The rest of their walk was relatively peaceful, other than the general bustling of the other students going to their next lessons. 

 

On the way, Delta realised that he had no idea what was expected when addressing seniors, royalty, or anyone on that note. 

 

“Diana, how am I meant to do this again?”

 

Her face lit up. “Oh? The Alpha himself is asking for my help? How rare! I should write this down as a key event in history!”

 

“Do you want me to call you Edgy again?”

 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Anything but that!” she said, feigning agony as she pretended to faint. 

 

“Haha. Funny. No seriously though, what do I do?”

 

“It’s not too difficult. For the girls, we have to do these really fancy curtseys, but your case is a lot easier. Stand in front of me with your heels together, but keep both your feet facing forward with your legs together.”

 

Delta fiddled around with what she was saying, and after a few tries and a few more corrections, he managed to get it right. 

 

“The next part’s even easier. Place your right hand on your heart and your left hand behind your back so that it’s touching your spine, then bend forwards about 45 degrees.”

 

Delta did what she said, quickly finding himself in quite an uncomfortable position.

 

“Don’t look so tense about it! I’ve seen old men move better than you!”

 

“...”

 

After a few more attempts at fixing his posture, Delta finally figured it out. 

 

“That’s how you address seniors, nobility and other significant figures. For royalty, however, go down onto one knee. Make sure you put your right knee down and keep your back completely straight.”

 

Delta did what she said, watching as she circled him with an affirmative expression on her face. 

 

“What now?”

 

“Now ball your right hand into a fist and place it on your heart again, however keep your left hand slack by your side. That’s the crux, however you must make sure you never look the member of royalty directly in the eyes until they permit you to do so. Otherwise, it’s taken as a massive sign of disrespect and insubordination, and it’s probably the fastest way to have yourself removed from the King’s Chambers.” 

 

“So much more complicated than I thought it would be…”

 

“Try having that drilled into you every single day from the day you’re born…”

 

Delta chuckled, before looking at Diana’s perfectly serious face. “Wait, you’re seriously not kidding?”

 

“We should run along now, sir Alpha. Wouldn’t want to be late after all.”

 

She walked ahead quickly, leaving Delta behind to catch up.

 

Shortly later, they entered the classroom, being greeted by a rather short, plump man wearing a monocle on one eye, and holding a cane in the other. 

 

“Run along now. Being tardy is never good for a first impression.”

 

The room they were in was different to the one they were used to, taking the appearance of a mock throne room, an ornate throne sitting atop a rather long walkway, with a plethora of bannisters overlooking the walkway, as if simulating real royal chambers. 

 

The students stood in neat rows, each standing with their hands firmly by their sides and their feet planted together. Seeing the pattern, Delta and Diana stood in the gaps in the ranks, filling in what seemed to be alphabetical order. 

 

‘I wonder what they put down as my surname…’

 

The plump man walked to the front of the students, a light tapping sound filling the room as he walked with his cane as support. 

 

Once he reached the front, he bowed the same way Diana had shown Delta earlier that day. 

 

“My name is Andrew Mercer, of the Mercer Household, however you will address me as Mr Mercer, and nothing else. I will be teaching you the etiquette required to approach noble and royalty, making it key to business.”

 

After a short pause, he continued. “This is the bow used to address seniors and nobility. I will give you all a moment to look at all of the finer details, then I will test you on them. For those of you that can figure them out quickly, I will spare you the pain of having to practise a few hundred times.”

 

‘That’s a little harsh isn’t it?!’ Delta thought, entirely shocked by the rate at which this class was going. 

 

Delta looked at him for the few minutes he was there, making a mental note of all of the finer details like finger placements and facial expressions rather than the general appearance like the other students were doing. 

 

There were a few noble children in the class who seemed to be slightly used to what they were meant to be doing, however they seemed to be slacking off rather than studying the smaller details like Delta. 

 

‘They really are children, huh…’

 

Mr Mercer stood up slowly, showing much more elegance than could be expected from someone so large. 

 

“Now, I shall call you up one by one for you to perform the bow I just demonstrated. Let’s go in alphabetical order, shall we.”

 

He looked down at the list in his hands, and said, “huh… that is rather strange… do we have a Delta?”

 

“Present, Sir.”

 

Delta decided to act as he did back when he served Caligula, as although it probably wouldn’t be perfect with the world’s cultures, it would be better than casually strolling. 

 

Swinging the alternate arm slightly as he stepped, Delta approached Mr Mercer, his features remaining firm whilst he retained a polite air about him. 

 

Once he was a few metres away from Mr Mercer, he bowed as Diana had shown him, making slight adjustments to mimic the way Mr Mercer had demonstrated before. 

 

Mr Mercer, seeing the bow he had done before nearly perfectly mimicked, bowed back, a smile on his face. 

 

“It appears we have a natural in this class. Impressive. Come stand to my right, boy. You will move on to the next stage.”

 

“Understood, Mr Mercer.”

 

“Polite too, however when responding to a noble, it is better to show your appreciation rather than your understanding, as most of them will be satisfied with a few words of flattery. Not all of them though.”

 

“Your feedback is appreciated, Sir.”

 

“Much better.”

 

Ticking a box by Delta’s name, he said, “Next, let me have Antonio.”

 

The testing continued for the rest of the lesson, as there were about 25 students in the class, and they all required their own feedback and corrections. 

 

The majority of the students had been sent to his left side, having had some understanding of the process and formalities, but still needing to work on them. 

 

There were only 6 people on his right, Diana, Delta, Arnold, 2 noble descendants and someone called Antonio, who appeared to be from a common background. Diana and Delta had passed the test very easily, however the others had done extremely well too, only missing out on minor details like the angles of their feet and how far over they were bent. 

 

After dismissing the rest of the students, Mr Mercer said to them, “I am expecting far greater things from you, especially with your noble births. As for you, Antonio, I am quite impressed with your performance thus far, keep up the good work. Make sure you practise your bows. Mister Delta, stay behind for a moment please.” 

 

Diana chuckled a little, saying, “It’s becoming a daily occurrence by this point. You think the male teachers have a thing for you?”

 

In response, Delta cuffed her in the back of the head when nobody was looking, recoiling at the thought. 

 

Once only the two of them were left, Mr Mercer said, “I am not sure which family you’re from, but it is rare for me to be unable to see the surname of my own student. I plan on teaching you to have a silver tongue, as you will need it in the family politics at the top of this Kingdom, you can trust me on that. Go enjoy your training now, and think about what I have told you today. I will only teach you if you are willing. Good day to you.”

 

And with that, he left, leaving Delta to wonder what on Earth had Athena had done this time...