Chapter 660: Practical
In the cozy, secluded room, the two faced one another. Astrid’s calm voice reached Lyra’s ears, and as soon as she heard those words, a faint blush spread across the pink-haired girl’s cheeks. Her cherry-colored hair, no longer supported by her hand, gently swayed in the warmth of the room’s light.
"That kind of thing... has nothing to do with being uptight!" Lyra defended under her breath while sliding her legs back. The soft calves sheathed in milk-colored thigh-highs pressed against the solid wooden seat; the thin white fabric clung to her skin and grew slightly translucent, a pale pink beneath the white.
Astrid’s lips curved into a faint smile at Lyra’s words. She uncrossed her elegantly folded legs and nudged her glossy black high-heeled shoe forward, letting its toe brush casually against the tip of the other’s dress shoe.
"I think there is a bit of a connection,"
For example, from the start she assumed Lyra would never accept girls, an assumption that could be read in her tone.
"No, I wouldn’t," Lyra shook her head. Her gaze flicked to the obsidian hand that reached out under the table; instinctively, the five slender fingers retreated into the sleeve, lightly tapping the pale-pink cuff trim.
To avoid being teased further by Astrid, Lyra steered the topic back to their earlier discussion, her pink lips parting.
"The large-scale clearance goods you mentioned, Astrid, are they mainly aimed at nobles and wealthy merchants?"
"Mm. To sell to others, they’d need to have the funds to afford them." Astrid propped her chin on her snowy arm as she spoke.
If the energy shortage isn’t solved, elemental crystal stones will never come down in price; any magical devices built on that basis won’t get cheaper, and there’s basically no chance they’ll trickle down to the lower classes.
"As part of the war reparations, I’ll draft regulations to lower tariffs. When the Kingdom of Velys buys magical devices to decorate their estates, the cost won’t be much higher than for nobles in the Valeria Empire."
Of course, Astrid wouldn’t benevolently slash commercial profit margins for no reason. Finally, the only production team capable of systematizing and industrially manufacturing magical devices right now is the Royal Artisans under Amalia’s command. In other words, they already enjoy an official monopoly in this industry.
No matter how high prices are set, rich people will still buy, it’s like a gem without practical use that serves only as decoration. With the right manipulation, it can be speculated up to exorbitant prices by nobles.
Compared to other luxury goods, magical devices are at a disadvantage in their inherent ratio.
"So... it’s just pure money-grabbing from the nobles?" Lyra asked softly.
As someone extremely close to Astrid and a prodigy who had once studied magical devices under Professor Charlotte, Lyra had a rough idea of manufacturing costs.
Judging by the prices Astrid had indicated, each magical device sold could net profits multiple, dozens, even, times their cost.
For more complex magical technologies requiring heavy labor investment, like the recently demonstrated information transmitter, it wouldn’t be impossible to make nearly a hundredfold profit on a single unit.
Compared to practicality, magical devices labeled by Astrid as high-end luxury items really functioned as status symbols within noble circles, like how noblewomen buy clothes not only to cover their bodies but for beauty, breathability, comfort, even brand prestige.
A plain black evening gown or an unremarkable jewel, once worn or displayed by Astrid Ovesia, the empire’s acknowledged first beauty, gains extra added value. Even if someone acquires a copy rather than the original, many beauty-conscious noble ladies will scramble for it.
Packaging, publicity, and gimmicks, after Astrid applied her knowledge from her previous life and carried out a series of mature commercial operations, nobles were buying more than just the device’s service; they were buying so-called emotional value.
"Hmm. Getting money out of them is both hard and easy," Astrid murmured, sipping tea.
"For nobles, a product’s practicality still matters, but not overwhelmingly," she continued. "Compared to raising prices on staples like salt or barley and skimming off the poor, it’s better for the empire’s stability to make nobles willing to hand over their wealth."
You don’t have to buy if you don’t want to, yet when visiting nobles see your mansion lacks even basic magical devices, it becomes inconvenient everywhere; the head of the household loses face.
This is consumerism’s cunning logic.
Lyra nodded slightly and, after a few seconds, answered in a soft voice, "I guess... I still can’t fully understand how they think."
"It’s a real platinum coin..." Lyra understood the concept of vanity, but she couldn’t fathom spending so much just for appearances. A complete set of magical devices could cost nearly as much as several houses.
She was a pragmatist.
"Lyra can’t understand because you haven’t lived that life much," Astrid said. "For imperial nobles, spending a year’s wages of a commoner on a bouquet or a lifetime’s savings on a dress is like ordinary people having one extra cup of coarse ale for breakfast."
"They can completely accept it."
Lyra was wealthy now, but compared to nobles who’d accumulated fortunes for generations, she was still behind, at most a nouveau riche in the terms of her previous life.
That wasn’t necessarily bad; At least this girl hadn’t yet picked up the moral decay of the aristocracy.
After a while Lyra spoke softly, "But... It’s kind of good."
"The more money you take from them, the more you can do later."
"I’ll always support you."
Like Charlotte’s original intention in researching magical devices, not to get rich, but to benefit society and make people’s lives more convenient, Lyra believed that Astrid wouldn’t be a greed-driven villain. She’d use the amassed wealth to help the lower classes and perhaps all of humanity.
