And so, Lia's first day of teaching Raiden went off incredibly well. Though she did notice some times in which he would look at him menacingly, she could only hope that it stops as time goes on
'If anything...this is going too smoothly'
Today was their second day of lessons in which they were studying mathematics. after testing Raiden's knowledge as she did with their previous subject, She had decided that going with fractions was a good start
The level of Mathemathics here was pale in comparison to Lia's old-world in such a way that Fraction was considered to be an advanced topic, one that is most certainly not thought to a noble child of his age
And yet, he was listening intently to their lessons with a solemn expression as he takes down notes with his quill and paper. He would occasionally get a bit stuck and would ask questions but other than that. It was going way too well for Lia's taste
"And to solve this problem, we need to multiply the numerator with the denominator here"
Lia was pointing at Raiden's paper while explaining the solution to a certain equation
"I see...It seems my equation was a bit off"
"It is, but your answer was incredibly close, so I would say it's a good try. My lord"
"Spare me your words. In mathematics, no matter how close your answer may be, if it isn't the exact one then it's still considered as wrong"
"That's true"
Both in her previous lives, Lia had experienced moments in which she would get a close answer but would ultimately be considered wrong because she forgot to put a certain sign or solved a certain part wrongly.
Whenever situations like those would happen, Lia would be reminded to always double-check on things, whether that be life or mathematics
"So if I subtract it here...I see..."
Lia watched Raiden mutter as he writes on his paper. She suddenly felt a bit guilty for suspecting him when she saw the determination in his eyes and hoped that everything was just speculations in her head
"Oi, what about for this part?"
His voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she scooted close to him
"Ah, this one is a bit tricky, you need to-"
Their lessons today proceeded on as smoothly as yesterday, and the same was also true for the next day
(---)
"Hrmm..."
Raiden was staring at the paper blankly as he looked to be lost in thought. The subject this time was Language, and he was taking a written test in order to measure his ability as with the other ones
And he was quickly breezing through it, the questions weren't exactly difficult for him. After all, almost every one of them was discussed by his previous teachers that he found to be extremely dull
So what exactly caught his attention?
It was the sight of Lia who was sitting at the opposite side of the table. She was intently reading an enormous book with a solemn expression, Raiden could feel the amount of focus that she was directing on it as her green eyes seemed to rapidly scan each of its contents
There were about three other similar books at the side. With this, Raiden couldn't help but be a bit curious
'It doesn't seem to be used for academics...and judging from the cover, it similar to a record of some sort...but for what?'
He continued to ponder about it but couldn't exactly find a probable guess. He figured that he should ask instead. There was nothing to lose after all
"Hey, What's that book for?"
"...."
But she didn't answer, and Raiden felt extremely annoyed by this
'So she's ignoring me now, is that it?!...No wait...'
Her expression was unchanged, and she was still intently reading the book
'No way. Was she actually so focused that she didn't hear me?'
Raiden cleared his throat and spoke again
"Oi!"
"Huh?"
Lia seemed to have snapped from her trance-like state
"Apologies, My lord. have you finished your test already?"
"Not exactly"
She looked at him with a disappointed expression as she turned back to the book
"What's with that face? You look as if I murdered your entire family"
"...Please focus on the test and only call me if you're finished"
"How can I focus if you're sitting there reading that enormous thing? What even is that?"
"The records of each servant that are working under the family"
Raiden unconsciously dropped his quill as he felt the atmosphere turn sour
"What's that for...don't tell me...are you planning on using that when you finally stage a revolt against us?"
Lia dropped the book and slowly turned her eyes to his
He shivered for a moment, and slowly but surely, his hands reached for his sword
"What?"
But immediately stopped
"I'm amazed by how you could even reach that conclusion, my lord. I only thought it to be appropriate to know the names of the people whom I'm working with, that's all"
"Huh?... You'll go through all that effort...for something like that?"
"Yes, is there something strange about it?"
