kscans

Chapter 55 - Little One's New Daily Life, Nine

"We are in the same class today, you know! I shall be happy to instruct you!"

"Thank you. I look forward to it."

Little One gave a sweet smile to Aristea, who placed a hand on her chest and declared this with flared nostrils. Today was Socializing Day. In each class, salons were held where students could recite poetry, practice embroidery, and indulge in their own hobbies and tastes. There were judges for each activity who would stamp the handbooks of students who met the criteria, so everyone was highly motivated. The morning was spent going around to various workshops like this, followed by a dance party after lunch. Here, too, strict judging would take place, and the day would end with a tea party that was in reality a review session.

"I wonder how many I can pass today."

"It's so exciting, isn't it? My father has been teaching me chess. I must increase my accomplishments, even if just by a little."

"That's wonderful. Culture is a required subject for nobles. We must do our best."

The girls were already showing glimpses of the ladies they would become.

The boys couldn't keep up with the conversation, which was punctuated by ohohos and ufufus.

"Girls are strong."

"Truly. My own sister is quite skilled at chess. I cannot afford to lose to her."

"I have trouble memorizing the poems for recitation. How does everyone else do it?"

"Ah, I'm not good at that either."

And so on. It seemed the boys had their own various worries.

Watching the children strive so hard, despite their youth, with a smile, Little One opened her own handbook. It was a dance card. A book for recording dance requests, it was now being used as a stamp book for exams so that they could get used to using it. This is kind of like that certain train station stamp rally, isn't it? she thought. It's nostalgic, thinking about how a grown woman like me ran around among children for some pocket monsters.

With such idle thoughts, the twins made their way to the poetry recitation table. The students were reciting poems of their choosing, some haltingly. The lecture proceeded in the form of a small tea party, with students commenting on and praising the recitations. There were existing poems and original ones. Some spun their words with clear, confident voices, while others recited desperately, stumbling over their words. It was a heartwarming sight. As she held her tea and scanned her surroundings, she saw servants watching the students with sharp gazes from here and there. Yes, this was both a lecture and an exam. Hidden judges, watching the students' every move, not missing a single thing about their attitude in class, their consideration for others, their etiquette, or their deportment, their eyes peeled for any mistake.

I thought so. This kind of thing is the same no matter the world, isn't it?

Little One's eyes deepened with a smile.

Once, at a job she had on Earth, a nasty rumor about Chihiro had spread through the company. A rumor that was not entirely baseless. If it had been completely false, she could have refuted it, but the story had been turned on its head, and she couldn't prove it. A vicious method where the perpetrator pretends to be the victim. Only those involved knew the truth. The argument of 'no I didn't, yes you did' had worked in favor of the person who spoke first. At that time, a recording of their exchange had surfaced as evidence, and Chihiro's honor was restored. The one who had submitted the evidence was, surprisingly, the section chief from the do-nothing department who was called the office drone. He was thought to be a crony employee assigned from above, but he was actually an investigator monitoring for power harassment, sexual harassment, and the like. He didn't come out into the open, but if necessary, he would submit evidence and a written opinion. He had waited for the situation to escalate, collected audio from the bugs planted everywhere, and submitted it as evidence.

After that, the number of fools causing trouble in the company drastically decreased, and the investigator's effectiveness was maximized.

A pang of anxiety from the bitter memory passed through her, and looking around just in case, she saw, as expected, people who seemed to be just that, walking among the servants.

"Nii-ni. Don't let your guard down. We're being watched the whole time."

"I know. The meaningful glances they keep sending this way are giving me a bad feeling."

Pretending to chat with smiles on their faces, the twins steeled themselves and participated in the lecture. They went from place to place, sometimes excited, sometimes dejected. Little One got stamps for embroidery and recitation, and Chihaya got stamps for chess and recitation. The expressions woven into his original poem had apparently been the deciding factor.

"'Though the colors are fragrant, they are destined to fall.' A rather poetic expression. Haya-sama's 'The fragrant blossoms of a spring evening in full bloom' is also a splendid expression. Truly beautiful."

Praised lavishly by the teacher, the twins offered soft smiles.

Sorry, it's a quote from a Kilfan classic.

Both poems described the peak of a young woman's beauty. Little One had written a poem about the merciless sorrow of passing time, while Chihaya had written a poem about a captivating moment. The result was a great success. They both received stamps and earned their credits. To advance to the advanced class, one had to receive more than seventy percent of the credits. And on top of that, probably an evaluation from the hidden judges. Little One consciously straightened her posture and gave the teacher a crisp, polite bow. Then, she casually took her brother's offered hand and, with a fluid escort, headed to the next lecture.

