What was called noble etiquette, in Lumine's view, was truly both tedious and useless. She really couldn't understand what kind of people would even subdivide greetings into so many steps.
However, for Lumine, these things were still easy to learn; it was nothing more than saying some pleasant words to that guy.
The rest of the things made Lumine feel a little uncomfortable.
"You, Eula, do we really have to learn this too?" Lumine asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.
The two were on a patch of grass. Eula stood with her arms crossed, frowning as she looked at Lumine.
"Of course, lift your head a bit more." Eula's pleasant voice now sounded less pleasing to Lumine's ears.
Hearing Eula's words, Aether could only lift his head a little higher.
This was so-called etiquette training, but Aether had never suffered such grievances.
Although she wasn't exactly a wild child, she had never received an aristocrat education, and usually walked with her natural movements.
Now, to make her change her usual walking posture, it truly felt awkward no matter how she walked.
"No, that's not how you stand, your back needs to be straighter…" Eula said, walking over to Aether and pressing her hand on her waist.
"Hmm?!" Aether's chest instantly puffed out.
Eula used a lot of force, and Aether almost lost her balance.
Fortunately, Eula's other hand caught her.
"Your arms need to relax. You're so stiff, you look like a Ruins Guard in the wild." Eula pressed close from behind Aether, her hand slowly sliding down from her shoulder.
Aether immediately felt something was off. Was the distance between them a bit too close?
"Eula, that…"
"Don't speak yet, just feel it." Eula interrupted Aether, her hand continuing to move over Aether's body, making Aether wonder if she was genuinely helping her adjust her posture, or trying to take advantage of the situation.
But since Eula said so, Aether could only silently follow Eula's instructions, until…
"And here, it needs to be taut." Eula's hand moved to an inappropriate place and gently patted it.
At this, Aether completely lost her balance. She quickly took a few steps forward, then turned around, her eyes wide as she looked at Eula.
"You, what are you doing?!" Aether's cheeks were a little red.
It wasn't because she was so pure; after all, she had done things more stimulating than this more than once, so she wouldn't be overly shy because of Eula's touch.
Her blush was entirely due to her own physique; the sensation of Eula's touch made those inappropriate thoughts in her mind surge wildly.
Fortunately, they were outside now. Although there weren't many people nearby, it was still relatively open.
Otherwise, if they were in a small, enclosed space, Eula's bold actions like that would have been disastrous.
"Hmm? You're blushing? So cute, quite innocent, aren't you?" Eula chuckled softly, seeming to feel a sense of sweet revenge.
"Woman, you're playing with fire…" Aether pouted unhappily, warning Eula in a playful manner.
"Hmmph, then I'll wait and see when your fire can burn me." Eula clearly didn't take Aether's words to heart.
Of course, she would regret it someday.
"Quickly, continue. Maintain the standing posture from before."
Aether sighed helplessly and stood straight again.
Being an aristocrat was truly troublesome. She wondered what kind of life Eula had lived as a child.
"Yes, just like that, chest out, head up." Eula said, her hand continuing to rest on Aether's body, though this time she seemed to genuinely only be adjusting Aether's posture, with no other actions.
Although… Aether still felt strange, as if Eula was still intentionally or unintentionally caressing her.
"Not bad, you can barely meet my requirements now." Eula nodded.
Standing tall, back straight, shoulders relaxed, chin slightly raised.
These were all very basic requirements. For Eula, they had practically been daily routines since childhood, but Aether had not experienced any of this. To achieve this much in just a few short hours was already very good.
However, her "not bad" also included an evaluation of other parts of Aether.
The touch was really good…
"Cough, next is walking. Your steps must be steady and composed. Every step should ideally be well-considered." Eula lightly coughed, temporarily putting aside the inappropriate thoughts in her mind.
"Uh, we're just going to meet your uncle in the wild, we shouldn't need all this, right…?" Aether felt that this whole routine should only be used for occasions like banquets. Who would maintain an elegant walking posture at all times in daily life?
"No, that guy is an old stick-in-the-mud. If your speech and manners don't appear like an aristocrat, it will be very difficult to talk to him." Eula spread her hands.
"Alright…" Aether sighed deeply and continued to persevere.
This feeling was truly too uncomfortable.
Fortunately, her learning ability was decent, and she basically didn't cause Eula much trouble.
After a morning.
"Hmm, not bad. Although you can't be called a qualified aristocrat yet, these slight shortcomings can perhaps be excused by differences in foreign culture." Eula nodded with satisfaction.
"Alright, take a break."
"Phew~ Finally!" Aether exclaimed, then plopped down onto the soft grass, all traces of her previous elegance completely gone.
-
At noon, the two arrived at the Hunter's Deer restaurant, partly to solve their lunch problem, and partly to deliver a gift to Eula's uncle.
Perhaps because they arrived earlier today, there weren't many customers at Hunter's Deer, so there wouldn't be a situation like before where there were no seats.
"Miss Sara, please prepare a packed portion of pickled meat for my uncle. I'll deliver it to him later." After ordering, Eula said to Miss Sara.
"Okay, got it. But it will take some time to prepare, come back to the counter to pick it up later."
"Hmm… Huh? Wait Sara, what's with this Satisfying Salad? We didn't order this dish, did we?" Eula stopped Sara, who was about to leave.
"I saw you ordered a table full of meat dishes, so I'm giving you a vegetarian dish to cut through the richness." Sara said with a smile.
It was also because it was relatively quiet now; otherwise, she might not have had time to prepare this dish.
"You didn't have to, but you insisted on giving it. Hmph, I'll remember this grudge."
"Haha, it's not your first day knowing me. I'm just this kind of big villain, alright? Now, you two enjoy your meal, I'm going to prepare the pickled meat."
As Sara left, Aether's gaze returned to Eula.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Eula raised an eyebrow, and couldn't help but ask Aether.
"Nothing, I was just thinking, Eula isn't that unpopular after all." Aether rubbed her head, then said to Eula.
The only Laurence Family member she had interacted with so far was Eula herself. Although she could clearly feel that everyone wasn't very enthusiastic towards Eula, even a bit cold, it didn't seem to be to the point of extreme dislike.
Perhaps Eula was unique, and she wondered what the other Laurence Family members were like.
"Hmph, that Sara, I'll definitely find time to settle this score with her later." Eula snorted softly, not directly responding to Aether.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!