The Northern Duke’s Eldest Son’s Tutor

Congratulations!
Sofia has become a tutor and servant for the Eristirol Duke’s family!
If this were a game, such text would probably appear.
Yes, I now have a job where I can work stably for at least 5 years while receiving a high salary.
A job with an extremely good social reputation.
To be honest, the fact that I got this job was probably possible because the eldest son whom I’d be teaching gave his permission.
If the eldest son had said no, I would have gone right back to hunting monsters.
I couldn’t use magic, but I could use mana, which is how I somehow reached Gold rank, but it was disgustingly difficult.
Rather than doing that, I would have been better off returning to my parents’ home and living as a shut-in.
“But being a servant…”
The servant role was simple.
Just following the little eldest son around, preventing him from doing dangerous things, or helping him.
A bit annoying, but not difficult.
By the way, they provided clothes too.
A clean-cut style of formal wear.
White shirt and black vest.
Fortunately, unlike the boarding school that forced skirts on us, they prepared both pants and skirts.
Since a skirt might allow others to see underneath, pants were better.
So I put on pants and left my private room.
I needed to formally greet the eldest son.
I walked down the longest corridor I’d ever walked in any house I’d lived in.
Of course it was long, as this wasn’t an ordinary house but a castle.
And in front of the room of the Duke’s first son, Kyle Eristirol.
To be precise, his bedroom.
-Knock knock
“May I come in?”
I said while knocking on the door.
It would be dangerous to just barge into the room of a ducal family’s eldest son, who wasn’t an ordinary child.
Not that the eldest son was dangerous, but his surroundings were.
Opening the door to a room wasn’t that much of a problem, but due to his noble status, it would definitely become an issue.
-Yes, come in.
The child’s voice from inside.
I quietly opened the door, went inside, and quietly closed the door.
Slamming doors open and shut wasn’t noble-like.
“Hello, Young Master. I am Sofia, who will be serving as your tutor and personal servant from today. Please call me as you wish.”
I bowed my upper body at nearly a 90-degree angle as I said that.
Should I have called him “Young Lord” instead of “Young Master”?
At least it would be better than calling him “Young Lady” or “Young Sir.”
That wouldn’t be grammatically correct to begin with.
“..He…llo.. I am Kyle Eristirol, the eldest son of Eristirol.”
He introduced himself while appropriately bowing his head in greeting.
The most standard form of greeting.
Since I was of lower status than the eldest son in front of me, I didn’t need to bow at the waist like I did.
If he had been wearing a hat, he would have lightly greeted me by taking off his hat.
“Is it alright to call you ‘Young Master’?”
If the title was uncomfortable, it would be good to change it.
However, the 12-year-old small and quiet young master in front of me seemed like he wouldn’t say anything even if he was uncomfortable.
So I asked first.
“I-It’s fine. Miss Sofia.”
Miss Sofia.
A surprisingly ordinary way of addressing me.
Sometimes the nobles I met had no manners, but this young master seems to have at least some level of courtesy.
And we didn’t exchange many more words.
After all, I only came today just to exchange greetings.
“We will start lessons from tomorrow.”
After hearing Kyle’s response, I left the room.
I hadn’t yet decided exactly what kind of education to provide, what direction to take the education, and I wasn’t prepared.
I moved to the servants’ quarters where the head butler, who was the interviewer, was located.
Of course, the areas where the family and servants lived were separated.
There were many servants, and the reason was that they weren’t of the same rank.
“Head Butler, I’m coming in.”
I entered the personal room where the head butler stayed.
He was suddenly putting on glasses that he hadn’t been wearing until just now, pretending to be working.
Perhaps he didn’t know it was me?
“I’ve come to ask about the Young Master’s education. Do you have time?”
“Yes, I do.”
I sat on the chair in front of his desk.
A desk and chair that looked moderately luxurious.
It indicated that he wasn’t just an ordinary servant.
“First, what aspects should I educate the Young Master on?”
“First, you need to teach him etiquette.”
“Hasn’t he been taught etiquette before?”
It’s common to teach at least some basic etiquette as a noble.
