Lizzie of the North (Yrsoreth Chronicles 2)

11 ◦❀◦ Petunia Has Left

I realized that Chapter 10 was not edited well. I apologize. I will edit it later once I'm less occupied in real life.

Please enjoy Chapter 11.

Please give it some love 🥺

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

In the eyes of the rigid noble society, Lady Rosalia is a good mentor.

Her efforts reached as far outside the class and in her absence. She even requested the butler for specific meals to practice Lizzie's dining etiquette. And the young lady Norvillon, despite eating greens and bland soup, did it all.

The only solace in the drought of flavors was during their lessons when Lady Rosalia would break the rule herself, and offer candied sweets to the more than grateful Lizzie. With the good progress of their lessons, Fay was now forbidden to enter the study.

But the more the tutor visited the castle, the more her questions swerved in Erdan's direction. They were subtle at first, as Lizzie didn't mind talking about young devil number one and his lessons that interested her more. Then it branched to a discussion about the things she does with her brothers, the picnics, and dinners. It led to the books Erdan had read, the progress of his studies, and the plans of studying abroad.

"A lady must not be so dependent all the time," Rosalia advised when Lizzie said the two young devils helped her cut meat a while back.

"A lady must not grin so widely, even at her own family." Rosalia added a day after she witnessed Lizzie running towards young devil number two squealing "Garthie~ Garthie~!"

"Knowledge is indispensable, but a lady must not know more than her husband." It was after Lizzie bragged that she was on the second volume of the basic foundation of Gran Dacchian politics. "Her role is to support her husband and manage the household."

Lizzie was introduced into the poetry of a perfect aristocrat beyond the basic kindness of 'Please' and 'Thank you.'

Rosalia's values were of a perfect noblewoman. And Lizzie had nothing against one's belief of perfecting oneself in anyway they see fit.

She did work hard to earn Rosalia's favor because the tutor was willing in the first place—even without a drop of sincerity. And somehow, she invited herself to the picnic of the three Norvillons have been privately doing in the past weeks.

"Let me observe your etiquette on such occasion," Lady Rosalia told her yesterday. And now, Lizzie had to control the size of the buttered toast that would go into her mouth. She subtly clicked her tongue, chewing in small sizes like a one-toothed toddler.

Erdan was polite, accepting Lady Rosalia's refills of tea, in her green ensemble of satin and laces.

The cursed green.

"Erdie likes green." She recalled telling the tutor a week ago.

In truth, Lizzie didn't even know Erdan's favorite color. She just wanted to test her theory about the tutor's genuine interest. And since then, Lady Rosalia would enter the castle like a fresh and healthy leaf.

The more she visited the castle, the more she had shed a piece of clothing. Lace-covered necks to bare collar bones and sleeves to bare shoulders. Lizzie wouldn't have minded. But she felt cold just looking at the tutor in a lower neckline on an early autumn morning.

Must she dip lower to reach for honey? That's my honey though. Lizzie whined. Lady Rosalia was five years older than the teen Erdan, and yet... She was supposed to assess Lizzie's dining etiquette, not Erdan's eating posture.