Boyhood (12): The New Tutor

Morning mealtime arrived after a mere hour of work.

Edwin lay sprawled across his chair.

Cardio the second I wake up for a full hour? That's just criminal...

They always said high-intensity physical training with cold muscles was a fast track to injury — but was an hour of cardio brutal enough to melt a person into a puddle somehow not high-intensity?

And my stats didn't even go up.

Don't tell me they only settle once a day?

Kind of a shame.

A maid approached Edwin as he lay there without so much as twitching a finger.

"Young Master Edwin. Say ahh~."

Okay, being a noble has its perks.

I just open my mouth and the food keeps coming.

No wonder the kids from ducal and count houses grow up into spoiled brats. When even your meals get spoon-fed to you, there's no way your manners turn out decent.

"Edwin!"

Serifina, seated across from him, bounced in place and tried to switch seats — only for the Duchess to catch her.

"Edwin has begun his formal education and is now a member of our ducal house. That means he must observe at least the minimum of proper etiquette, doesn't it?"

"But still..."

"My sweet girl."

"...Yes, Mother."

Serifina dejectedly chewed the vegetables garnishing her steak.

She eats her veggies without being told now.

What a good kid.

"I'm amazing!"

Serifina demolished her vegetables with the ferocity of a battlefield charge.

Leonhardt, who had been watching his little sister's adorable performance, turned his gaze back to Edwin. Compared to the morning, the look in his eyes had softened — just a little.

"Do not grow accustomed to the maids waiting on you."

"If you grow accustomed to indolence, you can never become a proper noble. A noble must maintain speech and conduct befitting his dignity."

Edwin glanced, unthinking, at Serifina madly waving her fork around.

...Dignity?

Serifina flinched, lifted her head in surprise, and laughed awkwardly.

"O-ohohoho~?"

Edwin couldn't bear to look and dropped his gaze.

Why is the secondhand embarrassment always my job...

"Grr!"

Serifina brandished her fork like a weapon.

"I will overlook it today, given the training. But if you present yourself like this again, I will not forgive it."

"I'll be careful."

"Oh my, oh my. Our son is bringing back old memories."

The Duchess murmured, lost in reminiscence.

"The day after your father first trained him, he was so exhausted he couldn't even lift a fork. And he refused the maids' help, saying being waited on made a man lazy."

"Oh..."

Leonhardt may be a sister-complex disaster, but outside of that he's actually pretty cool.

"So I fed him myself. He looked just like a baby bird — I couldn't get over how adorable he was."

I take that back. Immediately.

"Mother!"

Leonhardt's face flushed scarlet. He took a deep breath, wrestled his temper under control, then fixed Edwin with a glare.

"This afternoon, we will conduct sword training only."

"...Does that mean sparring, by any chance?"

"You're quick on the uptake."

Quick on the uptake, my foot.

Anyone can see he's just looking for an excuse to beat the stuffing out of me.

I have to steer this back toward a normal lesson somehow.

How to escape Leonhardt's venting? The answer was Serifina.

"Serifina. Want to train together again today?"

"Play together? Yes!"

Leonhardt looks flustered.

If he keeps being unreasonable, I'll just tattle to Serifina.

Training resumed after lunch.

"Serifina. Let's try for six laps today."

She trained yesterday too. She won't match me after a full day of education, but her endurance should have gone up by at least a point or so.

So one more lap is only natural, right?

"Okay!"

They ran the training grounds together.

"This is my Erifina Elizabeth Christia the Second!"

For a pony, that name is ridiculously grand.

They rode together as well.

"Hyeek... I'm tired..."

"Then rest. I will teach Edwin what real combat looks like."

No.

So I can't dodge the sparring after all...

In the end, he couldn't avoid it. The sparring began, and Edwin was enthusiastically thrashed.

"That's enough already. I've been hit plenty..."

"You certainly have."

Is it finally over?

"I've already summoned a priest. Their holy magic is good for recovering from fatigue — but even better for healing injuries."

"Please tell me anytime if it hurts!"

"Of course, I recommend you refuse fatigue-recovery magic. Your muscles won't develop properly, and a full day's effort will go to waste."

A priest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on standby just for regular training?

The Empire's foremost noble house really does train in luxury.

I am. So. Very. Grateful. For. This. Treatment.

