some of Astrid’s warmth. Where her thighs rose above the lace tops of her stockings, without the extra barrier of knee-high white stockings, the fabric of her pantyhose pressed closely against her skin, making its smooth texture all the more noticeable.

Seeing the blush on Lyra’s pretty face, Astrid, sensing that the girl had gained a bit more lively vitality, raised a hand and lightly pinched the pink-haired knight’s delicate yet soft snow-white cheek. The corner of her lips lifted quietly.

Sliding her arms past Lyra’s neck and drawing her fully into her embrace, Astrid rested her head on the girl’s shoulder, breathed in the clean scent floating in the pink hair, and with her lips near Lyra’s ear, murmured softly:

"And then... hug you like this..."

Compared to a hug from behind, this face-to-face way lets you feel each other’s presence from every angle, and thus taste even more satisfaction.

In the crook of her arms, on her thighs, beside her cheeks, in the soft contact pressed against each other, everything reminded Lyra that she was hugging the Empire’s jewel right in front of her.

The hand that had been resting by the bed needed no instruction now; it naturally slid up to wrap around Astrid’s slender waist. Lyra tilted her face slightly, bringing her lips closer to Astrid’s neck.

No one knew how much time passed before Lyra spoke in a small voice.

"That’s... way too clingy..."

"So many people were watching."

Hovering high in the sky, with her consciousness blurred back then, Lyra hadn’t felt much. But now, with everything more or less sorted out, back at the estate to rest, recalling that scene made a faint shame and happiness burst together at the tip of her heart.

Her confrontation with Moserria was unquestionably the center of everyone’s attention. Countless eyes were on them, wanting to learn the decisive outcome that would affect the entire battle at the first moment.

And it was under so many gazes that Astrid hugged her from behind, then slowly descended to the ground.

Publicly, Lyra Beckett was the Regent’s close friend and right-hand pillar. But privately, their relationship was something only they understood. Such intimacy in plain sight, this truly was Lyra’s first time.

Hearing Lyra’s words, Astrid blinked a few times. Her boneless black-stockinged tender foot, like a feather drifting in the air, lightly scraped Lyra’s knee.

"What, Lyra, didn’t you like it?"

Faced with Astrid’s question, Lyra reddened, paused for a few seconds, and replied:

"No... that’s not it..."

There was shame, yes, but far more was happiness.

Even though she hadn’t been able to announce her relationship with Astrid to everyone, an action like that in front of the masses, like it was declaring something, still filled Lyra with courage.

"It’s just... a little embarrassing..."

Anyone would understand that feeling!

Getting Lyra’s reply, Astrid narrowed her beautiful crimson eyes. She lifted her head from Lyra’s shoulder and looked at the girl’s dewy, tender face.

"That’s a very you answer, Lyra."

Then, gazing into those watery blue eyes, she leaned down and tapped her lips against the cherry-pink ones.

Ambushed by Astrid so suddenly, Lyra froze for a moment, then quickly fell into the rhythm, responding with the enthusiasm of a puppy.

Minutes passed. When Astrid ended the intimacy and looked at Lyra, whose face had grown even redder, she could feel how frighteningly hot the pink-haired girl’s skin was. It was like she’d entered that steam-princess state again.

With such a distinctive, self-flavored reaction, Astrid didn’t hesitate to add fuel to the fire.

"If hugging didn’t work, this would be my next step."

The brave, resilient little knight had done so much for her, and loved her so much. Astrid didn’t mind being a prince once, kissing awake her Sleeping Beauty.

As long as it worked, as long as it could awaken Lyra’s sense of self, even if the timing was inappropriate, she didn’t care.

Hearing the seriousness in Astrid’s words, Lyra turned her face away, not daring to meet those clear, transparent red eyes. Her chest trembled faintly. Out of a maiden’s shyness, she couldn’t help lowering her head.

"R-Really... you’d do that?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

If even the calm, silver-haired Regent could make such a decision, then back then, facing a Lyra who might slip away, how much more would the Empire’s eldest princess, not entirely clear-headed and acting more on emotion than reason.

If not for the fact that there was still a cleanup battle to fight and it wasn’t good to plant too many flags, then to solidify Lyra’s anchor, Astrid might have gone even further.

Lyra fell silent for a moment. Her tightly pressed white-stockinged snow-legs unconsciously lifted as her toes tiptoed.

