Blue Land, a city that was south of the Egelia Kingdom.
This fortress city was ruled by Duke Blue, and it was the first city that Jin had visited on his own accord.
And it was there that he had met the red-haired girl, Beana. She was also a Magi Craftsman, and Jin had spent a lot of time on the outskirts of Blue Land, helping with her business.
In the end, Earl Guarana’s harassment had repelled Jin, and he had left the place.
After that, Jin had visited again, along with Reinhart. Then Earl Kuzuma and Beana had gone with him to Asunto, that capital of Egelia. And it was there that they participated in the golem party.
It was also then that Earl Kuzuma asked Beana to marry him. And Beana had accepted.
“No, you must not raise the hem of your skirt like that.”
“Yeeees.”
“Your answer should be short and clear!”
“…Yes.”
Beana was currently taking etiquette lessons.
In the kingdom of Egelia, the most powerful nobles of each region were able to participate in government.
It was normal for them to spend three months of every year in order to fulfill their role.
And so Earl Kuzuma was supposed to spend April to June in the capital. However, due to the country-wide conflict that occurred in April, the capital was not functioning, which meant he would really just be serving from May until June.
On the other hand, Earl Guarana was not important enough to be able to participate in government.
“That is wrong! When drinking tea, you must hold the saucer with your left hand.”
“…Yes.”
“Ahhhhhh, do not grab the cup. You must pinch it!”
“…Yes.”
The person who was scolding Beana was Malloum, the head maid. She was in her late thirties and had served the Earl’s house since Kuzuma was very young.
She was usually quite calm but turned rather vicious when teaching Beana.
“Do not make so much noise when putting down the cup!”
“…Yes.”
Beana didn’t complain as she was being taught.
“…Ah, I am tired.”
At night, Beana returned to her room and threw herself onto the bed.
“Sister. Are you alright?”
A worried voice came from the next room. It was her younger brother, Raldo.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just a little tired. You two must be tired too.”
“We’re fine.”
Ever since selling the popcorn machine to Earl Guarana, the commoners had pleaded for them to make more. And so Beana made a popcorn machine under Earl Kuzuma’s sponsorship.
And it was up to Beana’s younger brother and sister, Nana and Raldo, to sell the popcorn.
“We sold out today as well.”
As it was publically known that they were backed by Earl Kuzuma, the two of them were able to manage in spite of their age.
After all, making popcorn was easy as long as you had the machine, so it was just about selling it and managing the profits.
As the table they used to sell it was too heavy for them to carry, maids, butlers or soldiers were sent every day to help them.
Thanks to that, they were able to sell quite a lot every day.
In fact, they made less in a day than what was paid to the servants who accompanied them, but this was fine, as it was more or less a service that Earl Kuzuma provided for the people.
“It’s only been five days, but we now have regular customers and it is quite fun.”
“I see. That is good.”
Jin had once sold popcorn with them. Large crowds had gathered around, and they had also sold lighters and water heaters as well. It was all a nostalgic memory to her now.
“…And it’s only been four months.”
She had met Jin again one month later and had been invited to his base and house, which was Kunlun island.
“Jin. What are you doing now?”
＊ ＊ ＊
“No! Your steps should be lighter. Your foot should only glide slightly above the floor. Or else you will step on the other person’s foot.”
“Yes.”
“Good, that is better. Now, your face. Do not look at your feet, you must look at their chest.”
“Yes.”
Today it was dance lessons. Beana was quite athletic, and so she took to this much faster than the etiquette lessons.
The lesson that day lasted for one hour.
“You must clean more quietly! You are raising dust!”
When the dancing lessons were finished, it was cleaning.
“You must be able to clean even if you are a noble. Or else it will ruin both your reputations.”
If they did not have butlers or maids, the wife must take care of the husband. And so a wife must be able to do the housework at a high level. Or so Malloum said.
However, Beana was on the impatient side, and she enjoyed this part of her education the least.
“Yes, now flip that over! …Ah, that is no good at all. Don’t be so forceful. …Look what you did to the shape.”
When the cleaning was finished, it was time to cook. Beana was currently making an omelet. It was a complex dish.
The ones that turned out bad were eaten by the servants(providing they were actually in an edible state).
She woke up at 6 and had lessons until 8 in the night.
As young as Beana was, she was exhausted.
She was allowed to take a bath when the day was over, but even that was part of her lessons.
“You may have to bathe with other noblewomen. You must cover yourself with a towel and remember to not stay in the water for too long. And be careful not to splash water on others.”
“Yes…”
“Do not move around in the water. You must not allow it to splash when you step inside.”
“Yes…”
She wanted to bathe to relax her tired body, but Beana only became more tired.
“Ahh, I’m so tired…”
Beana felt that it would not be long until she got lessons on how to sleep.
And of course, this became a reality.
“Listen to me. You may not go to bed before your husband. Wait for him to go inside and then say ‘excuse me,’ before entering.”
“…”
Beana was about ready to explode once these instructions started to come.
Still, she kept silent that day and went to her room.
In her room, there was a letter from the Earl on her table.
Earl Kuzuma would write to her from the capital like this once a week.
‘To my dear Beana.
I hope you are well. I am currently very busy with reevaluating the kingdom’s annual spending.
Things are rather bad due to the recent Golem Party incident and the Unifier incident.’
…He started by talking about his days and what was happening in the capital.
‘I know that you must also be busy with your lessons, but I will return in July, so please wait for me.
I cannot wait to see you again. It’s what keeps me going through my busy schedule.
Please take care of your health.
From Asunto, with love. Lewis Wurtz Kuzuma.’
“…Huhhh.”
There was a box next to Beana’s pillow that was full of these letters.
She would read them whenever things were hard or when she felt sad or bad. And they would make her feel better.
But of course, it made her the happiest to read new letters.
“…I will do my best tomorrow as well.”
Beana told herself as she went to sleep.