Chapter 1.3

Anyway, like that, I grew up really free-spirited (maybe too free-spirited) until I turned thirteen. Mind you, I didn’t play around all-day — I helped Papa with his gardening work, I did farm work with Mama, and I grew knowledgeable enough about these daily tasks that I was able to even help out with wine-making. Of course, I would still run around the forest and hunt an amount of prey that was competitive to that of the huntsmen, and I would sell the meat and hide to help out Papa and Mama. Oh yeah, didn’t Papa once say, “Why don’t you go marry a huntsman then?” out of exasperation? Truth be told, there are some huntsmen who are influential in the region, so that could have been a possibility there. Not to mention, at that time, I was skilled enough at hunting to be respected by the huntsmen too.

But when I was thirteen, Father and Mother, who had been visiting the territory, said, “We need to bring you to the Capital, my dear.” What? The Capital? When I tilted my head in confusion, Father explained it to me.

Apparently, all noble girls of the Empire who turned thirteen must make their debut in front of the Emperor to mark that they’ve entered adulthood. By debuting, they are acknowledged for the first time by the Emperor that they are aristocrats.

When this happened, I had already been told by Papa that Father and Mother are my real parents. Even though I already knew that, I still couldn’t believe that I was an aristocrat. So, I remember not being able to really wrap my head around the “in order to be acknowledged by the Emperor that I’m an aristocrat” part.

Father had thought that since I was going to be married off to a commoner, I didn’t need to debut, but Mother apparently insisted that they at least do this for me. In the end, I went with Father and Mother to the Capital. Since I kind of wanted to go to the Capital, I entered the carriage feeling a little giddy.

Although it was a ten-day trip, it was my first time being with the ever-kind Father and Mother for such a long time that I really enjoyed it. Although, Father and Mother were quite put off by the stories I shared about my daily life. Before the problem of my not knowing noble etiquette, Mother was seriously concerned about how I eat meals using my bare hands without a second thought. Apparently, she thought hard about whether it would be okay for me to attend the debut at the imperial palace, but since they had already brought me with them, she concluded, “Oh well.”

When I first saw the Capital, I could only react, “Wait, what the heck is this?” In my defense, the largest city I knew up until then was the territorial capital. That had a population of around a thousand people. The capital had a million people. It’s beyond comparison. Everything was so big, there were just so many people everywhere, and it was so loud, smelly, and bustling that I grew dizzy.

Everything I saw was so new and interesting that I was right up against the carriage’s window with my eyes wide open. Father and Mother, seeing this, laughed, but when I opened the carriage door and jumped off, it no longer was a laughing matter.

Once I jumped off the carriage, I ran off with my bare feet. Since I heard some ruckus behind me, I called back, “I’m just gonna look around a little bit!” before taking off. By the way, I was wearing an off-white blouse, a knee-length skirt, and a bodice — the typical commoner’s clothes (it was still brand new though) — so they immediately lost me in the sea of people. Apparently.

I explored every inch of the market square, ran through the alleyways, sightsaw the main street, climbed up the city walls, and ran atop the roofs of the at least five-story high buildings of the Capital. It was too big a city that I couldn’t finish exploring it all in one day. Dang, this really was different from everything I’ve seen before. And when the sun began to set, I went back to where the carriage used to be, but of course, the carriage was no longer there. Which was expected, obviously.

Luckily, I was found by a patrolling soldier, who was requested to find me by Father, who didn’t know what to do, and he escorted me to the Marquis’ residence in the Capital. While Papa and Mama would give me a good hit or two, Father and Mother were only overjoyed that I was okay and did not get angry at all. Hmm, it was too different from what I was used to, and I felt like something was missing.

Anyhow, I was seriously chastised to not go out alone anymore, so after this whole ordeal, I behaved myself. Besides, Papa told me to be obedient to Father and Mother, too.

In the residence, there was a room prepared for me. It was apparently the room I had used until I was one, but naturally, I didn’t remember it. There was nothing in the room except for a bed that had been brought in. It was apparently an old bed that was stored away somewhere, but I was moved to tears by how soft it was compared to the straw bed I usually slept in.

And then the dress. Of course, it was a hand-me-down from one of my sisters. As a female, I had an average build so I fit perfectly into my sister Vermalia’s old dress. Vermalia is five years older than me, and apparently, she wore this when she was eighteen. Rumor has it she was having a hard time preparing for her marriage. Since she was already bringing her dress to me, Vermalia decided she might as well style my entire outfit as well.

Even though I usually bathe by simply filling up and using a basin, I was bathed in a luxurious, ceramic bathtub by three maids until I was squeaky clean. My silver hair, which had never been combed properly before, was thoroughly brushed, polished with pomade, and beautifully braided. Since I had never used make-up before, they decided to also apply some make-up as well.

When Vermalia saw my completed look, her stared at me in surprise.

“You underwent such a grand transformation! As expected of my little sister.”

When I looked in the mirror, it was true: I looked so different that anyone who knew me would say, “Who are you?” But, the corset is so tight and hard to move in, and it’s really hard to walk in high heels. If I was attacked by a wolf while I was wearing this, I wouldn’t be able to escape. Those were the kind of thoughts running through my head. Since I had no interest in how I looked, my sisters, Father, and Mother telling me things like I look beautiful and they didn’t recognize me at first didn’t make me happy at all.

Until the day of the debut, I stayed at the residence for a month and a half, learning the basic etiquette and manners of a noble from a private tutor. It was all a lost cause, though. Trying to cram in manners and etiquette that a noble lady usually learns from the moment they’re born is impossible. My tutor also gave up and left in despair, leaving her last instruction, “No matter what happens, simply smile, and don’t speak” in her wake.

On the bright side, I was able to master how to use the cutlery during meals, and I also memorized the order in which they’re used. Don’t ever use your hands. Ever. They made me practice how to greet the Emperor and I memorized that as well. After seeing this, Father and Mother very optimistically thought, “If she can do this much, everything will somehow turn out okay,” and gave out the verdict to send me off to the debut.

At this debut, the course of my life drastically changed.