NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18 – Private Tutor
After Allen visited her room, Faye’s conduct and stare towards Ann seemed odd for some reason...
“Faye, is something the matter?” The oblivious Ann asked. Faye only shook her head, before she returned to staring at Ann with weird eyes.
“...,” Ann couldn’t fathom this, but she abruptly hugged Faye.
“Hyee?!” Faye shrieked.
“Come on, little Faye. Your eyes don’t lie. Tell me what’s the matter or I’m going to suffocate you with my hug~,” Ann said as she tightened her hug on Faye and patted her head until her hair turned messy.
“Uuu...But...,” Faye was too embarrassed to say anything.
“Hmm?” Ann still urged Faye to answer.
“Arlea-sama, you and Allen-sama were...lovey dovey and I...interrupted you...,” Faye said with a small voice as she blushed.
“I---buu, what?!” Ann blinked very rapidly. Her mind was frozen for a moment before something finally clicked there.
“Ah, you entered while I was on top of...Oh, that’s just a misunderstanding!” Ann let go of Faye as she formed a ‘X’ with her hands to deny it.
“Also, I am not a pervert!” Ann said very seriously, but Faye only blinked.
Yeah, Faye totally didn’t buy that.
“Anyway, I sure hope that we are indeed lovey dovey...,” Ann sighed.
What a waste of a good husband!
Faye sighed. It seemed that her mistress had a one-sided feeling towards her master? Which was why she attacked him the other day? Well, her mistress was really something else! It seemed nothing could make her mistress tired!
...Or probably, there was one.
The day after tomorrow finally arrived. As promised, the private tutor that Allen had arranged for Arlea to relearn her table manner also arrived at a timely manner. When Faye called Ann out, Ann was leisurely lying down on her fluffy and comfortable bed.
“Good morning, Arlea-sama. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Simone Klavinskia. I had received an order from Allen-sama to help you learn table manner. I heard that Allen-sama thought your table mannerism was...quite lacking. Am I right?”
A seemingly rigid female with her glasses elegantly bowed to Ann. Her brown hair was tied in a single bun. She was wearing a simple yet elegant light brown dress with black coat. In short, her image clearly showed that she was the ‘discipline’ and ‘strict’ tutor type. Ann had a slight chill running down on her spine.
“Ah...yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Arlea,” Ann lightly bowed, still slightly absent-minded.
“...24 point,” Simone corrected her glasses as she said that curtly.
“...Eh?” Ann tilted her head and reflexively asked.
“...13 point.”
“...Huh?” Ann felt like she was speaking with some alien.
Simone sighed before she finally explained, “That’s your point for earlier bow and for your inquiry. As you can see, they are still severely lacking. Allen-sama told me to evaluate your overall conduct, so I did. Though I used the standard of a duchess, your mannerism is still not up to the standard. You were a marquis’ daughter, weren’t you? How can this be?”
A barrage of questions attacked Ann.
It was super effective!
Ann couldn’t say anything to refute Simone’s words.
“Simone-san...I think I hit my head? Yes, I can only remember some things...,” Ann put her index finger on her forehead with a troubled expression on her face.
“I heard about that. I was told to evaluate you with regards to that as well. While we have never met before, I heard from Allen-sama that your conduct had been strange so far ever since the incident where you hit your head. I was tasked with evaluating whether you’re pretending or not. Well, we will see in the lessons. I don’t think you can pretend while having a lesson with me,” Simone said.
“...Uh, so...we are not going to have just...table manner lessons?” Ann asked with uncertainty.
“Correct. I will correct your overall etiquette and mannerism should I see them displayed wrongly. So, you’d better stop pretending in case you are pretending.”
Whoa, this tutor doesn’t even beat around the bush! Frightening...
“We will have the table manner lesson done during lunch. So first, let’s start with correcting the way you walk and bow,” Simone said as she started to open her bag and rummage it.
“The way I...what?” Ann couldn’t believe what she heard.
Even the way I walk is actually wrong?! God, what kind of thing is it? I never knew you can be wrong in just walking!!
“The way you walk. It isn’t elegant enough,” Simone said as she took out some tools. A pair of special shoes with some kind of heels to help in teaching Ann how to walk. She then turned to Faye and said, “You are Arlea-sama’s maid, correct?”
Faye was somehow nervous in front of the strict Simone, but she managed to nod.
“Alright. Can you help me bring some books of various thickness?”
Faye nodded and bowed before she left to find some books as per Simone’s request.
Meanwhile, the mini Ann inside her heart was already screaming.
Oh god, I’m going to walk in that shoes?! And she asked Faye to bring some books here...Is she really going to make me walk with some books on top of my head? Is this really how the nobles learn? My goodness! Did I just agree to sign up to something this tiring and...useless?
“Ma’am, I don’t think you have to be very thorough...I think I’m fine...,” Ann bravely raised her hand and said.
However, Simone’s eagle eyes stared at Ann, almost causing her to jump in fright.
“Fine? I’m afraid I must disagree, Arlea-sama.”
“But it’s going to be useless...” Since I’m just going to die anyway. In less than a year.
Ann never thought of the future because she believed she didn’t have any future. That was why, she carelessly said those words.
“Useless? Excuse me, Arlea-sama, but you are the wife of Duke Schwartzen, a duchess. If you think that shame is nothing for you and that it’s fine for you to behave as you see fit, can you please think of the shame you are going to bring to the Schwartzen family? You are already a married woman of a high position. Your every conduct is going to be seen by others, and the noble ladies will evaluate the Schwartzen house based on you. Or is that your aim from the very beginning?” Simone stared at Ann with suspicious eyes.
“No...I...”
I never thought it would be this serious!
