Chapter 2: Congratulations! The Tutor Has Arrived!
Congratulations!
Sophia had become the tutor and personal servant of the Eristyrol Ducal household!
If this had been a game, such text wouldn’t have appeared.
Yeah, I had at least secured a stable job where I could work for five years or more and receive a high salary. It was a socially very well-regarded position.
Honestly, the reason I could take this job was probably because of the young master’s permission to tutor him. If he had said no, I would have gone back to hunting monsters.
I couldn’t use magic, but I could use mana, so I managed to reach Gold-rank, though it had been incredibly tough. It would have been better to return to my parents’ house and live as a shut-in in the corner.
“Speaking of which, as a servant…”
Even if it was a servant’s role, it was simple. Just follow the little young master around, prevent him from doing dangerous things, or help him when needed. It was a bit troublesome, but not difficult.
By the way, they provided clothes too—clean, formal suits: white shirts and black vests. Fortunately, unlike the boarding school that forced skirts, they prepared both pants and skirts. Skirts might show something underneath, so pants were better.
After putting on my pants, I left my private room. I had to formally greet the young master.
I walked the longest corridor I had ever walked in my life so far. This wasn’t a normal house, but a castle, so of course it was long. And in front of the room of the Duke’s eldest son, Kyle Eristyrol—more precisely, his bedroom.
Knock knock.
“May I come in?”
I said while knocking. Entering the room of the young master of a noble house, who wasn’t a normal child, was risky. It wasn’t the young master who was dangerous, but the surroundings of the young master. Opening the door of the room wasn’t that much of a problem, but due to the position of nobility, it would definitely be an issue.
“Yes, please come in.”
The voice of a child heard from inside.
I quietly opened the door, entered, and closed it quietly. Knocking loudly wasn’t befitting of nobility.
“Hello, Young Master. From today onward, I am Sophia, your tutor and personal servant. Please call me as you like.”
I bowed my upper body at nearly a 90-degree angle and said so.
Should I have called him “Prince” instead of “Young Master”? At least it would be better than calling him “Young Lady” or “Young Miss.” That wouldn’t make sense grammatically from the start.
“…H-Hello… I am Kyle Eristyrol, the eldest son of the Eristyrol family.”
While introducing himself, he slightly bowed his head in greeting. It was the most standard greeting.
Since my status was lower than the young master in front of me, I didn’t need to bow like that. If I had been wearing a hat, I would have removed it lightly while greeting.
“Is it okay to call you ‘Young Master’?”
It would be good to change the title if it makes you uncomfortable. However, the 12-year-old, small, and quiet young master in front of me probably wouldn’t say anything even if it was uncomfortable. So, I asked first.
“It’s fine. Sophia.”
Sophia. It was a surprisingly plain title. Nobles I had met occasionally were rude, but this young master seemed to have at least some manners.
And we didn’t talk much more. After all, today I had only come to exchange greetings.
“Classes will start from tomorrow.”
After hearing Kyle’s answer, I left the room. I hadn’t decided yet exactly what kind of education to provide or in what direction, and I wasn’t prepared.
I moved my feet to the servant quarters where the housekeeper was. Naturally, the family and servants lived in separate places—because there were many servants and their ranks didn’t match.
“Housekeeper, I’m coming in.”
I entered the private room where the housekeeper stayed. He was wearing glasses that he hadn’t been wearing until just now, giving off the impression of working. Perhaps he didn’t know it was me?
“Regarding the young master’s education, I came to ask. Is this a good time?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
I sat on the chair in front of his desk. The desk and chair looked somewhat luxurious. It told that he wasn’t a completely ordinary servant.
“First, what part should I educate the young master on?”
“First, you should teach etiquette.”
“Wasn’t etiquette education done before?”
It was common for nobles to teach basic etiquette to some extent. But now the topic of etiquette came up first.
