Princess’s Struggle for Survival

As long as it was Livia telling the story, she wanted to hear it.

Having no experience telling stories to children, Livia thought for a moment, trying to piece together a fairy tale from her memory. Seeing this, Amalia looked towards the bedside table.

Following her gaze, Livia saw a black-covered book on the bedside table, its title embossed in gold: "Glass Fairy Tales."

So she had already prepared.

Livia smiled, picked up the fairy tale book, quickly scanned the table of contents, and flipped through a few stories.

She could confirm that this so-called "Glas Fairy Tales" was mostly excerpts from Andersen's Fairy Tales, with a few from the Brothers Grimm, a hybrid of the two.

Finding the story of Cinderella, Livia read through it briefly and then began to narrate.

"Once upon a time, a wealthy man's wife fell seriously ill... His new wife brought her two daughters to live with them. They were beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside..."

"Cinderella endured her stepsisters' bullying but remained diligent. Later, she met a prince and fell in love with him at first sight."

"When the day of the ball arrived, Cinderella wanted to go but had no beautiful dress. Suddenly, an old woman appeared..."

Livia's voice was pleasant, clear and melodious, like a nightingale singing in the woods. Amalia listened intently, her arms around Livia's waist tightening.

"The old woman gave Cinderella a beautiful carriage, a lovely dress, and a pair of glass slippers... At the ball, the prince fell in love with the beautifully dressed Cinderella at first sight..."

"When the clock struck twelve, everything returned to normal, but Cinderella accidentally left behind a glass slipper, which the prince found..."

"...After searching house by house, the prince found Cinderella, and they lived happily ever after."

Amalia had never read this fairy tale book, and the story Livia told was her first time hearing it. But perhaps because the story drew from reality, Amalia saw many parallels to her own life.

The beautiful but ugly-hearted stepsisters, the bullied and helpless Cinderella, and the prince who rescued her from her misery.

Just as the witch's magic would vanish at midnight, Livia would leave the castle at half past five.

Livia was both the witch who helped her and the prince who saved her, the only light in her confined life.

After finishing the story, Livia glanced at the clock. There were less than ten minutes left before the transformation potion would wear off, and she needed to replenish it.

"Amalia, I need to go to the bathroom."

As Livia prepared to sit up, she felt Amalia's hands around her waist didn't loosen.

Amalia continued to hug her, her emerald eyes shimmering.

"Sister..." The golden-haired loli paused, her voice low.

"Are you going to drink that green potion again?"

Amalia's words struck a chord in Livia's heart. The woman pursed her lips, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

She had always made sure to drink the potion away from Amalia. When did the girl notice?

As she pondered, Amalia continued, "Sister..."

"Are you sick?"

She had noticed more than once that Livia drank a dark green liquid from a crystal vial, and she had to drink at least two bottles every night.

Could it be... that Livia was suffering from a serious illness...

Livia frowned slightly, unsure how to explain this to Amalia.

She couldn't very well tell her that if she stopped taking the potion, Livia would vanish in an instant, replaced by the silver-haired Princess Astrid whom Amalia hated the most.

After a moment, Livia softly replied, "It's not exactly an illness..."

"My physical condition requires these potions to maintain."

Otherwise, forget telling you stories, even speaking would likely be met with disdain.

In a way, Livia wasn't lying to Amalia; she just wasn't revealing the full truth.

Hearing this, Amalia furrowed her brows, not fully understanding Livia's words.

"Does that mean... if you don't drink these potions, your body will have problems?"

How could someone as good as Livia be suffering from such a thing...

"Yes, you could say that." Livia nodded gently.

After hearing Livia's words, Amalia asked, "So you've been hiding it from me because you didn't want me to worry?"

Livia always found ways to avoid her when drinking the potion. If she hadn't noticed that the grape juice level hadn't dropped that night, she might never have discovered it.

Amalia's subsequent probing was merely to confirm whether Livia was hiding anything from her.

"That's part of the reason..." Livia replied, glancing at the clock.

Seven minutes left. If she didn't drink another bottle of the one-way transformation potion soon, the illusion would completely wear off.

Hearing this, Amalia softly asked, "Then... what's the other part..."

Her intuition told her that the unmentioned reason was even more important.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Livia gently said, "I'm sorry, Amalia. I don't want to talk about that part yet."

