Chapter 43
From that day on, my special training with the Countess began.
“Would it be all right if I start by teaching Your Highness the basic etiquette again?”
The Countess asked me politely, as if worried that her words might offend me.
I quickly nodded.
If she’s willing to start from the basics, that’s perfect for me!
Ever since I possessed Ariel’s body, all I’d done was hang around the palace chatting with Lily.
I don’t have Ariel’s original memories, but even if I did, I doubt they’d include proper noble etiquette.
And now, Ariel isn’t just any noblewoman—she’s the Crown Princess!
Even if she had known etiquette before, it would still be nowhere near enough for her current position.
“Raise your chin just a little higher… Yes, that’s good. Now walk slowly like that… Straighten your back a bit more; it makes you look graceful.”
The Countess instructed me with a tone that was gentle yet sharp.
She occasionally mixed in praise to encourage me, and her experienced guidance nearly brought tears to my eyes.
With a teacher like this, I had to do my best to meet her expectations!
“Your Highness learns quickly, so I believe I can correct your etiquette in no time. From tomorrow onward, we’ll set aside etiquette and proceed to more advanced lessons.”
“Yes, thank you, Countess!”
I never realized that learning something could be this exhausting.
All I’d done before was sleep, eat, and laze around—but now that I had something to do, the days flew by.
After breakfast, the Countess would visit the palace.
She’d teach me until evening, then I’d eat dinner, review my notes, and fall asleep.
That continued for four days… until something strange happened one morning.
“…Mistress.”
“…”
“Wake up, Mistress. Isn’t the Countess visiting again today?”
“Just five more minutes…”
Blake had started waking me up himself.
Normally, I barely even saw my husband in the mornings—he was always in a rush to leave after a brief greeting.
But now, he was waiting for me to wake up!
Even stranger was what happened next.
When I mumbled for just five more minutes, half-asleep, Blake hesitated.
Then he muttered awkwardly,
“Well… if you can sleep a bit longer, you should…”
That voice jolted me awake.
Is he trying to tempt me into being late?!
“Yawn…”
I blinked groggily and took a good look at my ridiculously handsome husband.
Whoever he belonged to, he was really, really good-looking.
Meanwhile, I probably looked awful with sleep in my eyes.
Feeling embarrassed, I buried my face into the pillow.
Then came his voice again, sounding flustered.
“Didn’t you open your eyes? Are you seriously going back to sleep?”
“N-no, of course not. Your Highness should hurry to the office.”
“…”
But Blake didn’t move.
When I realized I couldn’t hear any footsteps, I peeked out from the pillow—and there he was, looking restless.
After a moment’s hesitation, he finally spoke carefully.
“If you’re tired, you don’t have to keep doing this. You can ignore Her Majesty’s orders. You look exhausted—maybe you should rest a little more…”
“What do you mean? I want to do this. Being a Crown Princess who only sleeps is boring now!”
“…All right. But if anything’s too much, you’ll tell me this time, right?”
Wasn’t this man supposed to be busy?
Why was he lingering like this today?
I squinted suspiciously at him. He started backing away slowly—like someone who didn’t really want to go to work.
Well, I guess even someone like Blake might not always want to work.
Everyone wants a break sometimes!
After a brief pause, a thought suddenly struck me.
Ah! I get it now!
He must be working late today!
No wonder he’s stalling.
“You’re working overtime today, right? There must be a mountain of paperwork. You look like you really don’t want to go… What about dinner, then? Should I eat alone?”
“…That’s not it.”
“Really? Then why aren’t you leaving…”
When I tilted my head, Blake opened his mouth as if to explain—but quickly gave up and turned to leave.
He suddenly rushed out, and I scratched my cheek, watching his retreating back.
Before he disappeared from sight, I called out,
“Have a good day, Your Highness!”
Blake froze mid-step and turned back toward me.
It was probably my imagination, but… it looked like he’d been waiting for that.
“…I will.”
No way.
Could it be that all this hesitation earlier was because he wanted me to say goodbye?
That couldn’t be right… right?
At first, I dismissed the idea.
But after another couple of days, I was sure.
One night, I fell asleep while studying—and when I woke up the next day, I was already in bed.
Weirdly, I felt completely refreshed.
Sunlight filtered in softly, and everything around me felt peaceful.
Rustle, rustle—someone was turning pages nearby.
Wait a second.
This… this felt like—
I overslept!
“W-what time is it?”
“Hmm, almost lunchtime.”
Lunchtime?!
I turned my head to the voice and saw Blake sitting at a small table in the room, flipping through papers.
So… he hadn’t gone to work either?!
No—wait, that’s not the point!
What about the Countess?!
Is she still waiting for me?!
If I hurry, maybe I can still—
Before I could finish my thought, Blake spoke calmly.
“I already sent word to the Countess this morning.”
“S-sent word?”
“I told her the Crown Princess wasn’t feeling well today and that she didn’t need to come.”
“I’m perfectly healthy!”
“You looked tired.”
“What?”
“You seemed like you needed more sleep.”
I frowned deeply.
If everyone stopped working just because they looked tired, who would ever get anything done?!
Also—why was he not at work?
I glanced around, then got up and walked toward him.
“Your Highness, did the office collapse or something?”
“No, it’s fine.”
He gave me that look—the one that said, You’ve got such a wild imagination.
“Then why didn’t you go to work today?”
“Because my mistress was sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake her.”
“…What does that even mean?”
I blinked in confusion. Maybe my brain was still booting up.
“Since I couldn’t get your send-off, I figured I’d just work here instead.”
I wasn’t sure I’d heard right.
He didn’t wake me, so he didn’t get his morning goodbye—and because of that, he decided not to go to work?
What kind of logic was that?!
“Since when do you care so much about my morning greetings, Your Highness?”
“For a while now.”
I was speechless.
At first, he’d been shy and distant, barely talking to me—just quietly observing.
And now this sudden shift?!
That’s not how the Blake from the original story acted at all!
“Well, since you’re awake now… shall we go have breakfast? Or lunch, I guess.”
“Yes, I was thinking of eating a salad today—wait! Your Highness!”
“…”
Just laugh out loud already.
He was trying so hard to hold it in that his shoulders were shaking behind the papers he used to hide his face.
I glared at him.
“Your Highness, you can’t just do whatever you want! Her Majesty will be summoning me soon!”
“I heard Countess Ramirez praised you a lot. She said you were such a quick learner that taking one day off wouldn’t hurt.”
“When did she say that…?”
“And besides, I doubt the Countess wants to come to the palace every single day for a whole week, don’t you think?”
Well… that was true.
As much as she was teaching me, having a noblewoman spend all week at the palace couldn’t be easy.
It took real generosity on her part.
I nodded slowly.
Then I looked at Blake, who still hadn’t wiped the grin from his face.
“So, what should I do, Your Highness?”
“What now? Did I do something wrong again?”
“There’s a ball coming up soon… and thinking about eating salad makes me crave meat instead.”
Blake tried to keep a straight face, but then burst into open laughter.
“That’s really tragic.”
He said it with a completely unbothered face.
