Honestly? Just Say It!
Over the past two weeks, Era had drilled three things into her head with brutal intensity: writing, etiquette, and dancing. She was still clumsy in places, but it was a massive leap forward from where she’d started. Now only one final hurdle remained.
Conversational skills.
The Imperial Great Festival was just two weeks away. In that short time, I had to make sure Era could open her mouth around nobles without causing a catastrophe. Honestly, this was the part that worried me most.
“Today we’re working on conversational skills,” I said.
Era tilted her head. “Conversational skills? Isn’t that just talking? I’m pretty good at talking.”
“...The fact that you think you’re ‘pretty good at talking’ is exactly the problem.”
“Huh?”
“Talking with nobles is completely different from the way you normally speak.”
I dragged a chair over and sat down across from her.
“First, titles. The people attending the Imperial Great Festival all have different ranks, and you address each rank differently.”
“Different for each rank?”
“That’s right. A duke is ‘Your Grace.’ A marchioness or countess is ‘madam.’ An unmarried noble daughter is ‘my lady.’ Imperial family members are ‘Your Highness.’ That sort of thing.”
Era clutched her head. “Ugh. I’m already confused.”
“Get one of these wrong and you instantly become the rude one. It’s a disaster.”
“But how am I supposed to know whether someone’s a duke or a count?”
“...You can tell from their clothing or their family crest—”
“Family crest? What’s that?”
I let out a long sigh. We still had a long road ahead.
“...You get it now?”
“...Yes.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
After spending a while hammering titles into her head, I moved on.
“Now for the part that actually matters.”
“What is it?”
“Nobles never speak directly. They always beat around the bush.”
“Beat around the bush?”
“Exactly. You can’t say what you’re actually thinking. You have to wrap it up beautifully and say it indirectly.”
Era gave me a look that said she didn’t understand at all.
“Why? Can’t you just say what you want to say?”
“...That’s not how noble society works. Speak directly and they’ll call you vulgar.”
“Hmm. That’s hard.”
“Let’s do an example.”
I set up a scenario.
“A lady serves you tea, but it tastes awful. What do you say?”
Era thought for a second, then answered, “It tastes bad?”
“......Hey.”
“What?”
“How can you say it like that?”
“Then... blech~?”
“No...”
“If it tastes bad, how else am I supposed to say it?”
“In that situation you’d say something like, ‘The aroma is quite unique,’ or ‘It’s a flavor I’ve never experienced before.’ You wrap it up like—”
“But that’s lying.”
Era’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
“If it tastes bad but you call it unique, isn’t that a lie?”
“......It’s not a lie. It’s etiquette.”
“You’re thinking it tastes bad on the inside but saying something nice on the outside. That’s lying.”
Era argued with a dead-serious expression.
“...Anyway. That’s how nobles do it. You have to do it too.”
“Ugh. I don’t think I can.”
Era pouted.
“If it’s bad, say it’s bad. If it’s good, say it’s good. Can’t I just speak honestly?”
“No. Do that at the Imperial Great Festival and it’s over that same day.”
I spoke firmly.
“Uuu...”
But one look at Era’s face told me she had zero confidence. This was the real problem. Era was far too honest. She blurted out whatever was on her mind. And in noble society, that was a fatal flaw.
“All right. Let’s practice.”
I suggested a role-play.
“I’ll act as a noble. You respond appropriately—indirectly and politely.”
“Okay.”
I cleared my throat and put on my best arrogant-noble impression.
“Hoho. So you’re His Highness the Prince’s fiancée? My, your attire is rather… simple.”
This was a veiled insult about her outfit looking unsophisticated. People like this would definitely show up at the Imperial Great Festival.
Era immediately flared up. “What’s wrong with simple? Clean is all that matters!”
“...Hey.”
“What?”
“You can’t get worked up. That was sarcasm. You have to counter it elegantly.”
“How?”
“Something like, ‘I prefer neatness over flashiness. Wearing something as gorgeous as yours, madam, would actually feel burdensome.’ Smile while you say it and subtly throw it back at them.”
Era’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “Wow. So you insult someone while pretending to compliment them?”
“...Pretty much.”
“Nobles are scary. They smile while they insult you.”
“That’s what high society is.”
I continued the role-play.
“Hoho. And I hear you have no surname? Your background is quite unique.”
This was an outright jab at her lowly commoner origins.
‘How is she going to handle this…’
“Um...”
This time Era didn’t flare up right away. She thought long and hard.
“Um… Yes! My background is unique! I came from the borderlands!”
“You idiot.”
“Why?! I spoke indirectly!”
“That wasn’t indirect. That was just bragging!”
