81.

If Lady Valmont had taught her how to act like nobility in a short period, the education she received from Louise was the real deal.

Correcting her posture, tone, intonation, and demeanor were the most basic foundations. From pretending interest in unfamiliar topics to guiding conversations, to elegantly showing disdain, politely refusing without rudeness, even how to manage her gaze when startled—Louise poured every bit of knowledge she possessed into Rosetta.

Rosetta now took every meal with Louise and spent more than half her day at the main estate. Though she had volunteered for this, it was quite a dreadful form of torture.

During meals, Louise always sat closest to Rosetta, not to observe from afar but to guide her directly. The slightest slouch earned an immediate stern look; inappropriate words or actions received a light nudge with her elbow. If Rosetta lost her smile, Louise would tap the back of her hand.

Rosetta wrinkled her nose slightly while sprinkling spicy salt onto her salad, then startled, quickly straightened her face. Something about a true lady never revealing her feelings through expression… Damn it. She thought she’d been careful, yet another mistake. Rosetta instinctively glanced at Louise, who, elegantly serving salad onto her plate, instantly pointed it out.

“Pay special attention to the habit of wrinkling your nose. The same goes for furtive glances.”

All of her deeply ingrained bad habits made everything two or three times harder. After being corrected about thirty times during appetizers, ten times during soup, fifty times during entrée and main course—by dessert, even her originally sound mind felt utterly drained.

It was so unbearable that Rosetta wished she could erase all memories of her past twenty-eight years as a pirate, if only she could. Rosetta wasn’t an excellent student, but Louise guided her with incredible perseverance.

“Good. Just like that, slightly tilted. That’s right.”

Only after placing her spoon down on the dessert dish at the very end could Rosetta finally release a sigh of relief. She wiped her lips—untouched by any seasoning—with a napkin and placed it neatly on the table.

“I’m grateful for your teaching.”

Though she’d grown somewhat used to it these past few days, the phrase still felt oddly ticklish to say. Louise smiled contentedly and gently patted her shoulder.

“Oh, don’t mention it. I’m glad you’re clever enough to keep up so well.”

Rosetta tried to maintain a composed expression, but Louise’s praise felt utterly awkward. Clever? It sounded like the kind of warm compliment one would give a cherished child. She’d have preferred something like praise for being quick-handed and sharp-witted, which almost felt like an insult. Rosetta twisted her face into an uncertain expression before finally managing a belated smile.

“I appreciate even the words.”

“It’s not flattery. From being corrected a hundred times per course to now only thirty or ten times—that’s tremendous progress. Your speech has also grown noticeably more refined. In just three days, it’s truly remarkable.”

……Rosetta’s expression grew even more awkward at the comment, which felt neither like praise nor insult. Noticing her reaction, Louise lightly patted the back of her hand and continued.

“I hope your memories return soon, but don’t be too impatient. Would it comfort you to know Cardier was once the same?”

“Cardier too?”

“Yes. You’ve probably heard the rumors… He ignored everything—military academy, social events, even royal summons—and often wandered the streets, abandoning his perfectly good family and estate. He was worse.”

Rosetta pictured the scene in her mind and shook her head slowly. Well, even before her death, he never quite seemed like a sane nobleman. He’d once said he was utterly sick of his family treating him like fragile glass after his kidnapping.

Perhaps that very attitude from his family had pushed Cardier further toward the grimy ports of the East. He’d already acted that way before her death—after dying, who knows how much madder he’d become. Either way, he’d always been an odd one.

“I can kind of imagine it.”

Though now, even that seemed oddly endearing. Rosetta replied with a small smile.

“Thanks to you, I’m gaining confidence too.”

“You don’t always have to strive for perfection. The real skill lies in using etiquette appropriately, only when needed.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

At her obedient reply, Louise smiled contentedly once more.

“At this rate, you’ll have no trouble staying at any party for about thirty minutes. Are the invitations to the noble ladies ready? I heard this weekend.”

Rosetta answered honestly.

“I haven’t even started yet.”

