A Proper Head-On Challenge
Ah, so she's going for a direct confrontation.
At this point, Chloe could no longer tease the older woman. In truth, she had never been fond of mocking her elders. Chloe replied with a smile that was entirely different from her previous one.
"To be perfectly honest, no."
"Your Grace! I am being entirely serious—!"
"I know, Madame," Chloe interrupted gently.
"Regardless of the King's orders, I can tell you came here to ensure an unrefined thing like me doesn't embarrass herself in public. At the very least, you didn't come here simply to humiliate and crush me."
A flicker of guilt crossed the older woman's face. Yet Chloe truly meant what she said. The sharp, prickly remarks typical of elderly noblewomen were hardly unique to Madame Brun. And above all, Madame Brun had not lied to her.
Chloe quietly recalled the previous night.
'Just skim through it.'
The moment the workday ended, Curtis had practically dragged her into the grand ducal carriage. As she sat beside him, Lieutenant Noel had stealthily slipped a book into her arms. It was a protocol manual for royal banquets. To be precise, it was a freshly transcribed copy. When Chloe blinked in surprise, Noel had offered her a warm, knowing smile.
'Lieutenant Noel...!'
Whether or not she was calling his name in a wave of infinite gratitude, Curtis had kicked the carriage door shut with an utterly rude expression. Glaring at him, Chloe had opened the manual. Inside, written in the elegant strokes of the royal official script, were the meticulous records of every banquet held over the past twenty years.
'So such a thing actually exists... Lieutenant Noel is the absolute best.'
As she turned the pages with reverent care, her soft murmur of admiration seemed to rub the Grand Duke the wrong way, prompting another sarcastic remark.
"What did you think I meant when I said I was going to the royal library?"
"Pardon? What are you talking about?"
"Forget it."
What is his problem? Chloe had stolen a glance at him. His lips were pressed into a tight line, his brow deeply furrowed. Just when she thought he had quieted down, the Grand Duke opened his mouth again. Naturally, his words were dripping with sarcasm.
"The King isn't some village chief; of course such records exist. Instead of wasting time being touched by something so trivial, why don't you focus on cramming a single letter of it into your head?"
"Your Grace, instead of using this as an excuse to nag me, why don't you try to emulate even a fraction of Lieutenant Noel's kindness? He actually took the time to transcribe this page by page."
"...Noel wrote that?"
"Ha! Unlike some people who make others work overtime for things like this, Lieutenant Noel is an angel who does the work himself! Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall get to cramming these letters into my head!"
She couldn't let Noel's sincere effort go to waste. And so, Chloe had stayed up from that moment until this very morning, reading the protocol manual cover to cover.
In any case, it was an established fact that the King was desperate to humiliate her. That was why he had dispatched Madame Brun. Though Chloe had pretended not to know who the woman was until now, she actually had a fair idea. Madame Brun's name had been included in the noble directory Curtis had practically crammed into her brain before their wedding.
She was the very woman who had taught etiquette to the Marquise of Flandre back when she was still a princess. Currently, she served as the Director of the Ibanes Palace Affairs Department. Any noble family of repute with a daughter desperately wished to send them to Madame Brun for instruction. To the King, she must have seemed like the perfect weapon to humiliate a new Grand Duchess who had never received a proper education.
However, there were two things the King did not know.
First, Chloe truly had no proper education. Consequently, she didn't find this situation particularly humiliating.
What's wrong with pointing out that someone who has nothing indeed has nothing? If she were the type to be wounded by such remarks, she would never have agreed to play the Grand Duchess for Curtis Shan Berk's money in the first place. In fact, since she had been looking for a suitable etiquette teacher anyway, she was actually grateful for the King's arrangement. If the King ever found out, he would likely writhe in sheer frustration.
Second, people actually possessed something called pride. This did not refer to Chloe, but to Madame Brun. The reason Madame Brun had built such a formidable reputation was that she was a woman of principle who truly understood the meaning of grace. Had she simply wished to curry favor with the King, she would have lied to Chloe. It would have been incredibly easy to dismiss her duties with a lazy, 'The invitations? Just leave them to the servants. The guest list? Ask the staff.' Yet, even while scolding an insolent youngster, Madame Brun remained dedicated to executing her duties with absolute sincerity.
