By Zephyria 
Thursday.
Poplar Kiadris, entering for the etiquette lesson, placed a neatly wrapped box on the drawing-room table as soon as I offered her a seat. When I asked if I could open it, she fanned herself twice and said no more.
She meant for me to open it. I untied the ribbon and took out the contents.
It was a fan.
Dark-colored wooden ribs were attached to blue silk. Her eye for detail was so good that it was the perfect size for my not-small hands. It wasn’t light either, so I would know immediately if it fell from my grasp. Wondering if it could be used as a weapon, I swung it a couple of times and received a sulky glance.
“Hmm. Thank you.”
“I figured Lord Ernhardt would be busy again, so I just prepared it myself.”
“…Ah. Th-thank you very much. I don’t know how I can repay this…”
“Well now.”
Poplar Kiadris opened her fan and waved it gently in front of her upper body. A few strands of her bangs, styled forward, fluttered like blades of grass in the breeze. As I stared, wondering what this meant, an explanation followed immediately.
“When you fan yourself slowly like this, about 20cm from your upper body, and let the breeze cool your face, it means ‘I’m looking forward to it.’ It signifies that I will gratefully accept whatever you give me.”
“…Ah. Yes. I will be sure not to forget this time.”
“Good. Then, before we begin today’s lesson…”
“I have many questions. May I ask a few before I forget?”
Poplar let out a short sigh but soon nodded, granting permission.
“Yes. What is it?”
“As I’ve been moving around the Imperial Palace, I’ve had many encounters with servants and maids. If I don’t speak to them, they pass by without greeting me, and if I do speak, they bow without mentioning titles and only attend to necessary matters. Is it acceptable for me to also offer a simple bow?”
“Yes. You are doing well.”
“May I ask why?”
“I can give you three reasons right off the bat. First, your status as Lord Ernhardt is not yet clearly defined. You refused the ducal title when it was offered, and though you said you would become the Emperor’s consort, you haven’t even had an engagement ceremony. It would be rude for someone of lower status than Lord Ernhardt to address him as ‘Lord,’ as one would address all knights collectively. Naturally, you have to omit the title.”
“But Lady Kiadris addresses me that way.”
“That is a title I received direct permission for. The circumstances are different. From now on, unless one is a Duke or Marquess, no one will address Lord Ernhardt as ‘Lord’ upon first meeting. Because you are not an ordinary knight.”
I understood perfectly. After a moment’s thought, I asked,
“What about the second reason?”
“For a survivor who returns after a long period of disappearance to reclaim their original status, the recognition of direct blood relatives is necessary. This is to prevent someone entirely different from usurping the identity of the deceased. Until the Ernhardt family relatives personally come to the capital to confirm your identity, it is appropriate to refrain from casually using Lord Ernhardt’s surname.”
“Lady Kiadris, you also…”
“I am here to educate you by order of His Majesty the Emperor, one of Lord Ernhardt’s closest relatives. It is different because it is a designation made with trust.”
“…Hmm.”
I understood this as well.
“And the third reason is that there are too many people in the palace.”
“Pardon?”
“You meet dozens, even hundreds, of servants and maids every day. It is too inefficient to greet each and every one of them. The servants and maids themselves would spend all day just greeting people if they greeted everyone they met. Therefore, in buildings with such high population density, everyone implicitly refrains from demanding greetings from each other.”
“Ah…”
“Lord Ernhardt, you are free to ask for anyone’s name and department at any time. Absolutely do not preface it with polite phrases like ‘Excuse me’ or ‘I’m sorry.’ It is neither an excuse nor something to be sorry about; it must be clear that it is a necessary request.”
“…”
“In the palace, anyone of lower status than Lord Ernhardt cannot reveal their name until Lord Ernhardt asks for it first. They will likely be eager to share their name, so feel free to ask.”
“For example?”
“If the other person stops walking in front of you, state your business first. If you have no business but are curious about the person, ask directly. ‘What is your name and department?’ That is sufficient. Do it that way.”
“…Yes. I will do so.”
Doesn’t that sound a bit presumptuous?
But if that too is part of etiquette, I nodded in understanding.
“Do you have any more questions?”
“No, that’s all.”
“Then, I will ask now. What happened to the Empress Dowager?”
“…”
What could I possibly say to that? I had no way to answer and closed my lips tightly.
After a moment, Poplar’s eyes sharpened. Then, after a few seconds, they softened with resignation. I recalled what my mother had told me then. Had the Empress Dowager also looked out for Poplar separately? The thought that perhaps Poplar couldn’t just pass by her while she was crying welled up like a spring.
“…Well, I suppose it’s not something I can know.”
“I am sorry. But I helped you return home safely, so you don’t need to worry any further.”
