HNSW - Chapter 6 - What's, like, a Society? (Patreon)

Lady Baillairgé took Lilussees to a room that was mostly empty. A small table with two chairs were set up by the mansion’s servants.

“Please, have a seat.”

Lilussees silently complied, if only so that she could stop using her legs. Lady Baillairgé took the seat across from her.

“Now, I hear you have bound your own familiar? May I presume you can feel and move your own mana, Lady Lilussees.”

Lilussees glared at her for a moment. But ultimately, revealing her ability to use mana was not going to change her chances of survival given the disparity between her and the demon. That…and the promise of being able to sleep if she got through this quickly convinced her to respond.

“Like, yes, or something.”

The demon smiled with an assuredly evil grin.

“That’s quite the feat at your age. Do you have a magic skill as well?”

Lilussees returned to glaring at her. Revealing she could use mana was one thing. Revealing her Poison Magic skill was another. As far as the demon knew, Lilussees could have acquired her poison from anywhere. As long as she didn’t know about the magic, Lilussees might one day be able to…

It was then that the demon gave her an evilly warm smile.

“Ah, I see. The poison used was magical in nature and Lady Atreis assures me you did not acquire it from anywhere in the house. If I had to guess, you have the Poison Magic skill, but did not wish for me to find out?”

Lilussees puffed her cheeks and looked away. The demon made an evil chuckle.

“Well, it’s no matter either way. Ultimately, it is not important for me to know exactly. I only request that you do not utilize any magic skills you may possess for our lesson.”

Lilussees tilted her head a bit at that. Like, notusing the sacred records? That seemed…weird. And tiring.

The demon held out her hand and stirred up her mana. A small circle of faintly blue light formed above her palm, her mana flowing around at a steady pace.

“It’s an incredible thing, to receive boons from the Goddess herself. A person can learn a skill that would take a decade of self-study in an instant and elevate their might to heights they might never reach alone. However, I have found that even those miracles are no substitute for a solid foundation. In fact, personal skill with the technique will allow the boons to elevate you much further than they would otherwise. Please, hold out your hand as I have. Try to concentrate your mana above your palm. Don’t worry about forming it into shapes or anything just…”

Lilussees did as asked. The one, maybe only, thing Lilussees would even consider putting e-word into was getting stronger. Both as her instincts once demanded, and because she might be able to slay the demon. She stirred up her mana and guided its flow, nudging it to curve until it formed a circle above her hand. She had been manipulating her mana for three years now, so it was fairly easy.

The demon’s eyes widened, and then her smile grew even more evil.

“Oh my. I apologize, it appears I have underestimated your abilities once again, Lady Lilussees. That is excellent mana control. It is normally quite difficult to grasp that mana has a flow of its own, and that cooperating with that flow is far superior to forcing it.”

Lilussees shrugged. Like, why would she struggle against the mana when doing it this way was so much less e-word?

“Let’s run through the basics, then. I apologize if you have mastered this, already, but I would like to determine exactly how far you’ve come.”

Lilussees sighed.

“Let’s, like, get it over with.”

And so Lilussees was forced to move her mana about in bunch of different ways, with the demon’s smile growing wider with each exercise.

***

Lilussees heaved yet another sigh, a big one this time.

“This is, like, so stupid, or something.”

The demon raised an eyebrow as she sipped on her tea.

“Please speak with confidence.”

Lilussees glared at her.

“This is…stupid…or…ugh.”

The demon nodded slightly as she put down her cup.

“Etiquette is an essential aspect of being a lady, Lady Lilussees.”

“And, li…why would I want to be a lady, or…and what, li…even is a lady anyways?”

The demon looked at her for a bit before responding.

“What indeed. How shall I put this? How about this: what is it you do want to do, Lady Lilussees?”

Lilussees narrowed her eyes.

“You, li…seem to know.”

The demon made a small, infuriating smirk.

“Humor me.”

Lilussees gritted her teeth but every moment she delayed only extended the torment and reduced her sleeping time.

“Fine. I want to sleep.”

The demon nodded and then held out her hand. She once again created a weave of elemental magic.

“When I was young, I wished for nothing more than to pursue the mystic arts. As I grew older, I decided that was not enough, I wanted to be the very best at them. I set out to become the head court mage, the king’s own magical advisor. I studied and practiced and faced many perils until I could confidently say I was one of the most powerful mages in the country. And do you know what I found?”

Lilussees huffed.

“I, li…don’t care.”

The demon giggled softly.

“I suppose you don’t, but you may wish to listen regardless. I found that every single door was still barred to me. Even after I trounced the current head court mage in a mystical duel and conclusively demonstrated my superiority.”

Her smile dropped and she made eye contact with Lilussees.

