MTO C18

Chapter 18

“Everyone, please welcome your new teacher on noble etiquette, Sir David Loman! Applause!”

At Michel’s exaggerated cheer and clapping, the children gathered before the fireplace looked at one another uncertainly before finally putting their palms together. Among them, Barbara clapped most eagerly, her face bright with anticipation.

“Saint, what on earth is going on here?”

So asked David—the deputy commander of the Eglence Knights and, for today at least, their instructor in noble etiquette—with a benevolent expression plastered on his face.

“Well, didn’t you say etiquette lessons are learned as early as the age of three? Then our kids should study it too!”

Hearing Michel’s earnest explanation, David’s face twisted as though he could no longer contain his frustration.

“You cannot use the children as an excuse to neglect your own studies!”

“As if! I’m going to be top of the class!”

The truth was, as soon as Michel had heard that noble children studied etiquette from the time they could barely talk, he thought immediately of the orphans. They might not be nobles, but surely whatever they learned would prove useful. What’s more, education in manners was especially important for children still growing. Absolutely, positively—it was not because he was reluctant to study alone that he had gathered them.

Before David’s scolding could drag out, Michel quickly slipped in among the children and sat between them. Alice flinched at his closeness but did not leave her seat; instead, Oliver shot Michel a glare and pulled Alice’s hand protectively.

David looked down at Michel, whose eyes shone at him innocently with exaggerated diligence, then exhaled in resignation.

“My name is David Loman. You may address me simply as Sir David or Instructor David.”

“Yes, Instructor David!”

Michel’s booming reply caused David’s brow to twitch, though he quickly composed himself.

“Do you all know what etiquette means?”

The room lapsed into silence. When the children clammed up, David indicated Oliver with an open palm. Startled to be chosen, Oliver flushed scarlet.

“…Manners we must keep?”

“That’s correct. To be precise, etiquette refers to all procedures and orders pertaining to proper courtesy. And what, then, is courtesy?”

“Courtesy is being kind!”

This time, without waiting to be called on, a bright girl in the very front blurted out an answer. Charlotte, only eight years old, but already quick‑witted. Michel clapped noisily, delighted.

“Wow, Charlotte! Brilliant! How did you know that?”

“Not a wrong answer, but not quite complete either. Courtesy is speech and behavior that express respect for another.”

David, however, was unyielding. Hearing that her answer was incomplete, Charlotte’s twin braids drooped sadly.

“It was almost right! Wasn’t it?”

Michel looked pleadingly at David, essentially pressing him to approve. The knight, pressured, gave a perfunctory nod.

“In short, noble etiquette is the speech and conduct by which nobles show respect toward one another. It is not law written in the royal statutes, so you will not be punished by prison if you fail to follow it. But if you act without it, you cannot evade the stares and gossip of others. You may be dismissed as rude, uncultured—unworthy. Perhaps, even worse, you may give enemies an excuse to attack you. Questions?”

As David continued with his explanation, Michel suddenly raised his hand. When acknowledged, he lowered it and asked:

“Then… if I don’t respect someone, I don’t have to use etiquette with them?”

It was such a childish question for a grown man that David briefly wrinkled his brows. But he cast his eyes around the room.

Already the children’s concentration was halfway gone though the lesson had only just begun. They sprawled on the floor or sat with dazed, open mouths. Yet a few perked up curiously at Michel’s question.

David nodded lightly.

“A fine question. As I said, etiquette is no binding law. One need not maintain it toward those unworthy of respect. For instance, who would scold you for ignoring a man who does nothing but laze and tell lies? Moreover, if they do not show courtesy to you, is it not right that you also withhold courtesy in turn?”

Wait—that’s not what I wanted.

Michel groaned inwardly. He had expected David to affirm that one always owed courtesy to others. He had only asked to lighten the mood for the children, not derail the lesson. Now it had backfired.

As Michel weighed whether to intervene, David’s lips curved in a sly smile.

“But tell me, Saint—whom do you respect?”

