At the end of his walk from the Great Hall, Crow got back to his room only to find out that someone else was already waiting inside. He froze by the doorway, caught off guard by the man’s sudden appearance. The stranger stood by the small table near the window with his hands folded behind his back. He was a bit advanced in age with silvery hairs sprinkled throughout his neatly trimmed beard, but he still stood with perfect posture without fidgeting or shifting his weight.

“You’re late,” he said in the clipped tone of a man who had little patience for tardiness.

Crow stepped a little further into the room but remained close to the door, eyeing the stranger warily. “Let me guess,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re the tutor.”

The man’s stern expression was broken with a faint smirk, “Oh, good. I see you’re not a completely hopeless case.”

Crow narrowed his eyes, but before he could speak, the man went on. “My name is Udolf Walter,” he said, walking slowly forward to approach the thief. “I’ve been a tutor in this castle for over twenty years. The king has tasked me with giving you an education, so that is what I’m going to do.” He stopped in front of him. “Of course, this means we’re going to be spending quite a lot of time together, so you should put that dirty look away before it gets on my nerves.”

“If we’re going to be spending so much time together, then I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me as if you think I’m a fool,” Crow growled. Though they had just met, he could tell he wasn’t going to like this man. He seemed like some sort of unholy cross between Eldon and William, neither of whom were people the viceroy thought of fondly.

“If you don’t want me to think you’re a fool, then prove me wrong,” Udolf said with another smirk. He turned to walk back to the table, gesturing for the thief to follow him. “As it stands right now, I know you to be an uneducated, illiterate peasant-turned-noble with no practical skills or knowledge of any trades worth developing.”

Crow gawked at the tutor with unrestrained astonishment. He’d been insulted for his lack of education before, but somehow Udolf had managed to say the exact same thing in a more demeaning manner than anyone else he’d come across. “I know four languages,” he huffed indignantly, attempting to restore at least some of his pride to the other man.

“That’s a start,” Udolf sounded unimpressed. “But simply knowing the words is not a practical skill. You do not yet have the manners or cultural knowledge to put those languages to use for His Majesty.” He held out his hand to the empty chair at the table. “Come and sit.”

At first, Crow lingered by the door, toying with the thought of disobeying just to be obstinate. However, upon thinking about it a little more, he realized that the sooner he complied with the tutor, the sooner the lesson would be over. He walked to the chair.

“Your first lesson,” Udolf announced, moving to stand next to his seat. “Will be proper etiquette.”

“Etiquette?” Crow wrinkled his nose. “I thought you were going to be teaching me [i]practical skills[/i].” He pointedly emphasized the last words in a mocking manner to get under the older man’s skin.

“Etiquette is quite practical,” Udolf went on, unperturbed. “As the king’s viceroy, you are going to be acting as his representative to the rulers of other kingdoms. The men and women you will be meeting and interacting with from now on are not like the unwashed masses you’re familiar with. They are people of class, and as such, you will learn to have class as well.”

“Sounds like a lot of unnecessary work to me,” Crow said with distaste.

“Perhaps it seems that way to a savage such as yourself,” the older man said carelessly, walking off to gather a few dishes and utensils he had brought, likely to set up a demonstration. “But no man or woman of culture is going to respect you, let alone listen to anything you have to say, when you’re leaning on the table, eating your supper with your hands.”

“I don’t see why they shouldn’t,” the thief muttered, mostly to himself.

Fortunately, Udolf didn’t seem to catch his comment. “Stop slouching,” he chided as he set up the empty dishes on the table in front of him. “When you sit up straight, you exude confidence. That’s an important trait for an ambassador to have—chin up, shoulders square, feet apart. Yes, yes, that’s much better.” He nodded approvingly when the viceroy corrected his posture.

As Udolf went on to give a long-winded explanation about the proper way for a nobleman to behave at a meal, Crow let out a quiet sigh, staring longingly at the door. [i]This is going to be a long day…[/i]