She Becomes The Hero In Another World 49 She Learns Ballroom Manners

It was just then that the king's secretary murmured something into Queen Emeline's ear.

"What!? Really?" She exclaimed, looking at the secretary with a shocked expression.

"None of the ettiquette tutors are available? really?" She asked. The secretary nodded.

"Let them know that their pay will be docked accordingly." Emeline huffed. It was the Hero, after all! Which tutor wouldn't jump at the opportunity?

Emeline turned to Jasmine. "Jasmine, dear, will you be all right teaching by yourself?"

"I'm not sure. It's been a while since I last attended a ball, after all." Jasmine sighed. "I know the woman's ettiquette, but I'm not completely confident that I know that man's side."

"Then, what do we do? The ball is tonight!" Emeline sat back.

"Well, if it's someone experienced in ballroom manners, aside from me, there's...." King Zephron's voice trailed away as he glanced over at Prince Christian. Everyone's eyes zeroed in on Christian, who was surprised to suddenly be in the spotlight.

It was at this point that Robin finally looked at Christian, too, which made him all the more uncomfortable.

"Um...er...if you're okay with me, I can give you a few pointers on how to act in a ball." he said, unsure how much Robin hated him at the moment.

"Ho?" Robin uttered as she stared at him closely, examining his expression. Christian felt cold sweat break out on his forehead. Why had he stepped out in that situation? Wasn't he just asking to get himself in trouble again?

"Then, I'll be in your care." Robin replied politely as she returned to eating her food. Christian's head picked up, as he stared at Robin in shock. Wasn't he upset?...It looked like he wasn't upset at all. Christian gathered his bruised ego back together.

But, something did not feel quite right. The hairs on the back of his neck wriggled as he felt someone else's eyes on him. His eyes roamed the table until they met with Jasmine's subtle stare. Guh! That's right. Jasmine would be there too. Christian looked down at his lunch, wondering if his idea to help tutor Robin was a good idea after all.

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After lunch, they moved to the music room, where a quartet was on standby to help play music for them. "Okay, there are three main parts to any Ball." Prince Christian began. "The entrance, the banquet, and the dance. Each part has a few special things added, but generally the same type of manners is expected throughout the event. Do you follow?"

Robin nodded, while Jasmine stifled a yawn.

It was about time for Jasmine's afternoon nap. She glanced up at the sun, then waved her hands and a lounge chair appeared.

"You two go ahead with the other stuff. I'll just wait here until we get the the dancing part." She waved her hand dismissively as she instantly fell asleep.

"Is that okay?" Robin asked.

Christian sighed and shook his head. "Even if it's not okay, it has to be. If there's one thing that I've learned, it's to never wake her up when it's nap time." He subconsciously rubbed his side as he remembered the painful lesson he had evoked in his past.

"Right, then let's begin with the lesson, shall we?"Christian cleared his throat. "Ballroom ettiquette is quite simple, really. Standing, sitting, or dancing: you must keep your back straight through all of it. Keep your voice low unless you are heralding a toast, or it is something of vital importance-such as an a.s.sa.s.sination. Also, if you wish to approach a lady you are not familiar with, you must have someone close to them introduce you. Almost everyone else is not allowed to wear their swords to the ball, but since you are the Hero, you are naturally exempt from that rule. In fact, since you are the Hero, not many restrictions apply to your behavior, since your status is above the n.o.bles. This can be considered one of the perks of being a Hero. Of course, common decency still needs to be kept, so limit your speech and no vulgarities."

"What? Vulgarities? Now, would I ever say a thing like that?" Robin asked, play-acting as an upright young man. Although she was slightly inclined to mischief, she rarely used vulgarities.

"I'm not saying you would, I'm just telling you what the rules are." Christian said. He ran his fingers through his hair as he recalled the lesson and made sure he didn't forget anything. Did he forget to mention anything...?

Christian confirmed that he hadn't forgotten anything and glanced over at Robin. "That's it for general behavior." He informed. "Now let's move on to the specialties of the entrance part of the ball.

"The main part is the order and announcing of the name upon entering the room. The order is from least to greatest in the herarchy of the n.o.bles. Since you're the Hero, you would be one of the last to be announced. It's mostly a waiting period.

