Etiquette and Dancing

The morning after the exam.

I was planning to go home, so I started getting ready to leave, but Roger stopped me.

"Leon-sama, I have a message from the head of the family. Those affiliated with noble houses are graded from the highest-ranking nobles downward, so your exam results should arrive either today or tomorrow. Therefore, would it not be best for you to stay at the ducal residence again today and return to your family home after receiving your results?"

They come that quickly? In that case, it might be better to wait for the results at the ducal residence.

"Then I'll do that."

But if I stayed here, I'd have a ton of free time starting now. What should I do? I wonder what Lucien is up to.

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

"Yes. He generally has lessons with tutors or practices swordsmanship."

That sounds fun! I wonder if I could join him for those lessons.

"Would it be all right if I took them with him too?"

"I'm not sure. I cannot make that decision myself, so I will ask Catherine-sama."

Roger asked Catherine-sama, and I was allowed to attend Lucien's lessons alongside him.

Since the lessons were apparently held in Lucien's room, Roger and I went there.

Upon entering, I found that the teacher had not arrived yet, while Lucien was sitting on the sofa.

"Good morning, Leon. I'm happy we get to take lessons together!"

"Good morning, Lucien-sama. It is an honor to be allowed to join you."

"This morning we're studying etiquette and dancing, and swordsmanship in the afternoon."

Etiquette! This was just what I wanted. I'd been hoping to learn the proper manners for each social rank. There might be special customs, after all.

Swordsmanship sounded fun too! But I'd never danced before. Would I be all right? Wait, was dancing actually required?

"Lucien-sama, do we have to know how to dance?"

"That's right. If you can't dance, you'll embarrass yourself at parties, won't you? Besides, dancing is part of the curriculum at the Royal Academy."

"What!? Really!?"

I had no idea... I really need to learn it properly.

While we were talking, the teacher apparently arrived. I stood up to welcome them.

"Good morning, Lucien-sama. I look forward to working with you again today."

"Yes, likewise. Leon will be joining us for today's lesson. Is that all right?"

"My name is Leon. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"You are Leon-sama, then. Of course. I don't mind how many students attend."

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

So this teacher taught both subjects? They were somewhat slender, with kind-looking, downturned eyes.

The teacher, Lucien, and I sat at a desk, and the lesson began.

"There isn't much more I can teach Lucien-sama, so since you're here today, Leon-sama, how about I teach you whatever you'd like to know?"

"That sounds great! Leon, is there anything you'd like to learn?"

This was perfect. I wanted to learn the basics of both etiquette and dancing.

"I have never properly studied either. I'm a complete beginner at dancing in particular, so I would be grateful if you could teach me from the basics."

"Oh my, is that really true? Your speech is quite proper, though..."

"My knowledge of etiquette comes from watching others and picking up bits and pieces, so I don't actually know proper etiquette."

I was always nervous about whether I was doing things correctly. I tried to follow the people around me, and no one had ever pointed anything out, so maybe I was fine. Still, if possible, I wanted to acquire a solid understanding.

"In that case, I think it would be best for you to study etiquette from the book Lucien-sama has. It would be difficult to teach you everything in a single day, and you already seem to have learned proper etiquette, so you should be fine if you supplement your knowledge with the book."

"That sounds good. It's a book our teacher wrote and compiled. It's very clear and well organized, so it was a great help to me as well. I'll lend it to Leon for a while."

Wow, this teacher wrote the book? If Lucien thought so highly of it, it must be a good one. I was grateful that I could borrow it!

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

"You should be able to master etiquette in no time, Leon-sama. So, rather than having an etiquette lesson today, let us have a dancing lesson."

When the teacher said that, the teacher and Lucien stood up and walked out of the room. I hurried after them.

After walking for a while, we reached a room with nothing but a sofa and a small table at one side. Was this where they practiced dancing?

"Since Leon-sama is joining us today, we will review everything from the basics once more. The fundamentals are important, so Lucien-sama, please practice seriously as well."

"I know."

"I look forward to working with you."

Then the grueling dance practice began. We started with the basic posture for dancing, but I simply couldn't get it right. I thought I was standing properly, yet the teacher kept correcting me for nearly an hour before finally approving my posture.

"That's the posture, Leon-sama. Dance while maintaining it. Whatever you do, do not hunch your back. And don't thrust your chest out, either. Keep yourself perfectly upright. Relax your shoulders."

This posture was quite difficult until I got used to it. Whenever someone told me to maintain good posture, I inevitably ended up sticking out my chest. Maybe I was using muscles I didn't normally use; my whole body was starting to feel tired... I'll be sore tomorrow.

"If you consciously maintain that posture in your daily life, you will look better as well. From now on, please go about your daily life with that posture."

What!? I'm supposed to live like this every day?

It would certainly look good, but... it was tiring. Nobles really were amazing. I'd always thought they all had such good posture.

"Now, try walking while maintaining that posture. Do not let your posture collapse under any circumstances."

"Yes."

I started walking, but my posture crumbled as soon as I did.

"Leon-sama, your posture has collapsed. Do not thrust your chest out too far."

"Understood."

"Leon-sama, you are tensing your shoulders. Relax a little more."

"Yes."

After that, I spent the rest of the lesson practicing how to maintain my posture while being constantly corrected. That alone was incredibly exhausting.

It was dance practice, but we finished without dancing at all.

"Once you can maintain this posture naturally, all you will have to do is learn the steps. If you practice every day until you enroll in the Royal Academy, you should have no trouble in class."

Hearing that, I had no choice but to practice every day. I'll do my best.

"Thank you for today, Teacher. Lucien-sama, thank you as well for spending your valuable lesson time on me."

"It's my job, and you practiced diligently, Leon-sama, so teaching you was rewarding."

"I've already learned everything once, so it's always review for me. Having Leon here made today's review more productive."

"I'm glad to hear that. Thank you both very much for today."

And so the morning lessons ended, and I had lunch with Lucien.

In the afternoon, we had swordsmanship. After Lucien and I ate lunch and rested for a little while, we changed into training clothes and headed to the garden.