EPISODE 4
“Why is it so complicated? Isn’t it just about eating quietly, not leaving any leftovers, and eating cleanly?”
“Of course, the essence of table manners is as you said. But adding dignity to that essence is precisely the duty of the nobility.”
“Ugh…”
“Ah, you must not hold your knife pointing upwards or with the tip facing your dining partner. It could make them uncomfortable.”
Some of the points made sense, so she complied willingly. If even those hadn’t existed, she might have become a ‘question mark murderer’.
Then again, since when were social customs and agreements ever established by reflecting the opinions of the youngest member?
‘It’s all decided by the higher-ups, no, by stagnant old people, who then label them as rules.’
Having reached a personal compromise, Letitia slowly ate the remaining fricassee.
Fortunately, whether today’s share of scolding was over or it was a consideration to let her eat the rest of her meal in peace, no further criticisms came.
“…You are very mature for your age, My Lady. And very clever too.”
“Me?”
This came when the main course was finished, and a lemon tart was served for dessert.
Helena, in contrast to her strict corrections earlier, spoke with a very soft tone, full of admiration.
Letitia, who had been placing her cutlery neatly side-by-side facing upwards as instructed, was puzzled by the sudden praise, but Helena just smiled as if pleased.
“When most students receive their first etiquette lesson, they often throw tantrums or struggle to follow along properly. Suddenly having to adjust their free eating habits to conform to etiquette isn’t easy.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And receiving constant corrections during the meal makes it hard to remember everything. I’ve heard that some even burst into tears during this process.”
In other words, asking why they had to learn this was considered cute.
Well, children used to eating freely must find it frustrating not being able to eat comfortably due to all the nagging.
“But you, My Lady, tried your best to follow what I said. You correctly followed the sequence of wiping your mouth with the napkin as I emphasized earlier, and your cutlery placement is also correct.”
“I just copied how you placed yours, Teacher.”
“Yes. When you don’t know something, imitating others is also important. You seem to know that instinctively.”
It was a victory of experience: when you don’t know something, just follow your older siblings or brothers, and you won’t go wrong.
If all that nagging was perhaps a test for Letitia, she let herself hope that maybe starting tomorrow, the intensity would be dialed down a bit.
After finishing the meal and returning to her room, Helena explained the dance lessons.
“First, I’ll teach you the basic steps of the Fontheneon traditional dance. We usually start with this one.”
“So, do you have to dance closely together for these dances? Holding hands like this, and the waist like this?”
“No! There are no dances where you hold each other that closely, My Lady!”
When Letitia asked, even gesturing with her hands, Helena shook her head in near-panic.
Wondering if she had said something terribly wrong, Letitia tilted her head. Helena regained her composure and explained.
“Dances are performed by a male-female pair, but they absolutely never dance while pressed so close together. If they were that close, it wouldn’t be a dance, it would be, well… it would be nothing at all.”
It seemed she had caused some sort of misunderstanding, but Letitia decided not to press further.
Anyway, it seemed the waltz didn’t exist here yet, and judging by Helena’s reaction, it was clearly an incredibly innovative dance, to the point of being a cultural shock.
No wonder that obsessed male lead caused such a huge uproar. And afterwards, the Duke and his three sons almost tried to bury the memory of that waltz partner.
“Then, let me show you first. These are the basic steps of the traditional dance.”
Holding her dress slightly, Helena gracefully stepped to the right and turned.
Even to Letitia, who knew little about etiquette, the smooth, flowing lines of the movement were beautiful.
“Both the Quadrille and the Cotillion are based on these traditional dance steps. Both are danced by four couples, eight people total, forming a square formation, and they switch partners in the middle before returning to their original ones.”
Helena’s explanation was simple and easy to understand. After seeing the steps repeated several times, Letitia felt she could memorize the sequence.
“I think I know how to do it! It’s like this, right?”
Getting up from her seat, Letitia tried stepping through the steps as Helena had done.
First, imagining a partner across from her, she held her skirt, bowed, then stepped forward with her right foot, strode forward, offered her hand, and did a half-turn.
Then, she walked back to her original spot and repeated the movement.
After that, she walked in a counter-clockwise circle, stepped forward, offered her hand, turned again, and then hopped lightly to the right.