"...I really can't get a read on you"
Raiden let out a sigh as he contemplates the ridiculousness of the situation in front of him
Not including the fighting force of the family, the number of their servants is more than a hundred. To memorize all of their names was no easy feat. Even the head butler, Gunther, would usually have a hard time remembering them due to their numbers
This is why most of the family servants would usually tell who's who base on their faces. Understandably, they don't want to put too much effort into that department
"And yet you want to submit yourself through that hassle? More importantly, are you even making any progress with that?
Lia took a sip from the tea beside her as she flipped the page of a book
"It's going well so far. I've pretty much memorized every content that I could find in this book"
"What?..."
He couldn't help but be surprised. If he remembered correctly, Lia only started to read the books when it was brought in the middle of their lessons, which was only half an hour ago.
If she was serious about what she said, then that would mean his previous assessment of her was not even close
'Maybe she's lying?...No, she doesn't really gain anything by doing that...'
He placed his hand on his chin as he became lost in his thoughts
"Hrmm..."
"....Is that all, My lord?"
"Huh? O-Oh, yes"
"....Then please carry on with the test"
Without sparing him a glance, she continued on with her book
'Haaaa...what is with this girl?'
He was trying to find the cracks and weaknesses of Lia, but so far he had obtained nothing. Her guard was way too high and the attitude she was showing was unpredictable
The knights that he would often train with in the past would usually complain about how a woman's attitude is sometimes so complicated. when he heard this, he would usually insult those knights in his head.
After all, man or woman, they were still people. if one watches closely then a person should be able to somewhat foresee one's actions
The situation right now made him want to personally apologize to those knights
'...No, I shouldn't give up this easy, it's too early! I should just wait patiently...wait patiently...'
Raiden continued to ponder until his time had ran out, needless to say, Lia gave him quite a lecture after this
(---)
"Please keep your back straight, and don't forget to maintain eye contact"
"Grrr..."
The next day had come, and the subject they were discussing right now was social etiquette
Unlike in the previous subjects, Lia had decided to take their session in the garden instead of the study room. After all, most of the nobles in the empire would usually prefer to discuss topics, whether private or not, in an open area with a cup of tea
'That sounds a bit too fancy even for me, but I guess traditions are traditions'
Lia laid back on her seat further as she looked up in the bright morning sky. She could hear the peaceful chirping of the birds, Feel the calm bright rays of light that was touching her skin, and the warm breeze was blowing on her face whilst-
"Damn it!"
She could hear the man that was growling like a hungry hyena
"That slice was too big, my lord"
"This is stupid! What kind of dumb masochist would submit themselves to this torture?! Roasted beef is meant to be eaten as fast as possible, not like this!"
Raiden slammed his fist on the table which caused it to shake
"Good grief..."
Lia breathed out a sigh, but not because he disagreed with Raiden, it was quite the opposite in fact.
Even though she was a workaholic, she still once came from a world in which frivolous things such as etiquette is not commonly practiced, so she could somehow relate to Raiden's pain of having to learn such a thing on a spiritual level
But be that as it may, he must still learn it. Etiquette is something that is heavily required in this world of nobles, and as far she knows, it was Raiden's weak point
"That's what you think, my lord. but if the other nobles would see you like this then it'll surely cause a stir"
"Who cares?! If they say something then I'll settle it with my sword, though I doubt anyone has the guts to do that to my face"
"Haaa..."
Lia knew that every person has some sort of addiction that they're into. She herself is addicted to working, while her master is addicted to seeing the wellbeing of her loved ones. Raiden on the other hand was a glutinous man that was addicted to roasted beef
So much so that he would lose all reason in the face of it. Forget about maintaining etiquette, he would return to his animal state in the face of it. But if Raiden conquers it, then the rest of their etiquette lessons would be a breeze
"I can't take this...The tender meat is calling for me...the exquisite smell of the sauce...It's speaking to me! It wants me to eat them all right now!"
But it was easier said than done. It would be extremely difficult even for Lia to fix that craving of his, So she opted to take it slow.