Behind them, she heard a small sigh of admiration, hoh.

The twins breathed a sigh of relief, glad that they seemed to be pulling it off. Their etiquette was perfect, so the rest was just practice and experience. That's what Romel had said.

"A woman's gotta have guts, right?"

"Wrong. Charm."

"I've got that to sell, nyo."

"I know. But instead of guts, how about a smile?"

Chihaya placed a bird-like kiss on his sister's hand and looked up at Little One with a bashful, upward glance. Immediately, small, high-pitched squeals rose from the surroundings.

"Kyaa! How lovely!"

"What a gentleman. I'm so envious."

"How wonderful it would be to have such a splendid older brother."

The female students chattered with flushed cheeks.

No, you all are the lovely ones. Truly adorable. A feast for the eyes.

Little One thought such old-man-like things as she watched the bashful girls with a warm feeling. And so the twins continued to collect credits one after another. Lunch, too, was in a sense, an exam.

Peaches and cherries, things they were likely not used to eating, were served whole, without being cut or prepared. Even the usually composed Chihaya was flustered by this. They were a specialty of Kilfan. Fruits that had only started to be distributed in the last hundred years or so. On top of their short history, they were also expensive, so even nobles couldn't eat them so easily. Even the twins, who owned orchards of these fruits, had only ever eaten them cut into easy-to-eat pieces at home, and were taken aback by the whole fruits placed on their plates.

However, Little One knew. She was sure she had seen a video in her previous life of the same thing being served for dessert at a court banquet.

"Nii-ni, first, the cherries. Eat them normally, and then just copy what I do."

The dining tables were each isolated by a screen. Paired up as male and female couples, the partitions made it impossible to see each other's tables.

Little One ate the cherries normally, then picked up the paper tube placed next to her and spat the pits inside. The tube, commonly called a puu, was a paper tube about two centimeters wide and ten centimeters long attached to a stick. She held the stick, spat the pits into the tube, and finally placed the stem inside and twisted the mouth of the tube shut. Then, she smiled sweetly at the attendants waiting by her side. As if that were the signal, the attendants brought out and put on new gloves, took the plates from in front of the twins, and on a serving wagon, began to massage the whole peaches and peel them. After peeling the peaches, they cut them into easy-to-eat sizes and arranged them on the plate before placing the plates in front of the twins again.

"Thank you for waiting."

Giving a slight nod to the attendant who was smiling with shining eyes, the twins enjoyed their lunch to the very end.

The two of them were unaware that as they gracefully left their seats after finishing their meal, the attendants were looking at them with eyes full of envy.

"Wonderful! I thought this would be a difficult challenge, but those two ate their meal without any pretense!"

The etiquette teacher gave a wry smile at the attendant who was rattling on excitedly.

Those twins are the children of Princess Sakura. They have surely mastered the etiquette from there as well. In a sense, this may have been an advantageous challenge for the two of them.

The custom of serving cherries and seasonal peaches was something that had been passed down from Kilfan. Since they were originally a specialty of Kilfan, it was only natural. Still, the etiquette of the upper class was not generally known. Because serving them whole on a plate was normally unheard of. Peaches are a delicate fruit. Therefore, this live cutting was born from the consideration of wanting to keep them fresh until just before eating. This was a method used only on special occasions such as royal court banquets. After all, one had to prepare an attendant for each guest. It was the height of luxury. Even as a princess, she had probably only experienced it a few times. Her two children may have known of it, but they surely had never experienced it themselves. The strength to carry it out so smoothly, without panicking.

As expected, those twins are in a class of their own.

Thus, the word 'pass' was stamped on the assessment forms of Little One and her brother, held by the hidden judges.

Next was the dance party. The twins were skilled dancers. The onlookers watched in amazement as the two twirled and danced lightly. Their mysterious steps, as if they had wings, glided and floated without a sound. Their splendid dance, which mixed original choreography with the basic forms, even impressed the lineup of teachers. They easily got their stamps, received a passing grade for the intermediate level at the tea party held afterwards, and the twins were officially promoted to the advanced class.

"That's not faaaair!"

It was a charming side note that Aristea, who remained in the intermediate class, snapped at Little One.

And so, with everything now at the advanced or special level, Chihiro and Chihaya, who wanted to make as much time as possible, headed home, satisfied.

"I want to get exemptions for everything as soon as possible."

"You're in a hurry, Hiro. I think it's fine to take things more slowly, you know?"

Little One had nothing but the pilgrimage and the playhouse on her mind.

And calamity strikes when you least expect it.

Little One had no idea that a few days later, the victims of Aristea's blunder, who had only themselves to blame, would come rushing to the George residence.

Prayers for them.♪