The King's Letter
I came to my senses in a lavish room that felt utterly unfamiliar, long after the sun had already set.
“Warp sickness…… it really is proportional to the distance traveled……”
Half-dazed, I muttered emptily from the darkened bed.
Back when I first came to Elan at the age of ten, we’d split the journey into two separate warps because the group was so large that we needed facilities capable of handling everyone at once.
That time, the physical shock hadn’t been nearly this bad.
I’d felt a little nauseous and couldn’t walk properly for a while, but I hadn’t felt like I was dangling over the river of death.
This time, however, thanks to the king’s personal warp, I’d traveled straight from Dmitry to Elan in one go. The result was that I now felt as though I’d dipped a toe into the river of death and barely pulled it back out.
I wanted to smack my past self for thinking a single warp wouldn’t be so bad.
[Master, you fainted with a thud! A proper thud!]
Rai’s tactless, mocking tone made me clutch my still-dizzy head and grimace.
“Tell me the truth. You actually enjoy your master’s suffering, don’t you?”
[What? Of course not! Master’s pain is my pain!]
“Your voice sounds way too cheerful.”
[You’re misunderstanding, Master. Hehe.]
He definitely just laughed. That little brat had only been in the human world for about ten years and he’d already turned this sly.
Normally I wouldn’t have let it slide, but right now I didn’t even have the energy to get angry.
“Ugh…… my head……”
[Well, you did fall forward. Thud!]
“I’m going to kill you……”
[Kyaa, how terrifying.]
“Forget it. Just make me a mirror.”
The spirit that had crawled up in front of me bit the middle of his long body with practiced ease and hardened it into a solid frame. A sheet of glass formed in the empty circular space, then filled with silver. In moments, Rai had become a perfect mirror.
I examined my face in the hand mirror shaped like a snake. I wanted to check whether I’d bruised my forehead, but the room was too dark to see clearly.
“Adore.”
[You need me, Master!]
The lightning spirit Adore produced an effect similar to the mages’ Light spell just by being summoned. Thanks to his natural glow, I confirmed that my forehead was fine.
“Yeah, good work. You can go back now.”
[What? I didn’t even do anything yet!]
Adore was extremely useful when I was too lazy to light a lamp myself.
“No, you’re a good spirit who helps just by existing.”
[……Why are you suddenly being so nice? Did I do something wrong?]
Even when I was being kind, he still made a fuss.
“What exactly do you all think of me?”
[Master’s personality is…… a bit like that, right?]
[What? How dare you say something so rude! Master’s personality is exactly like that! Not just “a bit”!]
“You little brats……”
I was seriously considering researching how to kill spirits when I felt a small presence and someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
The room was so enormous it barely qualified as a bedroom.
[It’s a maid, Master.]
“Go back, Adore.”
[Next time, summon me for something proper!]
“What counts as proper?”
[Battle or hunting! Blood spraying everywhere! I’m a monster after all, a monster, a mon……]
Damn spirit. I cut off the mana supply.
Adore was always happy to be summoned, but he constantly wanted to do something flashy. Anything simple made him complain. In the end, what he considered “proper work” was just another ordeal for me.
‘What’s so great about running into monsters anyway.’
Creak.
Before I could even say “come in,” one side of the double doors opened and a maid quietly entered. Her eyes met mine directly as I sat on the bed.
“Oh my! I’m so sorry!”
“Hm?”
“I thought you were asleep……”
The maid, who looked about my age, hurriedly bowed in apology, clearly startled. I didn’t have the energy to get angry anyway. I wasn’t the type to enforce strict servant discipline over something so minor.
Honestly, I’d spent so long at the academy that I’d barely experienced a typical noble lifestyle. My knowledge of etiquette was mostly theoretical.
“What is it?”
“I’ve brought a message from His Majesty Dikel III.”
“Give it here.”
At my gesture, the envelope resting neatly on the tray was brought before me. I glanced once at the maid who was trying so hard to be respectful, then opened the envelope.
As I unfolded the single sheet of paper, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy about what the king might think of me. He’d probably never seen anyone faint from a warp before.
The more I thought about it, the more humiliating the whole situation seemed. A royal attendant whose duty was to protect and assist the king had simply passed out. On top of that, I’d begged to be taken along as an attendant despite having zero training for the role. The embarrassment was especially acute.
Today has been so hectic that I’m only now able to ask after your well-being. I hope your condition has improved. You needn’t worry about today’s schedule—I handled it with the other attendants.
We still have enough personnel until tomorrow morning, so I’d like you to rest properly. If accompanying me to tomorrow afternoon’s party proves too difficult, send word in advance.
