6 Chapter 5:

The next day I woke up still a bit exhausted. The party went on a lot longer than I expected.

I can't remember much of it, though; I think the cake did that to me; the state of bliss I was in was amazing. I still remember taking that first bite… I felt like I could hear colors and taste sounds. Did they soak the sponge cake in LSD-infused cherry liqueur by accident? Well, I'm not complaining because that shit was ~ divine ~.

(A/N what's your favorite cake/dessert?)

*Click* *Click*

That damnable noise again, why are they taking pics agai- "Oh crap," I muttered, quickly shooting up, wiping my drool with my right sleeve. The maid on duty today, Lumiere, found herself unable to hold in her giggles at my situation,

"I-I'm sorry, Lady Izayoi, it's rare seeing you act like someone your age would. I couldn't contain myself." eliciting an embarrassed pout and crossed arms from yours truly before I decided to ask for my schedule for today,

"Hmph! Well, I suppose I can forgive you for today. If you delete those pictures and tell me my schedule for today."

"Of course, Lady Izayoi" what I didn't know at the time was that she already sent those pics to my mother, grandmother, and every other maid in the mansion.

"For starters, you have your morning bath, which I have already run for you, then there is a light breakfast at 7:30 consisting of a simple poached egg and avocado on toast with a glass of orange juice. From there, you should head over to the mansion's gym where your PT will be waiting for you." I groaned when the gym was mentioned before letting her continue,

"The session is planned to last until 12:00, where you should have enough time to take a short shower to freshen up before lunch is served. Lunch consists of an arugula pesto pasta dish loaded with mozzarella pearls, cherry tomatoes, and sweet basil." I was surprised at the level of detail she went into regarding the dish. Typically it's only a few words.

'Is this her trying to give me an incentive for trying to get through the gym session? With mentions of tasty food? If so, it's working as I can feel my mouth watering already.'

"After lunch, you are free for the rest of the day until 15:00, when Lady Yaoyorozu is coming over for the sleepover you promised her last night at the party. There will be no dinner served tonight as Izayoi-sama has predicted you would be snacking during the night, and we didn't want to increase your caloric intake and push your meal plan too off-center."

"Thank you, Lumiere. You may continue with your duties."

I leave the blonde maid to her work, making my way over to the bathroom, hissing a little as my feet make contact with the cold laminated flooring. I noticed my gym clothes and some spare towels are already laid out for me to change into. How diligent of Lumiere, slowly undressing before making my way over to the shower stall to clean myself before heading over to the bath. Lowering my foot into the lavender-scented bath, a small moan escapes my lips,

"Ahhhn~" I promptly moved my entire body into the water before groaning in satisfaction. I felt like the story of Goldilocks because this bath's temperature is "Just right~." Submerging myself in the relaxing purple-tinted liquid even further until my head is above water, resting on the edge. I began to muse to myself on how this could be better,

"A glass of red wine, some music, and a good book is all I need for this to be perfect," quickly remembering something Lumiere said before asking out loud, "Since when did I invite Momo over for a sleepover? Whatever they spiked that cake with sure was strong; I can't remember that at all."

Taking my sweet time in the bath and its soothing warm embrace before I decided I needed to leave before I got all wrinkly. Looking up at the clock, I saw it was 7:24, drying and dressing in record time. I quickly made my way to the kitchen, greeting any house staff I found along the way. It was a challenging ordeal remembering the names of 42 maids, but I did it. It's probably the thing I'm most proud of doing since coming to this world. Seeing the head maid finishing up with cooking, I greeted her,

"Hello, Pestonya-san! Is it ready?"

Pestonya is a maid whose outer appearance is that of a beautiful lady but has the head of a Shetland Sheepdog instead of a human's and a vertical scar on her face running down the center with signs of stitching. She was a bit scary looking at first, but I never let her looks affect how I interacted with her as she's a super kind and motherly figure to me and all maids working in the mansion.

(A/N: For those who haven't figured it out, I'm just stealing the maids from the anime Overlord because I lack creativity when it comes to naming people.)