But for etiquette to be mentioned first…
“Yes, the Young Master is not yet old enough to debut in society, and there are rarely guests at Eristirol. And he has no issues with basic etiquette. But in about 5 years, the Young Master will need to make his debut.”
“So, you want to start now.”
“And you, Sofia, will teach him various things including dancing.”
“..Are there no more specific instructions or content?”
“No.”
…
Aren’t nobles and parents usually extremely passionate about their children’s education?
Why doesn’t the Duke have any special instructions?
For now, I left the butler’s room and returned to my private room.
Through the window, I could see the snow-covered northern city.
It was quieter compared to the capital or other cities, but it was a city that felt like people lived there.
“Etiquette…”
Teaching etiquette isn’t that difficult.
The type of etiquette I probably need to teach isn’t just the basics, but essential noble etiquette like table manners.
After teaching a certain level of etiquette, it wouldn’t be bad to educate on various subjects excluding dancing and magic.
Kyle is the eldest son of the Eristirol ducal family.
The Duke hasn’t had any more children apart from Kyle and one daughter.
So it’s natural that Kyle will inherit the Duke’s position in the future.
What if such a Kyle only knows etiquette and has no other knowledge, culture, or anything else?
This domain would probably be ruined.
Educating Kyle isn’t difficult right now.
It might get harder when he properly enters puberty.
He’s 12 now, so… maybe in about 3 years.
Although he’s a bit timid now, as a boy, he’d naturally enjoy running around and playing.
I was like that in my past life.
I heard that hunting is famous among the northern culture.
It might be good to occasionally get permission to take Kyle out and teach him how to hunt.
I learned that hunting is a sport among nobles.
They even hold hunting competitions among themselves.
Of course, they wouldn’t be as good as Gold-rank adventurers.
Learning from a former Gold-rank adventurer would probably be better than learning from most people.
Sometimes there were fools who only learned from books and spoke up despite never having hunted.
Most of those guys became part of nature or part of monsters.
It’s a bit disappointing that Kyle’s physique is smaller than his peers, but it’s not a problem.
There’s still plenty of time before his growth period ends.
He should at least reach the mid-170s [cm].

The next day, after dawn, I woke Kyle up.
It was one of the duties as a servant.
After waking him, I waited while he bathed with his bath attendants.
Fortunately, unlike the real Middle Ages, this world cared about cleanliness.
If this were the real Middle Ages, it would be common for excrement to fall from windows while walking down the street.
After Kyle finished washing with the help of attendants, breakfast began.
For some reason, I still hadn’t met Duke Eristirol even once.
Is he not in the domain right now?
Or does he not eat together due to work?
“Young Master.”
“Yes, Miss Sofia.”
Kyle looked at me.
I began my first lesson with him.
“We will start lessons from today… first with etiquette as requested by the butler.”
“Yes.”
We are in the study room.
A room with many books where other servants or maids rarely enter.
A very good room for studying.
“I won’t go over the very basic etiquette that you already know, Young Master—don’t point at people, briefly remove your hat when greeting, pass sharp objects with the non-sharp end first, things like that.”
“Yes.”
Yes, Kyle already knows basic etiquette.
Then we can move on to the next level.
Parties, salons, debuts, women.
Things a noble man needs to know.
Nobles make their debut when they turn 17 to 18, meet women there, meet other nobles, and expand their social connections.
While doing so, they reveal themselves and expand their position.
But what if someone becomes known for not being able to maintain proper etiquette in such settings?
Their marriage prospects would probably be completely blocked.
There would be no option other than marrying a young woman from a ruined family after reaching their 30s.
That’s why one of the purposes of debuting in society is to show how noble, courteous, and capable you are.
While doing so, they show off their abilities, and sometimes exchange information.
Society isn’t just a place to form social connections; it can also be a continuation of politics.
In such a place, someone who is rude, cannot maintain etiquette, and is ignorant would naturally be ostracized.
I cannot accept Kyle Eristirol, who is now in front of me listening to my words, experiencing such a fate.
Although it’s just the first day, he is my student.
My first student.
Is this how the new teacher who taught me at boarding school felt?
I wasn’t confident, but I became determined.