Lolita answered the knocking on her bedroom door. Alina fumbled with her apron over her black dress.
"Lolita, I have terrible news," Alina said, voice trembling. "Your father passed away in his sleep last night."
Lolita's face remained a mask, her lips parting only to say, "I see."
Alina opened her arms, hesitant. "Do you need a hug?"
"Do I look like I need a hug?" She flicked her arms in the air, sending the sleeve of her silk robe cascading like a flag. "I have to go meet with the architects."
She stepped out, leaving the door to slam behind her with a reverberating crack that echoed through the stone hallway. Her crimson heels clicked a sharp staccato against the polished floors.
When she entered the business room, ten men in dark suits fell silent. They clustered around an oval mahogany table strewn with the map of Emberstone Castle, but stood straighter, hands clasped, eyes wary.
A man in a bronze suit cleared his throat and rose stiffly. "Your Highness, Ethan arranged today's meeting—"
"Ethan's dead," Lolita cut in, flipping her hair over one shoulder like swatting away a nuisance.
The architect stuttered, "I—My apologies, I wasn't informed."
Lolita leaned forward, lips curling. "Newsflash: It's not my job to keep you idiots updated. Now drop your road plans. This castle reeks of neglect."
She jabbed a manicured fingernail at the east wing on the map. "I want a sunken Jacuzzi tub—Capri marble. Heated mosaic floors. A retractable skylight big enough to bathe under the stars. I don't care if the treasury's empty."
A junior architect dared to speak. "Your Majesty, today's meeting was slated to finalize the new road-building project—"
Lolita snorted. "Roads? For peasants. If you can't deliver a bathroom fit for a goddess, you're useless to me."
Their faces went pale
No one dared answer. Lolita tapped her red high heels and checked her watch.
"Preliminary designs on my desk by Friday. Fail me, and you're done here."
The architects scrambled to gather their belongings, muttering quietly, "yes, Your Majesty," and backing toward the door as though leaving a lion's den. No one dared turn their back until they reached the corridor.
Lolita stood alone in the room, back straight, chin high. She smirked faintly, already plotting her next indulgence.