“An etiquette teacher?”
Helos’s expression froze instantly; she almost thought something was wrong with her ears.
She blankly repeated the word, which was incredibly foreign to her. Her pale violet eyes were wide and filled with disbelief.
She subconsciously looked down at her dusty training clothes, then touched her messy silver ponytail, which she had tied up casually for the convenience of battle.
Etiquette? A lady?
Did those two words have a single cent’s worth of connection to Helos Olivia?
“That is correct.”
Eisende nodded. His gaze swept over Helos’s attire, which had nothing to do with the word “lady,” and her stance, which looked ready for a fight at any moment. His brow furrowed imperceptibly.
“Your current words and actions show no awareness of being a member of the Olivias family.”
“No! Wait a minute!”
Helos finally snapped out of her shock. She rushed in front of her Patriarch, no longer caring whether she was afraid or not, and pointed at her own nose as she issued a strong protest.
“Are you joking?! I’ve lived like a weed for the past ten years. When have you ever cared? Now you suddenly want to prune my branches? It’s too late!”
Her voice rose significantly due to her excitement, and her tone was full of defiance.
“Besides, isn’t the way I am now perfectly fine? I can fight, I can do research, and I can even make money! What do I need those formalities for? Can I eat them?”
However, faced with her fierce protest, Eisende’s face did not show the slightest ripple of emotion.
He simply looked at her calmly with those deep, azure eyes, as if he were looking at an unreasonable child.
“You are no longer that child who can only hide in the shadows, Helos.”
His voice remained flat, yet it carried a heavy weight.
“The special training, registering as an adventurer, hunting magical beasts — all of these things — and your research on potions — your recent ‘activities’ have made it impossible for the outside world to ignore your existence.”
“Every move you make represents the Olivias family. You must learn how to be worthy of this name.”
“Moreover, since I am willing to let you do these things, I will certainly not sit by and do nothing anymore.”
These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing most of the raging fire in Helos’s heart.
She opened her mouth, only to find that she could not find any reason to refute him.
It was true. She was no longer that invisible person who could only hide in the attic and eat apple pie.
She had her own achievements, her own partners, and even her own power.
But at the same time, she could no longer hide in a corner of the world with a clear conscience as she once had.
Seeing his daughter’s momentum suddenly weaken, a flash of imperceptible, complex emotion crossed Eisende’s eyes.
He knew, of course, that Helos was unwilling to learn these things, but he also knew better than anyone that this was exactly what had to be done right now to protect her.
A duke’s daughter who possessed both subversive power and zero noble awareness would only become the most tempting and easily manipulated pawn in the eyes of various factions once she became known to the world.
He had to drape a sturdy set of armor called Noble Etiquette and “decency” over her before she truly stepped onto the stage.
If she continued to go her own way, she would eventually pay the price for her behavior.
But he could not let such a price fall upon Helos.
At the very least, he had to make his daughter understand that in this world, there were some places where she could not simply do as she pleased.
Helos slumped her shoulders in despair. Resigning herself to her fate, she looked up, and her gaze finally landed on the woman who had been standing silently beside her Patriarch.
She was an extremely elegant woman.
She wore a well-tailored black silk dress, and her ebony hair was meticulously pinned behind her head, revealing a neck as graceful as a swan’s.
A warm and appropriate smile hung on her face, and her deep, wine-red eyes seemed capable of seeing through people’s hearts.
‘Is this person my “new trouble”?’
Helos grumbled inwardly, warily sizing up the other woman.
However, no matter how she looked, she could not find a single flaw in this woman.
Her posture, her smile, and the gentleness in her eyes — everything was as perfect as a carefully crafted work of art.
Just as Helos was sizing her up, the woman took a step forward and performed a flawless curtsy.
“Miss Helos, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
Her voice was soft and pleasant, as gentle as a spring breeze brushing against harp strings.
“I am Lilith. From today onward, I will be responsible for all of your etiquette instruction. I look forward to your guidance.”
“I… yeah.”
Helos responded dryly; the girl felt as though her future was bleak.
Eisende looked at the two of them and nodded with satisfaction.
“Helos.”
He gave his final command in a tone that brooked no argument.
“Starting tomorrow, you must study Noble Etiquette and social rhetoric with Teacher Lilith every day. As for your research and training —”
He paused, delivering the final verdict.
“— put them all aside for now.”
With that, he ignored his daughter’s expression, which looked as though she had been struck by lightning, and turned to leave with Lilith.
Only Helos, Julius, and Gavi remained on the training ground.
Helos stood there blankly, as if her soul had been snatched away. Even her high silver ponytail sagged listlessly.
***
After a long while, she slowly turned her head with extremely stiff movements. With a look of near despair, she turned to Julius and Gavi behind her, as if seeking a shred of comfort from them.
However, what greeted her was Julius’s face, his lips curling upward as he desperately suppressed a laugh.
“Oh my, oh my.”
The boy cleared his throat, pretending to be serious, but the schadenfreude in his teasing tone could not be hidden.
“The captain of our Zero Squad, the genius Alchemist, and the future great adventurer is finally about to take her first step toward becoming a true Duchess.”
He even clapped his hands with mock solemnity.
“Truly worth celebrating. Truly worth celebrating.”
“You… shut up!”
Helos’s anger instantly found an outlet.
She spun around and, without mercy, drove an elbow hard into Julius’s ribs.
“Ow — !”
Julius let out a cry of pain and crouched down, clutching his stomach, but his face was written with the expression of ‘I was wrong, but I’ll do it again next time.’
Watching the interaction between the two, Gavi’s shimmering eye sockets seemed to soften slightly as she stood to the side.
She silently walked up to Helos and extended a cold, metal palm, gently patting her master’s shoulder as if to soothe her emotions.
Helos felt the touch on her shoulder, and her frustration eased slightly.
She let out a long sigh and looked up at the gray sky, feeling that every time her peaceful days were about to begin, they seemed to end instead.
In this way, amidst a complex atmosphere of tension, depression, and a certain someone’s schadenfreude, Helos welcomed the morning sun of the second day.