(Translation may not be accurate, I don't know any Korean so I used a translator)
3rd Person POV:
Every five years there is a tradition where a nation is selected to host an event and invite other empires and kingdoms to teach the children of said empires and kingdoms their customs regardless if they are current enemies. The tradition is sort of like a period of stalemate, where neither enemies are able to do anything. This tradition has been celebrated even since the start of time. Of course, they were much smaller compared to today but they still celebrated. This year, the host is Eorka. The nobles will each get a child over the age of 4 to teach for a month. If a Royal also attends, they will be taught by the Royals of the host nation. After that, a ball will be held as a way to show how well a noble has taught a child. 'During this period, others perspectives on you may change depending how well you've done...' Penelope thought indolently. She knew that the nobles, especially the ladies, will gang up on her to choose the children that are easy to teach. 'If that ever does happen, I hope the child will, at the very least, be polite...'
"I'm done, my lady." Emily spoke up softly seeing her Lady in a daze which shook Penelope out of her thoughts. Seeing that she was all dressed up, Penelope replied "Thank you, Emily, you may go now." With that, Emily bowed and left her Lady's room. The reason why Emily was dressing her was because Penelope is one of the chosen nobles to teach one of the children from abroad. Many rumours and speculation have already started to float around whether the given child would survive the 'Mad Dog' or whether they would just run away or worse kill themselves. Penelope began walking towards the Entrance Hall where her brothers are with Emily joining her at the bedroom door.
Although neighbouring allies and foes would also come, there are also empires that are unknown to the world. Those empires are the ones that are hard to speak. The only outsiders that do know a bit about the Unknown Empires are those of Royal Blood.
'I do hope one of the unknown empires' language are similar to my world or ones that the Original Penelope were taught. The Original Penelope's family was also a dukedom, but the things that exclude this dukedom to a normal one is that it was a Grand Dukedom. Another thing is that, the land of the Grand Dukedom was closer to Modern Earth than any other. It was similar to the aesthetic 'Steampunk'. This Dukedom managed to merge mechanics with magic giving a result of neither air, land or water pollution. Unfortunately, Penelope's family all died protecting their land from another empire due to a surprise attack, leaving Penelope as the sole survivor of the Grand Dukedom.
'A tragic past. The nice starter of character development for the Main Lead' Penelope thought wryly as she finally arrived at the doors to the Entrance Hall with Emily at her side. She opened the doors and there stood Her Father, The Young Duke and Reynold. Seeing that the youngest of the family finally arrived, the Duke greeted her warmly ( note: awkward ) and proceeded to walk out to the carriage with Penelope and the brothers following after.
The ride to the palace was awkward but it never bothered Penelope as her mind is always in a different place. 'Dang it I want coffee! If only I knew where to find the beans.... God I want Boba too! Maybe both... OOH WHAT ABOUT KIMCHI! That's it. I'll find a way to get it. Maybe the envoys would know something... I know the recipe but one of the ingredients in missing'
The carriage stopped and the family of four got out, the castle was as grand as ever as if it came out of a fairy tale. Well... Technically this is a fairy tale. Other nobles also arrived after us. The family walked into the palace's hallways and we're guided to the Grand Hall where every other noble were. As Penelope stepped in the hall, she could already see the scheming atmosphere surrounding some bitc- I mean ladies. There were Marquis Verdandi, Lady Kellen, Lady Dona and Lady Alice; A recent admirer of Penelope. To name a few.
Penelope went to her designated seat and sat down, enjoying her peace while it lasted. A while later, the royals were announced of their presence. On the large yet beautifully decorated stairs was the Emperor and Empress, Crown Prince and the rumoured lover of Penelope Eckhart: Callisto Regulus, The Second Prince. When the royals were seated, the Emperor made a long and boring speech on the tradition and 'joys' of teaching and guiding children to the correct path. During said speech, Callisto's expression was a mix of 'I don't believe you' and 'Hurry up you old geezer'. Truly, even the Barbarian of the Royal Family doesn't believe a word his sire says.
Once the speech ended, the emperor called in the children behind the doors and allowed the nobles to choose the child they will teach. As expected, all the noble ladies chose the easier-to-teach ones leaving Penelope with only one. Of course she didn't want to approach the child and left the child to decide whether they want Penelope to teach them or not. She wasn't about to force the child to be her student, that would just make it harder to teach them. Penelope pretended to not notice and took a sip of her honey and lemon tea. She could feel the triumphant and pitied gazes of every other noble excluding her family and the Crown Prince. The whole hall was quietened down slightly to hear the following event. 'Will the Mad Dog blemish the reputation of the Dukedom even more?' 'Will the child cry due to the Rabid Dog's behaviour?' similar thoughts circled around the hall. Shakily, a child began to approach Penelope with caution. Seeing this, Penelope gave a look of intrigue and tilted her head identical to that of a confused puppy.
Penelope appraised the child approaching her. The child was a girl, possibly one without any confidence seeing her slight shaking, hesitant and nervous expression. The girl had straight black hair with a beautiful red appearing every time the light shines on it. It was encased with beautiful accessories. Her pale skin contrasted with her rosy cheeks and she had a button nose. She wore a white and soft blue dress with white sparkling gems placed in the shape of a triangular curve. Her height reached somewhere around Penelope's waist level. But what intrigued and shocked Penelope the most was that her doe eyes had a similar shade to her's just slightly more lighter like when she was younger. But what happened next shocked her even more.
"Uh..." The little girl started "실례합니다. . ." (Excuse me, miss...) The girl spoke Korean! Penelope realised that some obnoxious giggles could be heard and glared at the general direction after noticing that the sounds made the little girl more anxious "제 선생님이 되어 주시겠습니까?" (Can you please be my teacher?) More giggles could be heard from one of the noble ladies which shook Penelope out of her thoughts. She realised that the Crown Prince looked upon them with interest and her family was ready to intervene with Reynold slowly coming closer. 'I wonder what they're thinking..' She looked back at the small child and smiled softly as she spoke in her native language, surprising everyone in the room. "물론, 아이. 나는 기꺼이 당신의 선생님이 될 것입니다." (Of course, child. I will gladly be your teacher.)
Hearing that the little girl's eyes widened and many of the surrounding nobles' jaws fell to the floor and their eyes wide as saucers. Even the Crown Prince and her family were looking at her in bewilderment. 'W-what!? How in the world does the Mad Dog understand the child!?' 'Oh my!..' 'Miss, is there any chance I can knock myself out to sleep?' 'H-huh!?' As if shaken out of amazement, the little girl's eyes shined brightly as she realised her new teacher could understand her! She finally had someone to bond with! Her smile lit up the whole room and she finally crossed the line between strangers and friends for Penelope.
Penelope gestured for the girl to sit and started a conversation.
"이름을 말해 줄 수 있니, 자기야?" (Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?) As the girl sat, she smiled brightly and replied , "내 이름은 Chang Ae-Cha 그리고 나는 6 살입니다! 네 이름이 뭐니, 미스...?" (My name is Chang Ae-Cha and I am 6 years old! What is your name, miss...?) As the duo bonds, the nobles slowly regain their composure and continued where they left off. This time with kids present and eyes glancing every now and then towards the unsuspecting duo. By the time the event ended everyone was satisfied with the children they chose and headed back to their homes for rest and impending lessons. But as they left, one thought clouded their minds.
'Just who is Penelope Eckhart?'