Then she felt the delicate body in her arms, because the contact was too slippery, press closer toward her. Subconsciously, she lowered the hand that had been braced around Astrid’s waist.

And so her palm received an even smoother silken touch, like touching a mass of fine, glossy black-chocolate pudding.

"..."

Feeling Lyra’s movement, Astrid didn’t speak. She merely let out a soft breath through her refined nose and leaned her fragrant, tender body against her.

Under normal circumstances, she would probably have dragged Lyra to resume the spellcasting that had been interrupted by the sudden battle. But at this moment, there were more important matters.

"Back to the point. If the holy relic on your head can affect your thoughts or actions, then we have to find a way to deal with it."

"Lyra, can you try to remove it?"

Lyra pressed her lips lightly together. Her fingers didn’t dare move recklessly as she tested, as Astrid said, whether she could remove this other half of the relic.

"..."

After a brief attempt, Lyra shook her head.

"No, Astrid."

Before, when they hadn’t made contact, the crown and the holy sword could still attract each other, but not to the point of fusing inseparably.

Now, using Lyra as the carrier, the two relics had integrated into one mass, becoming difficult to cut apart again.

Hearing Lyra, Astrid’s brows knit slightly, and she continued:

"Then can you clearly feel its existence?"

Lyra hummed in agreement and replied softly.

"Yes. Its aura is very similar to the holy sword’s, just that for me, touching it for the first time, it feels a bit unfamiliar."

"But I’m not sure whether what I’m sensing is the whole of it. Maybe it’s like an iceberg under the surface, there’s a lot I can’t see."

As she finished speaking, Lyra wet her throat and looked at Astrid.

"And also, Astrid... I seem to be a little different... it feels like..."

"You broke through?"

As she spoke, to confirm her own judgment, Lyra released her mental power into the space for the beauty in her arms to examine carefully.

Astrid likewise poured out her mental power and seriously probed the current quality of Lyra’s mental force.

"..."

It wasn’t a misconception. Lyra’s mental force was indeed stronger than before, and more stable.

In other words, having absorbed the other half of the divinity, her strength had broken through from an early tier Arcanist mage, reaching middle tier Arcanist mage in one leap.

"The stronger Lyra is, the stronger her control over the holy relic should be. Advancing isn’t a bad thing," Astrid said.

"One might call it a blessing in disguise."

Lyra nodded, her pink lips parting.

"Also, Astrid, you don’t have to worry about me too much."

"Even though I can’t split this crown right now, the ’Sword of Light’ and it haven’t completely become one."

"They’re only drawing closer little by little. The speed isn’t that fast."

In other words, if Lyra’s growth outpaced the fusion speed of the relics, then for her, this crown wouldn’t be a burden, it would instead become help in future battles.

Hearing Lyra say that, Astrid’s gaze lowered. The hand holding the pink-haired girl’s neck lightly slid down, coming to rest over her shirt as it tapped the girl’s butterfly bone.

"So the power that could make you disappear... won’t show up again in the short term?"

If so, the room for them to operate would be much greater.

"Mm... that’s how it feels," Lyra nodded slightly, answering honestly.

"The crown’s primary fusion target is the holy sword. And the holy sword that has acknowledged a master is the extension of my spirit and body, but that isn’t all of me."

As long as her mental force was strong enough, she wouldn’t be devoured by the divinity itself. Instead, she could suppress it and use it for herself.

But sharp as Astrid was, she still caught the omission in Lyra’s words.

"Once the holy sword completes acknowledgment, it becomes part of Lyra. Even if it isn’t all of you, you’ll still be influenced to a certain degree."

"That means before you can completely control the other half of the light holy relic the way you wield the holy sword, you will more or less change."

On that point alone, Lyra truly couldn’t refute her. In the bedroom, the two of them, embracing each other, fell silent again.

"..."

"Actually..."

No one knew how long it had been when Lyra finally spoke gently. Her sweet, lilting voice was deliberately pressed low because she was biting her lip, faintly carrying a shame she couldn’t quite conceal.

"It’s... not like there’s absolutely no way."

"For example, right now, I feel like I can’t sense the relic affecting me at all."

"And just now, when Astrid climbed on, pinched my face, and then..."

"...when you did that."

Even with countless details omitted, Lyra’s face was still red as a fully ripened apple.