Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Etiquette and Dance

The morning after the exams were over, as I began to prepare to return home, Roger stopped me.

"Lord Leon, I have a message from the Master of the House. Those affiliated with noble families will be evaluated in order of their rank, so it seems your exam results will arrive today or tomorrow. Therefore, it might be best for you to stay at the Duke's residence today as well, receive the results, and then return home."

So soon? In that case, it might be better to wait for the results at the Duke's residence.

"Then, I shall do that."

But if I do that, I'll have a lot of free time now. What should I do? I wonder what Lucian is up to?

"Do you know what Lucian-sama does during the day?"

"Yes. He mostly has private lessons or practices swordsmanship during the day."

Sounds fun! Can I join his lessons too?

"Can I also join in on that?"

"Well, I'm not certain. I will inquire with the Lady Ogyū-sama."

After Roger asked Catherine-sama, I was allowed to attend Lucian's lessons.

As the lessons were held in Lucian's room, I visited Lucian's room with Roger.

Upon entering the room, it seemed that the teacher hadn't arrived yet, and Lucian was sitting on the sofa.

"Good morning, Leon. I'm glad I can take the class with you!"

"Good morning, Lucian-sama. It's an honor to learn together."

"Today, we have etiquette and dance in the morning, and swordsmanship in the afternoon."

Etiquette! That's convenient. I wanted to know the proper manners based on one's status. There might even be some special protocols.

And I'm looking forward to swordsmanship! Though, I've never danced before. Will I be okay? Actually, is dancing required?

"Lucian-sama, do we have to dance?"

"Yes, that's right. Wouldn't you embarrass yourself at a party if you can't dance? Also, dancing is part of the curriculum at the Royal Academy, you know?"

What!? Is that so! I had no idea... I have to seriously remember this.

While we were talking, it seemed the teacher had arrived. I stood up to greet the teacher.

"Lucian-sama, thank you for having me again today."

"Oh, it's my pleasure. Today, Leon here will be joining the class as well. Is that alright?"

"I'm Leon. Nice to meet you."

"Leon-sama, is it? Of course, I have no objections to having more students."

"Thank you. Leon, this is our etiquette and dance teacher."

This person is teaching both subjects. They're a kind-looking person with a slightly slender build and narrow eyes.

Together with the teacher, I took a seat at the desk as the lesson began.

"As I don't have much left to teach Lucian-sama, perhaps today we could focus on what Leon-sama wants to learn?"

"That's a good idea! Leon, is there something you'd like to know?"

That's helpful. I'd like to learn both etiquette and dance from the basics.

"I haven't properly learned either of these. Especially dance, I'm a complete beginner, so I'd appreciate learning from the basics."

"Well, is that so? Even so, your speech is quite refined..."

"Regarding etiquette, I've learned by observing and hearing about it, so I don't know proper etiquette well."

I'm always unsure if what I'm doing is right. I try to follow everyone around me, and no one has corrected me so far, so maybe it's fine. But if possible, I want to gain a solid understanding.

"Then, regarding etiquette, I believe it would be good for Lucian-sama to study from the book you possess. Teaching everything in just one day is difficult, and since Leon-sama already seems to have acquired etiquette, supplementing his knowledge with the book should be sufficient."

"That sounds good. It's a book the teacher wrote and compiled. It's very well-organized and easy to understand, so I found it quite helpful. I'll lend it to Leon for a while."

Impressive, it's a book written by this teacher. If Lucian speaks highly of it, then it must be a good book. I'm grateful to be able to borrow it!

"Thank you. In that case, I will borrow the book."

"With Leon-sama, he should be able to quickly grasp etiquette. Well then, today, instead of etiquette, let's have a dance lesson."

Upon hearing the teacher's words, the two of them stood up and walked out of the room. I hurriedly followed them.

After walking for a while, they reached a room with just a sofa and a small desk placed at the edge. This must be the room for practicing dance.

"Alright then, today, since Leon-sama is here, let's review from the basics once again. Basics are important, so Lucian-sama, please practice seriously as well."

"Understood."

"Please take care of me."

From there, intense dance practice began. It started with practicing the basic posture for dance, but I just couldn't get it right. Even though I felt like I was standing properly, I received corrections for almost an hour before finally getting it right.

"Leon-sama, it's that posture. Maintain that posture while dancing. Absolutely avoid adopting a hunched back position. Also, don't arch your chest. Keep it vertical. Relax your shoulders without tension."

This posture is quite challenging until you get used to it. When told it's a good posture, I inadvertently end up with an arched chest. I must be using muscles I don't usually use; my entire body is getting tired... I'll probably have muscle soreness tomorrow.

"If you consciously maintain that posture in your daily life, it will also improve your appearance. From now on, live with that posture."

Huh!? Live with this every day?

Certainly, it might look good, but... it's tiring. Nobles have it tough. I did notice that everyone has good posture.

"Alright, now try walking while maintaining that posture. Don't let your posture collapse at all."

"Yes."

I started walking, but my posture started to falter.

"Leon-sama, your posture is collapsing. Don't arch your chest too much."

"Understood."

"Leon-sama, your shoulders are tense. Relax them a bit more."

"Yes."

After that, while receiving constant corrections, the practice of maintaining the posture came to an end. Even though it was just that, I'm incredibly tired.

Despite it being a dance practice, I finished without actually dancing.

"Once you can naturally assume this posture, you only need to learn the steps. If you practice every day until entering the Royal Academy, you won't struggle in class."

If that's the case, I have no choice but to do it every day. I'll do my best.

"Teacher, thank you for today. Lucian-sama, thank you for sparing your valuable class time for me."

"I'm just doing my job, and since Leon-sama practiced earnestly, it was fulfilling for me to teach."

"I've already been taught everything once, so I'm always reviewing. Today, having Leon around helped with the review."

"If you say so, I'm grateful. Thank you very much for today."

With that, the morning class ended, and I had lunch with Lucian.

In the afternoon, it's swordsmanship. After eating lunch and taking a short break, Leon and I changed into training attire and headed to the garden.