"Hey, Miss Lilia, I'd like to learn etiquette," Sylphiette was asking Lilia about a conversation she had with her parents the day before.
"If Rudy were to come back, we could always be together, right?" She was discussing such matters with them.
They nodded with smiles on their faces, but as soon as they realized Sylphiette was serious, they began to say, "It might be a little difficult..."
To them, Rudeus was the son of an aristocrat, even though he was a low-ranking knight and was now in the world of nobles.
"If Rudeus were to succeed the Greyrat family, he would have to play a proper role as an aristocrat.
Naturally, his wife is also expected to behave like an aristocrat. If Sylphiette, who knows nothing about etiquette, were to become Rudeus's wife, she might be dragged through the mud...
It's a story that leaves no room for children to dream.
"If you need etiquette to be with Rudeus, then learning it isn't a bad idea," her father Laws said with a resigned smile.
Thus, as a result of thinking of someone who could teach him proper etiquette, the figure of a maid who is already teaching these manners to the young daughter of Zenith appeared, Miss Lilia.
"Etiquette?"
Lilia was a little embarrassed.
She thought that she would eventually have to seriously teach Norn some.
But to think that Sylphie would also ask him this...
For Lilia, etiquette is essential if one wants to get a job related to the aristocracy, but it's very cumbersome and complicated to learn.
For a girl Sylphie's age to say she wanted to learn it sounded unrealistic to her.
"May I ask why?"
"Father said that if I wanted to be with Rudy, I would have to learn it."
"Oh, I see,"
Lilia thought for a moment.
Rudeus will eventually succeed as a magician or a swordsman.
For now, he's working as a private tutor in the fortified city of Roa, but by the time he returns, he should be busy building relationships with the Asura aristocrats.
If he continues, he will go to the Magic Academy in Sharia and graduate safely as expected. It's very likely that he will become a court magician of the Asura Kingdom or a guardian of the royal family in the future.
Anticipating this, Rudeus himself might be thinking of studying etiquette at the Boreas household, or even at the Magic Academy.
Furthermore, if he truly becomes a court mage or swordman, he'll essentially be a public figure, and his appearance and manners will be constantly scrutinized.
He may also have to escort his wife to party venues at times.
That means etiquette is also necessary for his wife.
Laws hasn't thought this far, but when you think of Rudeus's future wife, it's true that etiquette must be mandatory.
"I see..."
However, if Sylphie becomes Rudeus's wife in the future, that would make her a lady of this house.
Lilia still doesn't know whether to accept Sylphie's request or not, but...
"Understood. Then, starting tomorrow, I'll teach you in my free time."
As long as this future was only a possibility, Lilia wasn't willing to fully cooperate.
Somehow, Lilia didn't hate Sylphie either. Although she herself was a red-haired stranger, she had become familiar with her as she had also been helped by Rudeus.
"Really? Thank you, Miss Lilia!"
Thus, it was decided that Sylphie would receive etiquette lessons from Lilia.
...
"That's right, keep your back straight and bend your hips. Gracefully, never look submissive..."
"L-like that?"
"Your back isn't straight, your knees are also bent. Pay more attention to your feet... yes, that's fine."
"B-But, this posture, it's painful..."
"To have beautiful behavior is to suffer. Okay, hold this posture for 30 seconds."
"Uhh..."
When you hear about etiquette, a person like Rudeus might imagine the art of expression and table manners. However, in reality, it's not just about that, but also the way you greet, walk, and stand. It's all about details.
It also depends on social position or the situation.
Naturally, there are also differences between being a boy or a girl.
Lilia learned the etiquette required of an aristocrat, but it belongs only to the royal family and aristocrats, so when she was selected as a bodyguard maid, the royal family and aristocracy could be identified in the unlikely event that someone tried to impersonate a member of the royal family or an aristocrat.
Currently, the etiquette Sylphie was learning from Lilia was that reserved for the aristocracy.
"Surprisingly, etiquette for an aristocratic girl requires good muscles."
