For the rest of the lesson, Udolf continued to walk Crow through a variety of different etiquettes for different situations that he was likely to encounter as the king’s ambassador. Some of the rules were more practical than others—at one point, the tutor showed him different types of bows for nobles of different ranks, which were so subtly unique that the viceroy doubted he would be able to remember which one was for which title—and overall, Crow had a feeling he wasn’t going to adhere to a lot of them.

Having quite a few deeply ingrained habits already, he preferred to continue acting the same way as he always had. After all, most of the traits he’d developed had helped him survive in the outer villages in some form or fashion. He was reluctant to let go of them just because one stuffy old man thought he was uncultured.

As the day dragged on, the viceroy put up with most of Udolf’s teachings. However, there was one correction that irritated him more than all the others.

When the older man saw him step briefly to the other side of the room to retrieve something, he told him he needed to learn a more gentlemanly walk. He called the thief’s movements “feral” and stated that they were unacceptable in the royal court. Crow then spent the remaining time going through the motions of walking properly at the tutor’s instruction, but silently vowed that he would not put the change into practice.

He liked to think of his walk as lithe and graceful, and there certainly wasn’t anything wrong with it. He’d spent years developing a gait that would allow him to move quietly over practically any type of flooring, and he was quite proud of the accomplishment. Even by a thief’s standards, he was talented at masking the sound of his footsteps. In his opinion, it would have been a waste to relearn how to walk and give up such a useful skill, even if it was unlikely that he would need it in the castle.

By the end of the lesson, Crow was exhausted from the effort of keeping up with so many different rules and longed to take a nap until supper. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance before Preston returned to his room from whatever errands he had been running during the day. The boy stepped in right as Udolf began telling the viceroy when he would be allowed to speak during council meetings with the king and other high-ranking nobles. At his appearance, they both looked up at the door.

“Supper is being served in the Great Hall now,” the boy said, glancing between Crow and Udolf as he lingered by the door.

“Thank the gods,” Crow sighed. Even though it seemed he wouldn’t be able to fit in a nap, he would take any excuse to get away from his tutor. He moved to stand up from his chair, but Udolf held up a hand to stop him.

“You can eat when your lesson is over,” the older man said in his usual clipped tone. He turned to the attendant. “You, sit over there until we’re finished here.”

“But they’re serving food now,” Crow objected. “I’ve done enough learning for one day. I want to have my dinner.”

“If you think you’ve gained enough knowledge to be rewarded, then prove it,” Udolf challenged. “Recite back to me what I’ve taught you today.”

“[i]Everything?[/i]” Crow squawked, wide-eyed. “We’ve been at this all day though. By the time I finish, there won’t be any food left to eat.”

“Then I suppose you’ll just have to be as fast and accurate as you can,” the tutor smirked.

The viceroy shot him a glare, disliking how much the older man seemed to be enjoying his frustration. “What if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll just tell His Highness that you were uncooperative for your lesson, and I will decline to tutor you any further,” Udolf answered casually, though his smirk remained just as smug as ever. “I’m sure he will be displeased.”

Crow clicked his tongue. While he normally wouldn’t care what anyone else thought of him, he didn’t want to give his father the impression that he wouldn’t be a capable viceroy during his first day on the job. Albin might decide he wasn’t fit to be a noble and rescind his offer somehow, and the thief’s plans to give Penelope the life she deserved would be ruined. He couldn’t risk that.

“Fine,” he growled under his breath.

“That’s better,” Udolf nodded. “Now then, show me what you’ve learned.”

It was fortunate for Crow that he was a rather quick learner. He went through each etiquette that he had been taught with precision that seemed to surprise his tutor, who had probably been expecting that he would stumble over himself and forget most of the details. It still took some time for him to get through everything, since Udolf had taught him a lot, but he finished early enough that he still had high hopes that he would be able to catch the tail end of dinner.

“So,” Crow crossed his arms as he stood across from the older man. “Am I free to go now?”

“Seeing as you completely everything with… unexpected accuracy,” Udolf said, his dark eyes studying the viceroy with new interest. “I suppose you may leave.”

“Sounds like you don’t think I’m a fool anymore, huh?” Crow grinned, feeling pleased with himself for having caught his tutor off guard.

“You’re certainly not what I was expecting, I’ll give you that,” Udolf admitted, meeting the thief’s gaze. “I now understand why His Majesty chose to give you the position… despite your criminal history.”

“I’ll take it,” Crow shrugged. He turned away from the older man and gestured to Preston. “Come on. I’m hungry, so I want to go to the Great Hall before they stop serving supper.”

The attendant dipped his head in acknowledgement and stood up, following closely at the viceroy’s heels as they made their way through the corridors that led to the Great Hall.