One lie often requires more lies to cover it up. Rather than spending more effort deceiving Amalia, it was better to be straightforward and tell her that she didn't want to discuss the topic further.

Hearing this, Amalia's eyes darkened slightly, and she gently licked her dry lips.

"Alright, I understand."

If Livia didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't force her.

Otherwise, she would become the kind of person Livia hated the most.

Releasing her hold on Livia's waist, Amalia watched as Livia sat up, her fair skin glowing under the moonlight.

Feeling the moonlight streaming through the window, Amalia squinted her emerald eyes, vaguely noticing a strand of silver mixed into the golden hair.

Was she mistaken?

Amalia's gaze deepened as she prepared to continue observing, but Livia had already stepped away from the window.

Without the moonlight, the once-bright golden hue suddenly turned dull, fading into the shadows.

Walking to the bathroom, removing the stopper, and drinking the transformation potion, Astrid looked at the pair of crimson pupils in the mirror, her eyes filled with contemplation.

Amalia was more perceptive than she had thought. If the other hadn't brought it up, she probably wouldn't have noticed that this clingy blonde loli had long been aware of her potion-drinking habit.

Her moist tongue lightly licked her teeth as she swallowed the bitter, lingering liquid. Livia washed her hands and returned to the bedroom, gently lying down beside Amalia.

Feeling an additional source of warmth in the bed, Amalia hugged Livia again, her cheek pressed against the woman's long hair, her delicate nose lightly sniffing.

The familiar, comforting fragrance still surrounded her. Amalia raised her eyes, staring intently at the golden hair before her, as if trying to find that fleeting glimpse of silver she had seen earlier.

"Want to hear another story?"

"Mhm."

Receiving Amalia's response, Livia smiled slightly, leaning against the headboard with the book spread open on her chest.

"Let's listen to one more, then we'll sleep," the woman said.

Amalia nodded. "Okay."

Listening to Livia's gentle tone, Amalia gradually relaxed, her slender fingers grasping a strand of golden hair, lightly rubbing it between her fingers.

Livia's hair was soft and smooth. As her fingers delved into the strands, her skin felt a silky, delicate texture.

While listening to the story, Amalia observed the long hair cascading down Livia's side. The woman's hair was a pure golden color, with no trace of any other hue.

She must have been mistaken... How could someone's hair change color back and forth?

Just as the strange feeling in her heart began to dissipate, Amalia thought of something else, her brows furrowing tightly.

If the hair wasn't Livia's, then it could only belong to Princess Astrid.

Combined with the complex expression Livia had shown earlier when facing the dress, Amalia felt a slight sourness in her heart, an indescribable discomfort flooding her mind.

What had Astrid done with Livia? Why was Livia so protective of her, even restraining her dissatisfaction?

Could it be... that Astrid was more important to Livia than she was?

The scene of Livia and Astrid embracing intimately flashed before her eyes again. Amalia felt as if a string in her mind had snapped, her heart tightening.

The red mark on the collarbone, the silver hair on the bedsheet, and Livia's restrained words of reproach, all these connected like a heavy hammer striking Amalia's heart.

No, it couldn't be. No friend could be more important than a sister.

Amalia tried hard to convince herself, but the sourness rising from her chest gradually spread to her entire being, making it hard to breathe.

Livia was hers... hers alone... No one could take her away, especially that bastard Astrid.

Subconsciously, Amalia opened her cherry-like mouth, gently approaching Livia's smooth, delicate arm. A cold glint flashed in her eyes as her pink lips made contact.

At the same time, Livia was reading the fairy tale book word by word when her arm suddenly felt wet, as if wrapped in something soft, accompanied by a slight itch from something hard.

"Amalia?"

Lowering her head, Livia saw a head of fluffy golden hair.

Amalia had wrapped her arms around Livia's waist, lightly biting her right arm.

A few seconds passed, or perhaps an entire century. After leaving her mark on Livia, the unease in Amalia's heart slightly eased, but she soon faced another problem.

How should she explain to Livia why she had suddenly bitten her?

Feeling the lips on her arm gradually move away, the bitten spot slightly cool, Livia narrowed her eyes and spoke after a moment.

"Amalia... didn't you eat enough tonight?"