The students were left confused. Wendle's words didn't make much sense, and even more so for how my non-existent eardrums haven't started bleeding yet.
"As nobles, you all must have the basic amount of etiquette." [Wendle]
She paced back and forth, holding her hands behind her back as if she had lower back pain.
"I will be putting you all through tedious amounts of training to become the perfect noble. The first lesson being… posture." [Wendle]
Walking over to the edge of the room, she picked up one of the books that lay on the ground.
"May I have a volunteer?" [Wendle]
Passing a gaze over the students, none raised their hand.
"No volunteers? How disappointing..." [Wendle]
She sighed at the students, and pointed at Leyhna.
"You, come here." [Wendle]
Leyhna had a look on her face as if it was the end of the world. It was clear that she didn't want to follow the instructions.
"Yes, ma'am…" [Leyhna]
Dragging her feet, Leyhna moved to Wendle's side.
"...Young lady, dragging your feet is unbecoming of a noble." [Wendle]
The old lady didn't seem very happy with Leyhna's behavior, but all the teacher received was a clueless expression from her student.
"O… kay…?" [Leyhna]
Wendle sighed. Just from seeing her reaction, I was willing to bet that she was about to get a migraine.
"May I have your name?" [Wendle]
"Leyhna." [Leyhna]
"Last name?" [Wendle]
"Everflame." [Leynha]
After hearing Leyhna's last name, Wendle grew even more displeased.
"...And now I see why." [Wendle]
"What?" [Leyhna]
"Miss Everflame, instead of saying "What", it would be more ideal to reply "Excuse me" or ''Pardon"." [Wendle]
Veins began to appear on her forehead, meaning she was likely to explode in anger.
"S-sure… I'll try doing that next time." [Leyhna]
Wendle's vein grew larger, and so did my anxiety. I was pretty scared that something was about to go down.
"...Miss Everflame, I would like for you to hold your tongue for the remainder of the class." [Wendle]
"Excuse me? Pardon?" [Leyhna]
Wendle's face went red, then purple. It looked like she could blow up at any moment, but at least Leyhna heeded her teacher's advice.
"This is why I hate the Everflame family…" [Wendle]
She took in deep breaths, allowing for her to cool down. Moments later, her complexion returned to normal.
"I would like a different volunteer. Miss Everflame, please return to your spot." [Wendle]
"I have a spot?" [Leyhna]
"Miss. Everflame." [Wendle]
Wendle glared at Leyhna with a murderous gaze. After seeing that, Leyhna shut up and walked back to her original position when class started.
("Yikes…") [Solace]
"Now… Who else would like to be a volunteer?" [Wendle]
Another moment of silence arose. After what had just transpired, nobody was willing to raise their hand.
"I see.I suppose I'll have to pick again." [Wendle]
Just as she was about to select the next person, one student raised their hand.
"I volunteer." [Fina]
("What?!") [Solace]
Out of everyone in the room, I should've expected for her to volunteer. A student that does all her homework as soon as she gets home and studies most of the day is pretty much an honors student.
"Ah, finally. Someone worthy of nobility." [Wendle]
She beckoned Fina closer, and closer did Fina come.
"May I have your name?" [Wendle]
"Fina, Fina Kane." [Fina]
"Fina... Kane? I don't remember such a name on the list… Ah, I see. You're the one." [Wendle]
("You're the one? What does she mean?") [Solace]
I knew Fina had a lot of things I didn't know about, but I didn't think it was much.
"Let's put that aside for a moment. As a volunteer, you must balance this book on your head." [Wendle]
She passed the book she had picken up previously, and handed it to Fina.
"Yes, ma'am." [Fina]
Just as instructed, Fina placed the book atop her head and kept it level without much effort.
"Impressive, Miss Fina. You must have a good sense of balance." [Wendle]
"Thank you for the compliment." [Fina]
"And your manners…! So refined compared to that Everflame girl!" [Wendle]
("Damn… She's throwing shots at Leyhna.") [Solace]
I took a quick peek at Leyhna from the group of students, and she did NOT look happy.
"Thank you for your assistance Miss Fina. Please return the book and rejoin your classmates." [Wendle]
Without much issue, Fina did what was told.
"What you all have just witnessed is training your posture. It is mandatory for all nobles to be able to balance five books on their heads." [Wendle]
("Five…?") [Solace]
The students glanced nervously at each other, but Fina remained unfazed.
"We will be practicing balance as the basics, so I expect you all to have excellent postures by the end of the week." [Wendle]