“Sending invitations is merely a formal procedure. Still, they should be sent a week in advance, so we must hurry and finalize the greeting message today.”

“But, Louise. I’m… still not familiar with the proper phrasing. What if I write a bad greeting?”

“Calm down and think carefully. You can refer to books if needed. Now, go rest for a while.”

Rosetta stood up. Just thinking about going through this again at dinner made her feel like dying—but still, Louise’s training was clearly effective. At least she no longer flinched when an unfamiliar utensil appeared during meals.

Thanks to that, she’d eaten every dish using every possible utensil until her stomach was so full it nearly bulged. Fortunately, the considerable distance from the main estate to the guesthouse helped. Walking alone burned off some of it.

“Little Madam.”

“Welcome back.”

Upon arriving at the guesthouse, Rosetta immediately encountered a group of maids. As she half-heartedly acknowledged their greetings, she came face to face with Anna, who was descending from the opposite side of the staircase. Anna’s eyes widened upon seeing her.

“Oh? You’re back already?”

Anna, tucking a basket filled with unbleached cloth under one arm, happily took the tattered etiquette book from Rosetta’s hands.

“You must be exhausted. Just looking at you, you seem incredibly tired.”

“I’m dead, seriously…….”

“If you endure just until the next tea party, you’ll be able to rest for a while.”

She wanted nothing more than to collapse and not move a single fingertip, but as Louise had pointed out, the tea party invitations still remained. Even if it was just a formality, finalizing the greeting today would ensure smooth delivery to each household by tomorrow. Rosetta resolved to handle this immediately.

“Anna. Remember those books I used to get from Valdemore Manor? The ones I enjoyed reading. Where did you put them?”

“Um… Ah! Those books? I couldn’t find a proper shelf, so I placed them in the Young Marquis’s private study.”

“Bring all of them to my bedroom.”

Anna’s already wide eyes grew even wider.

“Huh? Now?”

“Yes. It’s urgent, so hurry.”

“Oh, got it!”

Anna handed the basket to another maid and hurried off in a fluster. Rosetta watched her retreating figure until it disappeared around the corridor corner, then headed to her bedroom. The maids must have tidied up already—doors, windows, and curtains separating bedroom and living room were all fully open.

Seeing the neatly made bed, Rosetta struggled for a while against the strong urge to lie down and sleep. Soon after, the sound of a rattling trolley approached from outside the door.

“Little Madam, it’s Anna.”

“Come in.”

The door creaked open, and Anna pushed the trolley inside. Rosetta whistled upon seeing the stack of books—easily thirty volumes. She couldn’t even imagine what kind of life involved ‘enjoying’ thirty books so much. She randomly picked one and flipped through it quickly. Anna, peering over her shoulder, tilted her head.

“What are you looking for?”

“A decent phrase to use in the invitation. You sit and help me look.”

“How would I know anything…….”

“Just pick out four or five sentences that are extremely difficult and incomprehensible.”

Rosetta selected a few from the towering pile of books, her face showing zero enthusiasm. As she sank into a soft armchair, Anna served her a warm cup of tea. For a while, the only sound in the room was pages turning. After a short while, Anna lowered her book, tilting her head again.

“There’s a defective book mixed in among these.”

“Defective?”

“Yes. Look at this.”

* * *

Rosetta thought about the books Anna had found last evening. One page was entirely printed upside down, with words overlapping so that at a glance, it looked like a printing error.

But upon closer inspection, the layered, overlapping words appeared like numbers. On the corresponding page, the words could be rearranged to form a sentence—an actual cipher. Rosetta knew this because it was a crude cipher she and Nick had created together, giggling, during their childhood.

She even went on to examine all the books supposedly received from Valdemore, and found several more containing such ciphers. Damn it… What on earth was going on? Just thinking about those books made her suddenly anxious. It felt as if the unease she’d vaguely sensed had now become reality.

“You’re spacing out again.”

Momentarily losing focus, she failed to react quickly. Turner’s hand narrowly brushed past the ribbon tied around her neck.