Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

"No, you picked up the teacup from. Remember to pinch the handle gently between your index finger and thumb, while letting your middle finger rest underneath for support. You mustn't grip it with all fingers like you would with a handleless teacup. But in those cases, you have to be sure to support the cup with your other hand," The Duchess said, demonstrating how to properly drink tea.

Melina did her best to replicate her, trying hard not to let her shaky hands show. She had no clue that nobles cared how teacups were held. Who in their right mind would care unless they were spilling the tea? But apparently it was very important.

That, along with a hundred other tiny rules that the nobles cared about. For example, how you sat down at the table. How you kept your legs while you sat. Which tableware you used and how. Table etiquette was a whole science in its own right, and the Duchess was determined to cram it all in Melina's head.

As soon as the bakery closed on Saturday afternoon, the Duchess claimed Melina all to herself. She wouldn't hear of any magic lessons or pastry experiments or anything of the like. Melina wanted to check whether there were new ingredients in the shipment Auden Speziale sent her, but the Duchess insisted that manners came first.

It was Sunday afternoon, and they had been perfecting manners one would require in a party setting since late morning. Thankfully, the Duchess wasn't used to waking up as early as Melina, so she did have a few hours of breathing room before one of Sinclair's servants came to retrieve her.

Her familiars were also put through a crash course in proper behaviour. Mango had to either sit by Melina's leg or in her lap. Sienna… that was a bit more difficult. The Duchess wasn't sure what to do with her, since even in her smaller form, she was quite fearsome with her distinctly draconic features.

"Your Grace, have you figured out what Sienna should do during the engagement party?" Melina asked, doing her best to gracefully sip the tea.

"Loosen your grip, child," The Duchess said, then turned to Sienna, who peeked her head up at the mention of her name.

"I thought about it long and hard. Initially, I thought it would be for the best to not let her into the party."

Melina frowned, and Sienna let out a displeased chitter. At this point, Melina couldn't imagine herself going anywhere without Sienna. She was a part of Melina's life, always present. Without the wyvern, she felt unprotected.

"But I realized it wasn't feasible long-term anyway. This wyvern is your familiar, always by your side, right?" The Duchess asked.

"That's correct." Melina nodded.

"Then I believe that the best we can do is take full advantage of it and display your strength," The Duchess said.

"What do you mean, Your Grace?" Melina cocked her head.

"Since the party is going to take place outside, you shall arrive fashionably late, as it is accepted for the fiancées. And you shall arrive on your wyvern's back," the Duchess said with a slight smile.

"On Sienna's back? Wouldn't that scare everyone?"

"I shall keep the situation under control. You needn't fear," she assured. "But by displaying your control over such a formidable creature, you will instantly establish yourself as someone to be reckoned with. I suspect we don't do something as dramatic as that, none of the nobles will take you seriously since you're a commoner."

Melina thought about it for a moment. What the Duchess said made sense, although Melina was afraid some of the nobles might react before the Duchess could do anything about it. There was another problem.

"Sienna can't fly much yet. She mostly glides," Melina said, patting the wyvern on her head. She had been afraid to try proper flight, likely because she had flown before.

"Then it's another thing you must master. It will be clumsy if you two arrive, scuttling along the ground," the Duchess said firmly.

Melina could feel her shoulders slumping under the heavy weight. There were so many things to learn before the engagement party, yet so little time.

"In either case, this is enough tea party practice for today. You're too tense. We shall head to Fenrora to pick out the engagement dress for you."

"So suddenly?" Melina asked, watching as the Duchess signaled her servant over. He extended her hand, helping her stand up. "Do we even have time to travel all the way to Fenrora?"

"We'll be using a portal. Unfortunately, this time, both your familiars will have to remain here. Bringing them to the city is too dangerous," the Duchess said.

"I… Very well. I shall arrange somebody to watch over them," Melina said reluctantly, patting both her familiars.

"Excellent. I shall send a carriage to your home in an hour. We have not a moment to waste."

As the Duchess walked out of their home, Melina couldn't help but let out a strained sigh. All this time together with her had been so stressful. But she couldn't exactly complain, not with how much work Alistair had on his table.

"I will accompany you to Fenrora," Elowen said, having stood aside as her guard the whole time. Alistair apparently had insisted that Melina needed a guard, despite all her protests.