“Society has expectations of everyone, Lilussees. And as ladies born to noble houses, of us most of all. It expects us to act in a certain way, to fit certain molds, and to behave according to its standards, and for us it will accept no less than perfection. Any deviation from this standard will be noticed and resisted by everyone around you.”

Lilussees hissed.

“That sounds like way too much trouble. Why didn’t you just kill them if you were so strong?”

The demon blinked and fell silent for a moment.

“…Lady Lilussees, are you not aware that it is wrong to commit murder?”

Lilussees paused and then tilted her head.

“Li…why?”

The demon took a noticeably breath.

“…I see we will need to begin morality lessons immediately. For now, I will simply point out that killing every single person in the country would be difficult, even for me. And were I to kill every single person who stood in my way, that is what would happen. The entire court would turn against me, and if I killed them then the country, and if I managed that then the rest of the world. At some point, I would be overwhelmed and killed myself. And even if I was not…what would be the point of that? An endless war of endlessly flowing blood. I would not achieve anything that I wished to.”

She looked at Lilussees.

“It is far, far easier to simply compromise on the non-essentials. I found that once I abandoned my stubborn refusal to cooperate with any of society’s demands that it was far easy to break from the mold in the ways I wanted most.”

She narrowed her eyes as she looked into Lilussees.

“The same goes for you. Whether you wish to fulfill an ambition, or whether you simply wish to be left alone to do, or sleep, as you please, you will find it far easier to do so if you can fulfill at least a minimum amount of society’s expectations for you. You could simply refuse to do any of it, but then you will find annoying bugs constantly creating trouble for you and resisting everything you do…or trying to force you to do things you wish not to.”

Lilussees’s face scrunched up in disgust.

“Ugh.”

The demon nodded.

“Indeed. Which is why we are trying to head off the problem. So, which do you wish? To put in some effort now until these annoying things are second nature to you…or later fight tooth and nail in every area of your life as society resists every single way you defy it?”

Lilussees stared at the demon for a bit before sighing.

“Li…fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

The demon shook her head.

“Actually, this lesson is over for today. We will set etiquette aside until tomorrow.”

Lilussees’s face suddenly brightened.

“Does that mean…”

But the cruel demon cut her off.

“Instead, we shall pivot to discuss something far more urgent. Let us begin our first lesson on basic morality.”

Lilussees slumped over in her chair.

“Ugh.”

***

Lady Baillairgé and Lady Atreis sat together later that day. Lady Atreis had her eyebrow raised.

“The lessons seemed to have concluded early. Is everything alright?”

Lady Baillairgé nodded.

“To address the issue we discussed earlier, I am adopting a more freeform schedule for Lady Lilussees. She is permitted additional free time upon the conclusion of the day’s curriculum, no matter how long or how short it may take her.”

Lady Atreis frowned.

“Is that truly wise? To give in to the child’s whims so early?”

Lady Baillairgé made a small smile.

“Rest assured, Lady Lilussees will receive an education no less thorough than any other. Rather, she is already ahead of the curve. I believe it more important to keep her motivated.”

Lady Atreis kept frowning but slowly nodded.

“If you say so. I still do expect the results that we would see from a normal schedule for one of her caliber and station.”

Lady Baillairgé’s smile curled into a small smirk.

“I do not believe there will be any problems with that. Lady Lilussees’s intelligence goes beyond her years in many ways. She already seems capable of conversing on an adult level…and comprehending the topics discussed. I would not believe her to be a mere three years old.”

Lady Atreis made a small smile at that.

“High praise indeed. Very well, I shall trust in your judgement.”

Lady Baillairgé’s smile dropped.

“However…there are some points of concern regarding her personality we should discuss.”

Lady Atreis frowned again and tilted her head.

“What do you mean? I am…aware of her preference for above adequate rest but…”

Lady Baillairgé shook her head.

“She has a…liberal view of violence. One that is concerning, especially considering her intelligence in other areas. If she acted her age I might have written it off as youthful ignorance…but she does not. Indeed, she has already proven willing and capable to conduct violence. I originally assumed that was an act of retaliation against a perceived threat made without a full understanding of the consequences, but now I am not so sure.”

Lady Atreis’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Ah. Yes, that may be a concern…”

Author’s Note:

The horror and torment continues. Sorry, Lilussees, but you live in, like, a society now, or something. Which means, like, societal expectations.

Also, like, murdering is bad, or something.

Anyways!

Can Lady Baillairgé instruct the little lady in magic, the expectations of society, and basic morality? Can Lilussees survive the staggering amounts of e-word society expects of her? Will Lady Atreis’s daughter’s education proceed per her expectations? Tune in next time, to find out!