Chapter 130: Morning from hell.

This whole morning had been an absolute nightmare for her. First, that bully Loveline had stormed in her room and dragged her out of bed at 4:00 AM sharp_ literally just when Lita had finally managed to fall asleep after a long night of doing chores with the servants that worked the night shift.

And for what? To make her prepare the entire family breakfast from scratch! This family truly treated her like another servant they had acquired for free from some slave market in the Aurora Dominion.

What made her blood boil even more as she recalled it all was the ridiculous menu. Everyone in this blasted family had a different, overly dramatic diet. The Grand Patriarch only ate roasted meat and steamed vegetables. It was practically a ritual disguised as nourishment.

The roasted meat had to be cut from the best flank, seasoned with rare herbs and seared until the edges crisped but the center remained tender. Steamed vegetables were no less demanding.

They had to be harvested from the family farm that very morning, washed in spring water, arranged by color!! Greens first, then yellows, then whites. Each portion had to be balanced in weight, neither too heavy nor too light, and served piping hot.

Lita had known as this was explained that every morning would mean endless labor going forward.

Sabrina wanted lightly blanched herbs. Her first husband Horas wanted slowly brewed tea that took two hours to be ready! Her Second husband Antone wanted coffee that was made traditionally. Her third husband Nastreus wanted fresh juice prepared with water gathered from morning dew!

Then came other aunts, uncles and children! All with requests that were nightmares to her. It explained why they had many servants.

Why on earth can’t they all just eat the same thing?! Lita had screamed in her mind. It’s just breakfast! Eat a bowl of rice and shut up!

But she didn’t dare to say it to their faces directly. And now, after sweating over hot stoves for hours, they couldn’t even show a shred of mercy. They wanted her to do the dishes too!

As much as she wanted to throw a plate at the wall, when she looked at the Grand Patriarch’s stern, wrinkled face, she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She was absolutely terrified of him. One wrong word and he would lock her in the woodshed or make her sleep in the beast housing to reflect for a month.

Swallowing her pride and her anger, Lita forced her stiff legs to move. She stood up, grabbed a heavy silver platter, and began piling dirty bowls onto it, her joints popping with tension.

Seeing that she had submitted, the elders nodded in approval, stood up, and slowly filed out of the dining hall, chatting about clan politics as if they hadn’t just humiliated her.

Only Sabrina lingered behind, of course Loveline as well. She stood near the doorway, watching Lita struggle with a stack of oily plates.

"Meet me in my office once you are finished here." Sabrina said coldly.

Lita didn’t look up. She kept her eyes glued to the greasy bowls, swallowed the lump in her throat, and nodded. "Yes, mother."

Sabrina pinched her lips together into a thin, displeased line. She gave Lita one final, deeply disappointing look_ the kind that makes you feel about two inches tall, and turned on her heel, her long dress sweeping the floor as she walked away.

Lita glared at the empty doorway, gripped a soup spoon so hard it almost cracked, and let out a miserable, exhausted sigh. Today was going to be a very long day.

When she got the opportunity, she would sneak out and find the Divine maiden. Otherwise, she would die as a servant in this home.

"Get on with it!" Loveline screamed.

********

The only activity that went down at Beast Valley in the morning was training, and today, Zyra could not understand why Hunter was pushing her even harder. The only guess she could make was that he was still holding a grudge.

"Give me fifty push-ups!" Hunter barked, his face as stern as a stone slab.

"Fifty?! I just did 200!" Zyra gasped from the dirt, her arms already shaking like jelly.

Just then, the twin leopards dashed past Zyra, running hilariously on their hind legs to keep up with their own drills. One of them leaned toward the other and whispered loudly, "What is wrong with the big boss today? Did he eat some bad herbs like the other guy?"

Zyra heard it, and honestly, she wanted to know the exact same thing.

The very moment her fiftieth push-up was complete; Zyra scrambled to her feet. She crossed her arms in front of her chest to form a giant ’X’ and panted, "Time out! I need a breather."

"You don’t get to say that to me!" Hunter shouted back, his eyes snapping toward her.

Zyra huffed, planting her hands firmly on her waist. "What is wrong with you today?" she asked, exasperated.

Hunter just glared at her as if she had personally insulted his family. "Combat water survival training is next," he announced coldly. "Everybody, head to the Beast Pavilion’s water section. Now."

Squirrel popped its head out from the back of a tree where he had been hiding and squeaked at Spice. "Does... does that apply to us as well?"

Zyra frowned, turning to Hunter. "Are the beasts coming too?"

Hunter stared at the gathering crowd of crawling, furry, feathered, and scaled creatures. "Everybody."

Instantly, a chorus of growls and complaints erupted from the beasts.

"Water? You’ve got to be kidding me! I just groomed my fur!" one growled.

"I say we teach this human a lesson," another grumbled, cracking its claws.

Tyrant stepped forward and glared at the complainers. "Don’t you dare," he rumbled. "And besides, this isn’t his fault. It’s Zyra’s fault."

Zyra, who was walking just a few paces behind them, dragging her feet, paused in her tracks. "Excuse me? How is this my fault?"

Spice blinked, looking up at Tyrant. "Yeah, how is it my mother’s fault?"

Zyra blinked. When did she become Spice’s mother?

Tyrant sighed, tossing his head back. "Hunter failed to sleep because someone was laughing too loudly since her return from the trip she told nobody about."

Zyra’s breath hitched. Her face flushed hot with realization.

Oh, no!

The tonic she had made for him last night... it hadn’t worked!

So, he had been awake the whole time. And she had stayed up late watching funny videos of Lita’s wedding giggling her head off. But she hadn’t been that loud! Had she?

She activated soul sight and shuddered, looking at Hunter’s stiff, straight back as he marched ahead. The cracks in his soul were still visible and raw.

"System you said...."

[This is not magic host; it worked but he needs other things to help him as well. Like silence for one.

How was he supposed to sleep when you played those videos very loudly, as if you wanted the whole world to hear?

And your laugh! Are you human or a donkey?]