“Yes, the young master wasn’t old enough to debut in society, and there weren’t many guests in Eristyrol. Also, basic etiquette was not a problem. But now, after about five years, the young master will have to debut.”
“So, you’re starting from now.”
“And you can teach various things including dance, Sophia.”
“Are there no more specific instructions or content?”
“Yes.”
…
Originally, nobles poured a lot of effort into their children’s education, right, not just parents? Why didn’t the Grand Duke give special instructions?
Anyway, I left the housekeeper’s room and returned to my private room. Through the window, the snowy northern city was visible. It was quieter compared to the capital or other cities, but it felt like a city where people lived.
“Etique tte…”
Teaching etiquette wasn’t that difficult. Probably, the etiquette to be taught wasn’t just basic, but essential etiquette for nobles like table manners.
After some etiquette education, it wouldn’t be bad to educate on various subjects excluding dance and other magic.
Kyle was the eldest son of the Eristyrol Ducal family. The Duke had only one daughter besides Kyle, and no more children. So, it was natural that Kyle would succeed to the position of Duke.
If such a Kyle only knew etiquette and had no knowledge or culture at all? Then, this duchy would probably go bankrupt.
It wasn’t difficult to educate Kyle right now, but when puberty came properly, it might be tough. Now he’s 12… maybe in about three years.
Now, although a bit passive, as a boy, he probably liked to run around. I did too in my previous life.
I heard that hunting was famous in northern culture. It might be okay to occasionally take permission and teach Kyle hunting. In fact, I learned that hunting was a sport among nobles. In fact, they held hunting competitions among themselves. Of course, not as good as Gold-rank adventurers. It would probably be better to learn from a Gold-rank adventurer than from an ordinary person.
There were guys who learned only from books stupidly and didn’t even try hunting, but opened their mouths. Most of those guys ended up as part of nature or monsters.
Kyle’s physique being a bit smaller than his peers was a bit unfortunate, but there was no problem. There was still a lot of time until the growth period ended. At least he could reach mid-170cm.
The next day, after the morning light, I woke Kyle up. It was one of the things I had to do as a servant.
After waking him, I waited while he bathed with the attendants. Fortunately, the world was different from real medieval times and interested in cleanliness. If this was real medieval, walking the streets and poop falling from windows would be common.
After Kyle bathed with the attendants’ help, he started breakfast. For some reason, I hadn’t met the Eristyrol Grand Duke even once. Was he not in the duchy now? Or perhaps he didn’t have time to eat together due to work.
“Young Master.”
“Yes. Sophia.”
Kyle looking at me.
I started our first lesson with him.
“From today, classes will begin… First, as requested by the housekeeper, etiquette.”
“Yes.”
We were inside the study room. There were many books, and it was a room where other servants and maids almost didn’t enter. It was a very good room for studying.
“You also know really basic etiquette, Young Master: Don’t point with your finger when pointing at people, when greeting, briefly remove your hat, when passing sharp things, don’t give them with the sharp side, and so on.”
“Yes.”
Yeah, basic etiquette levels, Kyle also knew. Then, it was okay to move on immediately.
Parties, salons, debut, women. Things a noble man should know.
Nobles debut at 17-18, meet women there, meet other nobles, expand human relationships. While revealing themselves and expanding their position.
But if a rumor spreads that a person who can’t keep etiquette at such a place is a human… then marriage would probably be completely blocked. After thirty years, age eating, no choice but to marry a young woman from a ruined family.
Therefore, one of the purposes of society is to inform how noble, polite, and capable you are by debuting. While showing off your abilities, bragging, and sometimes exchanging information. Society is not just a place to make connections, but a continuation of politics.
If an impolite, etiquette-ignoring human enters such a place, they will naturally be ostracized.
I couldn’t allow Kyle Eristyrol, who was listening to my words in front of me, to see such a sight. It was still the first day, but he was my student. My first student I was teaching. Would a new teacher at the boarding school have felt this way? I didn’t have confidence, but I felt a sense of responsibility.