Chapter 13 The Nobility'S Elegance And The Distant Mountains
The next morning, the first lesson with Rebecca was on elegant walking and curtsying. Sara, who thought it would be easy, was forced to realize the harsh reality within 30 minutes.
"Ms. Sara, please pull your chin in. Lower your gaze a bit more. Don't slouch. Pay attention to your entire body, from head to toe. Especially, move your hands elegantly, all the way to your fingertips."
Just walking alone made muscles she wasn't usually aware of scream in protest. And what was even tougher was the curtsy.
"Please bow your head more elegantly. Yes, maintain that posture. In front of royalty and high-ranking nobles, you must not lift your head until you're given permission. You're swaying."
Rebecca was an extremely strict teacher.
Even lunch wasn't just a break to eat, but a lesson on table manners. She thought she was doing well with her table manners, but according to Rebecca, "While it might be acceptable for a wealthy merchant or a baron's family, as a marquis's daughter, your elegance is lacking."
The cousins at the royal palace hated studying, but they reluctantly attended lessons because they would get scolded by the marquis if they didn't. Chloe also hated studying, but she loved being praised by others for her elegance, so she was trying her best with the etiquette lessons.
"This is something you can't slack off on. It's crucial for living in noble society."
Sara, who loved learning new things from her past life, felt joy in acquiring new knowledge and skills, and even though her body was screaming in protest, she was enjoying this tough lesson. And Rebecca also seemed to appreciate Sara's enthusiasm.
However, there was a huge miscalculation in this teacher-student relationship. An ordinary 8-year-old girl wouldn't receive such harsh lessons. Rather, children around that age wouldn't be able to focus and endure long lessons without getting tired.
Rebecca may be a refined lady with a high level of education, but as a governess, she's a beginner, and she doesn't have any younger sisters or daughters. In other words, she lacks the knowledge and experience of what an ordinary 8-year-old girl is like. Of course, Rebecca was 8 years old once, but she's Little Prince Revi, after all. She was forced to receive ladylike education by her mother, starting from when she was over 10 years old.
As a result, instead of teaching Sara according to her age, the curriculum was centered around filling in the gaps in Sara's current knowledge. Thanks to this, by the end of the first lesson, Sara had already surpassed Chloe in terms of knowledge. Although she's not used to it, her posture and manners will eventually become second nature with repetition. If Rebecca continues to guide her at this pace, she'll be polished in no time.
* * *
After lunch, Sara headed to the office building, where she was taken aback by the piles of documents on her desk. Rebecca, sitting next to her, was similarly stunned.
"Ah, Sara, Revi, welcome!"
Robert greeted the 2 with a smile, despite being buried under a mountain of documents (or rather, a distant mountain). On either side of the desk, a bureaucrat sat, each one occasionally glancing up to acknowledge them before returning to their work.
"Uncle, do you really expect us to process all of these documents?"
"No, this is just a small part of it."
"Whaaat?!"
It seemed that a massive mountain range of documents loomed in the distance.
'This is insane!!'
At that moment, Sara and Rebecca could only muster up a noble, and elegant smile. Sara seriously considered pretending she didn't see the documents and making a quick exit, but she thought better of it, realizing it would be inhumane to leave Robert, Rebecca, and these bureaucrats behind. So, she took a step forward, toward the mountain of documents.
"I'll need you to explain everything to me before I can help, or I won't know where to start."
When Rebecca made a remarkably straightforward statement, the bureaucrat on the left looked up and asked Robert.
"Lord Robert, the one who will be assisting us from today, are these 2 ladies? I had assumed they were women, but one of them looks extremely young, if I may say so."
"Yeah, that's right. The young one is my niece, Sara. The other is Lady Rebecca, the daughter of Viscount Orson, who is also Sara's governess."
"I see. Lady Rebecca is one thing, but can Miss Sara even read documents, for instance?"
"Don't worry. She might be even more talented than me."
"Hmm..."
The bureaucrats in this country are a small group of knowledgeable elites. Most of them are nobles' children, but even commoners who graduate from the Academy can work as bureaucrats. In fact, many commoners are more talented than spoiled noble children, and depending on their academic performance, they can work as bureaucrats in the royal palace or for powerful nobles.
Of course, the Grandchester family is a powerful noble family, and their bureaucrats are confident in their abilities, rivaling those in the royal palace. It's no wonder they're disappointed when they see Rebecca and Sara.
Sara understood their feelings well. In her previous life, when she requested an assistant who could become an immediate force in a project, her superior sent a new graduate, and she was so frustrated that she almost threw a document at her superior.
Of course, she had been a newcomer herself and had received a lot of guidance from her seniors. She also understood the importance of on-the-job training. However, she couldn't help but think that it was unfair to expect her to take care of these young ones on top of her own work, which was already overwhelming.
Still, if things continued like this, it would hinder their work. Sara decided to show off her newly learned courtesy to the 2 bureaucrats.
"I'm Sara Grandchester. I'm sure you're surprised to see a child like me sitting at the lowest seat in the office, but please, bear with me and forgive my uncle's face. This is just temporary, after all."
The bureaucrats couldn't help but be polite to the child, especially since she was the granddaughter of Marquis.
"Miss Sara, please look up. You don't need to bow your head to us like that."
"That's right, Miss. Please, take a seat over here."
Another bureaucrat hastily stood up. The 2 of them were sitting at the upper seats near Robert's desk, but they started to clear the area to make room for the 2 girls.
"Please, don't bother. Ms. Sara and I are here to help with the work too. We don't need to open up the upper seats."
Rebecca hastily stopped them and sat down in an empty seat. Sara also moved to sit next to her.
"But..."
Sara also stopped the bureaucrat who was about to say something.
"This is a minor issue about seating. Right now, we need to work together to overcome this crisis."
It was a perfectly reasonable argument, but the bureaucrats couldn't hide their bewilderment at being lectured by an 8-year-old girl. However, they seemed to be starting to realize that this was no ordinary child.
As they glanced at the bureaucrats, Robert was floating a sly, mischievous smile.
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