And by useless...I meant, I would die soon and the duchess of Schwartzen’s position would be open again!
Let this soon-to-die person to live leisurely...can’t you?
But Arlea knew that telling that would end up in Simone not believing her or that she was digging her own grave faster than the promised date.
Then...that left her with no other choice than to comply...?
Ugh...
“Therefore, be as honest as you are with me during my whole day evaluation of your conduct. I will do my best to correct and train you,” Simone said.
“Try me, I can’t really lie about those things, can I?” Ann gave up and resigned herself to all this.
Though this would take up her time that she could use towards doing whatever she wanted, she realized that she needed to do it. If that was the case, then she would rather pour her everything into it, then get it over with. The faster she could do what they wanted, the faster she could do whatever she wanted. From her time as corporate slave, she was a diligent person with that kind of motto, too. It was too bad that work kept piling over...
“Alright, if you would please change into these shoes...,” Simone said as she gave Ann the practice shoes.
Just right in time, Faye returned with books of various thickness.
After Ann obediently put on the practice shoes that made her wobble, Simone took out a stick.
Glasses, hair bun, formal cloak, strictness, and a stick. Just perfect.
“...Are you going to hit me with that?” Ann looked quite frightened.
“This? No,” Simone was surprised to hear Ann’s thought. Honestly, her position won’t allow her to hit Ann with such a stick, despite her being Ann’s tutor. This stick would be used to give pointers as an extension of her hand. This was no stick of punishment...
Simone was amused enough. In such a short interaction, the image that she had of Arlea—based on what she had heard up until now—was shattered to pieces already. Instead of facing a hard, harsh, and arrogant lady, she met with what seemed to be a docile and amusing young lady.
But that could be a mask...or could it be?
Simone lightly shook her head. It was still too early to judge.
“Alright, let’s begin! Walk slowly here,” Simone distanced herself from Ann before she tapped on the floor in front of her using her stick, urging Ann to proceed.
Ann tried so hard to walk without wobbling—but she still wobbled and...
“Ah-!” When Ann was about to lose her balance, an idea flashed into her mind very quickly.
Gotta take advantage of my fall and fall straight to my tutor’s arms! All to see the glorious status box!
So, Ann really manipulated the center of her body so that she would fall to Simone’s direction.
As expected, Simone didn’t avoid Ann and instead was trying to catch her.
Thus, the two bodies bumped.
“Are you serious?” Simone was surprised at Ann’s poor walk. This was beyond her imagination.
“Thanks...,” Ann said as she quickly took a look at the status box. Thankfully, it popped up.
~SAVING THE KINGDOM, SNATCHING THE BEAUTY~
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Simone Klavinskia
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Birthday: 20/04
Magic: None
Occupation: Tutor, earl’s wife, mother
Ann blinked.
This tutor’s birthday would be—coincidentally—on the same day of her fated death. Could they be fated, really?
And huh, she was also an earl’s wife and a mother? Ann totally couldn’t imagine how Simone’s husband and child were...
“Are you listening?” Simone’s voice caused Ann to snap out of her thoughts. She was too focused on reading the information that popped up right in front of her eyes, so of course she wasn’t listening...
Ann tilted her head, “You were saying...?”
“Not listening to the other party while talking. Minus nine points.”
“...I said I’m sorry...”
“How were you raised all this time, honestly?” Simone was amazed at this point.
“...”
Ann definitely couldn’t say that she was raised in a commoner’s family in another world, right? A modern world that one couldn’t imagine...
Simone began to think that Ann really injured her head severely that she even forgot what should be a reflex: the way of walking, the bowing attitude...everything was supposed to be recorded in the muscles’ memories.
“Let’s try again!” Simone commanded.
“Yes, Ma’am!” Ann made a soldier’s salute, which caused Simone to glare at her again.
Uh...I at least wanted to try that, hehe...
Ann bit her tongue a bit.
“False, that’s not how you are supposed to walk!”
“No, do it like this!”
“Be more careful!”
Ann had already bumped into Simone far than enough that she even used the opportunity to experiment with prompting the status box...Ann really was a sly person! Even during her falling, she could think and adjust her position just to experiment with the status box only she could see...
“Now, try bowing! No, that’s not the right angle!”
Honestly, Ann’s brain couldn’t tell about the right angle or not...
“See me and try copying me!”
“...”
By lunch time, Ann was completely exhausted and hungry. She never thought that time could feel so long...The theory of relativity was real!
Alas, since Simone was invited for instructing table manner first and the foremost, Ann’s lunch time turned into a horror for her...
“No, that’s not the utensil you should pick!”
“See this! This is how you grab them!”
“And this is how you drink tea, but in case of wine...”
“You’re slouched, try sitting straighter!”
Thus, poor Ann couldn’t even enjoy her food...The usually delicious food seemed tasteless due to her having to focus on Simone’s teaching. It was a blessing that Ann didn’t feel nauseous and vomit in the middle of her lunch...She was tempted to puke, though, just to see how the strict Simone would react to that...
Would she say “Minus xx point” in response to her puking?
...If so, that would be too inhumane (T__T)
At this point in her life, Ann was contemplating.
Just what am I doing this for? What’s the meaning of her doing this? Really...
Ann shook her head a bit.
No, think of this as an obstacle or mission in-game in order to be left alone afterward!
Ann, 25 years, turning to 18 years, will try her best to clear this obstacle and unlock her leisure life before death!
Well, perhaps if she was docile and good enough, they would grant her a peaceful death...?
Also, today’s torture—no, lessons, managed to help her realize that she could just bump into people to trigger their status boxes open! If she did it right, it would only prompt theirs to open, but if she did it in the wrong pose, her own status box would be open too...
In the future, Ann would be known as the ‘People Bumper’.
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