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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A Noble's Dinner
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My aunt and Theo cried out in surprise.
At the commotion, Leon flinched and pulled his hand away.
“Waaah.”
He didn't seem to have any ill intent; it looked like he'd simply misjudged his own strength.
‘Ugh, but the timing was terrible!’
I had just been thinking about the sad part in the original story where Leon ends up dying.
I was already on the verge of tears…
And getting my cheek pinched so hard on top of that, big, fat tears started to fall uncontrollably.
“Oh, my goodness. Lilis, sweetie. Are you alright?”
“Ah, I… sob…”
“Leon! You little troublemaker! Who pinches a lady's cheek so hard!”
My aunt scolded Leon while comforting me as my eyes welled up with tears.
“I, I was just…”
“Oh no. It must hurt a lot. Don't cry, Lilis.”
Theo, with a sympathetic look, lifted his sleeve and wiped my tears.
It did hurt, but I hadn't meant to cry like a real child.
The timing was just awful.
“I just did it because she's cute…”
Only I heard Leon whisper, pouting.
“Aren't you going to apologize?”
“A-Auntie. I'm okay. *Sniffle*.”
As my aunt continued to scold him, Leon, who had been shuffling his feet in embarrassment, muttered quietly.
“…Sorry.”
Ugh. Poor thing.
I sniffled once more, then quickly ran to Leon and hugged him around the waist.
“It's okay! Brother, I'm really fine. It doesn't hurt at all. I'm sorry for crying all of a sudden.”
“……”
“But… *sniffle*, next time, just a little, a little more gently… please pinch me.”
Leon, stiff as a board, blinked a few times and looked down at me for a long moment.
Soon, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he quickly turned his reddened face away before answering.
“F-Fine, I will!”
* * *
Poke, poke.
Fiddle, fiddle.
“Stop bothering Lilis.”
Theo said, watching with disapproval as Leon reached out to touch my cheek every three seconds.
“I'm not bothering her.”
“You keep pestering her by touching her.”
“She said it was okay as long as I touched her gently.”
“Know when to stop.”
“Brothers.”
I said, sitting between the two of them.
“I'm fine!”
Getting my cheeks pinched is the fate of a cute baby, so it can't be helped.
More importantly, now was the time to focus.
“But, brother, it's time to eat now. You can touch them all you want after we finish eating.”
“Hmm. Fine, then.”
Leon reluctantly pulled back the hand that had been poking my cheek.
We were now in the dining hall.
I was nervous here, having moved straight to the dining hall for dinner.
It was because of the luxurious scene spread out before my eyes.
‘Wow, this is so extravagant!’
A massive table that seemed to be three meters wide and ten meters long.
Elegant candelabras ran down its center, along with ornate flowers, fruit baskets, and decorations of gold and jewels.
On the incredibly lavish table were rare dishes I had never even heard of in my entire life.
‘Is that all of it?’
…Just when I thought so, the chef and the servants, as if mocking my thought, endlessly brought out more food.
‘No way, how can anyone eat all this? Of course, I'm sure it's not meant to be all eaten, but…’
I glanced at my aunt and the twins and swallowed hard.
To them, this meal, too luxurious for a single dinner, seemed like a normal part of their daily lives.
“Please enjoy your meal, Young Lady, Young Masters.”
The chef, dressed impeccably like one from a five-star hotel restaurant, personally presented individual plates and cutlery before me and the twins.
The first things placed down were the pre-meal soup and bread.
“Eat up, Lilis.”
“Okay!”
My aunt, sitting across from me, smiled warmly as she picked up her spoon first.
I hesitated, swallowing my tears internally.
‘Why is there so much cutlery…?’
Multiple knives, forks, and spoons.
I peeked to the side and saw Leon pick up the largest spoon, so I discreetly followed suit.
“Oh, Father. You're here.”
Just then.
My grandfather entered the dining hall, exuding a powerful aura.
“Yes.”
My grandfather, after a quick glance at me, sat majestically at the head of the table.
“And Enoch?”
“He said he'd come after unpacking. Let's eat first.”
Now that my grandfather had arrived, I started to break out in a cold sweat.
The atmosphere of a formal dining hall, something I'd never experienced in my life.
How could I possibly adapt to this?
‘S-Someone save me. I'm trapped in a dining hall…’
My lips trembling, I looked around the dining hall, which had fallen silent upon my grandfather's arrival.