Astrid blinked at her small girlfriend’s trust; her crimson eyes shimmered with a delicate light. She couldn’t help but think that the world was a vast loop of comparative misery. Compared to the feudal system that devoured people, even capitalism felt advanced.
As for the next step, Astrid had no solid plan. Setting aside that the Valeria Empire’s populace might not be intellectually ready and the lack of fertile ground for such ideas, in a fantasy world where personal combat strength can sway grand events, whether it can work was uncertain, ten thousand gathered folk might not stand against one legendary mage’s annihilating spell.
One must walk the road steadily: first try transitioning to a capitalist phase, let new nobles replace the old, and achieve a dual leap in magic studies and politics. That’s what Astrid was working on.
Following Lyra’s line of thought, Astrid explained the mechanics of capital and discussed the considerations of skipping rapacious primitive accumulation and changing steadily growing national power from a primary stage.
She summarised the regent’s plans succinctly. Lyra learned a flood of grand schemes she’d never heard Astrid mention before. Not schooled in politics like Amalia and lacking knowledge of economics, the not-so-bright, earnest knight felt increasingly bewildered.
She wasn’t Amalia; she’d never taken so many political lessons. From Astrid’s words, Lyra could only roughly understand that her beloved princess planned something huge, possibly changing the social system humans had lived under for thousands of years.
Astrid watched the pink-haired girl, whose cheeks had returned to a neutral hue and whose eyes regarded her with confusion. She took a sip of tea, wetting her throat, and asked softly, "Lyra... do you understand?"
It was like being caught dozing in class and being called on, the girl’s posture straightened, hands landing on her together, clad white thighs.
"Um... I... " Lyra stammered, then gave her understanding. "I get a little. Astrid thinks that as magical devices develop, social systems will have to change. If the empire keeps the same institutions, contradictions will arise."
She roughly repeated Astrid’s points and added her own small thoughts. Astrid’s expression toward her shifted from viewing the pink-haired maid as a silly thing to seeing a hardworking student trying her best to understand despite limited aptitude.
"That’s about right." Astrid approved Lyra’s answer and, not wanting to torture her further with political lessons, switched to more everyday topics as they imagined a future where magical devices were widely.
The magical-airship moved at high speed; the metal port on the left gradually closed. At the same time, the element crystal on that side stopped functioning and the ship steered northwest.
They sipped tea and accepted small cakes from the head maid; Their conversation drifted back to noble imperials. Beyond disdain for nobles, Lyra once again marvelled at how they would buy such expensive magical devices for the sake of face, without even blinking.
When she had brought home a magical kettle, she had feared her parents would win at the price.
"That said, I’m actually similar to them," Lyra admitted. "Astrid, aren’t you not that interested in luxury goods?"
Astrid’s smile blossomed. Aside from the ruby her mother had given her and the deep-blue brooch that amplified her ice magic, she rarely wore other jewelry, unless a family like Bulstrode commissioned promotion work, in which case she’d wear something showy.
Hearing Lyra, Astrid’s heel that had been nudging close slid up along the other’s leg; the pointed tip skimmed over the white silk, the dark and light whispering together.
"That dress you mentioned was pricey, the Royal Tailors used the finest ice-silk, and it was handwoven stitch by stitch according to my design."
"But it still didn’t last a single time like the others," she said.
Lyra’s face went crimson as she instantly understood what Astrid referred to. Under the flirtation of the wicked woman, the maid clung to a fragile purity; her clear blue eyes shimmered as if several lines of dots filled her pupils.
"That... that..." Lyra’s voice trembled; heat buzzed in her head. In that situation, saying strange things like ’it’s a gift’ while kissing and grinding with her leg, who could guarantee clothes wouldn’t get ruined?
Watching Lyra become unbearably cute, Astrid’s mischievousness grew. With the smooth instep cloaked in black silk she lightly tapped the other’s leg.
"And once, Lyra accidentally tore the wrist tie." Astrid continued. "Those black thigh-highs were not cheap either, the gold-and-silver floral pattern alone took many processes."
She lifted a finger and brushed at Lyra’s lips, wiping away the tiny smudge of cream from earlier. Then, in front of Lyra, she opened and closed her own pink lips and delicately cleaned them.
"Now you probably understand that part of the nobles’ thinking a bit better, right?"
Lyra wasn’t thinking about that at all, she was considering how something could be both elegant and lewd simply by looking good.
Keeping silent, she clamped her legs together and squeezed Astrid’s ankle hard to stop her from moving.
There’s a soft click like the night-sky colored high heel slips off and lands on the floor. The smooth black-silk foot nestles between Lyra’s snow-white legs like dark chocolate on a cold cream.
Astrid kept her hands folded, maintaining elegance as she took small sips of tea.
"My dear knight... blushing too much..." She never tired of teasing her little maid.
"But... absolutely adorable," Astrid said.
The airship still has some distance between Capital City and the Liya Tower Fortress. Over these days the regent had been in the skies and had no need for noble socializing. The action plan was already prepared, no last-minute arrangements required.
Before they made the formal descent, Astrid had ample time to toy with Lyra and bring them both into a relatively perfect state, without weariness or pressure, for the business ahead.