The day of the party was nearing, and due to that, and my unfortunate tongue slip back at the main estate, I had to endure etiquette lessons every day. It wasn’t like it was hard. My eyes… They were still as reliable as ever, being able to copy nearly every move I saw.
Seeing the instructor’s demonstration helped me a lot, and whenever she didn’t give a demonstration, asking for one never seemed to bother her. So I was able to complete each and every one of her requests with ease; which meant I was once again exemplifying how perfect I was.
Not sure if I should keep doing that though.
My main complaint with this schedule was how boring it was. After doing it perfectly once, I was always asked to do it three to five times more to make sure I was consistent with it. I didn’t know how to properly word out that my moves were as consistent as a machine, so I ended up just following through with her commands.
The things I learned so far ranged from how to properly sit down with a gown, to the proper way to walk over to someone to greet them. I wasn’t even done yet with today’s lesson, there was still an entire hour left!!
Despite how all the windows were opened, the room was really starting to heat up. As if reading my mind, Leila appeared behind me with a refreshing glass of water that I happily took a swig of.
“Shall I bring you another one, Lady Carine?”
I nodded as she swiped away the slight sweat on my forehead, her touch gentle.
What I wouldn’t do for a break right now.
The training finally ended. Better late than never, I guess. Leila helped me wipe off the heat and handed me another glass of water.
I thanked her as she handed the tray for the glass to a nearby butler.
Next up was supposed to be the class with Father and Mother. It had actually started an hour ago, but Mother wanted to extend my etiquette lessons so she reluctantly sacrificed my sword practice. Just for this week.
Yes, Feyt was still attending the lesson, and I could actually catch Father’s explanation about how to do some moves pretty well. So I could still leech off of that to learn a bit.
“Lady Carine,” Leila fastened her pace to walk by my side. “You have been instructed to get a quick bath and head to the Dressing Room. She will be waiting for you there.”
She? Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩
Now that she mentioned it, I immediately realized Mother wasn’t helping Father with instructing today. Of all the days I had to be absent from the practice as Carine, and it had to be the calmest?!
I held back my sigh as I nodded. “Of course. Let’s haste.”
—One quick bath later—
The lesson was concluded. Many of the students groaned in frustration since there wasn’t any sparring today either, just lectures and stance checks again. You can’t blame them though, they were pretty much kids, and kids love to fight.
I headed back to my room as Feyt, considering heading to the servant’s baths to get clean.
As I contemplated that though, the other me reached her destination. The dressing room.
It was a room that houses many of my and Mother’s clothes, dresses, gowns, etc. I rarely ventured here, even before regaining my past life’s memories. Carine, after all, was something of a stay-at-home shut-in.
Leila stood still behind me as usual, but this time, two additional maids flanked her. One of them was Ressa, that maid who talked with me as Feyt. Compared to how energetic she was in conversations back then, it was kind of a stark contrast to see her trying to act all professional around me with that deadpan stare.
She might’ve noticed me staring since she started quivering on the spot, subtly.
Anyway, I knocked on the door and announced my arrival. “Mother, I have arrived.”
Inside, I found Mother talking with a young woman wearing a fine suit. The latter widened her eyes exaggeratedly when she spotted me.
“Ah! Lady Carine!” She clasped her hands together. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, and oh my, you look absolutely captivating!”
“...Thank you,” were the only words I could say.
“You’re just in time, dear,” Mother said. “Now, Tailor, show me the gown you have prepared.”
The tailor bowed with a wide smile. “Of course, Your Grace.” She placed her hand on a veil covering a life-sized mannequin. With a dramatic yank, she revealed a gown coated in dark blue, with transparent frills that seemed to shimmer as if someone poured the stars in there.
It was… pretty elegant. From my perspective here, it looked made of something soft, so it might just be comfortable.
Mother beamed. "Exquisite. Simply exquisite," she declared, circling the dress like a hawk.
“Shall we have Lady Carine try it on?" the tailor suggested.
Before I could say anything, the two maids accompanying Leila were already ushering me behind a screen.
They worked like they were about to die or something, it felt like a whirlwind in here. I could feel fabric, pins, and hands all over my body as they quickly outfitted me with my new gown.
When I finally stepped out not two minutes later, I was fully clad.
“Well?” I asked Mother, who was eyeing me up and down like she would do to paintings.
The room fell silent except for the faint rustle of fabric as Mother circled around me, scrutinizing every detail.
After a solid ten minutes of Mother pacing and murmuring to herself, she finally turned to the tailor. “This requires further thought. You’re dismissed for now. Payment should already be handled.”
The tailor’s face lit up at the mention of payment. She bowed so deeply it was a wonder she didn’t topple over. “Thank you, my lady! I look forward to hearing from you again!”
As soon as the tailor left, Mother sighed dramatically, folding her arms. “It’s so close to perfection, yet not quite there. I think it’s missing… an accessory?”
My mind wandered to the kind of jewelry I found noble ladies used to wear. They looked troublesome or even downright ugly looking, just with some pretty gems etched on it.
I really didn’t want to wear those. I prefer things simple, you know?
Speaking of simple accessories…
Don’t I have one of that?