Thus, Chloe offered her apologies to the elderly lady who was merely trying to do her job properly.
"I apologize. While I respect and appreciate His Majesty as a citizen of Ibanes, I cannot deny that I harbor some personal grievances. That is why I behaved somewhat rudely to you, Madame."
"...Your Grace, are you..."
"Of course, if you were to repeat what I just said to His Majesty, I would be in grave trouble."
Chloe rose from the desk in her aide's office and stepped closer to the older woman. Madame Brun kept her lips pressed tight, her expression still thoroughly displeased.
"But since you are here to ensure that a foolish person who speaks so recklessly does not become a representative of our nation, I decided to be honest with you."
"I..."
The tension in Madame Brun's wrinkled face eased slightly. Her thin lips parted as if to speak, but she struggled to find the words. However, the corners of her eyes had undeniably softened.
"...Whatever intentions His Majesty had when he sent this old woman, I cannot know, for I am no mind reader. I am here solely out of my devotion to Ibanes."
"And as a proud soldier of Ibanes, I shall show proper respect to your patriotism, Madame."
"Then..."
Instead of answering, Chloe executed the Glintland-style greeting Madame Brun had demonstrated earlier. She bent her knee, keeping her back perfectly straight. Madame Brun's eyes narrowed as she observed.
"...Not bad for a first attempt."
"Thank you."
This should be good enough, right? The two women exchanged a subtle, knowing smile. Unfortunately, however...
"But Your Grace's legs are too long for a mere two steps. Step back two and a half paces, and try again."
Madame Brun was far more meticulous than Chloe had anticipated. Chloe stammered in response.
"...Right now?"
"If not now, then when?"
"Well... I am currently on duty."
"In such situations, you must humble yourself by saying, 'This consort's abilities are meager,' and politely request an understanding regarding the time. Speaking as you just did is a grave breach of etiquette."
"No... That's not what I mean, I really am..."
Chloe flusteredly tried to postpone the lesson, but Madame Brun was not to be trifled with. Her gray eyes glinted as she stepped closer.
"While I deeply respect Your Grace's dedication to your duties in the Royal Guard, we are currently in a state of emergency. This old woman cannot stand by and watch Ibanes be humiliated."
"Ah, if you feel it's unfair, take it up with the Grand Duke! He's the one who laid the very foundation for Ibanes's humiliation!"
At Chloe's desperate outcry, the older woman's eyes widened in confusion.
"What on earth are you talking about? His Grace borrowed the court banquet protocol book from the Palace Affairs archive just yesterday afternoon."
"...Pardon?"
"His Grace personally requested the banquet records of the past twenty years from the Palace Affairs attendants. Clearly, His Grace also wishes to prevent Ibanes from being disgraced before foreign emissaries."
Chloe blinked. So yesterday, that book was...
"The Lieutenant over there is proof of it. Yesterday, acting on His Grace's orders from the archive, he came back to ask this old woman where the protocol book was located. Isn't that right?"
"Ah, well..."
At Madame Brun's sudden finger-pointing, Noel, who had been hovering near the adjoining office, stammered to find an excuse. But at that very moment, someone returned with impeccable timing.
"What does it matter whether I ordered it or not?"
It was Curtis, who had just returned from parade review training. Madame Brun quickly turned and curtsied. Curtis waved his hand to dismiss the formality and spoke.
"I didn't expect the Grand Duchess to accuse me of laying the foundation for Ibanes's humiliation, but regardless, I deeply feel the weight of my responsibility."
Did you hear that? The man offered a bright, teasing smile.
"Since things have come to this, I must ask you to take full charge, Madame Brun. The Grand Duchess will soon have to make an appearance at the Eleonora Society, so time is of the essence. There is no one else I can trust with this task but you. I leave her in your capable hands."
"I shall do my utmost, Your Grace," the older woman replied with an elegant bow.
She then turned to look at Chloe with a triumphant expression. Chloe avoided her gaze and glared at Curtis instead, but it was useless. The man had already turned around and seated himself at his desk, completely ignoring her existence.