“……What should I do, Cladfield? I’m in a pinch.”
“Young Lady, at least say that where there aren’t people around. Or rather, please save your whining for when we get home.”
Your classmates are giggling at you, you know?
“But, it’s impossible! There’s no way I can memorize all of this!”
It doesn’t work, even when you say it with a flushed face and teary eyes.
“Please don’t just give up. And everyone else is managing to memorize it, so please don’t give up.”
“Hmph, you’re cheating.”
“Mine is just a product of cramming, so it’s nothing to be praised.”
We were having such a conversation during etiquette class. The young ladies and noble sons and daughters were dancing, and we servants were playing music for them.
Of course, there are also nobles with a deep knowledge of music. They take separate classes called elective courses, so they have to learn dance as dance.
“Miss Arianna, we’re in class, you know?”
“Ugh, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t act like you’re relying on a little kid.”
“Little…”
Well, I am smaller than the other servants, but most of the servants are around 17 or 18 years old. Even though I was prepared in a hurry, 11 years old is definitely small.
“I heard you’re good at sports, so all that’s left is to memorize the movements. Just listen to the music carefully and move your body in time with the rhythm. I won’t say it’s easy, but it’s not impossible.”
“Teacher…”
Teacher… our Young Lady is the type who can’t memorize those movements. I’ve only just realized it, but this person is hopeless at anything other than combat-related things.
I can’t help but shed a tear.
“Like this, and like this.”
“Concentrate on moving your body, not your mouth.”
“…”
“Ah, um. Miss Arianna? Your face, um…”
“Is something the matter?”
“No, it’s nothing. Never mind.”
“Quiet!”
“S-sorry!”
Lord Zaid, I’m truly sorry for our Young Lady. I should probably deliver a box of sweets later.
“Cladfield, put down your instrument and come forward.”
“Huh?”
“You memorize it too. And be Miss Arianna’s practice partner at home.”
“…Yes, Teacher.”
It’s easy for you to say! Damn, should I bring in a recording device or something!? I’ve been watching until now, but I haven’t been watching with the intention of memorizing, so it hasn’t registered in my head at all.
“Cladfield, I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s part of the job… I guess.”
“Refrain from private conversations. Now, the music.”
The teacher who teaches us dance is naturally a noble. Moreover, a high-ranking noble with enough trust to be entrusted with teaching etiquette at the school. The male teacher has been enthusiastically instructing us from earlier, and the female teacher next to him, who never stops smiling, is also a lady from a good family.
Both of them have refined movements, and when they dance, I feel like I can see some kind of shining effect.
The teachers are so picturesque that the level of the music can’t keep up. Well, the servants accompanying the students are still children, so it can’t be helped.
“…Did you understand?”
“I’d like to see it from different angles a few more times.”
“Then today, watch freely from wherever you like. Next, Edgar, partner with Miss Evelyn. Klein, partner with Miss Francia. Bolboros, partner with Miss Saffine. Don’t forget your gloves, everyone.”
“Yes.”
It seems the teacher is shifting to individual instruction. So, I’m supposed to learn by watching, huh? Fine, I’ll take out my compact camera for recording (stealthily) and start filming.
“…Mine is smaller than the Young Lady, is this going to be okay?”
I understand that the male is supposed to lead, but it seems like the dance is based on the assumption that the male is bigger. Will this even be good practice?
“…You should stop by my room on the way home, I’ll prepare some boots for you.”
“So, I should use thick soles to cover it up. Understood.”
“Of course, it’s for the Young Lady’s sake. I’ll arrange it, but it won’t be ready right away, you know?”
“Thank you. I didn’t even notice until the teacher told me.”
“I want to say you should pay more attention to the Young Lady, but… in the end, you’re a guard.”
“Yes. Apparently, the teacher can introduce someone, but it’s not good to favor one student too much, so he said to make it the last resort.”
“That’s… well, maybe, but… it’s probably for a different reason.”
“Is that so?”
“The teacher is from an Earl House, right?”
“Ah. I see…”
The Cybarossa House is a Baron House, so they can only introduce someone of equal or lower status.
“Anyway, I understand the situation, thank you for the report. I forgot because the Young Lady is good at sports.”
That day, after receiving helpful guidance from the teacher, I reported the situation of the Young Lady’s Dance Lesson to Lady Martha, the head maid.
When I went to borrow shoes, she told me that hiring someone who can teach dance is a noble thing to do, so I’m consulting with Lady Martha.
Master and his wife are in the domain capital, so I should originally report to the Young Lady herself, but Lady Martha is the one who actually manages this mansion, so there’s no mistake in choosing her.
“Claffy-kun, how is your acquisition of the dance going?”
“I just learned it… I intend to work hard from today.”
“I’m counting on you?”
“Please have mercy…”
I feel like I really need to concentrate and memorize it.
“Why are you already done!?”
“I worked hard.”
Thanks to that, I’m sleep-deprived.
I watched the video I recorded (stealthily) with the small camera yesterday over and over again, and I memorized the male part with all my might. It’s not small, but I danced frantically in my cramped room until dawn, which was cramped for dancing. I might have bothered the people in the nearby rooms… but well, I can blame it on the Young Lady.
Not only the teacher’s example, but there were also some students who were clearly on a different level, so I desperately practiced by referring to those people.
