Chapter 5: The Trouble with Birthdays and Unexpected Surprises

It's been three years since I first began secretly training in the shadows of Averna Manor.

Three years since I decided I wouldn't meet the same fate as the girl who once bore this name—banished, forgotten, executed off-screen before the real story even started.

Now, on the morning of my tenth birthday, I can proudly say this: I'm stronger, smarter, and sneakier than ever. My mana is no longer a volatile mess, my magic affinity—once laughable—is now remarkably sharp for my age, and I've been quietly devouring history and theory books like a possessed librarian.

Also, I can do twenty push-ups without collapsing. That's progress too.

Father said that now that I'm in the double digits, I'm officially old enough for more responsibility.

I don't like the sound of that.

He gave me a very suspicious smile when he said it. The last time he smiled like that, Miss Clarimond arrived.

Ah yes, Miss Clarimond.

A woman forged from posture drills and polite violence. After three years of ducking etiquette lessons, hiding under tea tables, and mastering the ancient art of walking the other way, I had my evasive maneuvers down to a science.

> "Lady Celia, straighten your back or I will bring out the Fork of Grace," she would say.

I still don't know what the Fork of Grace is, and I plan to never find out.

---

My daily schedule was a mix of chaos and discipline. Early mornings were for physical training—I'd sprint laps around the garden, climb trees, and practice dodging falling branches as an obstacle course.

All this wasn't just to stay fit—it was to endure the magical backfires that still occasionally knocked the air out of my lungs.

Then came mana control, spell crafting, theory review, and hiding from Miss Clarimond.

And of course, the evenings were dedicated to studying the world outside these estate walls. Geography, noble politics, magical history... everything that the original Celia Averna never cared to understand, I studied with a vengeance.

If I couldn't become a fearsome warrior or a mighty sorceress, I'd at least be terrifyingly well-informed.

So yes, ten-year-old me was a force to be reckoned with. Or at least, that's what I told myself while flexing in the mirror this morning.

---

I expected today to be peaceful. Maybe some sweets, maybe a gift or two.

But no.

Just as I finished brushing my hair into something passably noble and admired my (still-slightly-wobbly) attempt at a dignified smile, a knock came at the door.

"Lady Celia," came the familiar voice of our butler, Gregor. "Your father requests your presence in the garden."

The garden? On my birthday morning?

Suspicious.

I marched out in my birthday dress (navy with silver trim, very classy, very grown-up) and followed Gregor past the fountain, through the trimmed hedges, and into the clearing near the willow tree.

And there she was.

A girl stood beside Father.She looked about sixteen, with neat braids, crisp posture, and eyes that sparkled with equal parts warmth and mischief.

"Celia," Father said, looking far too pleased with himself. "Meet Mariette, your personal maid."

I stared.

I blinked.

I considered fleeing into the trees.

"A maid?" I echoed.

"Indeed. You've grown so much, and I believe it's time you had someone to assist you properly. Mariette is specially trained and has been briefed on your... energetic tendencies."

Which meant she probably knew all my hiding spots.

Mariette curtsied. "I look forward to serving you, Lady Celia."

"Why do I feel like I've just been handed over to a jail warden in lace?" I muttered.

Father chuckled. "Oh, and one more thing—starting next week, your new sword tutor will arrive."

I blinked again.

"My what?"

"Think of it as your birthday gift. They come highly recommended."

My brain whirred. A personal maid and a mysterious sword tutor in one day?

I was either being rewarded... or contained.

As Father walked away, leaving me alone with the ever-smiling Mariette, I had a strange feeling that the peaceful days of dodging responsibility were officially over.

> Happy birthday to me.