“It wasn’t bragging. I stated a fact.”
I rubbed my temples. This wasn’t something that could be taught through practice. We ran the role-play several more times, but the results were disastrous. She got angry at sarcasm, spoke directly when told to be indirect, and refused to wrap her words because it felt like lying.
“Ugh. My head hurts. Why do nobles have to talk in such complicated ways?”
Era flopped onto the table.
“Wouldn’t it be easier for everyone if we just said what we wanted honestly?”
“...It would be nice if the world were that simple.”
I was at a complete loss too. If she went to the Imperial Great Festival like this, she would definitely snap at every sarcastic remark or blurt out her true feelings and cause a massive incident.
That was when a familiar voice came from the doorway.
“You can’t even teach her a single title properly?”
When I turned, Serina was standing there with her arms crossed.
“N-Noona?”
“Sister!”
Era, who had been slumped over, shot upright and greeted her happily.
Serina stepped into the room.
“I overheard you while I was passing by. Teaching her conversational skills?”
“...Yes.”
“Doesn’t look like you’re making any progress, though.”
She chuckled.
“If it’s conversational skills, I’m better than you. I am a princess, after all.”
“...You’ll teach her, Noona?”
“Why? Don’t trust me?”
“...It’s not that.”
Truthfully, Serina was far better at this. She was a princess who had survived the social battlefield. I was just using meta-knowledge to reason things out, but she had real experience.
“Then move. I’ll take over.”
Serina plopped down in the seat I had vacated. Era’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her.
“You’re going to teach me, Sister?”
“Yes. Watch carefully. It’ll be on a completely different level from Leon.”
Serina spoke with absolute confidence. I stepped aside and thought, ...Well. If Noona teaches her, it should go better.
But that was my mistake.
“All right. Again. If someone mocks your lowly background, how will you respond?”
Serina asked, elegantly crossing her legs.
Era thought for a moment, then answered, “Aren’t you just a human being like everyone else?”
“...What?”
Serina’s face stiffened.
“Why? We’re all the same people. What does background matter?”
“...That’s technically correct, but—”
Serina was momentarily speechless.
“It’s correct, but if you say that at the Imperial Great Festival you’ll be socially buried the same day.”
“Why? It’s not even wrong.”
“The fact that it’s not wrong is the problem! Nobles hate straightforward truth most of all!”
Serina thumped her chest in frustration. Watching from the side, I had to fight back a smile. ...Noona’s no different after all.
She had claimed it would be on another level, but in the end she was just as stuck in front of Era’s honesty.
“Again. Easier this time. If someone compliments you by saying ‘Your dress today is quite lovely,’ how do you reply?”
“Thank you?”
“Good. But add one more thing. You should return the compliment. Something like, ‘Your dress is dazzling as well, madam.’”
“But what if her dress isn’t pretty?”
“...Even if it isn’t, just say it is.”
“That’s lying too.”
There it was again. Serina whipped her head toward me.
“...Is she always like this?”
“Yes. All the time.”
“Ha.”
Serina pressed a hand to her forehead. The confident expression she’d worn earlier had turned into the same helpless look I’d been wearing. Finding the sight hilarious, I couldn’t resist.
“Noona. You said it would be on a different level, but it looks the same to me.”
“...Shut up. Stay out of this.”
Serina glared at me. Meanwhile Era was looking back and forth between us, giggling.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked.
“You two really seem like real siblings. It’s nice to watch you bicker.”
“......”
“......”
Both Serina and I shut our mouths at the same time.
“...Well, we are real siblings.”
Serina pulled herself together and started the role-play in earnest.
“Fine. Let’s make it realistic. I’ll play a young lady picking a fight with you. Leon, you watch from the side.”
“Got it.”
Serina’s arrogant-young-lady impression was far more convincing than mine.
“Oh my. So this is that famous commoner-born fiancée? Hoho. His Highness the Prince certainly has simple tastes.”
Era thought for a moment, then spoke.
“...‘Yes. His Highness prefers sincerity over things that are only flashy on the surface.’”
Serina’s eyes widened slightly. I froze too. That was actually pretty good. She had countered the sarcasm while subtly painting herself as someone who valued sincerity.
“...Oh. That one was decent.”
Serina sounded mildly impressed. But Era immediately continued.
“But that’s true. His Highness really does like sincerity. Last time he even—”
“...Hey. Stop right there. Don’t add extra details.”
“Huh?”
“If you had stopped exactly there, it would have been perfect. But you added the explanation that it was true and turned honest again.”
Serina sighed. “In the end, your honesty is the problem.”
I silently agreed. No matter what, Era’s honesty leaked out. Even if she managed a little wrapping, she always ended up tacking on her real feelings.
