Hearing her aunt speak to her in such an almost pleading tone for the first time, Astrid's eyes flickered slightly, her clear crimson pupils quietly gazing at the raven-haired beauty pressing her face against her.
"What's wrong... Lady Charlotte..."
After holding her for several seconds, Astrid spoke gently, her soft silver hair brushing against Charlotte's skin by her ears, giving the other woman a cool, delicate sensation.
Upon hearing this, Charlotte remained silent, continuing to tightly embrace the slender waist of the silver-haired girl, as if clutching a long-lost treasure. After a brief pause, she finally spoke.
"I thought... you were going to leave far away again..."
The third princess who entered the imperial palace had, within just two or three years, transformed from a pure and kind little princess into an arrogant and domineering noble, becoming someone Charlotte could barely recognize.
