That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Goblin Girl Chapter 33 (Patreon)

“Sophia~!” I yelled happily, running into her arms upon seeing her. “I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too,” she said, hugging me back. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good, but now they want me to take classes. I don’t wanna!” I complained.

“Hehehe~. You just need to learn to have some fun while taking them.”

“What?”

I was confused. How was I supposed to have fun while learning? I didn’t like learning the first time around in my original life; There was no way that I would like it now.

“Don’t worry, I know what to do,” she happily said, dragging me away to my etiquette lessons.

“Princess, thank you for coming today,” Fabra said, eagerly looking at Sophia as she dragged me into the room.

“Ugh, I don’t wanna!”

I accepted my life as a girl, but etiquette was too much. I didn’t want to focus on every single detail of what I did. It wasn’t fun.

“Illya, please~. I have a game for you.”

“A  game?”

There was no way that she could turn these boring etiquette lessons into a game.

“Hehehe~. Fabra, please bring them in.”

“Yes princess,” Fabra said, bowing her head and opening the door, allowing several servants to come in, wheeling carts filled with deserts.

“Macrons!”

There was an entire plate of macrons stacked up into a tower, and I wanted them. Sophia was right. This was going to be fun.

“Wait! You can’t eat those yet,” Sophia said, stopping me from even touching them.

“Why not?”

They were perfect in every single way. There was no way that I couldn’t have one. How could I resist?

“Because these are for the game. If you do good, you get a macron. If you do bad, it gets thrown away.”

“What! That’s not fair! How could you treat macrons like this?”

“Hehehe~. Then you better do well,” Sophia said, teasing me as she sat down at the desk.

“Nnnn~. Fine.”

I couldn’t let her get away with this. I wouldn’t let a single macron go to waste. I took my seat next to Sophia, a tad bit annoyed that I fell for such a childish trick.

“Perfect, seeing as our two precious students are seated, we can begin the lesson,” Faba said, happily clapping her hands together. “Now, for our first lesson, we shall be going over the basics of interacting with other nobles and commoners.”

Oh, this would be easy. It’s just common sense.

“As we all know, the king holds the highest power in the kingdom. He bows to no one. After the king, it’s the queen, then the crown prince/princess, and then other members of royalty. Now, who has the most power after the royal family?”

“My grandpa!”

Grandpa was a duke. There was no way anyone was higher than him.

“Sorry, but that is incorrect,” Fabra said to my dismay as one of my macaroons was taken from the plate. “The person that holds the most power after the royal family is the Arch-priest.”

“Why is that?” I asked, not understanding how any of this had to do with etiquette.

“Religion has a very strong influence on our Kingdom. We all believe in the sacred goddess. As such, he or she who speaks for the sacred goddess, known as the archpriest, holds the second greatest power after the royal family. And yes, I know that you girls must be wondering why any of this is important to etiquette.”

“The answer to this is how you present yourself in front of these figures. The basis of all etiquette is to know those that rank above you, Princess Sophia. As the Princess, the only people who rank above you are the king, queen, and Crown Prince. Though to show respect, you must talk politely to the archpriest, but you may never bow to him.”

“As for you, Illya, as the granddaughter of a Duke, your responsibilities hold you to bow before the royal family unless given permission otherwise outside of royal functions. As for the archpriest, you must bow to him. Your grandfather did Duke, however, does not, only for the reason that the archpriest provides services to the Duke's family. The power of a Duke and the power of an archpriest are very similar, but unless you hold the title of Duke, your position is still below an arched priest. Though I do doubt you'll ever come into a circumstance where you'll have to bow to the archpriest.”

“Okay?”

This was all a lot; I didn't know if I really understood it. Did I have to bow to the arch-priests or not?

“I can see that you're having a bit of trouble. What about you, Princess Sofia?”

“Don't worry, I've always been explained about this before,” she said, giving me a wide grin.

“Very good. It's only expected as much being a Princess that you receive such an education. Worry not, Illya. Eventually, this will become common practice for you. This is the base of etiquette, just understanding your place in society. As two of the members of the highest-ranking families in the Kingdom, you do not need to worry about bowing to anyone. In fact, most nobles and even commoners have to bow to you and show you proper respect.”

“But why?” I asked her, not fully understanding this. “Why do other people have to bow to me?” I was just a goblin. There's no reason for anyone to bow to me.