"But, when you are announced, upon entering, you should walk straight up the main aisle to the king. Most n.o.bles would grace him with a low bow. But, since you are the Hero, a salute or a nod of the head is acceptable. Did you get that?" He asked.

"Wait until it's my turn to enter, walk up the aisle to the king, and show at least a modic.u.m of respect. Got it." Robin replied. "There isn't anything that needs to be practiced?"

"Not particularly. The more difficult part is the banquet. Are you familiar with the uses of the different kinds of cutlery?" Christian asked.

"Not really." Robin felt a headache coming on.

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The King and Old Albus, the court magician, were in a meeting.

"So, have the s.h.i.+pments of Holy Spring Water arrived yet?" The King asked. Since the episode that happened yesterday, King Zephron wasn't going to take any chances. He expended a large amount of money to purchase enough holy spring water to protect all of the female guests from the nefarious plots of unscrupulous men in possession of a 'lovesick' potion.

"It arrived just this morning, Your Majesty." Albus replied. "I have had the a.s.sistants unload them into a room close by the ballroom."

"Good. By the crown, I shudder to think of what would happen if we didn't stock such an antidote." Zephron sighed with relief. If 'Lovesick' were allowed to run rampant and unchecked throughout the ballroom, all sense of proper decorum would quickly vanish under the mind-altering spell. Jasmine had also defused all of her failed antidotes as well with the remainder of her holy spring water. Therefore, hopefully, any breakouts of 'lovesick' would be contained as quickly as possible.

"Let's just hope that Hero Robin is a quick learner." King Zephron sighed.

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"And, finally, we get to the last part: the dance. This is where you come in, cousin." Christian turned to Jasmine, who had already kept her lounge chair back into her magic bag belt.

"I stand at ready." Jasmine announced.

Robin put one arm around Jasmine's waist, and clasped her outstretched hand.

"Wait, wait, wait! You know how to dance?" Christian asked, looking at Robin's perfect dance posture. "But I thought you've never been to a ball!"

Robin looked at Christian as if he were silly. "Of course I can. I don't recall going to a ball being a requirement for learning how to dance. There are dances at weddings and festivals, too, you know."

Christian opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Finally, he turned to the quartet and motioned them to start playing. "Let's see how good your dancing is." Christian said.

The waltz and the foxtrot were quite simple, even when the tempo was sped up. In the end, Christian found he couldn't fault Robin on anything. At the end of the last song, he clapped his hands in applause.

"Well done! Bravo! If you just act like that during the real thing, you'll be fine. All right, let's stop right there. Cousin Jasmine needs the time to prepare herself for later. Also... I have something I want to talk to you about... Could you spare me a bit of time?"

Robin looked at Christian with a measuring gaze, but still nodded her head. She saw no problem with just talking. Most likely, it would be about what happened yesterday.

Jasmine, though curious, really didn't have much time to stay. There were the dress fittings and the hair dressing to do alongside finding the perfect accessories to match the ballgown, not to mention the makeup that had to be put on. She really had a full schedule. So she quickly left through an adjoining room. The musicians also chose that time to vacate the room.

Thus, the two figures stood there alone in the music room, neither one speaking. After a minute or so, Robin finally prompted. "Well? What is it?"

Christian sighed. "I'm not sure how to say it. As for what happened yesterday, that was entirely my own fault. I give you my most sincere apologies."

Robin nodded. "All forgiven, even if it can't be forgotten. You couldn't exactly help yourself, after all."

"Yes, well...I-I found that someone had made a recording of tthe events that transpired then. Here." He showed Robin the recording crystal. When she saw it, she immediately recognized it.

"Was it Keith?" She asked, her face growing dark. How dare he record what transpired without her permission!

"Yes. Apparently, he's made several copies. I only managed to grab this one because he wasn't vigilant about me." Christian replied. "Even if I managed to find most of them, he's probably still got several more in hiding throughout the capital by now. I thought of all people, you'd know how to handle this better than I."

Robin stood there for a minute, her face impa.s.sive. Then she walked towards the door behind Christian. She she stood abreast of him, she paused, then clapped him lightly on the shoulder. At this point, all resentment against Christian had vanished.

"Leave him to me." She said quietly, then left.