TEACHING THE TYRANT MANNERS

"Ha..."

A sigh left the lips of the woman as she looked at herself in the mirror.

the woman in the mirror with gorgeous blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes also let out a sigh. she had seen herself in the mirror for a week already, but she still couldn't get used to it.

Rivier Blanche.

she is Duke Blanche's only princess and is praised by the nobles of the Luwens Empire for her picturesque beauty.

. . . ...But what's the point of this? I'm going to die anyway.

"Haaaa..."

After seeing Rivier sigh for the umpeenth time, only to look at herself in the mirror again, her lady-in-waiting, gingerly walked over.

"young lady. young lady?"

"Huh? what's wrong, Geroni?"

"His highness the crown prince is waiting for you."

"I know."

"if you're late, he won't be happy..."

"Yes, i know that too."

After answering vaguely, Rivier sighed once again. what was she going to do now?

she glanced at the mirror to see Geroni tapping her feet behind her, so she closed he eyes tightly and finally stood up.

Like Geroni said, if she made him wait any longer, that tyrant prince would become furious. Rivier thought the long corridor, feeling as if she was a pig being sent to the slaughterhouse.

'should i just run away now?'

But she soon eased her mind by sighing once more.

'where would i even go if i were to really run away?'

when she entered Rivier's body, she had also recalled her memories from her past life. But there wasn't any information about how to escape this ginormous mansion, especially since she was the duke's daughter.

And this definitely wasn't a fairy tale world where an unknown woman could live happily alone with only a few pennies.

If i were to step outside without a knight escort, i would meet bandits right away or find myself in even more dangerous situations.

But more importantly, it's only been a week since i took over Rivier's body.

By matching the peculier memories in my mind with my surroundings, i finally realized that i was going to be the first extra character who fell victim to this tyrant. But by the time i figured it out, he had already arrived in Duke Blanche's mansion.

Every morning, i spend my time thinking of what i can do to change my fate.

So, all that's left for Rivier is her desire to do whatever she wanted.

She walked through the corridor with the intention to avoid Croft, the male protagonist of this novel who was said to be extremely handsome.

Geroni snuck a peek at Rivier's stride, which looked quite different from her usual graceful and elegant walk.

Geroni instantly sympathised with Rivier, thinking that she was nervous about meeting someone who was rumored to kill people at any given moment.

The two of them continued walking through that long corridor, where one person was sympathising while the other was drowning in dispair. once they arrived in front of the waiting room, Rivier knocked and Geroni opened the door.

Rivier took a deep breath before walking over to see Croft sitting on the sofa.

Indeed, Croft had a striking appearance.

Even though his red eyes and black hair were described as ominous, these features were also beautiful.

His fierce expression seemed even more attractive thanks to his handsome face.

Rivi admired him for a moment, but then sighed again.

But what's the use of having a handsome face?

In the novel, Croft was a powerful but crazy lunatic. And even the craziest people were terrified of him.

The unlucky prince, Croft.

His father the emperor, had sent Croft to the eastern border when he was only seven years old. that region was a mix of criminals and demons lurking around.

He spent 17 years living in that hell. No, he didn't just survive, he grew up to be the strongest madman in the East.

They say Croft was only 20 years old when he formed a squad of mercenaries and took control of the East.

In the end, the emperor, who waited for his son's death, died first.

Since there was no one to occupy the throne, Rivier's father Duke Blanche, brought Croft back to the capital.

This meant to establish him as the emperor, because he was the emperor's eldest son after all. He also wanted to make his daughter the empress to grow his own power.

The problem is the author! after Croft became the emperor, the first thing they wrote about was how he destroyed the entire Blanche family.

Starting with the duke, Croft the crazy tyrant continued spilling blood in the Luwens Empire to be with Lilian, the heroine of this novel.

I can't even count how many people Croft killed just to get together with Lilian.

And Rivier was the first to fall victim to this tyrant.

