Book 2: Chapter 24: Side story: The self-conscious young Lady from Emma's point of view
My name is Emma. I was going to be 11 years old soon. I worked as a maid apprentice in the Rosenberg marquis household, but I was born and raised in the slums. The life I led up until recently didn’t even allow me to eat proper meals.
Before I knew it, I, who previously had to share one loaf of bread between the whole family, was working at the secondary residence of the Rosenberg household, located in the best neighborhood of the noble district in the royal city. If you were to tell me before my arrival that such a thing would happen, I think I would have gotten angry and told you to not make up such imaginary wild tales. That was how unbelievable of a good fortune this was considered by a child who had grown up in the slums.
The compassionate Lady Sophia, who gave me and my older brother, children who were raised in the slums, her patronage, as well as the kind teacher Cyril, who put in a good word for us before Lady Sophia. Thanks to these two people, the two of us were able to eat delicious meals every day. I was desperately trying to do my best to repay them, however-
At that time, in the training room of the secondary residence of the Rosenberg household, located in the royal city:
“Emma, refined behavior is nothing but the repetition of self-assured motions that extend throughout your nervous system all the way to your fingertips. Move with more confidence.”
“Alright, Rouché.1”
Rouché’s advice startled me and I shrunk in on myself. While Rouché, who had taken on the role of our tutor, was kind, the moment our etiquette studies began, she became very strict.
My older brother and I were low-class children, born and raised in the slums. Although I had never thought about us like that in the past, I had been made aware of this once we started living here. For that reason, I had to overcome this handicap. As such, I felt nothing but gratitude to Rouché for hardening her heart and training us strictly.
While there weren’t people who would directly judge us to our faces and tell us: ‘You are only here because Lady Sophia allowed it’, many thought that, no matter how much training we received, it would be useless. I was able to somewhat realize this because I had survived in the slums by reading other people’s expressions.