MWC Chapter 48

Chapter 48. A Waist That Looks Like It Might Snap

 

The previous concerns had all been trivial and predictable, but the last one—about social etiquette—had some merit.

Rakalt himself had been subjected to rigorous etiquette training from a very young age. Even if he had been called straight from the battlefield to a ballroom, his body would instinctively move with proper decorum. Most nobles were likely the same.

“As a maid, you don’t need to worry about it that much.”

“Still… This time, I’m going as a nanny, not just a servant.”

It wasn’t as though she was making a formal debut in high society, nor would she be the center of attention as that would be the baby. But still, her presence wouldn’t go unnoticed. Someone would see her.

“Could you at least teach me the basics?”

Rakalt let out a thoughtful hum, organizing his thoughts.

His body knew all the proper etiquette, but explaining it in words was another matter entirely.

They didn’t have enough time to study an etiquette book from start to finish, and doing so would be overkill. It wasn’t as if Adelen was about to debut in high society.

She just needed to avoid standing out too much.

By that standard, she was already fine.

From what Rakalt had observed, Adelen didn’t naturally carry herself with noble refinement, but her demeanor was quiet and graceful. Her speech was soft and gentle, her voice clear and melodious.

Even if someone had impeccable etiquette, they would still be disliked if they lacked consideration for others.

In that sense, Adelen had nothing to worry about.

She always put others first, was thoughtful and meticulous, and went out of her way to be needlessly kind. On top of that, she had an almost angelic innocence.

Who wouldn’t like her?

If anything, they should be more concerned about her drawing too much attention.

But since Adelen was so anxious about it, Rakalt figured he should at least teach her something.

“Maybe we should do a practice run.”

“Oh, yes! Please!”

Adelen’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the suggestion.

This was exactly what she had wanted.

“Alright, let’s start from getting out of the carriage. Last time, you just followed me out, but this time, it would be better if you received an escort.”

“An escort?”

“Give me your hand.”

Rakalt positioned himself as if he had just stepped down from a carriage and extended his hand toward Adelen.

Adelen stood up and faced him, hesitating.

Rakalt gestured impatiently, urging her to take his hand.

But instead of doing so right away, Adelen wavered.

“Um… Master.”

“What?”

“Should I use my left hand or my right hand?”

“…”

Rakalt’s mind went blank.

That was something to consider?

He had only ever been the one offering the escort, never receiving one, so he had never thought about it.

Was it usually the left hand? The right?

Wait, was there even a strict rule about that?

“…No one’s going to scrutinize you that closely.”

“Oh, really? Then…”

Adelen extended the hand that wasn’t holding the baby, placing it lightly over Rakalt’s.

Rakalt closed his fingers around it with a slight squeeze.

It had been a while since he had last felt this touch—delicate yet unexpectedly rough, warm and soft at the same time.

Now that he thought about it, Adelen’s hands felt a little smoother than before.

Raising a baby must have kept her from doing as much rough work, making her hands softer.

Rakalt liked that.

A faint smile flickered across his lips.

“Alright, let’s go.”

With that, Rakalt led Adelen forward, guiding her naturally in the direction of the entrance.

When they reached the imaginary doorway, he let go of Adelen’s hand and moved to hold her waist.

“!”

Adelen flinched violently.

“…Ah.”

Rakalt froze as well.

“S-Sorry! I was just startled…”

Adelen’s reaction made Rakalt just as flustered.

To be fair, he wasn’t exactly used to escorting women.

He had no female relatives, and there were no women close enough to him that he had ever needed to escort them.

Unlike other aspects of etiquette, this was one thing that didn’t come naturally to him.

“Normally, the person giving the escort either offers their arm or holds the other’s waist when entering a venue. But since you’ll be holding the baby, linking arms won’t be practical…”

That was just the way it was done, so he had done it without a second thought.

If he was close enough to someone to be escorting them, it wasn’t inappropriate to hold their waist.

