In the evening, as the sun shone like a giant golden coin nearly sinking below the western horizon, Marie spent her time in her room in silence, accompanied by her dolls. A book lay beside her, unopened and untouched.
Initially, she had intended to read it to pass the time. But upon second thought, she was too tired for that. Her body ached here and there; it felt like there was no energy left in her. Her head felt very heavy.
All of this was due to her first battle. The vibrations from the clashing metal still resonated in her bones. The sensation of being cut lingered on her skin, and... the feeling of being on the brink of death was etched into her soul.
She also wouldn't forget how it felt when her sword plunged into the body of a living creature. Even though it was just a hobgoblin, that feeling left a mark on her heart. After all, it was her first kill. The old her couldn't even bear to kill a fly, but now she had killed a monster.
Nevertheless, Marie tried not to dwell on it. Let the past be the past. Because tomorrow was the day she would depart for the academy. She needed to rest; she had to wake up very early to avoid being late on her first day. She couldn't wait to make memories with someone who might become her good friend.
But she might feel a bit lonely there. Since Morgan was her servant, he couldn't accompany her to the academy due to the rules. Even though he was a demon, he already felt like a friend, a servant, and a teacher to her. He would probably feel lonely too.
But it felt dangerous to her. Leaving a great demon like him unsupervised seemed worrisome. Who knew what he might do in her absence?
But Marie believed he would behave well if she told him to.
Marie was extremely tired; her eyelids felt heavy. Usually, she would ask Morgan for warm milk before bed. But currently, he had been summoned by the head butler for some matter. So, Marie decided to close her eyes. Because tomorrow was a special day.
***
A sudden chill enveloped her, jolting Marie awake from her dream. She looked around, becoming aware of Morgan's presence
standing at the foot of her bed. Her blanket was folded in his hands.
"Good morning," he said cheerfully, as if without a care in the world.
Half-awake, Marie wanted to scream in anger. But she held back; it wasn't good to cause a commotion in the morning.
"Wake up and get energized! Today is your first day at the academy, right?"
That sentence struck her like lightning on a calm day. Immediately, she got out of bed. However, because her body wasn't fully awake, she almost tripped over her own feet.
The floor stopped right in front of her face. Morgan swiftly grabbed her pajamas, preventing her from kissing the floor. Then he lifted her and carefully positioned her upright.
"Don't be too excited; there's still plenty of time before departure."
"Ugh, thank you. In that case, I'll pack my things."
"I've already done it." Morgan pointed to the plump suitcases behind him.
Marie suddenly remembered something. "My clothes?"
"Done!"
"My textbooks?"
"Done!"
Marie narrowed her eyes. "My underwear?"
"Done!"
Marie grabbed the rabbit doll from her bed and threw it at his face. But it was nothing to him; he easily dodged it without any dramatic movement.
"Don't just touch a woman's underwear as you please, you idiot!!" she shouted angrily.
Morgan could only smile slightly. "Ahaha, remember that I am a man who already has a partner. I wouldn't be interested in a little girl's underwear, Marie," he said casually.
"Are you saying I'm not attractive?!"
She grabbed more dolls from her bed to launch a barrage of attacks at him. Morgan easily avoided every attack directed at him without moving from his spot.
"Instead of thinking about that, shouldn't you take a bath and get dressed first?" he said calmly, as if nothing had happened.
Soon, she ran out of dolls. Thanks to that, her anger subsided. And now her stomach growled, demanding food.
"Ah, it seems you're hungry too. How about I prepare breakfast while you take a bath?"
Marie just grumbled softly; she had no energy to argue. So she averted her gaze and walked out of the room. The door slammed shut loudly. Morgan had escaped.
Not long after, Marie returned from the bathroom. Now, she looked fresher and radiant. Her half-closed eyes now revealed two sparkling sapphires. Ready to go to the academy.