"Norn! Look closely, one day you'll have to learn this too!"
"Wow..." Norn, barely a little girl, looked at Sylphiette, not understanding what was happening.
In any case, while she watched, Sylphie put on the high-heeled clogs prepared for the occasion and practiced her greetings, trembling.
Anyway, now there were two more eyes watching such a scene.
"Hmm..."
From the entrance to Lilia's room, blue eyes were watching her.
They were Zenith's.
If it were Rudeus, he would be peering into the room, murmuring, "You look like a maid."
"Madam, weren't you supposed to be at the clinic today?"
The actual maid of the house, Miss Lilia, bowed her head, and Zenith opened the door and entered the room.
"I finished early, so I came back. Then, since I didn't see you, I was wondering where you might have gone. What are you doing?"
"I'm teaching Miss Sylphiette etiquette. It'll be necessary when she becomes Rudeus's wife."
"Ara, little Sylphie already wants to become our Rudeus's wife?"
When Zenith said this while smiling, Sylphie's face suddenly turned red with a faint smile, but she didn't refuse.
Zenith saw her expression and smiled even more. She seemed really happy.
"Sylphie! You really are cute! Well, if that's the case, I'll help too. In fact, before I became an adventurer, I was a lady from a good place" "Certainly You were a daughter of the Sacred Country of Milis."
"As you say, I ran away because they were very stubborn, but at school I had good grades and they said I was a role model for all ladies."
"I can't imagine," Lilia's tone was slightly mocking.
"Hey, what are you saying?!"
As she listened to the interaction between the two, Sylphie thought, "It hasn't even been 30 seconds yet?" with greasy sweat on her forehead.
"Well then, I'll give you an example, so copy it and remember it."
"Y-Yes!"
Satisfied with Sylphie's answer, Zenith sat up slightly, bent her elbows, formed her fingers to lift her dress, slightly lowered her right leg back, and lowered her head to tug at her chin.
It was so natural that it seemed she'd been doing it for dozens of years; it was an elegant posture.
"Wow..."
Sylphie raised a voice of admiration.
In her eyes, Zenith's demeanor was more sophisticated than Lilia's. She even had the illusion that a real princess had appeared before her.
Sylphie thought there was no better model to practice on.
"Hehe, what do you say, Lilia? I haven't done it in a while, but I'm still good at it, right?"
"That... Ma'am, it's hard to say."
However, Lilia's face was that of someone who wasn't impressed.
"The feet, aren't they reversed?"
"Huh?"
Zenith looked at her feet with a frightened expression. Her legs were crossed, with her left foot in front and her right foot in back.
"Huh? They're not reversed?"
"No, the right foot goes in front."
"That's not the case. I was told the left foot goes first."
"It's common sense that in all etiquette, the right foot goes first."
"Ah? Was that right? Hmm, it's been a while since I've done that, so maybe I forgot."
"But the movements were very beautiful. Even when I worked in the royal palace, I've never seen anyone move as beautifully as the Lady."
"Isn't that so? My mother rarely praised me, but she praised me for this, leaving me free to do whatever I wanted."
Zenith was a little surprised but nodded with satisfaction.
"I was a little mistaken, but I can still be your model, right? Well, Sylphie, now it's your turn!"
"Ah, yes!"
Prompted by Zenith, Sylphie began to imitate her movements.
...
It wasn't long before trouble arose.
"Madam, you're wrong again. Your hand should be placed higher."
"I told you it should be under the navel!"
"No, it should be around the epigastrium."
"It can't be!"
Zenith's movements were beautiful, but after that, "mistakes" scattered everywhere. It was just a trivial difference. If she were in public, no one would really pay attention. But now it was a place for a lady to learn formal etiquette.
She couldn't teach her what was wrong. For Zenith and Lilia, the etiquette they remembered was the correct one. Over time, it turned into a fight.
"I'm no longer an aristocrat, and I didn't want to tell you this, but Lilia, your etiquette as a maid is a bit off."
