2. Lady Christopher's Daily Life (1)
I had never realized how long a day could be until I came to this place.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I vaguely heard a knock. No matter when I heard it, it was always a polite and cautious sound. Blinking my sleep-heavy eyes, I told them to enter; the door opened at once, and two maids appeared. After greeting me with practiced ease, they prepared my wash water.
I washed my face lightly, patted it dry with a towel, and got moving. The bed was far too large for one person, so it took quite a while just to climb down to the floor. Still half-asleep, I shuffled over and sat at the vanity. One of the maids expertly applied powder to my face and brushed out my hair.
The other maid brought out two dresses and held them up for me. One was a floral dress with a bluish tint, and the other was a simple, light pink dress with lace trim around the collar and sleeves. When I chose the latter, matching stockings, pumps, and accessories were immediately prepared.
The maid doing my hair selected a ribbon that matched the dress I had chosen and skillfully tied back my disheveled hair. Once my hair was done, I put on the stockings the other maid brought, stepped into the dress, and finished by putting on the accessories.
Now, a neatly dressed noble young lady stood reflected in the mirror. The woman in her nightgown fighting off drowsiness was nowhere to be seen. The maids, giving me a quick once-over, spoke respectfully.
"It suits you perfectly."
"You look beautiful, Miss."
I gave an awkward smile. I had finally grown accustomed enough to brush off such embarrassing remarks.
***
It had already been three months since I began living in the Christopher mansion. Many things had changed during that time.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived here was that the mansion was just as massive as the Velunita family's estate.
While the Velunita estates were lavish yet appropriately elegant, the Christopher mansions possessed a clean, tranquil beauty.
The mansion I was staying in was the largest of them all. It had so many rooms and was so massive that it was hard to take it all in at a single glance. Had Ethan not taken my hand as I stood there staring blankly, I might have completely lost my wits.
Ethan gave me the second-largest room after his own. It was a room of a size I had never lived in before in my entire life. The wallpaper, the flooring, the furniture—everything down to the last detail was luxurious. Furthermore, everything I could possibly need to live comfortably had been prepared inside the room. My words failed me when I saw a wider variety of clothes hanging in the closet than the ones I had received as gifts previously.
Ethan’s first order of business was assigning two maids to attend to me. They were young women around my age. Despite my sudden appearance, they didn't show a hint of curiosity and behaved with the utmost deference.
They monitored my condition at every moment, constantly asking if anything was amiss. Because I had a habit of waking up early, they would sometimes find me awake before they even arrived. At some point, they started coming in extremely early to attend to me.
This was my first time living a life where I was constantly attended by others. It was incredibly awkward; I couldn't even count how many times I didn't know what to do with myself.
On my first morning in the grand mansion, the maids barged in to attend to me while I was washing. Unable to contain my embarrassment, I actually shrieked. Ethan told me I needed to get used to these situations. He was right. Having someone assist you even just to put on a pair of stockings—that was what it meant to be a noble.
The first time I shared a meal with Ethan in the dining hall, the solemn atmosphere was suffocating. It was a tense time where even the clinking of tableware felt overly cautious. The servants all kept their eyes on us as we ate, watching to see if we needed anything. Even taking a sip of water or cutting a piece of meat drew numerous stares. Ethan seemed completely accustomed to it, but I couldn't even tell if the meat was entering my nose or my mouth. In the end, I choked terribly that day.
After that day, Ethan kept only the bare minimum number of servants present during meals and tried to strike up a simple conversation with me. Our so-called conversations mostly consisted of trivial, everyday topics like morning greetings or asking how my day was, but it seemed he was trying to help me relax. Thanks to that, the initially frigid atmosphere at the dining table thawed a little, allowing me to eat in peace.
I wore clothes I would never have dared to dream of, ate expensive food, and lived a life of luxury. At first, I thought the clothes didn't suit me, but after wearing them a few times, I grew quite accustomed to them. However, no matter how much I groomed and polished myself, I was no true noble. I didn't possess an ounce of noble refinement. I tried reading books for guidance, but without practical experience, I couldn't truly grasp any of it.
To help make up for my lack of noble refinement, Ethan called upon Violet. He figured it would be better to have someone I was close with teach me. Joelly came along with Violet as well. With the two of them flanking me, I asked about noble etiquette.
"A way to speak elegantly while being considerate of the other person? Can't I just speak normally?"
"You mustn't open your mouth too wide, nor too small, and you have to laugh at just the right volume. Must I really laugh like that?"
Violet and Joelly flipped through the book I had been reading, expressing even more bewilderment than I had. Since they had been raised receiving this education from birth, their advice was of no help to me whatsoever. It was only after several unfruitful meetings that Ethan finally decided to hire a private tutor.
