"If a gentleman wishes to invite you to dance, he will first remove his hat in greeting, then quietly ask your guardian's permission, and only then offer you his hand. You must never raise your hand to signal him first... Miss Sauron, are you listening?"
"Yes, yes! I mustn't issue an invitation myself. I can only wait for him, right?"
The drowsy Charlotte jolted awake at the question. Her sluggish brain instantly returned to working order, and she lifted her chin to answer.
She was sitting in the small drawing room at home, learning dancing and adult social etiquette from a female relative who had been brought in for the occasion.
These were compulsory lessons for noble girls, and the original Charlotte had already learned them. Yet adult social occasions came with many different conventions: the order of dances and rules for invitations at formal balls, how to maintain an appropriate distance from men at large salons without hurting their feelings, and how to avoid appearing ill-bred or rude when going out or visiting others...
Her instructor was a woman named Delia Perry. In her thirties, she had long brown hair, fair skin, and fine lines at the corners of her eyes. She was a female relative from the family of Baron Sauron's late aunt and had spent more years in this residence than either the baron or his daughter.
Looking into Delia's pale green eyes, Charlotte guessed that she probably had a little Sauron blood, though much less than Charlotte herself.
Charlotte's eighteenth birthday was only half a month away, and it would mark her formal debut at a noble ball. This was the first hurdle every noble girl in Intis faced upon coming of age. Usually, her mother or another married female elder in the family would accompany her, but Charlotte had neither, making Delia the best choice instead.
Seeing that the girl about to face this important social "examination" still seemed somewhat unconcerned, Delia sighed and continued:
"Once you come of age, you can no longer rely on His Excellency the baron for everything as you do now. Whether it is gentlemen courting your favor at a ball or ladies showing you kindness or hostility at a salon, you will have to deal with them yourself."
Hostility? Who would dare? Surely I could scare them off with a glare... Images of the obedient hounds at the hunting grounds suddenly surfaced in Charlotte's mind. The corners of her mouth twitched, but she promptly suppressed that sense of superiority belonging to a Beyonder and nodded seriously.
Even if she could climb over walls at night to attend underground gatherings and work with the Purification-ers to arrest cultists, once she returned to ordinary society, she still had to learn how to politely decline gentlemen's invitations and defuse other noble ladies' veiled barbs without embarrassing herself or Baron Sauron.
On this battlefield among nobles, Beyonder abilities were of some use, but not much.
Just then, Delia gathered her skirts slightly and walked up to Charlotte with her chest lifted and head held high. She bowed a little and extended her right hand.
"Miss Sauron, may I have this dance?"
Charlotte immediately understood that they were practicing an invitation at a formal ball. Following the etiquette lesson that had just gone in one ear and out the other, she rose, smiled, and answered with a nod:
"Of course, Mrs. Perry."
She rested two fingers on Delia's loosely cupped hand and was led to the center of the drawing room. To the melody Delia hummed softly, they began a minuet. Their skirts swayed gently with their steps, their heels striking the floor in a steady rhythm.
At first, Charlotte worried that she would miss the beat. After all, the last time she had danced with someone had been at her university graduation, when she had invited a female classmate she had a crush on. Yet once they started, she found this body far more dependable than she had imagined. Her back straightened naturally, her feet adjusted to Delia's rhythm, and she did not even have to think about keeping her skirts clear of her partner when turning.
When the dance ended, Delia escorted her back to her seat before dropping the role. She nodded in satisfaction.
"Your flexibility and bodily control are excellent, and you showed no nervousness in the moment. As long as you don't let your mind wander at the actual ball, you should have no trouble."
It might be the potion's effects, along with this body's instincts... Charlotte added inwardly, while giving a shy smile.
"It's all thanks to your instruction, Mrs. Perry."
"Don't waste that sort of remark on me." Delia shook her head gently. "Save it for the gentlemen at the ball who have fragile egos yet insist on instructing young ladies."
Once the training session ended, Charlotte headed to the adjoining sitting room for some tea and refreshments to replenish her energy, and to relax her face, which had grown stiff from smiling. But just as she crossed the doorway, she heard a hushed argument coming from a corner.
"This is your job in the first place!"
"But I did the cleaning yesterday, and the day before..."
"Newcomers need to learn more. Do you want the master to dismiss you?"
Charlotte slowed her steps and looked toward the corner where the voices came from.
A somewhat older maid was impatiently scolding a younger maid who had only recently arrived. The younger woman's face was flushed, and she kept her head lowered as she protested feebly.
Noticing someone approaching, both stopped arguing and hastily curtsied, preparing to leave through the side door.