But seeing Adelen tremble so much made Rakalt feel as if he had committed some grave offense.

“A-Ah! I see! That’s how it’s supposed to be!”

Adelen quickly nodded, clearly trying to recover.

“T-Then, let’s try again! I’m ready this time.”

Adelen took a deep breath and returned to her previous position. She had mentally prepared herself, yet her heart still pounded.

If she was already this nervous now, it would probably feel like her heart was going to explode on the actual day of the party.

Had she been thrown straight into the event without this practice run, she might have fainted from sheer anxiety.

Practice was important, after all.

“…Alright.”

Rakalt also took a deep breath and stepped up beside Adelen once more. But this time, his hand didn’t move as easily. Now that he was aware of it, the awkwardness refused to go away.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how fragile Adelen’s waist had felt when he briefly touched it earlier—so slender that it seemed like it might snap.

Would it actually break if he grabbed too hard?

That worry settled itself firmly into Rakalt’s mind.

 

***

 

“HAAH!”

The fierce shouts of knights echoed through the training grounds.

The Sigelion Knights, renowned as the strongest order in Teplan, endured training that lived up to their reputation.

Rakalt rarely missed a session. As someone who fought at the very front, he couldn’t afford to slack off.

“Ugh!”

“Argh! **** it—!”

Even the strongest knights were still human. They couldn’t excel in every area.

Today’s training focused on hand-to-hand combat in case they lost their weapons.

All around, knights choked, twisted arms, and grappled fiercely, their groans of pain filling the air.

But the intensity of the training never lessened. If anything, it was harsher than real combat.

The harsher the training, the less likely they were to panic in real battles.

That’s right—practice exists so you don’t freeze up in the real situation.

His practice session with Adelen last night had dragged on until late.

For some reason, everything that had once felt natural to him had suddenly become awkward. Even Rakalt had stumbled through it.

Had they gone to the party without that rehearsal, it would have been a disaster.

They practiced and practiced, holding hands, resting a hand on the waist, linking arms, until neither of them felt anything about it anymore.

And it wasn’t even anything complicated.

Just stepping out of the carriage, entering the venue, greeting the emperor, bowing, offering congratulations, and returning to their place.

That was it.

Yet they had spent an entire day practicing it.

“Ugh—!”

Lost in thought, Rakalt failed to counter his sparring partner’s move and was thrown to the ground.

He tried to break free, but unfortunately, his opponent was the best hand-to-hand fighter in the order.

Zoning out had cost him dearly.

“Well, this is unusual, my lord!”

His opponent wasted no time, pinning Rakalt down.

But no matter how skilled or physically strong she was, she was still lighter than him.

Despite using her full body weight to keep him down, Rakalt quickly flipped the situation.

“Ugh—!”

This time, Rakalt had her pinned beneath him.

She gritted her teeth and resisted.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, pressed against him, locked her legs around him, doing everything she could.

To an untrained eye, it might have looked like they were just rolling around the ground in an embrace.

“Hah!”

His opponent made a final attempt at a finishing move.

But Rakalt, having already let his guard down once, wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

He grabbed her by the waist and slammed her down onto the ground.

Even though she was well-built and muscular, she was still noticeably softer and slimmer than the male knights.

But that was it.

A waist was just a waist.

Yet, when he thought about placing his hand on Adelen’s waist, his fingers hesitated.

What was the difference?

Was it simply the difference between a soldier and a civilian?

But even then, when he had escorted Maltina a few times, he hadn’t thought anything of it.

And then there was that word.

The way he described Adelen as pretty.

Whenever he thought about that word in relation to Adelen, its meaning and feeling seemed to shift.

What kind of sorcery was this?

“…Hey! Are you spacing out again?”

“Ugh—!”

His opponent seized the opportunity and locked him in a painful hold.

“ARGH! HEY—calm down! The Count still doesn’t have an heir yet!”

Had the other knights not jumped in to break them apart, the Sigelion noble house might have faced an unexpected crisis.