Rivier, who managed to swallow back another sigh, bowed her head to avoid Croft's piercing red eyes.

Her mind was running in circles, but her body luckily remembered the etiquette lessons she had taken for 20 years.

"Greetings your highness the crown prince, i am Rivier Blanche."

Rivier's hair, bathing in the sunlight, flowed like gold. Her dainty hands lifting her dress, as well as all of her movements, were elegent.

Although the duke was his benefactor and gave him he chance to turn the blood palace upside down, he was also very troublesome.

The duke nagged him to learn imperial etiquette, and sent a weak-looking woman who looked as if she would break if he so much as touched her.

He kicked up his feet to rest on the table. then he tilted his head and stared at rivier.

"the duke said he would send me an etiquette teacher...But he ended up sending his daughter, huh."

"yes, your highness, i will do my best to assist you."

"try it, then."

"try teaching me."

Croft's eyes glared at Rivier. his eyes looked as if he would slit her throat if she dared to speak another word.

Rivi was confused by Croft's eyes and mouth that said different things.

Holding her sweaty hands, Rivier did her best to attempt a smile.

"then let's discuss our lesson schedule. "

seeing Rivier smile while speaking, Croft was deeply impressed.

He thought that she'd run away since he threatened her out of nowhere. but it seems that she's stronger than she looked.

Croft turned away from Rivier because he didn't want to look at her smiling face. he also couldn't tell the duke of Blanche's daughter to leave because he needed their support to become emperor.

Even though Croft had turned his head away with a disinterested look, Rivi still stood there for a long time in silence.

He had told her to teach him, but he completely disregarded her.

Rivier, who couldn't leave without the prince's permission nor speak back to him, continued standing for a while. she kept looking at his eyes.

Then her anger began to raise.

'what the hell are you doing?'

'when someone speaks to you, you have to respond. where did you learn to put your feet on the table like that? who taught you to ignore another person's presence?'

His behaviour is hypocritical for someone who just asked for help.

whether he's a tyrant or the Male lead. Rivier despised rude people.

'you want me to teach you, right?'

Then Rivier bowed her head to show she understood and approached Croft carefully.

She lifted her skirt slightly and kicked Croft's sharp shin with all her might.

Croft's long legs crashed from the table to the floor in a c-shaped curv.

'what just happened...?'

Croft couldn't figure out what just happened to him.

Croft stared at his legs with wide eyes and turned to Rivier. his glare seemed as if they would burn her.

He could tell that the sight of Rivier lifting her skirt slightly was perfectly elegant, even though he was someone who didn't have manners.

whatever she does, she's just like a woman from a painting. beautiful and graceful. that's what he thought for a moment.

But after her kick, his body fell over halfway.

'don't this woman know that no one would dare to touch me if they treasured their lives?'

Rivier's face remained smiling and bright, even though she has just done something unladylike.

since he took time to process something absurd, he missed the right time to get angry.

"what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm doing my duty."

"But you just kicked my leg though."

"putting your feet on the table is something the emperor would never do, your highness."

"Then, is kicking the future emperor something, u should do?"

Croft was furious and shouted at her, but Rivi didn't even blink.

"If you don't like the way i teach, then ask the duke to replace your etiquette teacher. my father will definitely comply with your request."

'I didn't mean to kick his leg like that, but now i this it was a good idea.'

Rivi grinned, the corners of her mouth curving up.

In the novel, Croft entered the impartial place after spending a week at the Blanche's mansion. he had entered the place with Rivi, who served as his etiquette teacher.

In other words, if Croft finds another teacher, she might not be taken to the place with him.

Rivier thought if she bought enough time to get used to this world, she could find a way to escape before her fated death.

Rivier's blue eyes sparkled with hope.

Croft was dumbfounded upon looking at her positive expressions.

When Rivi, who was elated that she found a way to live, smiled brightly, a fierce grin spread to Croft's face.