My feet are quite tired because of the thick-soled shoes.
“Ugh, to think there was such a trial.”
“You knew about it from the beginning, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Lady Martha can’t do Dance Lesson, but she can play instruments, so she’s in charge of the music. She’s doing it naturally because she’s the one who taught me.
She says it’s been a while since she played an instrument, so she’s a little stiff. However, she’s still so good that she can’t be compared to the servants, including me, who are attending the academy.
“What is a guard, anyway?”
“Don’t say it!”
“You shouldn’t worry about it, okay?”
Where am I being led?
“Young Lady, your movements are too sharp and out of sync with the music.”
“Hmph, like this?”
“What are you going to do by making it even sharper…”
Is this person planning to have a duel or something?
“More gently, please.”
“Even if you tell me to be gentle…”
“Please don’t step on my feet.”
It’s hard to walk because of the thick-soled shoes. The Young Lady is about to fall, so I try to support her in a hurry… but I can’t, and we fall together. I can’t brace myself.
“Hmph, difficult…”
“It really is.”
Dealing with the Young Lady is difficult.
“! Sorry, Cladfield, are you okay?”
“I’m probably okay.”
I didn’t twist my foot. I seem to be fine.
“I, I thought I felt an elbow.”
“Ah, was that it? It hurts, but I’m okay.”
“I, I see.”
“So, we can’t take a break, okay?”
“Ugh!”
How many times has this exchange happened?
“I want someone who can teach us to come quickly.”
“Should we have called your mother?”
“C-calling Mother is out of the question!”
It seems to be out of the question. Is she a strict person? I’ve only seen her from afar, so I don’t know.
“Anyway, we just need to practice. I’m going to make you accompany me, Cladfield!”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Ugh.”
She’s full of energy, but I also feel like she’s trying to escape from Dance Lesson.
“At this rate, my assignments are going to increase…”
The master’s failure is the servant’s failure. It’s an academy… or rather, a noble way of thinking. If the master has any problems with their grades, the servant naturally has to accompany the master… but it’s an educational institution, so instead of just making them wait, the servant is also given assignments.
I already have little time to move around freely, and I don’t want it to be reduced even further!
“Young Lady, let’s do our best.”
“Y-yes. I know.”
“Either way, you have to memorize it before the summer social season.”
“You say unpleasant things!”
If you don’t want to be embarrassed there, please memorize it desperately.
“Really. You should have consulted me sooner.”
“S-sorry. It’s hard to say, but I felt like it was different to rely on Evelyn.”
“It’s okay. That’s what friends are for, you know?”
It seems difficult to find someone who can do Dance Lesson through Lady Martha’s connections. Well, it’s inevitable because Lady Martha herself is not a noble. It was facing difficulties.
At such a time, Lady Evelyn raised her hand, saying that the performance in class was too terrible.
It should never happen that Lady Evelyn of the Marquis House would spend time with a Young Lady from a Baron House, but Lady Evelyn is eccentric enough to secretly work as an Adventurer. She doesn’t seem to mind this much.
“Cladfield was helpful to me before, and this is also to repay that favor.”
“There’s no need to repay any favors.”
“Did something happen?”
“Just a little something before.”
I received a formal letter of gratitude from the Marquis Sandfelds House personally. They even offered a reward for the escort, but I declined since I was already getting paid by the Adventurer’s Guild. It felt wrong to receive a double reward.
“First of all,” she says. “It’s not matching.”
“Matching?”
“Yes, Kalinka. The partner.”
“Yes…”
It seems Kalinka-san will be dancing the male part. She looks nervous as she takes Lady Evelyn’s hand.
“It’s about the spirit during the Dance. The teachers say that you confirm your feelings with your partner through the Dance, or that it leads to romance, but that’s impossible.”
“Impossible, you say!”
Yeah. Well, I also thought it was impossible.
“That’s right. Yet, they tell you to connect with your partner, but it’s impossible. Dance is a clash of strengths! A battle of wills! It’s a fight and a duel!”
“Is that so!”
I don’t think that’s right!?
“Now, the music! Something passionate, please!”
“Y-yes. Understood.”
As told, I play one of the assigned songs.
“O-oh!”
“It’s a Dance, but this is…”
Lady Evelyn is swinging Kalinka-san around. Is that how I should describe it? The steps are basic, and the body movements are refined. As expected of a Marquis’s daughter. The finish is incomparable to the Young Lady.
Kalinka-san is keeping up while being swung around. Maybe she’s been her practice partner daily.
While performing such an outrageous Dance, Lady Evelyn spins around and strikes a final pose. Splendid.
“Wonderful!”
“Are you going to imitate that?”
Kalinka-san looks exhausted. Ah, Shirley-san is preparing drinks.
“Alright, let’s do it, Cladfield!”
“Impossible. My shoes will break.”
Don’t underestimate Platform Shoes.
“Kalinka, please be his partner.”
“P-please give me a little break…”
“That’s rough…”
After that, Kalinka-san had an even harder time.
The Young Lady seemed to have turned on her battle switch, trying to push and throw Kalinka-san while dancing, and each time she would say, “That’s right, is it!” or “Wonderful, Lady Evelyn!” Because somewhere the Marquis’s daughter was pleased… Needless to say, Lady Evelyn’s Dance Lesson was disbanded in one day because it was bad for the Young Lady’s education.