LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 7: Hedgehog servant
"Lady Seraphina?" Ivy asked, looking down and thinking about the name. For some reason, it brought back memories to her.
Lady Seraphina—the best friend of the heroine and the one who also contributed to Ivy's demise.
Seraphina was a very shrewd person, cunning and mean. She was from the Peacock Clan.
Together with her twisted personality, Seraphina was a loyal friend to the heroine. She assisted the heroine in scheming against Ivy, the cannon fodder, when Ivy had eyes for the male protagonist. The fate of the cannon fodder Ivy was not good in their hands, even though it wasn't them who killed her in the end.
"Yes, my lady! Lady Seraphina!"
The small maid, identified as a member of the Hedgehog Clan, beamed incredulously, her two pigtails bouncing cheerfully along with her.
For a moment, Ivy raised a brow, wondering why she was so excited.
Ivy hid her thoughts and asked the maid,
"No offense, but since I don't go out much, would you like to accompany me to the party?"
She believed there was going to be a lot of drama at Lady Seraphina's party. The information was vague, but she had a feeling she would be bullied a lot if she went there alone. Things might be different if she didn't go by herself.
The maid immediately smiled, running to hold Ivy's hands.
"Ahh, Duchess, thank you! This is like you making my dream come true," she said, her smile as bright as the sun. Her body started floating above without her noticing, yet the smile on her face did not fade despite the strange occurrence.
"It's okay," Ivy chuckled. "I understand. But control yourself! This is too much excitement right now!" she said, forcing an awkward smile.
Inside, her heart was racing. The hedgehog maid's excitement scared her. It was almost as if she had been fed chicken blood or something!
"Ahh, Duchess, I just can't control myself when I'm excited," the hedgehog maid said, her smile still not fading away.
The maid knew there were some screws loose in her. She had always been aware of it.
"You're floating? Why are you floating?"
Ivy looked up at the maid as she levitated higher and higher. It was a phenomenon Ivy had never witnessed before. She guessed kids would love to play with their powers, but was this really the moment for that?!
"My powers lose control, Duchess, when I'm too happy!"
The hedgehog maid giggled, answering Ivy's question.
It was just a dysfunctionality in her system—whenever she felt overwhelming emotions, things like this happened. For her, floating in the air was normal, and she couldn't control it.
"Hey! Watch out for your head!"
Ivy stared, wide-eyed and shocked, as the maid floated too high, her head heading straight for the ceiling.
The hedgehog maid gave a clueless expression. Before she could react to Ivy's warning, her head collided hard with the ceiling.
"Ha! Are you okay?! Is your head broken?"
Ivy screamed, running to the maid as she descended to the floor after the hard collision. Ivy managed to stop her head from hitting the ground this time.
"The people from the Hedgehog Clan are really dumb, right, Host?"
The system giggled mischievously, appearing before the scene with its chibi body skipping in excitement.
"Hey! You don't just judge people like that,"
Ivy scolded the system, catching its tiny body in her arms. She carried a serious expression as she warned it.
The system tried to wiggle out of her hold, but Ivy's arms were firm.
"What did I do, Host? I'm just speaking the truth!"
The system furrowed its eyebrows and shouted in annoyance.
Ivy ignored its tantrums anyway.
"Well, that's very mean, but I have to admit she was silly," Ivy said with a slight smile. The system in her arms calmed and stopped resisting. Ivy sighed, still smiling; the system was like a child.
"Let's clean her up, Birdy," she said, mercilessly tossing the system aside and picking up the maid's arms, trying to lift her up.
"Can't help you with that, host," the system said, shaking its head. Without hesitation, it disappeared from Ivy's presence.
"Hey, you lazy bird, get your lazy body over here!" Ivy yelled, gnashing her teeth as she watched the last glimpse of the system's small form disappear from view.
She couldn't help but stare at the maid on the floor. Why was she so chubby in the first place? She grumbled in frustration. The maid was short, almost like a 13-year-old, but she didn't fall into the petite category.
"Servants!" Ivy yelled, glaring at the door. If looks could bore a hole through it, there would have been one long ago from her intense stare.
---
The maids in the castle were having a peaceful cleanup when they heard the Duchess's call.
"The Duchess has gone crazy again," a maid exclaimed, flinging her mop into the air. Her body trembled with fright. Why was the Duchess calling for them? Her call was like the devil's summons!
"Hurry up before we get thrown off the fence again!" another maid said, swiftly dragging her coworker to answer the call. Their pace quickened as they moved, and the butler, polishing his delicate glasses, noticed them running.
"Why are they running like that?" he asked, stopping them.
"It's because the Duchess has gone crazy again!" the two maids shouted in unison, sweat streaming down their foreheads. Without another word, they ignored the butler and rushed toward the Duchess's room, fearing any delay might seal their fate.
"Like my mother once said, a person can't change their true personality in a day. She's still the same," the butler muttered, shaking his head as he turned to the nanny beside him.
"Let's take cover in the kitchen!" the nanny reminded him.
"Yes!" the butler agreed, following her to seek safety.
---
"Ah, Duchess, you called?" the two maids said breathlessly as they entered the room. The door's echo bounced in the spacious chamber.
"Yes, I called for you! You see this servant over here?" Ivy said, pointing at the hedgehog maid.
The faces of the maids went pale, and their thoughts ran wild.
Had the Duchess killed someone?
Her level of craziness has reached its peak!
Ivy noticed the maids looking as if they had seen a ghost. For a moment, she was confused by their reaction.
She wasn't a monster—at least, she thought not—but the other Ivy was.
"Are you going to get to work or not?" Ivy said authoritatively, scaring the maids and making them jump to their feet. She kind of enjoyed their reactions, though she wasn't wicked. Or was she?
"New mission arrival, Host. Attend Lady Seraphina's party and avoid all her embarrassments at the event. Completion of this mission will earn you a system upgrade, Host, and maybe a secret new mission."
Ivy's eyes couldn't help but furrow when the system mission arrived so suddenly.
She had been expecting some drama at the party, but not for it to become a mission! She wailed internally.
The system ignored Ivy's wailing, gleefully twirling at the thought of the upgrade it would receive.