Even Rowena could tell that her vacant stare had immediately stopped whatever the people around her had thought they would now be doing. It had taken her what seemed like an eternity to realize what they could be talking about.

She hadn't even thought about it, but now that Beatrice had mentioned the Temple, she would remember eventually. A Debut was important as it made one a true adult, but the social debut itself was simply that - an event to celebrate one's initiation.

The actual part of becoming an adult, at least in a place like the Arlen Empire where the Church of Aurora was the main religion, required a ritual. The novel hadn't touched on the matter more than a few times, as all the characters involved had already made their Debut before its timeline began.

'Sure, they're confused, there's no way the real Rowena wouldn't know about something essentially normal in this world. I'm an idiot.'

But there was nothing she could really do about it. She could have researched the matter if she had remembered that it was something to worry about at all, but it was too late for that now.

"Of course, what I meant to say is that I haven't been informed of my appointment yet," she corrected her earlier words, faking a small cough.

"In that case, I will inquire about it when I send someone to the tailor." With a decisive clap of her hands, she focused their attention once more. "With that, I will bring this little assembly to a close. The people involved in this matter will await their judgement tomorrow before I depart. You may also return to your chambers if you wish, Rowena."

"Thank you, Your Grace," she said, hiding her relief, "I will pray for your safe journey."

"As you did, child. Rest well now."

She wasn't going to wait for someone to say that twice, so Rowena gathered her servants and made a beeline for her comfortable annex.

"What did you think you were doing?" she said as soon as they were in her room and unhindered by prying eyes and ears.

The one addressed simply stood there, hands clasped in front of her pelvis, head lowered. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, my lady."

"That's not the point, Ava!" she snapped back sharply, "what if I hadn't been there? No, not even that, but what if the Grand Duchess hadn't been there?"

There was nothing she could have done on her own, except act strong. Once someone had seen through her façade, Ava could have been in a lot of trouble.

Considering what Rowena had done and caused in the past, the chances of her getting into trouble herself, especially when it wasn't her fault at all, were slim. But the same could not be said for a maid.

"I will never behave so recklessly again."

"I will hold you to that promise," Rowena said, then took a deep breath, "Look, I'm grateful for your initiative, but I'm not sure I have the power to protect you in an emergency."

Ava's shoulders flinched slightly at her mistress's words. She was busy staring wide-eyed at the floor beneath her feet, clenching her intertwined hands.

'If I can't speak up for my lady, who will?' she thought before looking over at Norina and the girl she had been taking care of for the past few days.

Norina looked up at the same time, and even though they hadn't known each other for long, it was as if they understood each other wordlessly. Charlotte looked from one maid to the other, blinking and wondering if she would ever have to understand what was going on, while their mistress had her eyes closed and nodded to herself as if to confirm her own words.

"I promise I will never let you down, my lady!" With new found enthusiasm, Ava confirmed the silent pact she had made with her colleague without her mistress even noticing.

Said mistress was somewhat taken aback by the energy hitting her front and center, while the same blazing vigor could be felt from the far left, where a girl with a frizzy blonde mane was standing.

"Anyway," Rowena spoke warily, "I would like to go to bed now. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about among yourselves, so you may take the rest of the evening off. I can handle myself."

Shocked faces met hers after the words had left her mouth.

'I guess that's not how it's going to happen,' she quickly assumed, going by their reactions.

"You can't!" Norina intervened firmly, leading her lady to the adjoining bathroom, "We will do this for you, that's what we are here for."

As Rowena passed through the door, a strangely nostalgic sight came into view. It gave her a queasy feeling to see the lion-pawed tub in front of her, the first thing she had seen after coming to this world.

"I was gone for quite a while," she remarked, lost in thought.

It had merely been a few weeks, but in the end she had only spent a few weeks at the annex as well. It had all happened so quickly, but it felt like such a long time. She had met so many people, some more pleasant than others.

As her dutiful maids helped her out of her clothes, having prepared the warm water with a fragrant additive of their new protégé's choosing, Rowena couldn't help but smile wryly. There had been a time when she couldn't believe this was real.

Now she was so used to it all that if this moment were to end, she would feel robbed of her life. But this wasn't her life, was it? Or was it?

As she sat in the bath, her mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. Her eyes followed the youngest in the room as her shoe brushed against the leg of a chair, causing her to stumble.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Your sister's quite clumsy, isn't she?" Ava commented quietly.

"She is sometimes, but she learns well," Norina replied like a true older sister, wanting only the best for her sibling, "she is not incompetent!"

"I know, I know. I'm not saying she is, and yes, she learns fast." With that, Ava left the room to get Rowena a fresh set of clothes, but there was still a small laugh to be heard in her wake.

'It's so peaceful,' the noble lady thought by herself, 'but I shouldn't say that out loud now, should I?'

"It's a cleansing ceremony that would require you to remain at the Temple, but I'm sure you can be summoned both days without having to spend the night," Ballinger explained over the soft notes of classical music, concentrating on the feet that were almost catching up with his again, "slow down, my lady, no one is chasing you."

"Right, right," she murmured, sweat forming on her forehead, "so this cleansing ceremony, what does it look like?"

"You have to eat and drink only what you are given for three days, it will probably be brought from the Church tomorrow morning, now that you have an appointment."

In the early hours of the morning, before Rowena had even risen, Beatrice had sent out her messengers. One of them had returned with the expected letter from the Temple of Avarinth, inviting her to her coming-of-age ceremony. It was something that young nobles naturally knew was going to happen, female and male alike, so no one had ever thought to teach, or remind her.