The first tutor hired was a young woman. After exchanging only a few words with me, she must have concluded that I was entirely ignorant, as she subtly displayed a condescending attitude. She picked at the smallest things and openly scoffed; I had plenty I wanted to say to her, but I held my tongue. It was true that I was severely lacking, after all. However, somehow finding out about this, Ethan dismissed her and brought in a new tutor.
The second tutor hired was a middle-aged woman. She was supposedly quite popular among noble parents as of late. She didn't openly mock me. Instead, she wielded a thin rod under the guise of discipline. Because I was caned every time I made a mistake, my palms soon became covered in fine, lash-like welts.
I believed my rough hands, marked with minor scars, were unbecoming of a noble lady, so I usually wore gloves to hide them. But one day, I took my gloves off for just a moment, and Ethan caught sight of the red welts on my palms. He fiercely interrogated me until he discovered the cause, and then he dismissed her as well.
The third tutor hired was a man. He was younger than the middle-aged woman, and his smiling demeanor made him seem quite affable. He neither mocked me nor raised a rod against me. He just slandered me behind my back. I dismissed him myself after hearing him say, "With a woman like that, I just need to sweet-talk her and take the money." He clearly lacked any genuine motivation to teach me noble refinement.
After that, we went through several more tutors. Not a single one of them was suitable. Just as I was worrying over whether we needed to look for a tutor from farther away, someone visited the mansion. It was a middle-aged woman. The moment I saw her, I couldn't help but doubt my own eyes.
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
She clasped her hands together and offered me a polite bow. I glanced at Ethan, who looked inexplicably pleased, then looked back at her, barely managing to part my lips.
"Lady Isabella...?"
The woman standing before me was none other than Isabella, the woman who had helped me in the past. I stared wide-eyed at this completely unexpected arrival. I had been worried sick after hearing she had suddenly vanished right after helping me escape, but thankfully, she looked perfectly fine.
"Please do not use honorifics with a servant, Miss."
It felt incredibly awkward to be called 'Miss' by her. As I hesitated, unsure of how to react, Ethan stepped in to clarify the situation.
"Vincent recommended her. He thought Isabella would be a good fit."
"Vincent?"
It was surprising enough that Vincent had recommended Isabella, but I was even more shocked to learn that the two of them were in contact. As if to prove Ethan's words were true, Isabella presented a letter of recommendation bearing the seal of the Velunita family. Though they were already acquainted, Ethan took the letter, examined it, and nodded deeply.
"I don't think it's a bad idea. What do you think, Paula?"
"Uh... I'm certainly grateful, of course."
It was definitely better to have someone I had some familiarity with rather than a complete stranger. Once I gave my consent, Ethan hired her as my tutor on the spot.
"I look forward to working with you."
After that, hell began.
Isabella was rigorous. Without even a moment to relish the joy of our reunion, she began my training from start to finish with a cold and resolute demeanor.
Honestly, I had thought the life of a noble would be easy. I figured I would just sit around, boss the servants about, and live a life of leisure sipping tea. But experiencing it firsthand proved that noble life was anything but.
First and foremost, they had an immense amount to learn. From basic general knowledge to art, music, dance, embroidery, literature, poetry composition, horseback riding, and all manner of etiquette including dining manners—and that wasn't even touching upon tone of voice, posture, facial expressions, and even the way one walked. A noble had to maintain their dignity down to the very finest detail. Just learning how to walk elegantly with my head held high and my back straight almost made every joint in my body slip out of place.
Isabella neither mocked me nor raised a cane, but in a calm tone, she mercilessly detailed the consequences I would face if I made a mistake. Even for the smallest infractions, I found myself shedding tears at her warnings about the repercussions my mistakes could bring. Furthermore, she requested that other instructors be brought in for the subjects she could not teach herself. Thanks to her, I was able to receive the training I needed, step by step, in an orderly fashion.
I would wake up in the morning, get dressed, eat my meals, and then undergo training for the rest of the day. Aside from breakfast, lunch, dinner, and teatime, I had barely any time to rest. Receiving all at once the education that nobles normally underwent from childhood was no easy feat.
By the time I reached my fifth dance lesson, my legs felt swollen and throbbing. Eventually, as I panted from sheer exhaustion, Isabella noticed and suggested I take a short break. I plopped down on the floor haphazardly, drenched in sweat, only to get scolded for it.
As I sat in the chair Isabella had provided and caught my breath, she stepped away for a brief word with the dance instructor before returning. She poured me a glass of cool water; I accepted it, taking small sips while stealing glances at her.
"Lady Isabella."
"You should just call me Isabella."
"I-Isabella."
Because of the life I had lived previously, I often made mistakes in my day-to-day life. And every single time, she strictly pointed out my errors.
"Yes. Go ahead."
"How have you been all this time?"