Raiden usually eats his beef in chunks, as in he would take a huge slice of it and eat it whole. It was quite fascinating for Lia how his mouth could even do such an action in the first place
Anyways, she decided that fixing that habit of his would be the first step, so she served him his favorite roasted beef and ordered him to eat it in tiny slices. She figured that by doing this, he would at least developed a sense of control
And yet...
"It gently whispered in my ear...You're such a vixen Patricia...But don't you worry, I will consume all of you soon"
Raiden was drooling profusely while he gently slices a tiny portion
"...So it has a name now?"
"Why, of course...she was a widow that lost her husband in the middle of a war and In the face of famine and poverty that came after it, had no choice but to sell her body to the hungry men of the streets. Though she hated it at first she couldn't deny the pleasure that was experiencing and started to embrace the corruption that was flowing through her bod-"
"Okay please stop, you're genuinely scaring me, My lord"
It was working, but it clearly had a few...unsightly after effects
Lia tried to think for a moment, and console the knowledge that she had from the novel, but it was no good. as far she knows, it was rarely touched on after he fell in love with the heroine
'What now?... I could find another way, but it would take me some time...I guess we'll have to stick with this for now"
"I-I'm doing it...I'm doing it!"
"Try it, and I'll take that and give it to the other servants"
"You ungrateful little- You'd waste this delicious treat to those animals?!"
"As far as I'm concerned my lord, you're the only one here that seems like an ani- !"
A sharp pain had suddenly struck Lia's head, she struggled to keep herself in check as her vision turned a bit wiggly
"Hm?"
It seems that she was doing a bad job at it because even Raiden who was focused on his roasted beef a while back, turned his attention to her
"Are you alright?"
"Yes...it's just a bit of a migraine, Nothing to be worried about, My lord"
"Hrmmm..."
It seems that Raiden's curiosity temporarily overpowered his hunger. Lia didn't know if she should feel happy about this development or feel embarrassed at the fact that it was at the cost of showing her weakness
She grabbed an emergency energy potion from her pocket and quickly gulped it down
The usual effects could be immediately felt after she did it, and after a while, the pain in her head had vanished and she felt more lively than before
"If you drank an energy potion then that means it's because of exhaustion...Were you working overtime just now or something?"
"Something like that...to be exact, I've been working for five days straight"
"What the hell?! Five days?!"
Raiden showed a face of shock as he stood up from his chair
"Oh, please don't be alarmed, I still make sure to shower and clean my teeth in between work hours"
"That's not the point! How are you not alarmed by this?! You've been working for five days!"
"Yes, and?..."
"And? How could your body even handle that? an energy potion would only replenish your stamina and energy for twenty-four hours...don't tell me...you were drinking that hazard for five days straight?"
"...Something like that"
"! But then...Then how are you still-"
"How am I still alive? I'm not obligated to tell you this, my lord. but for the sake of satisfying your curiosity, I'll just tell you that my body is a bit different from the others"
"Different?"
Before He could speak further, a beeping sound suddenly resonated in the garden, Lia immediately recognized the sound as the alarm from her pocket watch that signaled that their session was over
"I guess that's our time for now. I apologize but I need to leave early toda-"
"Oi, I'm done with you yet!"
Before he could continue speaking, Lia quickly scooted beside him and placed her finger to his mouth, she showed her usual smile before saying
"Too much curiosity could get you in trouble, my lord. Part etiquette is knowing when the other party doesn't want to press on a topic further, Please remember that"
Raiden locked eyes with her and seemed to look a bit flustered after a while, seeing this, Lia slowly removed her finger and proceeded to walk away
"By the way, please read the materials that I sent to your room. Knowing you could probably memorize it after a few days...anyway, have a good day my lord. you could finish the beef if you want"
"...Sure..."
Raiden faintly replied as Lia's figure began to disappear in the distance. He couldn't recognize it at the moment but he was experiencing some sort of strange feeling that oddly enough, made him lost his appetite to continue eating the dish
It wasn't the usual disdain that he feels when being with her, Was it nervousness? his heart was beating a bit faster than usual after all
Raiden could only continue to ponder as the wind continued to howl in the Eden-like garden