She greeted me in kind with a gentle smile adorning her canine features, "It is Lady Sakuya," sliding the plate over to me before moving to the fridge. Grabbing a carton of smooth orange juice and pouring me a glass before sliding that over too, "Enjoy your meal. I'll come by and collect the dishes when you're finished." I managed to snap out of my food-induced trance quick enough to reply before she left, "Thanks, Pestonya-san, Will do!"

Looking down at the plate in front of me, there wasn't a lot there, but what it may have lacked in quantity, it more than made up for in quality. On the pure white ceramic plate lay two sturdy, thick-sliced, seeded, whole grain bread slices toasted to a golden brown. Adorning the slices of toast are a layer of creamy, green, mashed avocado. Gently nestled in the avocado is a bright, compact, poached egg that seemed to shine under the overhead lamps of the countertops reminiscent of a pearl. I slice into the egg and let the golden yolk river flow down before continuing to slice into the bread. Picking it up and depositing it in my mouth, a wave of pleasure washed over me as I savoured every morsel in my mouth with a religious fervour.

Looking down at my now empty plate, the only remnants of there being a meal are some small pools of yolk, a stir of disappointment welled within me. Not only because I no longer have anything to eat but because it's time for me to hit the gym. 'Why can't I just sleep all day!' is what I would love to say, but my mother put so much effort into getting the best of the best to train me so the least I can do is turn up and give it my best shot so as to not waste her efforts.

The workout session was more intense than the others, a lot more leg work than before too. I can now see why Lumiere decided to go into so much detail when describing the meal scheduled for afterwards. She must have overheard that my training would increase and wanted me to not lose motivation halfway through. Walking to the showers afterwards was torturous, they were only 20 meters away too! I started slowly trudging my way towards the dining area, my aching legs screaming at me the entire way. Thankfully, I got to sit down on a chair, it felt too long, my legs happily gave out and my muscles finally started relaxing.

Finally, the meal I have been anticipating all day is now in front of me. Savory, thick, twirl-tastic bucatini is tossed, coated and glistening in a peppery, rich and robust arugula pesto. Topped with creamy white mozzarella pearls; juicy, plump cherry tomatoes, crunchy pine nuts; sweet, herbaceous basil and sharp pecorino – this more than I could have ever dreamt it to be. Twirling my fork in the pasta before stabbing it into a white mozzarella ball and placing the mouthful onto my tongue.

'The pesto coating is so smooth!' I squealed internally, 'It was almost worth all the pain, almost.'

The serene smile I had on my face as I cupped my cheek was shortly captured on camera by a maid who was dusting the fireplace nearby. The pic soon made it to my mother who quickly made it her lock screen wallpaper, replacing the 'Chi-chan cuddle' image which still had its place as the home wallpaper. I soon lost track of time again and soon found myself with no more pasta, saddened by this fact I decided to go and get my pajamas ready for when I need to change. Soon, enough time has passed and Momo is outside eagerly hopping about with her big Chi-chan plush trying to drag Miha to the door quicker. Seeing this I decided to get changed. I was finally dressed and what else would I ever be dressed in apart from my ducky onesie? Nothing, that's what, ducky or die is my motto.

After a few hours passed since Momo's arrival the sleepover was finally in its last stages. We were both sleepy yet didn't want the fun to end. So I gave in, turned the light off and crawled into bed. Momo soon joined me citing that If the Chi-chan plushies are sleeping together we should too, to set a good example. Oh god, Momo, you're too damn adorable! I Pulled the covers over the both of us and we slowly started drifting off. Before I could though, an 'asleep' Momo pulled me into a hug which I happily reciprocated much to the girl's satisfaction if the smile on her face is anything to go by, getting out a "Goodnight Mo-chan" before finally drifting off in each other's embrace.

We of course got teased for it the next day, turns out both our mothers share the same sentiment when it comes to teasing. The photo of us curled up together was our mothers new lock screen wallpaper for the indefinite future.