Chapter 29: The Burden of Etiquette

Two days later.

“How many times must I tell you to keep your legs together when you sit!” the Duchess exclaimed, standing beside the chair. The cane in her hand flashed, striking the chair’s back with a sharp crack.

Alice quickly pressed her feet together. She knew that if she didn’t comply, the cane might very well land on her knees next.

Then, she carefully picked up her knife and fork, beginning to tackle the pan-fried venison on her plate.

It was yet another noble etiquette lesson, with today’s focus being table manners.

“Do not cut your meat into such large pieces! A thumb-sized portion is quite enough for each bite!” the Duchess’s reprimand struck again. “I forbid you from opening your mouth like an alligator when you eat!”

“Then how long will this meal take?” Alice muttered under her breath.

Allowed only the tiniest morsels of food, she felt herself growing hungrier with every bite.

“It’s perfectly normal for a banquet to last two or three hours,” the Duchess said, having overheard her complaint. “What’s important isn’t what you eat, but what you discuss at the table.”

Alice painstakingly brought small, cut pieces of venison to her mouth. As she ate, she suddenly noticed a drop of sauce had fallen outside her plate, an unsightly blotch.

Without thinking, she reached out, wiped the sauce with her finger, and then sucked it clean.

“A-li-ce?” the Duchess’s ‘kind’ voice instantly resonated beside her.

“Ah!” Alice gasped, realizing her recent action likely warranted another strike of the cane. Trepidation filling her, she turned to face her teacher.

But this time, the Duchess did not wield her cane. Instead, she let out a long sigh. “My dear ‘daughter,’ I must say, you are the furthest person from a noble I have ever encountered.”

“After all, I grew up in the slums,” Alice replied with an apologetic smile.

After three days of lessons, the Duchess considered Alice a rather excellent student. She possessed keen insight and was remarkably diligent, absorbing knowledge of witchcraft and spycraft like a sponge.

Her only true struggle lay in noble etiquette.

For the past nineteen years, Alice had lived as Levi, a slum boy, a gender and social class vastly different from that of a ‘Duchess’s daughter.’ Now, suddenly forced to embody this identity, her performance in this regard was, in the Duchess’s own words, “nothing short of a tragedy.”

The very first day they met, Alice’s voracious manner of devouring snacks and dinner had left a profound impression on the Duchess. At the time, the Duchess had merely assumed her guest was overly hungry, but she later discovered that Alice’s ‘unrefined’ habits stemmed from her past.

Alice was accustomed to quick washes, not elaborate hair styling or makeup. She was used to walking swiftly, not taking small, delicate steps. She would wave to greet people, rather than performing curtsies or hand-kisses.

She was accustomed to eating large mouthfuls, not meticulously cutting food into thumb-sized portions to control the opening of her mouth.

Habits, by their very nature, are difficult to change. Despite the Duchess’s repeated instructions, Alice would often slip back into old ways the moment her guard was down.

“Innate habits are indeed hard to correct. The gist of it is—a dog can’t change its… I mean, old habits die hard,” the Duchess shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her expression.

“Uh, were you about to say ‘a dog can’t change its ways of eating dung’?” Alice asked, glancing at the Duchess with a touch of embarrassment.

“Even if your persona is that of an illegitimate daughter found outside, your manners can’t be so dreadful that you can’t integrate into noble society,” the Duchess fretted, resting her chin in her hand. “Otherwise, wouldn’t all the effort I put into this identity for you be wasted?”

“Must I really integrate into noble society?” Alice still felt a certain resistance to the idea.

“Didn’t you agree to learn a little about nobles?” the Duchess countered.

“But I still don’t quite understand why nobles create so many rules. Look, a noble family with territory can live a lifetime without worrying about food or clothing, even without working, simply relying on taxes from their land. It’s almost impossible for anyone in their territory to condescendingly control them.

“Servants and commoners only respectfully bow to their lord and his family. They could entirely spend their limited lives on pleasure, so why do they torment themselves with so many rules?” Alice pondered aloud.

She had always found it peculiar that nobles would subject themselves to such extensive rules.

From Alice’s experience, Camilla Dumpty, the Viscount’s daughter, was a prime example of an unrestrained noble scion. She struck Alice as someone who indulged in pleasure, even deliberately humiliating others for thrill.

Yet, this same Camilla was perfectly adept at noble etiquette. While she would treat commoners with haughty disdain, she managed even the most intricate courtesies with grace when facing other nobles of similar standing.

“Nobles are not as simple as you imagine,” the Duchess said with a gentle shake of her head. “In terms of personal living expenses, many nobles can indeed live a life of idleness—and some certainly do, like my late, cheap husband. However, your statement ultimately forces commoner standards onto nobles.

“Once material needs are met, human desires easily swell further, for people always pursue what they lack. Commoners who worry about daily sustenance seek the pleasure of a worry-free life, but nobles, who are already free from such concerns, may not be satisfied with just that.”

“Then what do they pursue?”

“Many things: personal honor, the prosperity of their family, higher status, greater power… all are possibilities. In their pursuit, nobles inevitably engage in struggles or form alliances. They require social interaction, which is often far more complex than that of commoners. Naturally, etiquette for noble society emerges from these needs,” the Duchess explained.

Alice fell into contemplation after hearing this.

“You don’t need to ponder it too deeply. You can simply understand it this way: noble etiquette is one of the tools nobles use to distinguish themselves from commoners.”

“Ah!” Alice suddenly felt a surge of enlightenment.

“I hope this understanding makes your future studies less arduous,” the Duchess smiled. “Now, continue. Finish what’s on your plate, and do not let me see another slip-up like that.”

Just then, the Butler swiftly entered the dining room. “Madam, Young Miss, Lady of Hearts sent me to inform you that she has something for both of you to review, and requests your presence in the courtyard.”

The Duchess and Alice exchanged glances upon hearing this.

After Queen Isola handed the list to the Duchess, the Duchess had the requested items prepared the very next day.

For the past two days, Queen Isola had largely secluded herself in the small storage room within the estate’s courtyard, diligently crafting magical artifacts.

Now, it seemed, her work was finally complete.