"... Could you give me an example?"
"When you're serving food, Paul comes first, right? But after that, you serve me second. Shouldn't it be Rudeus? Normally, the first son should come before me."
"No, first the master, then Madam, the guests, and finally the children. That's the correct order."
Sylphie was only grateful to the two who were arguing loudly about this.
Norn also had an anxious look on her face, unsure of what to do, as she hadn't expected Zenith and Lilia to argue about this.
"Hmm, sorry... this argument..."
Sylphie wanted to tell the two to stop, but faced with two adults arguing loudly, her words simply wouldn't come out.
"Uuh..."
Immediately after this, Sylphie's eyes began to fill with tears.
"Hey, what are you two fighting about?"
At these words, a single man appeared.
If Rudeus were there, he would say, "It's getting complicated, so we'd better back up," like a grown man.
It was Paul.
He had recently returned from his morning rounds while secretly peeking through the crack in the door, but when he saw Sylphie crying, he finally decided to enter.
From Sylphie's point of view, he looked like a savior.
"Ah! Lord Paul, you're back. Sorry I wasn't there to welcome you..."
"Dear!"
The moment Zenith saw Paul, she acted as if this was all an act.
"That's right. Dear, from now on, Lilia and I will politely excuse ourselves, so please take a look."
"That's right. Sir, may I?"
"Why so suddenly?"
"Don't be picky! Since you were also an aristocrat, you should know how to apologize, right?"
"Well, if that's all it is."
"Then it's fine. Now watch carefully!"
Despite Paul's embarrassment, Zenith and Lilia lined up in front of him. Then, they alternately displayed the etiquette that started the fight.
Both of them showed him their way for an aristocratic lady to apologize to her superior.
Zenith would have seemed elegant to everyone, and everyone would have said she wasn't a country resident in a knight's household, but rather from the royal palace, and that she must be the daughter of a well-known aristocrat.
Lilia seemed a little more odd; it was a move Paul couldn't normally understand, but the move itself was perfect, and he could see at a glance that she had worked in a royal palace.
"Well, what do you think?"
"Well... it was beautiful. Both were. I could see that Zenith was a lady before. Lilia seemed unused to apologizing in the aristocratic manner, but as a guardian maid, she can even apologize to aristocrats. That's surprising."
Paul gave his answer with a full rotation of his chest. This method of praising them as fairly as possible was perfect for a former benefactor. But that wasn't the best fit for this situation. The answer his wife had expected wasn't that.
"No, not that! We asked you to know what the correct etiquette was."
"Both... Both are correct, aren't they?"
"What are you saying?! There's only one correct way for a lady to apologize properly!" Zenith snapped in a furious tone.
"That's right, sir. No matter how much you neglect to study etiquette, don't say something that fits both"
In fact, Paul only studied a little etiquette as a child.
However, there was a family exception regarding apologies. Because he did a lot of it himself and has seen many aristocrats apologize to his father.
"That's not meant to fit you."
"Then you can tell which one is incorrect, right?"
Besides, Paul's knowledge extends even to distant places; we could say that he knows all the ways to apologize.
"I tell you, both are correct. Zenith has the proper etiquette of Millis, while Lilia has that of Asura. Isn't it normal for different ways of apologizing to come from different countries?"
At those words, Zenith and Lilia stopped moving and looked at each other for a few seconds.
They corrected their posture as if they had reached an agreement, and bowed their heads with graceful movements.
"I'm sorry, because of my misunderstanding, I ended up saying terrible things would you forgive me?"
"No need to apologize. Even though Madame said it was Millis's, I didn't listen. I deserve punishment."
A few seconds later, they raised their heads as their shoulders began to shake.
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
And they both started laughing.
"What was that..." Paul started scratching his head and suddenly noticed the girl beside him.
"In any case, it must be difficult for you to learn from both of them. Do your best, Sylphie!"
"Yes!"
So, from that day on, Sylphie began to learn both Millis's and Asura's etiquettes.