Chapter 34: 31: Etiquette Practice.
"Stop slouching."
"I am not slouching!" Edward protested, whining while he struggled with the pain in his back.
He was sitting opposite to Emilia, and in between them was a small table with a strange collection of items placed on it.
Edward picked up the tea cup in front of him, trying his best to imitate what Emilia had shown him, and took a delicate sip.
"Too loud."
Edward exhaled. Then, pushing down the frustration bubbling up inside him, he took another sip, quieter this time.
"Your fingers are not in the correct place."
He tried his best to not yell at Emilia.
"Look I’m trying all right!?" He put the cup down, and stared at Emilia. "This is hard!"
Emilia said nothing, instead just gave him the usual stern glare.
And that was enough to make Edward fold.
He let out a small sigh and picked the cup back up.
"Alright I’ll try again."
Emilia was teaching Edward all the necessary etiquette he’d need to know in order to survive the royal ball... and more. They had started first thing in the morning, and even as it became noon, Emilia was not ready to let Edward go. Utterly unsatisfied with the progress he was showing.
Edward was having a hard time too.
It was already hard enough to move around in the clothes they made him wear. And now that he had to follow follow proper etiquette, safe to say, it was hell.
It had been somewhat manageable meeting the Verdigris because he had a proper excuse then.
The same could not be said now.
It was a royal ball.
A royal ball, with royalty attending.
He was going to be in the presence of actual royalty, and countless other nobles.
The stakes were a little too high for his liking, if he had to be honest.
Not like anyone cared except him.
And it did not help that Edward was the one who put himself in this situation.
He could’ve made an excuse, maybe even said that he is not ready to go on a ball, a royal one at that.
But no, he had to agree.
He had to have pleased the duke.
He exhaled.
’I need to work harder’
Etiquette was going to be an important part in his mission of saving his and Selene’s image. He had to maintain a proper image in the coming event, even if he was not the real Edward, he still had an obligation to everyone who expected something, anything out of him.
He really didn’t want disappoint any of them, especially duke Myrvale.
So he had to do his best.
He too a quick glance at the display in his peripheral vision.
[
Name: Edward Myrvale]
[Class: Femininity]
[ Current Objective: Form a bong with Selene Verdigris (3% completion) ]
[ Passive effects: Allure, Femboy Aura ]
[ Active Skills: Catwalk step ]
He still didn’t really know what his class meant.
He was not a woman, a biological female, so it could not refer to anything relating to his constitution. He had thought that maybe it could refer to his personality, but no matter how he looked at it, he still saw himself as a man, so it could not be that either. Maybe it could have been referring to how he looked, which he had ended up deciding was the most probable option.
There was also a chance it had something to do with the magic in this world. He had thought about it for a while, but he realised that he didn’t have nearly enough information about it to properly speculate anything at all.
Still, It was so confusing to Edward; everything relating to the system. The stupid thing was so inconsistent in its existence, unlike the ones in the novels he had read back in Earth.
There was no overpowered skills granted to him. No special treatments either. Heck he didn’t even get a legendary item to start off his journey.
This one felt more like a troll than an all powerful system. Sometimes It almost felt like the thing was deciding everything it did on a whim. And in his defence, there was no other way he could have explained its behaviour. It would be giving him the most embarrassing quests at the worst possible time, and the next moment, it would be screaming at him to save his own life.
Like how it had done yesterday.
It truly was such a weird thing.
And the worst of all.
The damned thing could speak.
Edward had tried his hardest to communicate with the eccentric system since the day before, but there had been zero developments no matter how hard he tried. It just refused to communicate other than just float dumbly in-front him. Like this annoying piece of decoration that he couldn’t get rid of no matter what.
He glared at the floating panel.
I’ll get to you one day...
He pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on his class.
He finished taking a sip and gently placed the cup in his hand back on the table.
"Good." Emilia said flatly before replacing the cup with a plate and utensils.
"Now remember, you’ll be dining among the most prominent men and women among the entire nation. So it is imperative that you show your best side." Her voice was as stern as ever as she showed him how to properly pick up the fork and knife.
He followed her movements carefully, making sure not to make any mistakes.
"You will make sure to bring no shame to the name of Myrvale, understood?"
Edward gave her a hesitant nod.
She continued without waiting for him to respond.
"You will be accompanying lady Selene, you both are equal partners for this ball. However, you are still a man, and you will be expected to lead her along."
Edward nodded. "I understand."
"Good, then we will immediately start with dance practice after we’re done with dining etiquette."
And so they continued practicing, drilling into him all the etiquette one at a time.