“Rise and shine, miss Hazelmere!”

The loud, stern, feminine voice woke her up, replacing her sweet dreams with a dull headache.

In response, she pulled the bedsheet over her head, with only her canine ears sticking out.

“That won’t do!” The voice said, not changing its tone, as the sheet was skillfully torn out of her weak hands.

“Mhmm … give me some time, will you?” Her clouded, aching mind tried reasoning with the assailant, “I have nothing important to do today! Let me sleep until noon. You know I need some rest now!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, miss. You must get up, right this instant!”

As soon as the voice said that, the light struck her sleepy eyes, making her frown deeply as she turned her head in the other direction.

“You inconsiderate …” her words were filled with venom, but the voice just talked over her.

“The noon has already passed! I gave you plenty of time! You will either get out of your bed right now, like a proper, elegant lady, or I’ll pour a bucket of cold water over your head!”

Hearing that, she shifted in bed, trying to face the voice. The light stinging her eyes forced her to cover it with her hand.

“What’s gotten into you? You’ve never been this aggressive before!”

“You’ve been neglecting your duties for too long, and now you’re running out of time!”

“Time for what? I’ve told you, there’s nothing important left for me to do! That’s why I had the gala in the first place!”

As her eyes started adapting to the light, she realized she was the only one in the bed.

“Wha … where have my guests gone?”

The voice paused a little bit before answering: “They’ve already left! They woke up on time, had their breakfast, and left the estate.”

The voice paused again, before returning with a slightly pleading tone in it: “I must say, once again, that I … disapprove of your current lifestyle … miss Hazelmere. That is not how a noble lady should behave.”

“Oh, come on!” Hazelmere yelled as she landed on her back, “Will you stop with it already!”

“As your butler, I have to make sure you don’t lose your way.”

Hazelmere opened her eyes slowly. Her head was hurting like hell, but her eyes have finally adapted to the light. The windows were open wide, enabling the sunlight to fill the room, followed by the slight breeze.

Right next to the windows stood her unforgiving, stoic butler. It was an older female with a proper posture and a dead serious face, the most typical kind of a butler the noble houses choose for their daughters.

The butler was dressed in practical, formal clothing. Sure, it was designed to look elegant, just like everything else in a noble’s home. Still, a butler’s clothing is a rare example of a noble’s willingness to compromise when absolutely necessary. If elegance or aesthetics could get in the way of a butler’s performance, those would be discarded. And that means you won’t see any frills, looseness, or unnecessary gadgets anywhere on a butler’s suit. Even the butler’s big ears were neatly tied together, so those wouldn’t get in the way somehow.

Taking a good look at her butler, Hazelmere tried her best to sound reproachful. However, that served no purpose since her canine, honey-brown tail swished around in annoyance.

“Listen, Luana … don’t you think I deserve some slack …”

“No, I don’t think so,” her butler cut her off once again, making her roll her eyes and start gesticulating with her hands.

“Listen … look … I did everything anyone has ever asked of me, and more! I was a good kid, never caused any trouble, and studied well when I became an adult. I stayed pure for two centuries just to get the chance at becoming an archmage and, mind you, a lot of handsome males were running after me. You know that better than anyone else!”

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“I also remember catching you a few times when you were about to succumb to the temptation.”

Hazelmere rolled her eyes again, blushing a bit.

“Anyway, I became a mage in the end. And that was what everyone expe …”

She paused with a troubled expression on her face. She had one soundless hiccup, then another one, after which she hastily leaned over the bed, emptying the contents of her stomach on the floor in the most unladylike manner.

The butler’s facial expression didn’t change, but the disgust was reflected in her stare.

“Anyway,” Hazelmere got back up as if nothing has happened, “I became a mage, and that was what everyone expected of me. But that’s not where I’ve stopped! Against all odds, I became the royal archmage! Do you have any idea how hard it is to become one? Our family never had one, I made history that day! So, don’t you think I deserve some slack? While everyone else enjoyed their lives, I worked hard to get where I’m now! And shouldn’t I get some reward for it? I mean, why did I have to work so hard and sacrifice so much if I’m not allowed to enjoy a few privileges?”