Wishing you a swift recovery, J.
—D
“He also sent this along.”
What the maid held out was a small box of chocolates. I felt a surge of emotion—and something suspiciously like patriotism—welling up inside me.
As expected, our king really was a decent person. He had good sense.
The king had always openly favored me. The rumors at the academy had even claimed that Dikel III liked me romantically. He’d given me a private training room, created an entire Spirit Studies department just for me, and continued funding it even though it had no students for years. He never spared any support I requested.
But I was certain he only saw me as a useful “talent.”
‘An investment, probably. To make me patriotic……’
It was a little embarrassing to say out loud, but I was a rare genius—not just in Dmitry, but across the entire continent. Unfortunately, because my talent lay in the unpopular field of spirit magic, I had none of the fame that someone like Robenin Pedri enjoyed.
Regardless of what others said, Dikel III was someone I was grateful to. He had given me his full support so I could focus solely on training.
I had no reason to dislike him. To me, he was an excellent patron and a wise ruler that my homeland could not do without.
“Hmm.”
As I refolded the letter, my expression grew slightly serious. Because I’d fainted and failed to perform my attendant duties, I now felt a heavy sense of responsibility to assist properly at the party.
Since no one could be perfect, I was far from a genius when it came to being a proper lady.
I sat up abruptly and got off the bed, then rummaged through the neatly arranged luggage I’d brought. I was sure I’d packed it in here. No, this side.
I pulled out the book I’d brought specifically for tomorrow. With this, I’d be fine!
You Too Can Be a Lady! The Complete Guide to Party Etiquette
I’d borrowed it from the library. The fact that such a book existed suggested I wasn’t the only one who found party etiquette difficult.
Even though I’d chosen the thinnest, smallest one available, it was still packed with text and illustrations.
As I flipped through the pages, a voice came from behind me.
“……Um, if there’s nothing else you need, may I take my leave?”
Right. The maid was still here.
I wasn’t used to having a personal maid, so I’d assumed she would leave on her own. When I finally looked back, she lifted the hem of her skirt and curtsied, apparently interpreting my delayed gaze as displeasure.
“I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Chelsea. I’ve been assigned as the maid in charge of Lady Crowell at Topaz Palace.”
“Topaz Palace……”
“It’s one of the seventeen palaces within the imperial palace used to receive guests. This particular palace is for accommodating visitors.”
“Does ‘in charge of me’ mean you’re assigned exclusively to me?”
“That’s correct.”
The imperial palace really operated on a different scale. A personal maid for an attendant. Impressive. It was also remarkable that they had enough staff to assign one to every guest.
There had to be more than just a handful of visitors for the founding celebration.
“So every guest gets their own dedicated maid?”
“Yes. I believe all state guests staying at the palace are assigned one.”
“Then His Majesty Dikel III must also be staying at Topaz Palace.”
“He is residing in the Central Pavilion within the palace grounds. If you wish to send a reply, I can deliver it at any time.”
I nodded and took a closer look at Chelsea. As expected of an imperial palace maid, her uniform had a refined quality to it. There was a certain dignity—her bearing was on a completely different level from the attendants at the academy.
“Did you also braid my hair……?”
“Yes, I did.”
When I’d woken up on the bed, someone had neatly braided my hair. The end of the braid was tied with a blue silk ribbon that rested gently over one shoulder, and I’d been changed into the pajamas from my luggage. I felt perfectly comfortable.
All of it had been this girl’s doing.
“I’ll also be assisting you with preparations for tomorrow night’s party. If there’s anything else you need, please let me know. I’ll do my utmost to serve you during your stay.”
“Party preparations? Is there anything you need to help with?”
“Of course! Preparing a lady for a party takes a great deal of time. It would be difficult to manage alone.
You’ll need hair ornaments, a dress, and makeup as well……”
“Ah, I see.”
I belatedly understood what “party preparations” entailed. I had indeed packed a dress and jewelry for this very occasion, but I’d naively assumed I could just put them on.
“I’m glad you’ll be helping. As you can probably tell, I’m not very used to parties.”
“Pardon? You don’t seem that way at all.”
When Chelsea widened her eyes in disbelief, I quietly held up the book I’d brought.
You Too Can Be a Lady! The Complete Guide to Party Etiquette
I was being completely sincere. Chelsea’s pupils trembled violently.
“I’ll be counting on you, then.”
“E-excuse me?”
“My party debut depends entirely on your skills. Right?”
“D-debut, you said?”
Indeed. My party debut rested entirely on Chelsea’s capable hands.
I slowly extended my metaphorical claws.
When I started massaging her shoulders, Chelsea looked as though she might actually faint.