But the drow were now walking through the Sunglow, trying to understand why the mana levels were remaining as high as they were. So with them walking around freely, the security in Sunglow was tightened with extra Sinclair soldiers keeping watch.

Apparently, one of the drow would come and observe Melina cook in hopes of learning her magical recipes. She didn't mind at all, although the timing was rather poor. She didn't exactly have time to properly teach someone else besides Roxie, who already required quite a lot of Melina's attention.

But currently, she had to focus on what was in front of her. She decided to take Sienna over to Etrian. The drow was rather curious about Sienna's evolution and would study her a little bit and then grab her along for some errands. Mango she entrusted to Leliana, who curiously asked where she was going together with Elowen.

"To buy an engagement dress with Duchess Sinclair…" Melina said, dreading the event. How many shops would they go through until the Duchess found something that would please her? It would undoubtedly take the rest of the day, and Melina would surely have to learn another hundred noblewomen's rules along the way.

"An engagement dress?!" Leliana's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Oh, I can't wait to attend the party. It will surely be beautiful."

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This made Melina wonder whether she could even invite her commoner friends to the engagement party. She would love for Leliana, Erina, Remi, and others to come. But could they? She would have had to ask the Duchess.

"But why is Elowen coming along?" Leliana narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Sinclair assigned me as Melina's guard," Elowen explained.

"Will it be all right for you to go to such a large city as Fenrora?" Leliana worried.

"I believe as long as the Duchess accepts my presence, nobody else will dare to question it," the elf said.

Melina nodded in agreement. "Indeed. None of the servants has mentioned it, especially since Alistair was the one who made the decision."

"You make sure that nobody bullies him," Leliana said firmly to Melina.

"Absolutely," Melina nodded.

With both familiars taken care of, Melina returned home and waited for the carriage. It arrived some ten minutes later, and Melina stepped into the carriage. Elowen couldn't join her, but for him, following a carriage on foot was no big deal at all.

Before long, they had arrived at the Town Hall, where the Duchess Sinclair, along with a stately-dressed man, waited for her. Initially, Melina thought it was a butler dressed for going out into the city. But it soon turned out that he was a wizard, here to teleport the Duchess and Melina to Fenrora.

"I'm not sure whether I'll be able to teleport the e… Miss Melina's guard with us. Teleporting three people at once is already strenuous," the mage said, correcting himself before he managed to refer to Elowen as the elf.

"I can assist with teleportation. Although I'm not sure where exactly we're teleporting, you'll have to lead the spell. I'll supplement it with my mana," Melina offered.

The mage looked at her in confusion. "I-I thought you were a [Baker] class."

"That's right. But I can use magic without the System's assistance," Melina clarified.

The man blinked a few more times, then cleared his throat. "If the Duchess permits it."

"I permit it. It wouldn't serve any point for my son to assign a guard to her only for that guard to be left behind."

"Very well," the mage said and held out his hands. The Duchess gracefully placed hers in his, and Melina did her best to imitate the gesture while extending her hand to Elowen.

Once the elf had taken it, the mage initiated the spell, and Melina added her own mana to his, allowing them to take Elowen along. Moments later, they were in front of some large white mansion with long spires. It took a moment for Melina to realize that this was the Sinclair mansion.

She had visited it a few times in the past, when Alistair was a [General], and it was just as impressive then as it was now. As Melina admired the amazing architecture, she felt something crash into her.

"Melina, you're here!" Charlotte beamed at her, looking like a small, excited puppy.

"Hello, Lady Charlotte," Melina greeted her.

"System, that sounds so stuffy. Aren't we going to be sisters soon?" Charlotte protested.

"Yes, and once that happens, then Melina will be able to address you freely. But for the time being, you'll have to put up with it," The Duchess said firmly to her daughter.

"Yes, Mom," she agreed forlornly, but quickly brightened up again. "The tailors and merchants are waiting."

"Wonderful," The Duchess nodded in satisfaction. "Let's not make them wait any longer."

"Wait.. Aren't we going to browse shops in Fenrora?" Melina asked curiously.

"Nobles of such high standing as ourselves do not need to browse shops. We summon the tailors, craftsmen, and shoemakers we prefer to our homes to make an order," The Duchess explained.