“This is right, isn’t it, Teacher? You kept repeating this part!”
“…Yes, that’s correct, My Lady. You followed it exactly. The connections between steps and the movements aren’t perfectly smooth yet, but to imitate them after just one viewing is excellent.”
“Really? Yay! I’ll have to show off to my sister and brothers later!”
When Helena smiled brightly and applauded, Letitia became quite proud and decided to brag to her sister and brothers later.
She didn’t know if they were good dancers, but she’d never heard them say they liked it, so maybe she would be the best.
“Then, from now on, we’ll study letters in the morning, etiquette during lunch, and dance in the afternoon. That should make it easier for you to adapt. How does that sound?”
“Just letters? Not history or geography?”
“Those subjects will come a few months later. Not just history and geography, but also mathematics, literature, art, ancient languages, and philosophy—all of them.”
“I have to learn that much?”
“As nobles, you must acquire at least a basic cultured knowledge in all fields before attending the Academy. Especially you, as the daughter of Count Sharon.”
Faced with a schedule more demanding than she had imagined, Letitia naturally felt gloomy.
In romance fantasy novels, education was usually depicted briefly and passed over quickly, but reality was harsh.
The only consolation was that Helena seemed like a good person, unlike Arietta’s governess.
“Of course, personal aptitude is also very important, so the curriculum might change, but this is the basic plan. And if we receive your parents’ permission, I can also teach you horseback riding, so please discuss it with them.”
“Horseback riding? You mean riding a horse? Wow!”
At the mention of riding, Letitia’s face brightened.
Riding a white horse and playing ‘princess on a white horse’ was one of Letitia’s dreams.
Moreover, the idea of riding a horse made the fantasy world feel more real, which was exciting.
“Hehe, you seem full of enthusiasm, so teaching you will be rewarding. Let’s work hard from now on, My Lady.”
“Yes! Please teach me well, Teacher!”
Although the sheer amount to learn made her head ache, the fact that there were also subjects to look forward to allowed Letitia’s first day of lessons to conclude peacefully.
After the lessons ended and she went down to the dining room for dinner, only her father, mother, brother, and cousins were present.
The other family members were all absent due to work or appointments, she was told.
As this was familiar, Letitia paid it no mind and sat down, following what she had learned: placing the napkin on her lap and picking up the outermost knife and fork.
Her parents seemed slightly surprised to see their daughter, who until yesterday had used whatever cutlery came to hand without a thought, now clumsily attempting to follow etiquette.
“I heard your governess started today. Did you learn table manners during lunch, Letty?”
“Yes. Things like using the outermost knife first and all that. I thought I was going to die from the effort.”
As her parents showed interest, Letitia launched into her complaints as if she had been waiting.
She couldn’t even remember half of what Helena had said, but she had plenty to talk about.
“We had chicken fricassee for lunch, but I was so busy learning I can’t even remember the taste! How long do I have to learn etiquette? Will it take long to learn everything?”
“It will take a long time. Even your father struggled learning this when he was young and often couldn’t enjoy his dinner properly.”
“In other households, they usually start around your age and continue until just before entering the Academy. Ren, Ken, and Mari are still learning too, aren’t you?”
“…That’s right, it’s tough. My steak got cold once while I was learning how to cut it.”
As if remembering that time, Lenart made a disgusted face, spearing a piece of steak with his fork and chewing grumpily.
Kenneth and Marian also nodded in agreement, but their hands continued to follow the etiquette rules correctly.
“But Letty, you’re truly admirable. It’s only your first day, and you’re already trying to follow the rules.”
“Indeed. When Ren first learned, he threw all the rules out the window the moment dinner started, as if he’d been waiting for it, so we had to punish him by taking away his dessert.”
“Ah, Mother! Why are you bringing that up now?”
Lenart hurriedly tried to stop her, but the story of her brother’s embarrassing past was already perfectly stored in Letitia’s memory.
Now, if Lenart ever criticized her about etiquette, she could counterattack with this.
“Since I went through the trouble of learning it, I should do it right. I’ll never bring shame to our family!”
At Letitia’s bright and determined words, her parents smiled with pride, while Lenart looked somewhat awkward and averted his gaze.
Her cousins also looked surprised, as if wondering what was going on, but their reactions weren’t negative.
