A lazy morning

The morning didn't start with the chirping of birds before the sun even rose. Nor did it start with a maid nearby holding a fresh breakfast platter. Today, it started with a gentle caress as hair was tucked away behind Dahlia's ear.

There was a fair deal of confusion at first. Dahlia really did struggle when she was sleepy and now was no exception. Being in a gorgeous but unfamiliar room left her struggling to remember where she was, but then the memories quickly flooded back. Beside her, a mercurial laugh echoed out.

"Sweetheart, I know you can be shy, but I didn't think your face could go so red! Other than some embarrassment though, I hope you remember last night fondly?"

Valentina was very confident in her skills, however when it came to this girl, she really couldn't help but be concerned. She stressed that she had pushed too many boundaries, or perhaps even taken advantage of her while she was drunk. Getting a bit tipsy could help the mood, but the idea a sober Dahlia may have rejected her made the Archduchess fret relentlessly. Fortunately, Dahlia was more than content.

Was she embarrassed? Yes. Was her body aching and screaming at her? Also yes. The previous night had been exhilarating, overwhelming, and left her already looking forward to more in the future. The fact that the Archduchess never even came close to pushing boundaries and using her full capabilities only left Dahlia wanting more.

But now wasn't the time for that. Instead now was a time to rest and try to recover. Something told her that the aches throughout her body weren't going to leave any time soon, but that was a problem she'd just have to deal with. A memory of the spell Bessie told her about came to mind, and Dahlia suddenly came to an epiphany as to why the maid had suggested numbing her senses. Learning that spell might just let her move the following day…

Luckily, there was a source of distraction. The Archduchess had quickly noticed how sore Dahlia was and began rubbing and massaging her, all while leaving soft kisses here and there on marks that had appeared the previous night.

"So? You didn't respond. Are you ok after everything?"

Dahlia just let out a relaxed sigh as she leaned into her pampering and kissed the vampiress gently.

"Yes, more than ok. And don't you worry, I don't have any regrets in the world. Hmm, maybe one regret. I need to get in better shape because I don't even think I can do combat training right now. I was looking forward to it too…"

The Archduchess looked down and chuckled at the pouting girl before running her fingers through her hair in a soothing motion.

"Well, I do apologise for getting out of hand, but… getting in shape is a good idea. When we eventually take the next step, if you're still like this then I'm truly worried what might happen to you then."

She had said it in a joking manner, but she couldn't help but grimace. Knowing just how out of hand she could get, she genuinely feared hurting Dahlia. Suddenly the desire for the girl's physical training was no longer exclusively rooted for her self defence and Valentina had to shake her head to try and get her priorities straight.

"Anyways, this is actually something I wanted to talk to you about. While your combat training *is* important, I thought it might be a good idea to prioritise your schema. This might sound frivolous but I contacted Esmé, the woman you saw at the debutante, and had her create a set of lenses. She specialises in glass magic, so perfectly crafted lenses is something she can do. We just made a set and, while they aren't exactly fashionable, you should be able to find one to use as a monocle. We'll find something a little nicer down the road."

Dahlia listened intently and was incredibly excited to finally have something to help her read. She had repeatedly tried since recovering her eyesight, but it remained just too blurry to do for any length of time. Now she could finally pursue her magic, as well as enjoy reading the books in the castle's numerous libraries.

There was one thing that caught her off guard though in what had been said, and it was that the Empress Dowager specialised in glass. She thought back to the giant rift in space that the woman had formed, and it certainly seemed like she specialised in space rather than glass, but then she recalled something.

When the spacial fissure was made, it had a shattered appearance and made sounds like broken glass as well. It made Dahlia start to question what her aspect actually was. The history books discussed her magic, but more often than not it didn't reveal much. 'She eliminated an entire battlefield single handedly' or 'a tactical teleportation was used to create a flank'. Descriptions like these were the standard.

And back during the war of conquest when the empire formed, that was when she had an innate schema and her bloodline was more prominent. Descriptions of the 'Azure Maenad' were far more common and, as time passed, Esmé's actual aspect became something historians just didn't talk about. It honestly felt weird and getting hints of what it was made Dahlia just a little excited.

Seeing the girl's intrigued face, Valentina almost told her what the aspect was, but decided against it. While Esmé certainly made it clear that her aspect wasn't to be openly discussed, the vampiress would have disobeyed that for Dahlia in a heartbeat, however… the girl's inquisitiveness was cute and she seemed like she was having fun forming theories, so Valentina decided to keep her lips sealed.

After letting her thoughts linger for a moment, Dahlia returned to the subject at hand.

"Even if I have a way to read, I don't know if I'll be able to actually figure out my schema. I need arcane tattooing tools after all."

Seeing a proud smirk on the Archduchess' face, Dahlia's eyebrows raised in shock.

"You didn't! I know you have connections, but that's crazy. They're rare relics and it typically takes ages to find any."

She would know. Because her parents knew what her schema would be, they had actually gone out of their way to get the tools for her. They had started searching when she was thirteen and it took five more years until they finally found a set where they weren't instantly outbid in an auction. Even then, they had only found a D grade set. It had hardly been usable for Dahlia's needs, but it was still a massive expenditure and time sink.

Valentina ruffled her hair and chuckled a bit, but decided to relent.

