"Lady Ely, you seem to be in a good mood tonight. Usually, all you do is sulk after coming back from a party. Did something good happen tonight?"
The green-haired girl hummed in happiness as she unplatted her hair out of the style they had been set into.
The hair spray had made Elysia'a hair stiff and she would have to take a bath to get the stiffness out of them but even that was not enough to dampen Ely's mood.
"Nanny, I met Lady Yoko tonight. She was so cool and mysterious. She even saved me when I was in a tight spot and she promised to meet me again. Ah, I cannot wait for Lady Yoko to come back to school. I will be best friends with her."
The nanny flinched at her Lady's enthusiasm before sighing in relief. Thank god for her lady's obliviousness.
The nanny had watched Ely Zhen grow up into the teen she was today so she knew her Lady's various moods.
And the behavior her lady was displaying right now could not be called anything other than a 'crush.'
"My lady, I am sure that Lady Yoko is nice, but you don't have to go out of your way to meet her. You should focus on your studies first."
The nanny was instantly met with a pout before Lady Ely turned away from her. The back of Lady Ely's neck was red and flushed with embarrassment and the nanny knew what she would hear next.
After all, this was the same as the last five times this had happened.
"B-But my heart beats faster when I am n-near Lady Yoko and my face goes all r-red. And I cannot help but want to get close. So I should follow this feeling, right? Nanny, I should do what I want to, right?"
'I knew it was a crush. Lady Ely falls in love far too easily and she doesn't even realize it.'
"Of course my lady. You should try getting close to Lady Yoko if that is what you want. But you also need to be careful to not get disappointed. Lady Yoko might turn out to be a different person than you might be thinking her to be."
Lady Ely pouted at the nanny's words before her eyes glazed over. The younger girl was in a world of her own now.
'Foolish girl. When will she learn not to trust the first impressions of people she meets? One day she's going to get her heart broken painfully.'
The nanny hated that thought but it was inevitable with her Lady's personality. She was really easy to take advantage of and she didn't even realize when she was being played.
'I better tell Lord Zhen about my lady's new obsession soon. If there is anyone My Lady will listen to, it's him.'
The nanny washed her hands off the case once she realized that there was nothing she could do. Her lady had already hopped in the bath and she would fall asleep as soon as she hit the bed.
That night, Lady Zhen had one of the best sleep of her entire life. Her dreams were soft and filled with gentle golden eyes.
___________________________
On the other hand, Amane had the worst two-night sleep of her life. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before and then had a hectic day before going to bed late.
So when she woke on the first day of school, her body let Amane know that she had made a bad decision.
"Stupid untrained body. Cannot even go two days without sleep. I want a refund or even a new and better body."
Despite her body's protest, Amane had to wake up and start the day. Sakura had told her that Amane could not afford to skip school by any means.
They had already made a 'generous' donation in the Tsurugi name to allow Amane a week off. Any more and the Tsurugi vault would go in the red.
"My lady, you have one hour to get ready. Do you have any preferences for breakfast?"
The new servant Amane had purchased asked her. Most of the slaves had taken to the household work fast and the other half had been assigned to the beast hall.
It had taken the better half of a day to get them to understand how to handle the tamed beasts.
"I don't have a preference. Just ask Sakura what she wants to eat and prepare that. Now leave me alone."
It took considerable effort for Amane not to throw something at the servants and go back to sleep right that second.
'I need to do this much for my future carefree and YOLO life. But I don't want to get up.'
The shower made Amane feel better and somehow got her through the breakfast without throwing her face in the food.
Amane was not sure how Sakura did it, but the girl looked perfect and ready to start the day. There were no signs of fatigue on her face but her eyes were a little redder than necessary.
'The power of modern-day make-up is too strong. You cannot even tell how a person looks under all that. And fuck, my thighs hurt. Sakura bit them too hard.'
Amane knew it was only a matter of time before the bite marks on her things hurt. The shorts Amane was wearing also exposed them to everyone's eyes but no one was brave enough to ask her anything.
Sakura eyes Amane's thighs but went red-faced as soon as she saw the evidence of what she had done.
'Look at what you did, you little shit. It was supposed to be a reward for you, not a punishment for me.'
Amane cursed Sakura out inside her mind even as she finished eating. Why did Sakura not even show any signs of being tired?
"Is this because she is young in both body and mind? Kids these days have too much energy. I cannot keep up."'
