Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

Chapter 418: Court Mage

{Melisa}Syux looked exactly the same.

The carriage rolled through the city gates, past the guards who nodded respectfully at Zephyra’s sigil, and into streets Melisa had walked a thousand times. The same merchants hawking their wares. The same children running between legs, though a bit bigger now. The same mix of humans and nim and kitsune going about their lives.

But something was different.

Billboards.

Massive painted fuckin’ signs on the sides of buildings, showing a pink-haired kitsune with a smug grin holding up a polished wooden wand.

"SUMMER WANDS," the text proclaimed. "MAGIC MADE EASY."

Isabella’s face was everywhere.

[Of course she plastered her face all over the city while I was gone. Of course she did.]

Melisa laughed despite herself. It felt good to be home.

The summons came before she’d even finished unpacking.

A palace messenger knocked on her door, delivering a scroll sealed with the royal crest. Queen Aria requested her presence immediately.

So much for settling in first.

---

The throne room was emptier than Melisa expected. No nobles lining the walls, no petitioners waiting their turn. Just Aria on her throne, a handful of guards, and Zephyra standing off to the side.

Melisa approached and knelt.

"Your Majesty."

"Rise." Aria’s voice was warm, but her posture was formal. This was official business. "Court Sorceress Vortell has informed me of her intention to resign."

Zephyra stepped forward.

"I’ve served Syux faithfully for many years, Your Majesty, but the time has come for me to pursue other interests. I formally tender my resignation, effective immediately."

A murmur from the guards. Zephyra quitting wasn’t public knowledge yet. This would be news by nightfall.

"I accept your resignation with gratitude for your service," Aria said. The words were ceremonial, rehearsed. "Do you have a recommendation for your successor?"

"I do." Zephyra gestured toward Melisa. "I recommend Melisa Blackflame. She has the power, the principles, and the trust of the crown necessary for this position."

Aria’s grey eyes found Melisa’s.

"Do you accept this recommendation?"

[This is really happening.]

Melisa’s throat was dry.

"Your Majesty, I’m honored, but I’m not sure I’m qualified to—"

"You saved my father’s life," Aria interrupted, her voice softening. "You cured a plague that would have killed thousands. You helped root out the Shadow Mages from my court." She paused. "And you did all of that before you turned twenty-one."

"That’s... I had help. I wasn’t alone—"

"Exactly. You inspire loyalty. You build alliances. You see the best in people while remaining clear-eyed about threats." Aria stood from her throne and descended the steps until she was standing directly in front of Melisa. "I trust you, Melisa. Completely."

[... Jesus.]

Their eyes met. Behind the formal mask, Melisa could see the woman she’d kissed before leaving for Foxhollow. The woman who’d admitted this trip felt like a vacation because she got to spend time with Melisa.

"Will you accept?"

Melisa took a breath.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I accept."

Aria smiled, small but genuine.

"Then by the authority vested in me as Queen of Syux, I name you Court Mage, with all the rights, responsibilities, and resources that position entails." She raised her voice for the guards. "Let it be known throughout the kingdom."

Just like that, Melisa became the first nim to hold the position of Court Mage in Syux’s history.

The news spread fast.

By evening, it seemed like everyone in the city knew. Melisa’s name was on every tongue, in every tavern, in every noble household. Some reactions were celebratory. Others were less so. But the appointment stood, backed by the queen’s authority.

Isabella found her first.

"COURT MAGE!" she shrieked, launching herself at Melisa the moment she walked through Javir’s door. "My cousin is the fucking COURT MAGE!"

"Isabella, I can’t breathe—"

"This is amazing! This is incredible! Do you know what this means for my wand sales?" Isabella pulled back, her eyes gleaming. "I can put ’Official Supplier to the Court Mage’ on my advertisements!"

Armia arrived next, still in her knight’s uniform. She’d passed her trials, Melisa realized. The royal guard sigil gleamed on her chest.

"Congratulations," Armia said, offering a formal bow. "Court Mage Blackflame."

"Armia, you don’t have to—"

"Protocol demands respect for your new station." Then, Armia smiled. "Okay, but seriously, congrats. That’s huge."

They hugged as well.

Raven was last.

She waited until the others had left, until Melisa was alone in the hallway heading to her room. Then she stepped out of the shadows like she’d always been there.

"You’re back."

"I’m back."

They stood facing each other. Raven looked the same as always, black hair, grey eyes, that perpetually blank expression. But something was different in the way she held herself.

"I felt strange while you were gone," Raven said. "Lost. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Javir gave me work, protecting some scholar, but it wasn’t..." She trailed off, struggling for words. "I felt antsy."

"Raven."

"I think I missed you." She said it like she was reporting a weather phenomenon. Something strange she’d observed and didn’t fully understand. "To a normal degree or not, I’m... not sure."

Melisa crossed the distance between them and pulled Raven into a hug.

Raven stiffened at first, then slowly relaxed into it.

"Yes," Melisa said. "That’s normal. I missed you too."

"Good." Raven’s arms came up, awkwardly patting Melisa’s back. "Don’t leave again."

"I’m not going anywhere. I promise."

---

That night, Melisa stood on her balcony, looking out over Syux.

The city sprawled beneath her, lights twinkling, repelling the dark. Somewhere out there, Isabella was probably celebrating. Armia was standing guard at the palace. Raven was with Javir, probably.

And Melisa was Court Mage.

[Court Mage. Me. The nim girl from a tiny village who, prior to that, was a human that got hit by a truck and woke up in a fantasy world.]

She thought about Sylra. About the choice she’d made in that clearing. About what it meant to stop someone who genuinely believed they were doing the right thing.

She thought about the position she now held. The resources at her disposal. The libraries she could access, the research she could conduct, the magic she could develop. More than any other mage in Syux, maybe more than any mage in the world.

She thought about her three wishes. All achieved, in their own ways. She had power she’d never dreamed of. She had lovers who cared about her. She had a family, both blood and chosen.

But the road ahead wouldn’t be easy. Being Court Mage meant responsibility. It meant making hard choices. It meant being a symbol whether she wanted to be or not.

Syux had changed her. She’d arrived as a scared kid with theories about magic and dreams about making a difference. Now she was one of the most powerful people in the kingdom.

And she’d changed Syux too. Nim children would grow up knowing that someone like them had reached the highest levels of magical authority. That it was possible.

The weight of it settled on her shoulders.

[I’ll do my best. That’s all I can promise. But I’ll do my best.]

She stayed on the balcony until the stars came out, watching over her city, as court mage.

... Yeah, that was gonna take some getting used to.