After everyone had been seen off, the two of them walked back toward the manor while talking.
Uncle-Master Leif spoke directly, "Starting tomorrow, you need to return to your own territory to arrange your father's burial and inspect the lands. Due to my status, I cannot accompany you; you must rely on yourself. As for safety, don't worry—I'll have people set out with you."
Seeing Lev's serious expression, Altair asked in confusion, "Uncle-Master, won't that be too conspicuous?"
Seeing Altair's confusion, Lev explained the situation: "You are now the sole heir of the Sheffield Family. Although no one dares to move against you now, there's no guarantee once you're in the territory. Your family's wealth is quite substantial."
"It's all for safety, and also to prevent 'them' from looking down on you because of your youth. If you find anyone'slacking off' or being deceitful during this period, punish them severely immediately. There's no need for mercy."
...When the first ray of morning sunlight shone into the room through the window the next day, she found herself having slept in, a rare instance of waking up naturally.
This sleep made Altair's mood exceptionally better today. Looking out the window at Backlund's gray sky, even it seemed quite pleasing to the eye.
Once Altair finished a simple wash, she saw various servants downstairs already starting their work.
"Good morning, Hahn."
"Good morning, Earl Altair."
"It seems Backlund has rare good weather today; even the sunlight is shining in."
Hearing the Earl's words, Hahn compared it to the weather of the past few days and indeed felt a slight difference. "Today's Backlund is indeed a rare sunny day..."
With the morning greetings over, Hahn began arranging staff to set up breakfast and clean the rooms.
While Altair was eating, Hahn began his report: "For instance, you need to head to the steam locomotive station at 9:00 AM today to take a train to Tingen City, then return to 'Morse Town' via carriage for the burial... After you rested yesterday afternoon, the etiquette teacher arranged for you by the royal family, 'Madam Anna,' sent a letter saying she would accompany you to the territory so you can quickly master etiquette. Her luggage has already been delivered..."
It started as a normal report until the news about the etiquette teacher was mentioned. Altair, who was drinking soup, was immediately choked and coughed repeatedly... After recovering, she asked directly, "When did this happen? How come I didn't know?"
Hahn replied calmly, "It was during dinner yesterday, after you had retired. You would have seen the letter, but since you were already resting, I didn't wake you."
"Mhm, I see." Hearing Hahn's words, Altair understood the situation and thought, "Why is the first one to arrive an etiquette teacher? Shouldn't it be an occultism teacher?..."
After breakfast ended and they were ready to set out, the etiquette teacher, 'Madam Anna,' finally arrived late. Altair's first impression of her was 'old-fashioned'... On the steam train to Ahowa County and Tingen City, Altair was annoyed to no end by Madam Anna's teachings. "Earl Altair, when we met just now, you shouldn't have reached out for a 'handshake'... instead, you should have accepted my 'curtsy'."
"Now that you have inherited the title of Earl, although I am your teacher, I do not hold a noble status myself. In public, you should not salute me."
"My 'professional authority' is effective in teaching scenarios; once out of the classroom, you only need to maintain necessary politeness."
"As for your attire, in the Kingdom of Loen, men primarily use a combination of black and white, while only commoners wear many colors. Women primarily use dark colors like black, dark blue, or dark purple; black and white pairings are mainly for commoner dress."
"Although requirements for dress have loosened with the times, I find your male attire hard to accept."
...In short, from the moment they boarded the train and Altair sat down in her private carriage, 'Madam Anna' began her two-hour etiquette instruction. She critiqued everything from the greeting just now to speech, behavior, dress, and attitude toward servants.
Then she taught what should be done if such a situation occurred again. If they hadn't been on a high-speed train, she would have started the etiquette lessons long ago.
Under Madam Anna's aura, 'Altair' could only pretend to be a good student and learn.
During lunch, a bunch of faults were picked out again, from sitting posture to how wide she opened her mouth... but surprisingly, she wasn't harassed by 'Madam Anna' in the afternoon, because Anna went to find 'Hahn' the butler, and the butler was lectured so much he wanted to jump off the train on the spot.
Poor Hahn.
After a long five-hour journey, the steam train arrived at Tingen City on time at 3:00 PM.
After stepping off the train, Hahn's younger brother, Amos Clayton, was already waiting on the platform.
Upon seeing 'Amos', he had already performed a 'deep bow' to her and said,
"Earl Altair"
To avoid facing 'Madam Anna's' lecturing, Altair returned the greeting with a standard 'nod', bowing her head slightly to acknowledge him.
Then she looked at 'Madam Anna'; seeing her smile, Altair knew she wouldn't be 'lectured' tonight.
After arranging the 'coffin' and luggage into the carriage, they took the carriage arranged by 'Old Clayton' toward their destination, 'Morse Town'.
After more than half an hour of driving, they arrived at the Sheffield Family's 'castle'. Old Clayton was already standing at the door with many servants waiting.
Seeing the carriage arrive, he personally opened the door for 'Altair'. After some simple pleasantries, they entered the castle.
Since they arrived early and Altair had never been here since birth, 'Old Clayton' guided her and introduced the castle.
"This castle was designed under the supervision of the first generation 'Sheffield'. The overall structure is mainly in the 'Gothic style' popular at the time. It was built over ten years and expanded under the 'fifth' Sheffield... After a period of over 600 years, it has taken on its current appearance."
...On the second day after arriving at 'Morse Town', the funeral was held as scheduled.
Since 'Old Sheffield' was a believer in the 'Lord of Storms', 'Old Clayton' invited a priest from the 'Church of the River and Sea' in Tingen City to pray for him.
Afterward, Altair threw the first handful of soil, and then the invited church personnel filled it in... After the funeral, Old Clayton took Altair and began a simple introduction to the town's situation. "'Morse Town' is named after the first 'Sheffield'."
"The successive Barons never changed the town's name in order to commemorate the family's founder."
"Most of the residents' ancestors here followed 'Sheffield' in battles across various places. Of course, some were people who stayed after the 'Slavery Act' was abolished."
"The most recent population influx was seven years ago, led by 'Altair's' father."