They trained until the priest finally rubbed his sleepy eyes and clocked out for the day.

I'm dead...

And the next day.

Thank god the stat gains ease the muscle soreness. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to move today.

The day after that was the same.

And so time passed.

His stats had climbed considerably, and the acquisition of basic skills and achievements had gone smoothly as well.

Nice that the stats are rising properly. Strength and Agility both cleared 100 — I've hit E-Rank.

I can hold my own against an average adult now, and I'm fast enough to catch a neighborhood pickpocket.

If I'd been stuck with some trash basic course out on the streets, stat growth would stall right about here and I'd have to go hunting for intermediate lessons. But Leonhardt's orthodox knight training has to be intermediate-tier at minimum.

From here on out, I'm putting my faith in Sir Leonhardt alone.

And more satisfying than anything else was this:

Two weeks of getting worked like a dog had finally paid off.

"Sir Leonhardt! Shall we head to training again today?"

An excited Edwin threw open his door and shouted.

Silence.

Weird. Normally he'd open the door right away and scowl at me.

Knock knock knock

Edwin rapped on Leonhardt's door.

"Sir Leonhardt. You're not still asleep, are you? You yourself said the next head of House Erhardt does not sleep in. The sun is already high."

He waited a long while after knocking. No response.

Don't tell me he overslept?

Then I'll just have to go train alone.

Ugh, missing a lesson means lost stats, though.

Skipping training was not an option — and not only because two weeks had rewired Edwin's brain into full gym-bro mode.

Who knew I'd need a period of adjusting to the raised stats.

In games you could pump Strength by a hundred points and still not smash a single cup. In reality, a little Strength boost and suddenly fine motor control goes haywire.

This reality patch is way too hardcore.

With no other choice, he set out for the training grounds.

The ducal estate was quieter than usual.

Strange.

There are more people working than usual, so why is it this quiet?

Almost makes me think something big happened... but looking at their faces, that's not it.

Maybe an important guest is coming.

The moment the thought of a guest crossed his mind, his steps toward the training grounds stopped.

A guest had come to the ducal house.

Which ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meant an event had triggered.

I have to go gawk right now.

How am I supposed to resist this?

Otome games are packed with limited-time events — ignore them for lessons and they vanish. I suffered so much over that as a newbie.

So how to check this event? In a game he'd roam locations or look up a guide, but this was reality.

He grabbed a passing servant.

"What's going on?"

"Young Master Edwin."

The servant bowed at the waist.

"Young Master Leonhardt has gone out to receive a guest. We are standing by to display the dignity of the ducal house."

"I see."

I haven't seen Leonhardt give the orders, but I can picture it automatically.

He definitely assembled them before dawn and drilled them about upholding the house's prestige.

"Then I'll wait here too."

"You, Young Master? Why aren't you going to train..."

"I'm curious who's coming."

The servant's face said he understood completely.

I think I just got treated like a kid.

But this body is a kid. Kid privileges disappear when you grow up — if I don't enjoy them now, when will I?

He hadn't been waiting long when the procession led by Leonhardt appeared.

Beside Leonhardt walked a beautiful woman.

Never saw that face in the original.

Weird. My memory isn't that great, but I distinctly remember everyone connected to Serifina.

Just an extra, then?

Hidden among the servants, quietly writing in his diary, Edwin suddenly felt a chill and looked up.

Ah. Eye contact with Leonhardt.

Look at that eyebrow twitch. "Why aren't you training and standing around here playing instead?" — that's what that means, right?

Edwin expected to be acknowledged.

Instead, Leonhardt simply resumed escorting the woman.

Then, from the tail of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the procession, a knight slipped away discreetly.

"Sir Sero."

"Young Master Edwin."

Good to see him after a while.

"Why'd you come out? Who is that person?"

"The steward sent me precisely for that reason."

Sir Sero whispered carefully.

"That lady is Young Lady Serifina's new private tutor. And the steward says you are to hurry to Young Lady Serifina and prepare her."

"Prepare her for what?"

"Well — you've spent enough time with her lately to know her personality, haven't you? He says that at least for a first meeting, she must present herself as befits a young lady of the ducal house."

Ah.

That makes perfect sense.

Serifina would chatter away or act her age even in front of someone she's just met.

Cute, sure — but a little problematic for a ducal daughter's first impression.