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The butler’s day started early, as it had for the last several millennia. It had been the same when he had first started his training and it hadn’t changed when the palace had welcomed a rather rambunctious baby into the household (Barbatos quickly learnt how to adapt to his duties while carrying around the sleeping baby lord).
It didn’t take him long to wash his face, change, and make his way to the kitchens. In fact, it took him exactly the same amount of time as it did every morning...to the millisecond. This was his favourite time of day and he was content to get started - there was peace and he was welcome to truly do as he pleased for these scant few hours. He could count on his fingers how many times he had been interrupted in his early morning sanctum, so he knew that he didn’t have to worry once he had placed his bread dough (prepared the night before, naturally) in the hot oven.
The demon could then take his time, savour his black tea and boiled griffin egg with toast, before the true chaos of the day would begin once he roused his prince from slumber.
But for now he just had tea, egg, and toast.
Once finished and his utensils cleaned, he began on arranging the day. He would reconcile Diavolo’s diary, ensure that the paperwork for the day was ordered, make sure that the pantry was in order for the various teas and meals to be expected, and then he would double-check the little details (Diavolo’s shoes and bag by the door, check ; the Prince’s D.D.D. properly charging, check).
Then breakfast was to be served. Barbatos collected his precious loaf of bread from the oven to let cool and then he would proceed meticulously with the rest - a beautiful spread that was nothing less than one would expect for a royal, with warm slices of fresh bread on the side.
This then signalled the start of one of Barbatos’ least favourite parts of the day: attempting to wake Diavolo.
When the Prince was a toddler, it had been one of the butler’s favourite times of day. Who could be displeased at being greeted by sparkling gold eyes and excited hands reaching out for them? “Barbie - good morning!” And the babe would happily babble at him while he dressed him (which was a feat in itself, considering how much the little thing wiggled and squirmed and giggled...but Barbatos could never be upset with the little thing).
Now a young but more matured demon, it was a slightly different series of events.
Soundlessly, Barbatos slipped into the prince’s dark chamber. Breakfast was momentarily placed on a sideboard as he made his way to the four poster bed to make a start on pinning the thick curtains back to the posts.
“My Lord, it’s morning,” A low, displeased grumble of warning greeted him from underneath the nest of blankets with minute movement. This didn’t phase Barbatos. Instead he moved to the curtains by the windows and didn’t flinch at the very real snarling that was raised from the bed. He was well aware that Diavolo did not like his weekday starts - but Barbatos also knew that if he flicked the other demon on the nose just hard enough he would shut up and stare at him in shock.
Although Diavolo frequently forgot it Barbatos was, in theory, a far more powerful demon than he.
This fact grated the butler when he had been an adolescent - why should someone with his might bend a knee to a family such as this? However, with age, he preferred his position. He did not wish to have to rule like Diavolo was meant to - it was not as easy a position as so many imagined it to be.
“Good morning to you too, Diavolo,” Once the curtains were all pinned, he grabbed the tray and placed it over the royal’s torso. A dark brow raised at the fangs that Diavolo bared, both parties unimpressed in their own way. “If you spill your breakfast, I will not be making you another one. You’ll be stuck with cereal,” Gracefully, he moved from the bed and was pleased to hear his charge’s huff of defeat.
As Diavolo began to pick at his offerings, Barbatos laid out his outfit for the day and slipped to the ensuite to ensure that everything was ready for when the prince decided to try and wash his morning crankiness away.
By the time that he had finished, Diavolo appeared to be getting more and more to his normal self. Considering this, Barbatos began to run him through his royal agenda for the day as the prince began to shovel his food down earnestly.
Thus began the day.
Things never went exactly as planned, but the butler somehow managed to soothe every bump in the road and ensured that everything was done as needed and that the day was a successful one.
By the time midnight was coming to, Barbatos was back in his sanctum….kneading the dough for tomorrow’s breakfast.