“The same goes for expressions of affection,” Serina moved on.
“In social settings, even if someone shows interest in you, you mustn’t accept it directly. You have to brush it off elegantly.”
I flinched. The words “expression of affection” suddenly brought back what I had shouted at Era on the night the shadow attacked. She might not have heard it, but I had definitely said it.
...No. That was a crisis. I wasn’t thinking straight.
I hurriedly pushed the memory away, but my ears burned anyway.
“...Leon? Why is your face suddenly red?”
Serina looked at me strangely.
“It’s nothing.”
“How odd. What’s so special about the phrase ‘like someone’?”
“...It’s just a little hot in here.”
I looked away. Era stared straight at me.
“Leon. Your face is really red. Are you sick?”
“...I’m not. Don’t worry about it.”
I cleared my throat awkwardly. Fortunately neither of them pressed the issue.
The role-play continued for a long time. Serina threw every kind of provocation at her, Era countered… then turned honest again, and Serina scolded her.
“No, not like that, like this…”
“Leon, you got it wrong too! Sit down and listen together.”
“Huh? But…”
In the middle of it all I tried to offer advice and ended up getting scolded by Serina too. The room stayed noisy the entire time.
Eventually Serina threw up both hands.
“...This isn’t working.”
“What?”
“There’s no fixing her with conversational skills.”
Serina leaned back in her chair and sighed.
“No matter how much I teach her, the honesty keeps leaking out. It’s in her nature. It can’t be fixed.”
Era’s shoulders drooped. “...Am I really that hopeless?”
“It’s not that you’re hopeless.”
Serina looked at Era for a moment, then said something unexpected.
“...It might actually be better to push through with that honesty.”
“Huh?”
“Rather than forcing yourself to speak indirectly and getting caught, just go honestly in your own way.”
Serina rested her chin on her hand.
“Earlier, and last time too, that line about ‘I only have Leon…’ had real sincerity behind it, so it was actually more convincing.”
I nodded. She was right. In the middle of all the nobles’ artificial speech, Era’s honesty might actually come across as refreshingly genuine.
“Of course you still have to use proper titles and basic etiquette. Fail at that and it’s over.”
Serina added firmly.
“But when it comes to conversation, don’t try to dress it up too much. Speak your true feelings in your own style. That will be your weapon.”
Era listened quietly. Slowly her face brightened.
“...Then I can speak honestly?”
“Keep the basics, but stay true to your heart. That’s the key.”
“Hehe. Then I think I can do it!”
Era beamed. The gloomy expression from moments ago had vanished like it had never existed.
When the special training finally ended, Serina stood up.
“Anyway, I’m completely drained.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Noona.”
“The hard work wasn’t because of you. It was because of her.”
Serina pointed at Era and chuckled.
“Sister! Thank you! I learned so much!”
Era bowed deeply.
“...What did you learn? The conclusion was just to be honest.”
“That’s the most important thing! You told me to do it my way!”
Era thanked her with genuine gratitude. Serina paused, then unnecessarily smoothed her hair and looked away.
“...Well. If it helped, that’s good.”
Her words were curt, but the corners of her mouth were slightly lifted.
“Then I’ll be going. Prepare well for the Imperial Great Festival.”
Serina was about to leave but stopped at the door. She turned back to me.
“Leon.”
“Yes?”
“...Take good care of her.”
Her voice had grown serious.
“She’s honest and without pretense, so she’s the type who gets hurt easily in harsh places.”
I looked at Serina. In that short time, she seemed to have understood exactly what kind of person Era was.
“...I know. I’ll take good care of her.”
“Good. Then I’m satisfied.”
Serina nodded and left the room.
Thud! The door closed, leaving only Era and me.
Era stared at the closed door and giggled. “Sister really is a good person.”
“Yeah. She seems to care about you more than I expected.”
“Hehe. I’m so glad I have a sister like her.”
Era smiled happily.
I watched that smile and suddenly thought: a commoner girl who spoke her true feelings plainly in the middle of all the nobles’ pretenses.
...It might actually work.
I smiled faintly.
“Let’s stop here for today and rest.”
“Yes! Oh, Leon.”
“What?”
“Today was more fun with the three of us. Can we do it together again next time?”
Era looked at me with sparkling, expectant eyes. I thought for a moment, then nodded.
“...Sure. If Noona is willing to come again.”
“Hehe. Then I’ll have to ask her myself!”
Era bounced with excitement. Watching her, I thought:
There were two weeks left until the Imperial Great Festival. Era was still clumsy and would probably cause plenty of accidents, but I would be by her side—and now Serina would be too.
...It’ll work out somehow.