Caught off guard, Michel looked blank, then quickly caught David’s intent and smiled broadly.

“I respect anyone who has something I can learn from!”

“Do you, now? And who might that be?”

“I believe everyone has something to teach.”

“Well said. Then you must extend courtesy to all.”

“Yes, that is correct!”

With Michel’s answer concluded, David returned his gaze to the children.

“Sometimes, showing courtesy even to one who wrongs you is what demonstrates your nobility. More is gained by maintaining respect than by discarding it. I expect all of you to grow into people who know how to show courtesy.”

David’s words provided true food for thought. For Michel, li (禮)—ritual propriety, human politeness—had always meant a duty inherently owed by one human to another. That was how he had been taught, and how he had always believed.

But David had said it was not so. Etiquette was not compulsion, but choice. Yet when chosen, it brought benefit. Neglecting it would bring disadvantage—perhaps even danger.

Such reasoning felt uncomfortable to Michel. If etiquette was only to be kept for personal gain, did that not mean one could abandon it when gain was absent?

Yet he conceded that instructing children with reasons, rather than blind demands, might prove more effective. If they believed courtesy was to their own benefit, they might practice it willingly.

Still, the theory was far above the children’s heads. Oliver and Alice could barely keep up; the younger ones writhed about, restless and distracted. They remained in place only out of fear, waiting for a scolding. Proof enough was Leon, already asleep on Barbara’s lap.

At that moment, David clapped sharply. Dan and Max had been nodding off and cracked foreheads together with a groan.

“Now, let us properly begin learning noble etiquette. First, forms of address.”

“Oh wow, this will be so exciting!”

Michel deliberately exclaimed in an overjoyed voice, trying to stir the children. Philosophical debate they could not handle, but titles and forms of address could be memorized like any lesson. Noble children learned them as young as three—surely these children could too.

Yet as the moments dragged on, Michel found his own attention waning.

“So, when speaking to a boy of noble birth who has not yet had his coming‑of‑age, you must address him as ‘The [Father’s Title], Heir of the [Family Name], Young Master + Name.’ For example, I was once known as ‘David, Young Master of House Loman, son of Baron Loman.’ But such lengthy appellations are rarely used in casual circumstances. Normally it suffices to say ‘Young Master David’ or ‘Master David.’ After adulthood, one is addressed by rank or title. Having been knighted, I am called ‘Sir David’…”

Michel’s mind glazed over. Yes, cultures may vary, so etiquette differs. But this? Already he had struggled to memorize the children’s first names—without surnames. He was sincerely grateful they had none. Now he was meant to memorize ‘Young Master,’ ‘Sir,’ ‘Lord,’—it made his brain ache.

As his head spun and his eyes rolled with the effort, David clapped again firmly.

“However, for the saint and the Sister, both ordained clergy, you may call everyone simply ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister.’”

“Wha—really?”

“Yes. Still, you must know how nobles address one another. That way you will not err in formal company.”

Michel silently thanked heaven for his clerical station. If he had actually been forced to memorize all those noble honorifics, he would have found any excuse to avoid noble company altogether—or else Kaidan himself would’ve intervened first.

Recalling both Kaidan and David silently drawing their swords made his blood run cold. For if he ever slipped before nobles, he might indeed meet the edges of both their blades.

Footnotes

1. Courtesy as Benefit – The cultural philosophy here ties ‘礼 (li)’ or courtesy not only to morality but to pragmatic gain/loss in noble society. 
2. Forms of Address (영식, 도련님, 경) – 
   • 영식 (Yeongsik) = “Heir/Young Master,” used for noble sons before adulthood. 
   • 도련님 (Doryeonnim) = “Young Master,” polite term for young noblemen. 
   • 경 (Kyung / Sir) = Equivalent to English “Sir” used for knights. 
3. Clerical Titles – Clergy (Michel, Barbara) can disregard noble titles and address everyone as Brother/Sister, signifying equality among believers.