“You are in your best years, my lady. You aren’t so young anymore. Your actions can’t be excused as the fleeting entrancement of a young mind. You’re a fully grown adult and should therefore act like one! You should focus on marriage now! No, you must! You have to attract a suitable husband to ensure the longevity of your house’s legacy! And any promising candidate certainly won’t approve of your current lifestyle! Your ‘galas’ are severely limiting your options!”

“This again?” Hazelmere squinted her eyes in annoyance, “What you’re saying makes no sense since I’m getting the proposals every week! Do you have any idea what the title of the royal archmage means? Everyone wants an archmage in their family! Seriously, you’re even worse than my father!”

But her tirade ended abruptly as she landed back into the bed with a sigh.

“I see what you’re doing here … and it worked. I’m awake now. Satisfied?”

The butler certainly had a satisfied smile on her face: “Not really, not until you get up.”

Hazelmere hugged the pillow next to her: “What is it? Why are you so insistent? I don’t remember you ever being this annoying.”

The butler pulled an envelope out of a convenient pocket in her suit, showing it in an almost theatric way.

“You’ve been summoned to the senate. You have to arrive there before the three-quarters of the sunset.”

That made Hazelmere’s eyes open wide as she turned to face the butler once again: “Excuse me?”

“The Senate has been summoned and, as the royal archmage, you have no choice but to attend it.”

Hazelmere looked like a fish out of the water, together with the round-opened mouth: “Why didn’t you tell me that! They certainly didn’t send the letter today!”

The butler nodded nonchalantly: “Indeed, they’ve sent the letter the day before yesterday. However, every time I wanted to notify you of it, you’d dismiss me. Quite rudely, I must add. You didn’t want me infringing on your fun. So, according to your own instructions, I waited until your ‘gala’ ends.”

“Why didn’t you …” Hazelmere stopped mid-sentence.

After some pondering, her voice sounded much less confrontational: “I see. That was a very low blow on your part, not saying anything about it. But I get it.”

“You are talented, my lady, but not as capable as you think. You still have much more to learn. You’ve spent all your life studying magic, and that made your other qualities deteriorate. A proper lady should be competent in all things, if not fully capable.”

“That sounds nice, but I don’t see what it has to do with any of this.”

“You have to learn that ignoring those who are trying to help you will certainly have consequences.”

“Well, thanks! Thanks for putting me in a pinch now!”

“I made sure you have enough time, if you get up immediately.”

After a deep sigh, Hazelmere got up, putting her legs on the floor.

And stepped on something squishy.

Looking down and realizing it’s her own vomit, she cradled her face in her hands.

“Oh, great!”

Butler said nothing. She just eyed Hazelmere disapprovingly.

“I take it everything is ready?”

“I made sure of it personally.”

“Will you be coming with me?”

“Even though I should, considering your lack of proper mannerisms, there’s a huge mess to sort out here. Thanks to you and your guests, I have my hands full. Besides, they wouldn’t let me attend the senate meeting anyway. As long as you go there and come back soon, you won’t need me.”

“Does the letter mention anything about the session? Why are they summoning us?”

“There are no specifics, but the letter did mention it will be an extremely impactful session. It stated that no excuses would be considered if one fails to attend.”

“Well, that’s just great.”

After yet another sigh, Hazelmere raised her head. Her eyes looked at the butler pleadingly.

“Luana …”

“Yes, my lady?”

“Can you please, tell the servants to prepare something for the headache? It’s killing me.”

“What, you still haven’t learned a magic spell for that?” The butler said mockingly.

Then, she waved her hand in front of her, as if to clear up the air, mocking Hazelmere even further: “While we’re at it, you should also learn some spell to fix that disgusting breath.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Hazelmere responded in a dull, sarcastic voice, “hilarious and original, hilarious and original.”

After which, she blew in the butler’s direction, making the stern female recoil.

“Everything is already prepared, my lady. This isn’t your first time, you know? Just don’t go anywhere until I fetch the maids. We don’t want you spreading that … filth all over the room.”

And with that, the butler was gone.