Charlotte had not intended to intervene, but then she recalled what the potion's name, "Arbiter," meant, and an idea stirred within her.
"Wait," she called, adding a hint of intimidation to her voice. "Explain what happened."
The older maid was visibly nervous. She spoke first, explaining that the newcomer had been working too slowly lately, delaying the cleaning of the entire floor, and that she had merely been reminding her. The younger maid argued quietly that work originally assigned to both of them had recently been pushed onto her alone, especially time-consuming chores such as polishing tableware and cleaning guest rooms.
Charlotte did not immediately pass judgment. Instead, she asked further questions about their specific duties, then had both women list their tasks for the day, starting from the morning. Before long, she realized the real problem was not that either of them was shirking work. Rather, the Sauron residence had no head maid, and the male butler could hardly assign the maids' chores in detail. Those with greater seniority could order newcomers around as they pleased, naturally gaining an advantage.
Ultimately, it's a money problem. If Father were willing to spend another thousand Verl D'Or a year to hire someone as experienced as Mrs. Perry as head maid, why would I need to worry about this...? After grumbling inwardly, Charlotte gave the matter a little thought and delivered her ruling.
"From now on, you will take turns cleaning the guest rooms each day. The silverware will be polished three times a week, by both of you together. Since you are more familiar with the household, you should divide the tasks reasonably, rather than push everything onto the newcomer." After addressing the older maid, Charlotte turned to the younger one. "As for you, you must learn from her and familiarize yourself with the work here as soon as possible."
The Arbiter's convincing presence lent particular weight to her words. The two maids exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads and agreed. The resentment and hurt on their faces gradually faded.
Watching them leave separately, Charlotte felt a sense of satisfaction similar to what she had experienced half a month earlier, when she killed Julian and declared herself innocent beside his ear.
During this time, she had been pondering the meaning of acting and trying to find suitable opportunities in daily life. She discovered that when she faced a dispute, heard both sides, identified the true point of contention, and delivered a relatively fair ruling, the reactions of those around her provided subtle feedback, as though the potion's power became easier to control as a result.
The sensation was extremely faint, but Charlotte could detect it precisely. She was unsure whether every Beyonder had similar experiences, nor did she know why the Church did not provide every Beyonder with guidance. But if this continued, perhaps she would not need three years at all. In a little over six months, or a year at most, she might truly master the potion she had consumed and be ready to advance to the next Sequence.
In that case, Mrs. Viève must also have grasped the knack of acting. Otherwise, six years ago she should have been about my age now. There is no way she could have become a Sequence 7 by taking three years for each step... As she speculated, Raoul's voice came from the other end of the sitting room.
"Charlotte."
She turned and saw that her father had appeared by the door at some point. He had clearly witnessed the scene, but made no comment on his daughter's actions. He merely beckoned.
"Come to my study."
Charlotte's chest tightened. She wondered whether her father intended to question her recent movements again, or had heard rumors somewhere about her secretly going to see Roselle. Still, she followed him.
In the study, Raoul took an exquisitely decorated wooden box from a locked cabinet beside him, placed it on the desk, and gestured for Charlotte to open it.
Puzzled, she lifted the lid. Inside were neatly stacked rows of gold coins. Besides the familiar Gold Louis, there were also larger, thicker coins with fine, chainlike patterns around their edges, resembling enlarged Gold Louis.
These were Double Gold Louis, coins commonly used by nobles for savings and large transactions. Their weight and denomination were twice those of an ordinary Gold Louis, while the chainlike patterns around their edges prevented clipping to reduce their weight.
Charlotte lifted the wooden box and made a rough estimate from its weight. Her heart skipped a beat.
A full thousand Gold Louis, equivalent to roughly twenty-four thousand Verl D'Or.
That exceeded an entire quarter's household income. After deducting all expenses, Raoul would probably need two years to save this much money.
At that thought, she looked at him in confusion.
"Father, this is..."
Raoul answered with a gentle expression:
"Although you won't turn eighteen for another half month, I thought today would be a suitable day.
"This is your coming-of-age gift."
Charlotte froze for several seconds, then instinctively closed the lid, overcome by the unreal sensation of suddenly becoming rich.
Only recently, she had been regretting spending ten gold coins on an antique candlestick. Now she possessed a full thousand Gold Louis.
If the mysterious man who had sold her the candlestick had told the truth, this money was already enough to buy a Sequence 8 potion formula and its corresponding ingredients.
While she stood dazed, Raoul's gaze settled on the hands holding the wooden box with ease. Suddenly, he asked:
"You've already taken a potion and become a Beyonder, haven't you?"