Amane knew she was being ridiculous but those words escaped her mouth in an unconscious whisper.
"What are you talking about so early in the morning? And what the hell happened to your thighs? They look red and raw."
Amane had decided. This morning had officially earned itself the award of the 'worst morning' since Amane woke up in this new world. And it included the disastrous first morning she had arrived here.
Why was Uncle Akabe in her house? Had he not stormed out of here in a fit of rage when Amane took his title away?
"I thought you were not coming to breakfast anymore father. Did you change your mind?"
Sakura took over the conversation for Amane, realizing that 'Yoko' was in no mood to be tested this morning.
However, Akabe Tsurugi was a fool and refused to take any hint even when it was about to save his life.
"I just wanted to come down today. I never expected our new 'Head' to be injured like this. How did that even happen?"
If the man had looked at Sakura, he would have wondered why she went that red in the face. He had not addressed Sakura but she was still gapping like a fish out of water.
However, Akabe Tsurugi did not look at Sakura. He focused on Amane in front of him and got a forced smile in return.
"A beast decided it would be a good idea to test my patience. But don't worry because I know how to take my revenge. The beast will not get away with this insult lightly."
Sakura flinched at the dark tone Amane used. Instantly, Sakura wanted to say that she was sorry and this was an 'in the moment' kind of thing but she could not say anything in front of her father.
Nothing she could say would please both parties in front of her but there was a chance Amane would forget that this ever happened if Sakura didn't bring it up.
"Anyway, I do not want to be late for school on the first day itself so I will go ahead and change now. I hope you know what to do next?"
"Of course. I will ask the river to get the car ready."
Amane directed the question to the kitchen staff who quickly realized what she wanted from them.
When Amane had changed her staff with the slaves, she had kept a few smart ones from leaving. These people who knew how the household worked were a great help to Amane.
"Yoko wait for a second."
Her uncle called for Amane as soon as she took a step up the stairs. She was not in any mood to entertain the man since Amane did not have time.
She had a lot of work to do and she had to get to life to go to her room. It was too far away from the ground floor.
"No….it's nothing. We can talk later once you come back home. Just don't embarrass me and we will be alright."
Uncle Akabe looked like he had a lot to say to Amane. But he fell quite under the stern gaze of Amane's eyes.
Her unnerving golden eyes were not normal and her core's power made them even brighter. To stare her down was next to impossible unless one had a will of steel.
The next time Amane came down, she was warning pants and the male uniform jacket. It not only hides her figure but also the bite marks on her legs.
Sakura did not ask Amane why she was wearing these clothes. She knew very well what Amane wanted to hide.
"Yoko, I don't think your uniform will go that well with the school's dress code. You are not wearing the right one."
Sakura pointed out the obvious which caused Amane to crown out in annoyance. Amane looked like she had a problem with the uniform but Sakura could not tell what it was.
"The shirt is alright but the female jacket is restrictive for my breasts. Besides, I cannot go off showing my legs to the world. There are secrets I must hide."
For a second Sakura went red, her mind thinking back to the 'secret' Yoko was hiding before she realized that it was more than the hickey that Amane was trying to hide.
Since Amane had to deal with wild beasts constantly from here on, the chances for her to acquire an injury were too many. But as the House head, Amane could not go off showing her weakness like this.
Weaning covering clothes for the legs and arms was the best Amane could do.
"Fuck the school. They should do away with the uniforms altogether. At least it's a plain black T-shirt with a skirt and blazer. Anymore complicated and I would have ditched the whole thing."
Sakura agreed with Amane. Simple was the best and even a skirt was a hindrance sometimes during class.
But females needed to know how to use their talent in any kind of situation and to still preserve their dignity.
"It's just school Amane so there is no need to get so heated up. Besides, didn't you say that this was all a formality? The best you need to do is to pass the course and get into an academy. You don't need to top or anything like that."
'How cunning of Sakura to say this to me. You don't even want me to try my best, huh? This way you can have all the back-door glory and make me the 'poor and stupid' family head who only knows how to do one task. But this type of reputation is not bad for me either.'
Especially for the kind of life, Amane wanted to have, such a reputation was more than perfect. With Eclipse training to take over the work for Amane and Sakura as the family face, Amane could sit back and enjoy her life.
'Oh, how my heart skips a beat just thinking about it. I cannot wait for that time to come.'