"It's so much more fun to walk through the city…" Charlotte pouted.

"Charlotte," The Duchess shot her a stern glare.

"Yes, yes. It's inappropriate," the girl huffed. "But in either case, I peeked at the dresses the tailors brought, and they're all so beautiful. I have no clue how we are going to choose."

"We must choose the best dress. Anything less than perfect will earn Melina ridicule from other nobles," the Duchess said, then extended her hand. A butler rushed to her side immediately, offering his hand for her to lean on.

Melina had no clue that the next eight hours would be the most grueling in her life. First, she took the whole thing with an open mind. The Duchess only had her best interest in mind after all. She wanted this party to be a success and even thought of a way for Sienna to participate.

But she hadn't expected this. The moment servants led them to the dressing room, Melina felt like all of Fenrora's best shops had decided to set up business in the vast dressing room of the Sinclair estate. There were at least a dozen tailors, merchants, shoe-makers, and jewelers in total, all eager to show off their best merchandise.

Dresses covered in pearls, jewels, and gold, with embroidery, lace, and clearly made from only the finest materials available, were displayed on mannequins. Necklaces with jewels so large that Melina was sure that her neck would break if she put them on, and shoes with heels so high and sharp that they should be classified as a weapon.

She barely managed to suppress a gasp and kept her cool, only thanks to . The Duchess had warned her that these merchants worked with noblemen regularly, so she had to behave appropriately.

"Thank you all for coming! I'm pleased to see that you have brought your best work for my future daughter-in-law. Let's begin the measuring," The Duchess said, sitting down in coach while the servants prepared her sweets and other refreshments.

But Melina couldn't rest. She was instantly whisked away to the dressing room, where servants proceeded to undress and dress her in a hundred different combinations of dresses, jewelry, shoes, and other accessories.

At first, she enjoyed the process a little, even if she wasn't used to it. Every dress was a work of art, and Melina admired them with great interest. In her opinion, they didn't suit her in the slightest, but she certainly appreciated the work that went into creating such ornate pieces. Etrian would probably drool just to look at one of these dresses.

But as the process continued, Melina's eyes stopped registering what she was even wearing. It was a cacophony of colors that she couldn't decipher, and the Duchess was ordering her to wear dress after dress in an attempt to find the perfect one.

About three hours later, Melina's feet were sore from all the heels she had to wear, and she wanted to just run away and hide in some corner. She would much rather climb the World Mountain barefoot again. It seemed like a much easier task. At least that had a goal to reach, while this process seemed endless.

"Let's take a short break, everyone," The Duchess announced.

Melina staggered to the couch and sat down. She wanted to slump into the soft cushions, but the small sense that still remained within her forced her to sit properly with her legs pressed together and back straight.

"All the dresses are really nice, but none of them are… right," Charlotte commented.

The Duchess nodded in agreement. "Yes. I find it quite peculiar. You have a nice body, a petite frame, which should be ideal for these kinds of dresses. Yet not a single one of them suits you."

"Yeah, it's like they are missing something and at the same time are too much," Charlotte nodded, and the servants in the room agreed.

Melina was just exhausted. She had no clue what this missing thing was, although she agreed that the jewels and other such accessories were too much. What would other nobles even think if she came adorned in expensive jewelry? Best-case scenario, they would be jealous. Worst case, they would just call her a fraud who has fooled Alistair into providing all the luxuries for her.

"I don't think this kind of style would suit me," Melina muttered, taking a sip of tea to hide her distaste for this whole event.

"Yeah… The jewels don't add to Melina's beauty, but rather subtract from it. She needs something that's unique to her," Charlotte mused.

"Something unique… Yes, we need something unforgettable for others to respect her and at the same time never forget her appearance."

"Why not adorn her dress with magic?" Elowen suddenly spoke up, and Melina saw from his expression that he was more than fed up with this whole event.

"Adorn with magic?" The Duchess and everyone else in the room looked at him in surprise. The merchants visibly flinched, likely not having expected the elf to speak at all.

"Yes. It's how we elves adorn our wedding attire. It is far more memorable than any jewels, not to mention that Melina would certainly feel more at ease surrounded by magic rather than some shiny rocks," Elowen explained.

The Duchess's eyes lit up. "Please, Sir Elowen. Tell us more about the magic dresses."