“Because my precocious niece, you are the granddaughter of a Duke. It's your birthright for people to bow before you,” Damien said, walking in through the door.

“My Lord, I did not expect you to be here,” Fabra said, as surprised as I was to see Damien walk into our etiquette lesson.

“Nonsense, what kind of uncle would I be if I did not try to help my poor ignorant niece? She's been given such a lofty responsibility in the future. One cannot leave a commoner to explain her such intrinsic ideas.”

“My Lord, I was told by the Duke himself to take charge of young lady Illya's education for etiquette. Not to mention that we do have a royal guest with us here today.”

“Ah yes, where are my manners? I humbly greet the royal Princess. It's a pleasure to meet you, your Highness,” Damian said with a slight bow.

I could see the smile etched across his face, but for some reason, I felt uncomfortable to be near him. Ever since what happened the other day, something has felt wrong. Almost as if I was forgetting something.

“And, of course, I do understand that it was my uncle who suggested that you would be the one to teach her etiquette, but I have trained years to become the heir and by far more qualified than a mere maid to teach the future Duchess, am I not?”

“Of course, sir, I didn't mean to imply anything. I was only following the Duke's orders,” Fabra said nervously, obviously feeling uncomfortable around my uncle.

“Good, but I have no use for maids such as yourself. Be gone.”

“No,” Sophia said, causing my uncle to look straight at her.

“Is there something no matter your Highness?”

It was clear that Damien did not like Sophia. He gazed down upon her as if he was superior to her.

“We don't need another teacher.”

“Your Highness, I'm only trying to do you both a favor. There's no need to take etiquette lessons from a mere maid when you could take etiquette lessons from me. I am far more superior.”

“Are you saying that you can provide the etiquette of a young lady?”

“I… I'm sorry?”

I was stunned in awe. Sofia was the same age as me, but the way she talked to my uncle was amazing. She wasn't a royal Princess for nothing. To think that she would insult him by asking a question.

“I'm asking if you are familiar with the etiquette of young noble women. Such as curtsies, tea party etiquette, and ballroom dancing.”

“Pfft. Those are lessons for other teachers to teach,” he said, trying to avoid her question altogether. “I can teach you what really matters?”

“That will not be necessary.”

“What?”

“While you may be Illya’s uncle, you do not have the right to overturn an order from the Duke. Please leave.”

“Princess, I'm sure that both of you will benefit from this.”

I could see the sweat start to form on his forehead. Clearly, he was not expecting Sofia to be this well educated and how to speak to him.

“Please leave, or else I'll have my father know about this insolence.”

“Understood. I am sorry for disturbing all of you. Perhaps one day, you will grant me the pleasure of showing you what I know.”

“Perhaps one day,” so if you said, shooing him off.

I could hear the faint click of his tongue as he turned around, storming out of the room.

“Sophia, that was amazing!” I was happy to see that someone as scummy as my uncle would get his just desserts from a child like myself.

“It was nothing. It was all simple etiquette.”

“Wait, that was etiquette?” All she did was insult my uncle. Was it true that this was etiquette?”

“Her Highness is a correct, young miss,” Fabra said. “This brings us to the second stage of etiquette: knowing how to keep your composure. As the royal Princess, she did not have to bow down to your uncle's wishes. And said it was he who was in the wrong. Barging in unannounced and questioning the orders of someone who is higher than them is a clear violation of etiquette. All at the same time, Sophia spoke clearly and politely to him, showing him her discontent.”

“That's amazing.” To think etiquette could be used like this. I thought it was nothing more than tea parties and fancy dresses.

“Do you see now why etiquette is important?” Sophia asked me, smiling back.

“I do! I wish I could have said that to him.”

“You can,” Fabra said to me.” As the heir to the Duke, you hold a higher position than your uncle. At the same time, your uncle may have held that same title before he lost it due to his own breach of etiquette and lifestyle. Learning etiquette is important for an heir. I hope you understand that being the next Duchess is filled with many responsibilities, but at the same time, it's filled with a great deal of power. The power which many seek to possess.”

“Your uncle may one day try to convince your grandfather to return the title to him, but so long as he asks the current where he is acting, that will never happen. Now, let us continue. There is much more for us to cover, and we've only just begun.”

“Wait, this is only the beginning?” No, not more, and just when I was starting to think that etiquette could be cool.