"And then?" she said, finally stepping on her dance partner's toes.

With a sigh, he stopped and adjusted his glasses as he thought. "Now that we have music, I thought it would be easier for you to find the flow you were missing, but it seems to have had the opposite effect on you. What could be the reason?"

It didn't feel like he was going to answer her question - it didn't even feel like he was asking her a question instead. He was talking to himself.

She would get faster during the dance, playing down all the movements she had memorized, trying to memorize them according to different heights and rhythms, but she just couldn't do it. Just memorizing them wasn't going to help her find that "flow" he had been talking about.

As he tried to get back into position, determined to find out what the problem was, Rowena had to raise her hand in protest. This was starting to frustrate her.

"I need a short break, Mr Ballinger," she said exhaustedly as her head began to hurt from all the things she was trying to think of at once.

"Of course, I must apologize for not taking that into consideration, my lady." Ballinger looked extremely apologetic, but Rowena didn't pay much attention.

She had no dress, as the messenger to Silver Cain had returned without a letter from the dressmaker. That meant she had to look at the list of high-class tailors her stepmother had prepared for her, and she needed to send someone within the next two hours of the day.

But it was too late anyway. And then she had to worry about the Temple, as she did not know what they expected of her, although all the explanations she had received so far had sounded rather harmless.

On top of that, her little progress in dancing turned out not to be much progress at all. It was all a slump.

Her eyes wandered around the room, lingering on a certain object that had been moved there from her luggage. She had no real idea how to play it, but the one piece she could play felt like an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Would you mind if I played?" she asked, subtly pointing in the direction of her violin.

"I would never," Ballinger replied with a slight bow, as if honored by her suggestion, then turned and removed the needle from the record on the gramophone.

Smiling, she took the bow and the body, taking a deep breath before getting into position. Her muscles guided her, probably still not as smooth as the touch of an experienced violinist, but for an amateur she didn't feel bad.

Even Ballinger didn't seem displeased, though maybe he just didn't know much about the subject. The familiar tune echoed in her head, drowning out all her busy thoughts.

She had a kind of flow when she played, so why not when she danced? If it was movement, she used to be good at it. Her hand did what she had learned at some point in her life, and the same thing her feet had done during the lesson just now.

However, that was not enough. She wasn't going to learn to "feel the music," as her tutor had put it, in such a short time. She needed another approach.

The song was almost over when she realized that her feet weren't moving the way she wanted them to. Or well, the other's feet weren't moving the way she wanted them to. She managed to be much less stiff when she was fighting, so why couldn't she do it now?

Abruptly, her hands froze. Ballinger was perplexed, not knowing what had happened as the noble lady suddenly put the violin back in its stand and walked over to turn on the music of her lesson.

'Why can I do it when I fight?' she repeatedly thought, feeling the answer to her question on the tip of her tongue, 'I really am an idiot.'

Experience was what had made her a good Executor. Experience was what her instructor had always preached was most important. And why was it important?

Because only when someone had enough experience were they able to read their opponent. Micro-expressions, minuscule movements and subtle flexing of muscles, even hidden under a layer of clothing.

There was always something that gave it away, and once a soldier had enough practical experience, these cues could be picked up like lip-reading. All their opponents were different, fought differently, reacted differently, and needed to be attacked differently.

Still, there came a time when Rowena was able to react to them. She was able to anticipate what kind of move the other was likely to make and react at the same time.

She grabbed her dumbfounded teacher to get into position. It wasn't her own movements she had to concentrate on - it was her opponent's! All she had to do was remember how to counter their attack.

Of course, in this case, she wouldn't end up kicking her partner in the gut, but the principle was the same in her eyes.

'So, right, if he moves in this direction, following the sidestep, I have to..." she thought and her mind went blank for a second, but her foot found its way at the last second, 'right, like this.'

They restarted the music after a while, doing another routine from the beginnig. With a pounding heart, she looked up, trying to read signs of his movements at the periphery of her perception.

She had to look at her opponent and take in the entire battlefield at the same time - so she could manage to maintain eye contact with a partner for a slow dance and still react to his steps, right?

Even though it felt like a chore, her heart was racing with excitement. 'I can do it. I can really do this.' She couldn't believe it herself.

After the dance, she stepped back a bit, waiting for Ballinger's verdict. To her surprise, he seemed confused and rather tense.

"How did I do?" she asked as he kept quiet with a complicated gaze.

"I don't know what happened, but it seems that you found your 'flow'. Congratulations," he finally said, making her almost jump in joy, "obviously we still have to practice more, but it seems as if the biggest hurdle has already been overcome."

"Then, if I may ask, why do you look so dissatisfied?"

He blinked, unsure how to say his next words, and had to clear his throat first. "My lady, I'm sure this wasn't easy for you, but please mind your expression a bit."

Unconsciously, Rowena touched her face, feeling her hardened features relax.

It wasn't that he'd say she scared him per se, but the way she had fiercely stared him down during their dance had somehow managed to activate his fight-or-flight instinct. It was downright eerie.

When she realized what had happened, she scratched her cheek with an awkward smile. "Right, I will make sure to appear more graceful next time."

"Do that, my lady, and I am sure everything will be fine," the teacher said, laughing at the sudden change in atmosphere.

That mood was soon to end as a hasty knock on the door interrupted their small triumph. Norina and Ava would know not to disturb her unless something had happened.

"Come in," Rowena answered with a bad feeling about it.

"Excuse me, my lady," Ava said as she came in, "the tailor has arrived for an urgent appointment."

"Appointment?"

What was it with all these appointments she had lately and didn't know about?