"No, since you are my etiquette teacher, i want to see how well you teach. i look forward to your lessons."

"what? but why?"

Seeing her blue eyes widen in shock, Croft only laughed dangerously, his lips curling up.

While Croft contemplated what to do with this cheeky woman who dared to kick him, Rivi made a vow to herself.

I should avoid being this tyrant's teacher at all costs.

A week before Croft had to enter the place, Rivier was very confident.

Because even a thousand year burning love can cool down within a week. she pledged to leave his sight in the best way possible.

Rivier looked at Croft from head to toe, as if she were looking for something to point out. there wasn't a single flaw in the way he sat so quietly, with his feet on the floor.

It was a posture of innate arrogance, but it would be strange to insist to the future emperor to sit quietly.

In addition, he had a fairly straight posture.

"Tsk"

Rivier, who couldn't point out a single mistake, clicked her tongue, and Croft pricked his eyebrow at the sound she made.

For the first time in 24 years, this was the strangest moment of his life.

Not only has he been kicked by a woman he has never even met before, she even glared at him and clicked her tongue.

"Tsk"

"pardon?"

"you just clicked your tongue in front of me."

"me? no way, your highness."

He asked her since he had clearly heard the sound coming from her mouth, but Rivier pretended not to know anything and smiled at him elegantly.

Croft was feeling even more astonished.

The moment Rivier entered the room, Croft learned the true intention of Duke Blanche, and he didn't think it was such a bad deal.

If he chooses to marry her, the Duke of Blanche will continue to support him. in a place where he has no other ally. the Duke's aid would gain him a strong foothold.

Needless to say, the woman he is supposed to marry is beautiful since she doesn't resemble the Duke. No, she isn't just beautiful, her beauty is beyond compare, that even words can't describe it.

Croft plainly admitted Rivier's beauty.

She portrayed her elegance and beauty just by standing still. he realized why the duke of Blanche was such an advocate for manners, seeing as his daughter was vastly mannerful.

. . . . .He never thought she'd kick him with such a graceful gesture.

Croft glaced up at Rivier and motioned his head towards the sofa across him.

"if you aren't going to kick me anymore, why don't you sit down?"

She couldn't just keep staring at Croft, so she sat across from him.

It was such a graceful gesture, as if the feathers blown by the wind were gently falling on the floor.

"The time given is too short to waste, your highness. Therefore, i will begin to teach you the mannerist attributes of court life."

"Attributes?"

"yes, the attributes. there are many things to learn in such a short ammount of time, so i ask for you to understand, since the training process may be a little rough."

"I don't believe i am a tolerable student, but i will try my best to understand you, however you must understand me as well."

Croft also accepted Rivier's challenge.

This moment foretold a week that would seem like a storm between a rough etiquette teacher and her poor student.

Rivier continued to speak and simply ignored Croft's gaze, which seemed as if he was in a combative spirit.

"There are quite a handful of things you must learn, such as sitting properly, walking elegantly, conversational eloquence, table and ball etiquette."

"There must be a lot of fools who dare criticise the emperor's attitude."

Croft didn't even bother hiding his displeasure. He couldn't quite understand why the future emperor of the empire had to bother with such trivial matters.

Croft, who had to sully himself to survive, hated the regulations being forced on him.

He actually had a very good point.

Even in the novel, there was absolutely no one who would risk their life because of his rudeness.

This man, who portrayed danger with both his eyes and words, would become emperor, so he was someone who stood above all rules and manners.

However, Rivier was determined to leave Croft's side, who was capable of taking her life at any moment.

Before he become the emperor, he will still need the protection of the Duke of Blanche. that meant he couldn't kill her, so she thought this was the only chance she had to survive.

She looked straight at Croft and pulled up the corners of her mouth. with her long eyelashes curled, a cute smile came to her innocent face.

"If you're fine with being called the Mad Dog of the frontier, then i won't bother with you either."

It was a dangerous phrase to spit out, especially with that innocent-like face.