Because it was a social dinner party.
Eating was secondary. Socializing was the real point.
So, following Lord Orden's suggestion, the five of them split into three groups:
Shane and Frieren in one group.
Stark and Fern in another.
Both groups were male-female pairs, serving as dance partners for the ball.
"What about ?"
Sein pointed at himself, his face full of shock.
"You're in a group by yourself."
"..."
Frieren comnted flatly, "You're a priest. Why do you need a female companion?"
"Priests like dancing too!" Sein struggled.
"Are you trying to beco a corrupted priest?" Stark also showed no rcy. "Is it really okay for a priest to turn out like this..."
Frieren quietly added another stab. "It really makes wonder if this is Bishop Heiter's fault. What exactly did he teach his juniors? What a headache..."
Amid countless sharp comnts, Sein was forced to accept the arrangent.
The butler, Gabel, beca their etiquette teacher.
A social dinner party was an important occasion for displaying one's status, and etiquette was vital. Proper noble manners could help win people over.
Gabel demonstrated and explained everything in painstaking detail, from forms of address, receiving objects, drinking tea, and even taking a seat.
Shane and Frieren sat on the sofa the whole ti, eating desserts and drinking tea while watching the other three train bitterly.
After Stark dropped his little porcelain spoon twice in a row and had the back of his hand rcilessly struck by Gabel, he could not help protesting.
"Why are only the three of us practicing while you two get to slack off?"
Shane crossed his legs in the other direction.
"Because I'm the honored guest of the entire banquet and the main figure of this dinner party. Naturally, I don't need to practice these manners. I only need to [know] them."
Stark was left speechless. He stiffened his neck and pointed to the side. "Then what about Frieren?"
Frieren, who had been called out by na, did not even raise her eyes. She kept drinking tea and flipping through the magic book in her hands. "Because I'm his female companion. I only need to hold his arm, so I also only need to [know] them."
"..."
Stark completely ran out of words.
"Then why does a single priest like have to learn all this!" Sein could not help protesting too, even emphasizing the words [single] and [priest].
His tone was filled with resentnt.
Shane was very honest. "Because we don't want Fern to co last."
"..."
"So I'm just a practice partner!"
Complaints were complaints, but everyone still braced themselves and practiced.
Shane looked toward Fern, who was earnestly learning tea-drinking etiquette.
The young girl carefully imitated the maid's movents one step at a ti. Her sitting posture was dignified, her bearing calm. She truly looked like a proper young lady.
After this, aside from etiquette lessons, they also had to take general knowledge classes and dance lessons.
The general knowledge classes needed little explanation. They mainly covered common knowledge about the Northern Lands, as well as the related history of the Orden and Granat families.
Understanding these things was to prevent them from exposing their ignorance during conversation.
morizing books was torture no matter when it happened.
Stark and Sein had their hands smacked all day long. Others would spend a day morizing and end up with sore throats. The two of them spent a day morizing and ended up with sore hands...
Fern, the excellent student, remained excellent as always.
For soone who had morized Ancient Elven texts, this level was basically a [bonus course].
Of course, this situation completely reversed during dance class.
Stark, who had been gloomy before, finally washed away his sha this ti and beca the fastest-improving student in class.
The young man practiced dancing with Gabel and picked it up in one try.
His movents were gentle and nimble. Combined with the rise and fall, tilt, and sway of his body, he guided the dance steps forward, creating a continuous flowing rhythm. His dance posture was splendid and elegant. After a few rounds of practice, his movents could already be called standard, making even the picky Gabel nod repeatedly.
Sein was about the sa. By the second day, he had begun gradually grasping the essence of it.
Fern, on the other hand, was hopeless.
The young girl stared at her own feet the entire ti. One step, two steps. One step, two steps...
Shane could even hear her silently reciting the [dance steps].
She looked exactly like soone in his past life chanting mnemonics while trying to practice reverse parking—possessing no actual intuition, relying entirely on formulas to scrape by.
Beside him, Frieren ate dessert and could not help sighing. "As expected of a warrior. When it cos to footwork and positioning, they really shouldn't be underestimated."
Shane nodded. "After all, mages have always loved [standing still and casting spells]."
Ti passed in a hurry...
Half a month later.
At the ball.
Inside the magnificent, glittering hall, all kinds of people had gathered.
lodious music flowed from the musicians' hands, lingering throughout the entire banquet hall.
Noblewon held feather fans and gathered in small groups of three or five, elegantly discussing topics that interested them. n dressed in splendid clothes greeted one another, their faces carrying either worry or anticipation.
Shane and the others waited in a room at the side of the banquet hall.
They could even sll the fragrance of wine and desserts through the slightly open crack in the door.
Then, a series of clear clinks rang out from the venue, the sound of a porcelain spoon tapping against a cup.
Lord Orden led the way.
Frieren held Shane's arm, Fern held Stark's arm, and Sein followed at the end. The group slowly entered the banquet hall through the opened doors.
Everyone's eyes gathered on them.
Lord Orden stopped at the center of the banquet hall and solemnly introduced Shane's identity to everyone.
The words [Granat family] instantly stirred up whispers among the guests.
After Shane took his seat, people imdiately ca forward to strike up conversation.
Lord Orden remained beside Shane and Frieren the entire ti, neither servile nor overbearing as he blocked all kinds of questions for Shane, whether friendly or probing. Without leaving a trace, he displayed the closeness and friendship between the two families.
Shane watched the lord handle everything with ease.
He was rather moved.
Able to kill enemies on the battlefield and diate in social circles. As expected of the lord of a city.
On Fern and Stark's side, they mingled among the younger social circles.
With Gabel and Sein accompanying them, the two looked slightly nervous, but they handled things well enough.
The whole banquet continued in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
Suddenly.
A middle-aged man wearing an enormous formal hat stood before Shane. His voice was sowhat thin and sharp as he spoke to Shane.
"I am an armor rchant and have dealt with several fortress cities for many years. As far as I know, Count Granat's son died in battle more than ten years ago, and the count and his wife had no other children. Mr. Shane, are you truly a representative of the Granat family?"
"Or is the ruby necklace around your neck nothing more than a forgery, a lie used to win people over!"
The mont the man in the formal hat said this, the entire banquet hall fell silent.
Stark and Fern, who had been speaking with others, also stopped. The two of them wanted to head over to Shane's side, but Sein imdiately held them back and gently shook his head.
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