The maids, standing in a neat line in a polite posture, ready to serve the meal.
The chef, methodically serving the individual plates.
My aunt and grandfather, dining with elegant and dignified grace...
‘So this is what a noble's dinner time is like.’
The soup was undoubtedly top-class, filled with only expensive and rare ingredients, but—
‘I can't taste a thing.’
I was so nervous I couldn't taste anything and left half of it.
“Leon.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
My grandfather stopped eating and called Leon in a stern voice.
It seemed even a troublemaker behaved in front of his grandfather, as Leon tensed up and sat up straight.
“I heard you caused a disturbance.”
“Father, Leon has apologized to Lady Valerine. I felt bad as well, so I plan to have tea with Countess Valerine before we leave.”
My aunt replied on Leon's behalf with an awkward smile.
He mentioned something about a giant spider earlier; it seems it was a bigger incident than I thought.
“I've heard plenty of stories about you worrying your mother, but to think you'd cause trouble here as well… I must say something.”
My grandfather set down his cutlery, folded his hands, and glared sharply at Leon.
“You are a Rubinstein as well. At twelve years old, you are of an age where you should understand the weight of that name.”
“Yes.”
“You must always be mindful of your every action to avoid repercussions. Adhere to etiquette, refrain from rash behavior, and maintain a bearing that serves as an example to all at every moment.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“From now on, I hope I do not hear any talk of you tarnishing the family name.”
“I'm sorry…”
Watching Leon answer, completely dejected, I felt a pang of guilt.
It felt as if he were also speaking to me, who now had to live as a noble.
‘Grandfather is exactly like he was in the original story.’
The epitome of a perfect noble, down to his bones.
To borrow Chessier's description from the original novel, he said it was to the point where one would suspect Grandfather maintained the same expression and posture 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
He was a man who abided by formality and etiquette as if his life depended on it, and he utterly detested anything undignified.
Which is why—
‘Perfect timing.’
I wanted to cry.
This situation, with the steak now served after the soup, felt utterly hopeless to me.
Because I had never learned a thing about noble etiquette.
‘Wh-what should I pick up?’
Three knives. Three forks.
The probability of me picking up the correct matching pair of utensils was one in nine. The odds were terrible.
But if I copied someone, I might have a chance—
“Why aren't you eating?”
“Lilis, are you full already?”
—the moment I thought that and tried to peek out of the corner of my eye.
The unhelpful twins just had to draw everyone's attention to me.
“N-no. It's not that…”
“What's wrong, Lilis?”
My aunt asked, tilting her head.
My grandfather was also staring at me.
The maids were all watching me too, as if trying to figure out what was making me uncomfortable.
‘What's with this spotlight!’
For my aunt, my grandfather, and the attending servants, dinner time was probably just a normal, everyday affair.
That's probably why they didn't immediately notice my predicament.
‘What should I say? It's probably better to just be honest and say I don't know the table manners, right? After all, Grandfather and Aunt Ordia both know I've never used utensils like these…’
Even so, it was a little embarrassing to tell the truth.
Hadn't everyone already been worried sick because of me and Dad?
I didn't want to reveal my uneducated self and remind them of the past seven years.
‘Sob. Dad, what's taking you so long?’
In the end, just as I steadied my spinning vision and was about to pick up any old knife,
“My apologies for being late.”
The dining hall doors opened, and Dad appeared, having changed into fine clothes.
‘Ah, he's here! Mr. James Brown!’
My savior!
“Ah, Lilis. Let Dad…”
My quick-witted dad immediately saw me and started to approach.
Just then.
“G-Good heavens, Leon!”
My aunt gasped.
‘What is it?’
I looked to my side and saw Leon stabbing his uncut steak with a fork and taking a bite.
“Child, what are you doing, being so ill-mannered! Your little sister is right next to you!”
While I was gaping in surprise, a loud clatter of cutlery came from the other side.
I turned to see Theo furiously cutting his steak.
“Th-Theo, you too? Who on earth cuts their food so crudely! Will you stop that!”
My aunt's face went pale, and even my grandfather, who was next to her, was at a loss for words, watching the twins in bewilderment.
“Here, eat up, Lilis.”
Theo, who had cut the meat into bite-sized pieces in under a minute, quickly swapped his plate with mine.
Then he picked out the correct fork from in front of me and placed it in my hand.
“Ah.”
Only then did I realize.
The twins had done it for my sake.
