Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 51: Etiquette Classes (2/2)

Clara quickly placed a hand on Theo's shoulder, calming him down. It seemed his nerves were still all over the place since their time in viper territory. The attendants in the side gave him a confused yet concerned look too.

The person near the gate was an older woman who took a few steps forward with the help of her cane. She was in a formal noble attire.

All the heirs were already in good attire always unlike Theo who wore leather in the forest, he had to change his clothes for today.

Yet, her walk was still more elegant than most Theo had seen.

'She is definitely the instructor…' he concluded quickly.

The old woman entered the room and eyed everyone with an almost unreadable expression. Theo couldn't tell whether she was angry, in a good mood, or something else entirely.

But before her eyes could land on him, he remembered all the things he had been taught before and followed accordingly.

Her gaze lingered on him for a few seconds before she moved on to Bram, who was still fidgeting with his hands and on the brink of tears.

"A noble's first impression is their greatest weapon. An heir who lacks etiquette is an embarrassment not only to themselves but to their entire lineage," she stated in a serious tone.

Theo nodded in understanding, while Celeste and Gideon didn't seem to care. Their expressions screamed boredom.

Bram, on the other hand, was trying too hard and making more mistakes than anyone else.

"This session will serve as a revision of your etiquette training," she stated before continuing, "We shall begin with the three fundamentals. Does anyone remember what they are?"

Theo glanced at the others and sighed. The twins had immediately broken their bratty eye contact, while Bram seemed lost in thought, mumbling to himself.

Seeing no immediate response, Theo raised his hand. The old lady nodded, allowing him to speak.

"Posture, Speech, and Greetings, madam," Theo answered with confidence.

"That is correct," the old woman nodded before continuing, "We will start with posture."

From that point on, the old woman instructed everyone to assume their proper posture.

Theo stood correctly and wasn't corrected much by the old lady, but on the other hand, Gideon was scolded continuously for his slouched posture.

Celeste was overdramatic; her curtsies were too deep, and she faked falling multiple times, yet no one other than her attendant took any notice.

Bram fidgeted a lot as usual, nervously shifting in place, but after plenty of explanation and scolding, he was as good as Theo.

Thirty minutes passed, and Theo was having the time of his life. They were still on posture training, and the twins were horrendous, looking at them make such mistakes was a show of it's own.

At one point, Theo noticed that Gideon was genuinely trying and improving every minute, but Celeste, on the other hand, was simply playing around.

It wasn't until the old lady threatened to give a bad report to the Baron that she finally started taking things seriously.

Next was Greetings. Everyone introduced themselves according to the rank and status of the person they were addressing.

Theo performed perfectly again, having the advantage of maturity and the fact that he had undergone this training only a year ago when he was seven.

After that came bowing and formal greetings, which also passed quickly for Theo.

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Gideon tried to rush through it again and again, making the instructor sigh in disappointment. The bratty twins were now at the point of crying. It seemed they had spent the past few years doing nothing but enjoying themselves.

Theo found it ridiculous that they were only level 2 despite having already reached the age of 10.

In just a few days, Theo had already reached level 2 and was on the verge of hitting level 3 if not for pausing his mantis's leveling to focus on training.

During the greeting session, Bram stammered, but after Theo helped by giving him some encouragement, he pulled through almost instantly. The bright smile he gave Theo afterward made his day.

Bram was like a little brother or a child everyone either wanted to protect or take advantage of due to his innocence.

An hour passed in training, and now they moved on to addressing nobles and servants.

The instructor gave them warnings that even a single wrong word at the gathering could be seen as an insult.

The tips were to let others introduce themselves first or to use neutral greetings and speech to avoid offending anyone's pride.

After confirming who the person was, they were to address them according to their status.

Theo found this reasonable—a Duke wouldn't want to be addressed as a servant. It would be a grave mistake.

Once they completed this lesson, everyone except the old lady, Theo, and the attendants was exhausted.

The old lady moved on to table manners and dining etiquette almost immediately.

A mock dining table had been set up in the room for them to practice on. Real servants arrived and placed plates on the table.

They were having a genuine lunch together but only while practicing proper etiquette, as if they were at the gathering.

Theo instinctively picked up the correct utensils, making Clara proud. At the same time, it seemed the old lady had stopped looking at Theo altogether. Theo didn't know the meaning behind it, but he was too preoccupied to dwell on it.

Gideon grabbed the wrong fork at first but corrected himself immediately, though that still earned him a glare from the old lady.

Celeste, who usually played with her utensils at family dinners, performed much better this time.

Bram was technically correct, but his problems were different—his hands shook, and he was very awkward. The instructor gave him some pointers, but beyond that, he was left on his own which made Theo feel bad.

Theo waited for the drinks to arrive, and when they did, he drank properly. The twins and Bram did the same, marking the first time they performed an action correctly without issue.

The training continued without pause, and at last, Theo finally started feeling bored.