Chapter 75
A boat, for me? That was an expensive hobby I couldn’t have even dreamed of.
I think there was a boating club back at the academy, but that had nothing to do with me, who preferred to nap in the garden to avoid people.
“What kind of preparation do you mean? Other than outing clothes, is there something else?”
“I’m not too sure either, but… from what I’ve read in books, when people go boating, they recite poetry, drink tea, paint pictures… things like that.”
“…Wasn’t that just something that happens in books?”
“Gasp, really?”
Anna looked shocked, as if her dream had just been crushed.
I’d only asked because I didn’t know myself, but it seemed like Anna wasn’t going to be much help with this topic.
Romance novels did mention boats, sure…
I thought it would be like those yacht parties from dramas. Calling in a DJ, dancing—something that could exist, but definitely not something I’d ever do.
Reciting poetry on a boat didn’t feel like a scene from a Western fantasy at all. Why were we suddenly acting like Confucian scholars?
Either way, the two of us couldn’t solve the mystery on our own. Times like this called for the Help Me, Viscountess! strategy.
“Anna, bring me a pen. I’ll write to the viscountess.”
“Yes, madam!”
I sent a letter asking about the “noble way of boating outings.” I added a subtle hope that maybe we wouldn’t have to prepare much and could just go comfortably.
The next day, she didn’t send a reply—she visited in person.
“You really didn’t have to come all the way here…”
“Oh no, education is something best done face-to-face.”
Ah. So she meant lessons.
I stifled a sigh, disappointed. That meant even this simple outing involved noble etiquette.
Seated in the drawing room, she adjusted her tone into her familiar teaching voice.
“Boating is a pastime with a long history. It’s mostly enjoyed in the west or in the capital, where there are many lakes. Alongside cricket and horseback riding, it’s considered one of the quintessential noble hobbies. In the past, one would hire a boatman, but these days it’s become the rule to row by oneself.”
That much, I already knew. The real problem was how boating was supposed to be enjoyed.
“Do they really recite poetry?”
“Well, in the old days it was mostly about tea, but… I’ve heard that lately, people have been adding various activities.”
Not only poetry, but also other arts. Painting, holding little writing contests, even standing at the stern to perform music and sing.
So basically, it’s a chance to show off noble tastes while floating on water.
Wanting to flaunt themselves even out on a lake—unbelievable.
And rowing on top of that? It sounded like an exhausting mix of sports and art.
“But since it’s a family outing, you won’t need to prepare too much.”
“Oh, thank goodness…”
“Just take along a few ideas for poems. If there are children, children’s songs are fine too.”
“…”
Of course, it had to be the two things I wanted least.
I imagined myself belting out a cheerful song on the boat.
…I could probably pull off an idol song, at least?
When I fell silent, dejected, the viscountess’s expression stiffened.
“Grand Lady, don’t tell me… you’ve never composed a poem before?”
“That’s right.”
It had been a required liberal arts course at the academy, but I’d never properly attended.
Looking back, I wondered how I’d even managed to graduate.
“I can memorize poems from books…”
“It’s considered more elegant to adjust the subject matter depending on the audience.”
“…Couldn’t I just tweak something a little?”
“I doubt the duke and duchess would fail to notice such a trick.”
Checkmate. And true enough, there was no way someone like Helene would let me get away with such shortcuts.
I’ll have to learn how to write poetry, then. I think there was a book about it in the library…
The picnic was in two weeks, just as the spring flowers reached full bloom. I had plenty of time.
I was about to ask what I should start studying first when the viscountess, chin resting on her hand in thought, offered an idea.
“Hmm… things like this are learned fastest by doing. Grand Lady, how about the two of us go on an outing first?”
“…Pardon?”
“A reading club. Wouldn’t it be nice to hold it outdoors for a change?”
Her point was that if I had to make mistakes, it would be better to do it at the reading club than at the duke’s family outing.
It struck me as a good plan, so together we drafted invitations to send to the other members.
“If it weren’t for the reading club, I’d suggest bringing the children. I’d also like to show you what kind of attitude grandparents should have.”
“…So you knew?”
I had already been worrying about my two grandsons and the upcoming outing, and she spoke as if she’d read my mind, covering her lips with a gentle smile.
“Of course—I’m your teacher.”
Her smile was warm and dependable, so much kinder than the one from my past life.
“Don’t worry, Grand Lady. You’ll do wonderfully. Considering how you’ve handled the pages and young Jayce, I doubt any grandson could trouble you.”
“Oh, that’s not it.”
“Pardon?”
Just when I’d been thinking, as expected of the viscountess, she seemed to have misunderstood the nature of the problem.
“It’s not the grandchildren who strained the relationship—it’s my daughter-in-law.”
“…What do you mean?”
As I slipped the invitations into elegant envelopes, I wondered how best to phrase the incident clearly.
Ah, like this.
“I was pretending not to be their grandmother while playing with the boys, when one of them said, ‘I wish she were my mom instead.’ And… my daughter-in-law happened to overhear.”
“….”
The viscountess pressed her lips shut.
Her face said clearly, that’s… a problem, so I quietly folded the stationery. For some reason, her gaze felt sharper than usual today.
The day of the reading club outing.
I headed toward the lake.
I wore an outing dress I’d never put on before, and brought along sweets the cooks had prepared.
When we first planned it, I hadn’t been looking forward to it at all, but once I climbed into the carriage, I found myself oddly excited.
Anna, however, sat sulking beside me, sneaking glances at the hem of my skirt.
“I still think the dress with the pink embroidery was better…”
“No, I like this one.”
“But it’s your first outing.”
Not my first time leaving the estate, but to Anna, an outing was something different, something special.
She had wanted to dress me in far more dazzling clothes.
A pale blue dress with pink embroidery, paired with a white hat covered in spring flowers. I had flatly refused.
That was the kind of outfit someone Ilina’s age would wear, not me.
Both Anna and Nata had looked disappointed, but I ignored their protests.
Instead, I’d chosen a plain white dress with no patterns, a light blue shawl, and a hat with a single flower tucked into it.
Simple, but easy to move around in. The one Anna picked had so many petticoats that even sitting would’ve been a chore.
“I’m not budging on clothes. Give up.”
I knew Anna’s choice was more fashionable, but I wasn’t about to compromise my own taste.
I’d hated uncomfortable clothes ever since I was little.
Realizing she’d sound rude if she kept pressing, Anna just nodded silently.
Knowing how much effort she put into running back and forth to the dressmaker every time I went out, I didn’t scold her.
Perhaps to shift the mood, Nata picked up a pamphlet from the corner of the carriage.
“By the way, I’ve never heard of Lake Dalia before.”
Lake Dalia was our destination for the reading club.
It was a fairly large lake near the estate, recently popular thanks to some intriguing rumors.
“It says here a fairy appears…”
Nata, who was a real fairy, stared at the pamphlet with a complicated expression.
The flyer read, ‘Come to Lake Dalia and find the Lake Fairy!’
“There’s really a fairy there?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s possible. Fairies are born from nature, after all. Whether it would be intelligent like me, or more like a spirit that acts on instinct, I couldn’t say.”
Now that I thought about it, little was known about fairy biology. The individual differences were too great to make generalizations.
From what Nata told me, there were a few other human-shaped fairies even within the Empire, though they’d never been in contact with each other.
‘Just because you come from the same place doesn’t mean you’re all close,’ she’d said, so I hadn’t pried further.
Still, it made me wonder—was it really a good idea to bring Nata to Lake Dalia?