“Still, you can answer this, can’t you?”
“What is it?”
“Is the person Lord Ernhardt intends to marry truly not Duke Hestia Yeldidus?”
“…What? How could you come up with such a bizarre idea?”
“…”
“Not at all. No, after calling me your consort just now, you say such a thing?”
The woman who had been so composed in her expression turned red.
Poplar Kiadris, who had snapped her fan open with a loud sound, fanned herself rapidly towards her left cheek and neck. Wondering if this also held some meaning, I watched intently, but she explained in a faster tone than usual.
“This is just me fanning myself because I’m angry. It means nothing.”
“Pardon?”
“Hah, what kind of prank is worth pulling…”
“…Are you talking about Duke Yeldidus?”
“Then who else would it be?”
Her sharp retort left me speechless, and I behaved myself quietly. Poplar Kiadris, watching me, covered her face with her open fan and took a breath. By the time the neatly folded fan was placed back on her thigh, her face had returned to its usual composed state.
Her expression had changed so much in just a few seconds. It was like a face-changing performance. But if I expressed admiration now, I felt I might hear something I didn’t want to, so I just sat there, rolling my eyes. Poplar, watching me quietly, apologized in a calm tone.
“I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, so I was rude.”
“…What has been on your mind so much?”
“Did you hear how I came to be Lord Ernhardt’s etiquette teacher?”
I slowly shook my head.
Ruben had mentioned there was a suitable candidate during dinner. And the very next morning, I met Poplar for the first time. I had no way of knowing who had been approached and how, leading to Poplar’s entry into the palace within a single day.
“You know who my patron is now, right?”
“…You mean Duke Hestia Yeldidus?”
“That’s right. That crazy bitch is playing me.”
“…”
Am I really here for an etiquette lesson?
I had never heard such vulgar language, even in my past life. Seeing me frozen in shock, Poplar apologized once more. Then she bit her lip hard. Her movements were so uncomfortable that I thought she might injure herself if she kept clenching her teeth like that.
The reason for her biting her lip was revealed immediately.
“…Hestia told me that Lord Ernhardt might become very close to her, so to teach him well… she said.”
“…What?”
Me? With Hestia?
“Yes, I thought it was strange. She said she wanted to make a good impression on her mother-in-law, but she didn’t even know where her own mother was. And yet, I was foolishly deceived by myself…”
“…”
“Really… I’m so angry.”
…Is she crying? Really?
Bewildered, I first offered her a handkerchief. Poplar Kiadris merely gestured to take my handkerchief and placed it on the table. Then, she took out a handkerchief from her small bag and dabbed gently under her eyes, quietly wiping away tears.
I’ve seen so many people crying these past few days.
Poplar Kiadris was a woman who could easily conceal her agitated emotions. Thanks to her, this awkward and embarrassing moment didn’t last long. It almost felt as if she had shed tears to make me flustered for some reason.
Beneath her dark red eyelashes, the color of her hair, her pale cheeks looked even paler.
Her first words, spoken in a voice thick with injustice, were:
“I… I thought she liked me.”
Poplar Kiadris had not a single external person with whom she could interact. This was because she had never allowed someone into her life whom she could treat without calculation.
Her tragedy began there.
A girl of her own age, who suddenly burst into her otherwise dark life, was excessively generous to her. She wielded sweet power and manipulated others as she pleased, yet carefully observed my expressions. When I shed even a single tear, she would loudly offer comfort, saying she would scold them all.
“She said, ‘Let’s never get married and live together, there’s no need to try and impress some man,’ and brought me along. But on her study desk, she conspicuously left documents about the legalization of same-sex marriage. She said walking hand-in-hand with a woman isn’t bad, and yet she dragged me, who was tired, to stroll through the greenhouse and garden every day. She was the one who smiled first.”
“…”
“Even if I didn’t like it, she’d say ‘Because I like you, it’s fine,’ and force me to eat uselessly sugary things. She’d prepare every meal for me. She’d worry every day if the maids were kind to me… Naturally, I thought she must want something from me… I came to think that way.”
“….Mm. Young Lady, that is to say…”
“It wasn’t easy for me to make up my mind either. I just wanted to repay her, at least with what I could give… But suddenly, she completely ignored me, and then one night, she came and said that perhaps because I couldn’t go out, I was having strange thoughts. That she had found something for me to do.”
I couldn’t even begin to guess what she had decided or what she had done.
“…So, while teaching Lord Ernhardt, she asked me to look around for someone suitable… and said she would do the same. So I… I.”
A spark flew from Poplar’s eyes.
“Lord Ernhardt, please help me.”
“Pardon?”
“What use is an etiquette lesson? You said the person you’re trying to impress now is the Empress Dowager. That’s my specialty, so let’s exchange favors.”