"As much as I want to say that I'm the best and I can do anything… these are family heirlooms. Not that anyone used them mind you, but it was a gift given by the chieftain of a nomadic mermaid tribe. You remember that tapestry about the thirty year brine dragon conquest? It was related to that. Anyway, although they were largely isolationist and nomadic, their craftsmanship was superb and it's a B grade relic. "

Again, Dahlia was just flabbergasted. The type of relic she needed was already here and it was B grade of all things? This changed things. Before she had planned around a D grade tattoo kit. Enough to get the job done in a rough sort of way. But with B grade, certain things that were impossible before could now be performed.

The way arcane tattoos were formed was, by using an accompanying relic, an individual could use mana to burn permanent magical imagery onto their body. It was painful and felt like being cut with a burning knife, but the results were permanent and could be used to channel and shape mana very efficiently.

The issue was that, depending on the grade of the relic, the detail would be limited. The relics helped transform an image in the user's mind into actual imagery. With a poor relic, what was produced could be shaky, blurred, lacking detail and more. For this reason, Dahlia had to shelve a lot of ideas in order to suit her D grade set of tools. Now though? A B grade had just allowed her far more precision and detail.

With some excitement, she began to peck tiny kisses all over the Archduchess before looking into those beautiful eyes.

"Alright then, I'll make you proud. While I was recovering Bessie and I made some decent headway on my specifier so I finally have some ideas, though it might be a little atypical. But I'm going to finally put everything into practice and prove to any doubters that I can stand by your side!"

Valentina nuzzled the excited girl but looked at her with quite a serious expression.

"Has anyone had the nerve to talk like that? If so tell me and I'll-"

"No! No. It's just… I know people will think it. I do too in a lot of ways. I need to prove to them and myself that I can have worth. As much as I adore being by your side, I don't want them to view me as some special pet, you know?"

Of course she knew. No matter how much the thought pained her, it was impossible to ignore how so many people would think of Dahlia. She feared that even if she made herself renown across the continent, there would still be some douchebags that would claim Dahlia was nothing but a pet. Some favoured slut that got where she was by using the Lukresh family's money like some gold digger.

Just thinking of such things made the vampiress suddenly want to break something, but she managed to hold herself back, instead clinging to the girl beside her like a body pillow and taking a deep breath, enjoying her scent. While it still remained very alluring to her, the closer they had gotten, the more Valentina found that the natural scent Dahlia gave off was simply comforting. Like a gentle and warm hug on a cold winter day.

As she let herself calm down, she sighed. The sun was beaming through the windows and the time to work was approaching. Using a preplaced hex, Valentina sent a basic message for Bessie to come to their location so that the maid could serve her mistress. She had been given the first portion of the morning off, but now that life needed to continue the maid should be here as well.

Their time together was sweet and soft, but it passed by far too quickly. Soon, Valentina was just heading out the door as Bessie walked in. After a quick bow towards the Archduchess, the minotaur-kin turned to look at Dahlia and after once glance she smirked.

"Feeling a little sore today, are we My Lady?"

Dahlia furrowed her brows in mock anger before sticking out her tongue.

"Oh, stuff it Bessie. No need to tease me, you knew all too well that this would happen, wouldn't you."

The maid smiled, held up a jar of pain and swelling reducing ointment and then declared smugly.

"I think I was quite clever! Not only did I get rewarded with you sleeping in and myself getting to relax for a couple hours, but I even had the forethought to bring something to help. You should stop sticking your tongue out and start giving me more praise!"

The two went back and forth together, having gotten remarkably close in the last few days and enjoying the mindless banter. Finally though, Dahlia cracked her knuckles and gained something of a serious expression.

"Alright. So there may be no combat training today, but I plan to finally apply my schema. Help me to the study and organise my book, the lenses Valentina had made, as well as the arcane tattoo kit. The waiting is finally over."

Bessie only bowed in an affirmative before taking action, but all the while she was wearing a gentle smile. Considering Dahlia could get so flustered and lost in her own thoughts, it was sometimes tough to remember that under her cute exterior there was a true genius hidden away.

It was at times like this where the girl's expression changed from that of a little bunny to something proud and elegant. That expression she had now was one that could easily be seen beside the Archduchess and Bessie believed with all her heart that, one day, Dahlia would truly command respect in the same way Valentina did.

The set up took some time. Dahlia was brought to the study first where she began to focus immediately on her grimoire, going over all her old notes that were well past memorised. Next, an elegant black brocade box was placed on the desk, which Dahlia could only assume contained the relic. Finally, Bessie laid out a set of food, a large drink, and then both Mr. Lilly and Kitten.

The two plants sat on the desk corner and Dahlia thought they looked like they had been lonely and wanted attention. Gently patting the tiny shrub, Dahlia cast a questioning look toward her maid.

"You see, once this process starts, you won't be able to stop. I got food and drink so you have some energy going in, but I brought the plants because… well, it might feel a bit lonely and I was hoping they'd give you company. I can't be near you or else I might disrupt the process so I hope your 'green babies' can give you some companionship."

She looked at Dahlia and at this point there was something close to motherly love in her eyes. This is going to hurt dreadfully, are you really sure about this?"

Dahlia just smiled. There was a bit of fear in her eyes, but she didn't let her voice show it.

"Yes Bessie, I'm sure. I'll be fine. Just be ready for me once this is over, I feel like I might need a helping hand. For now though, please leave. I'm going to need some space for this."

The maid dismissed herself and left the room, and immediately after, Dahlia released a shaky breath.

'Ok, it's all riding on this! Time to self inflict torture on myself and pray to the gods that my schema works.'

And with that, she opened the ornamental box on the table and began the procedure.