Chapter 78

She raised her hand, sending the plate flying from Zack's grasp. Her eyes glinted with icy fury. "Get this straight," she said, her voice cold as stone, "you're just a butler, not my boss."

Zack was visibly annoyed. "Ms. Sterling, I may be a servant, but I still have a right to speak the truth!"

"Oh, and why should I listen?" she retorted.

Lemira's patience had evaporated by the time she returned to the Langston residence. She'd once believed she could remain detached, but some people—like the butler, for instance—simply pushed their luck.

"Lemmy, what happened?" Lucian rushed in, alerted by the servants. Seeing the spilled food, he instinctively asked, "Didn't the meal suit your taste?"

Zack looked close to tears. "Mr. Lucian Langston, I was only advising Ms. Langston not to eat alone in her room, to avoid gossip. But she not only spilled the food but also said that I, being a mere servant, had no right to speak."

Lucian frowned. "Zack, you're not in a position to say that to her."

Zack was stunned; he hadn't expected Lucian to side with Lemira.

Evelina immediately defended the butler. "Lucian, Zack meant well. He's been with the Langston family for years, just like my father. Even though he's a servant, he's been loyal."

Lucian's expression softened. "That's not what I meant."

"Everyone out!" Lemira declared, wanting no more company.

Lucian instructed, "I'll have someone clean up and bring another meal shortly." He then addressed the butler, privately, "From now on, show Lemmy some respect. If it's not your place to speak, then don't."

Lucian realized that even a butler dared to lecture Lemira. Over the years, they had neglected her, allowing the servants to become bolder. He hadn't been fulfilling his role as her brother.

Evelina watched Lucian leave, feeling a pang of panic. He had changed. Before, he would have undoubtedly sided with Zack. She needed to find a way to counter this.

A servant quickly cleaned up the mess and sent another dinner. Finally, Lemira was left in peace.

After finishing her homework, she opened her chat app, intending to invite Orion for a game. She saw a friend request from Alaric and immediately ignored it. She wouldn't tolerate his lectures or condescending apologies.

She messaged Orion: [Orion, up for an instance dungeon run?] While waiting for a reply, she booted up her computer and saw a game alert: [Reapers invites King's protege to join, SkyBlaze is shaken!]

Curious, she clicked on the alert. Reapers' team leader, Matthew, had publicly invited her to join his team. Alaric had publicly refused, his attitude sharp: [My sister will not join your team].

Lemira was puzzled. Why would Matthew invite her? Didn't he know she was Alaric's sister?

Seeing Orion online, she immediately invited him to join her team.

Time Rewind asked: [Who are you?]

Lemira replied: [Orion, is it really you?]

Time Rewind: [Holy smoke, my brother actually got a girl to game with!]

Matthew was so shocked he nearly fell out of his chair.