CH 49

My heart was furiously pounding as I watched the closed door.

Early this morning, Wilhelm-sama assessed the contents of my lecture. There was no problem with it, as another medical knight also decided. And so, my first lecture would be this afternoon.

It was my first time to teach people something, and I was terribly nervous.

Whenever I thought about the gazes that would be directed to me, my stomach would hurt.

I was not used to attracting attention much.

From the start, I did not have much in the way of growth, so I did not draw attention even at the evening party. Men usually spoke to women with big breasts like Natalia, do they not?

Only when His Highness Rayford suddenly broke off our engagement was I truly noticed.

Now that I thought about it, I kissed Wilhelm-sama’s cheek amid that much attention, how shameless of me!

「What is wrong, Carol? Are you nervous? 」

「Y-Yes……a little」

It was actually far from a little. I was immensely nervous.

I am happy Wilhelm-sama was concerned for me, but I would also try to act a little braver. I could not afford to be worried, and I had already accepted being a lecturer. To be a lady worthy of being Wilhelm-sama’s wife, I would have to properly do the job I accepted.

With a gulp, I watched Wilhelm-sama open the door.

Beyond this door, were students whom I should teach—.

「Stand up」

At Wilhelm-sama’s command, everyone in that classroom stood up at once.

Could their age be where even the youngest people were over forty years? Some of the oldest ones might not be far from Wilhelm-sama’s age.

Each one of them had an intimidating air somehow.

「Let us start with introduction. You would be taught health and medical technology, as well as the knowledge to survive on the battlefield by the temporary lecturer, Carol Ambrose」

「I-I am Carol Ambrose! 」

Wilhelm-sama’s introduction extremely raised my hurdle.

The knowledge to survive in the battlefield were very big words, but all I could teach was medical pharmacy.

And, surely, that was something they all knew well about the battlefield.

「You will first take the lecture as a trial. We will choose lectures from each unit for next time, so please submit to me those parts which matter to you and those you want to better understand later」

「Yes, sir! 」

「Well then, Carol. Please begin the lecture without worries. Those who are here are only the vice-captain and the other officers of the Order」

「……Eh」

What…was everyone an officer?

There were certainly several elder people, so it only made sense when one thought about it.

They would not so easily entrust the position of lecturer to an amateur with superficial knowledge like me. And although Wilhelm-sama had checked the contents earlier, he did not have knowledge of medical pharmacy. So, naturally, the experts would have to confirm it.

When I looked closely, the medical knight who came during the entrance examination at the Order of the Snow, Julius-sama was also present.

「Go ahead, Carol. You may begin. I shall listen at the back. Only the officers are present, so you will be able to teach with ease」

「……I-Is that so? 」

Wilhelm-sama.

Carol would obey Wilhelm-sama to the end. If Wilhelm-sama wished for it, I would do anything.

However, this was too much.

For Wilhelm-sama, all the officers here were people he was acquainted with.

「Indeed. Your lecture should be easy to do first, after all. There are also many rowdy ones in the Order. Rather than lecturing to such a group, these people are calm, so you will be alright」

「……Y-Yes」

Wilhelm-sama said so, but my situation would not change either way.

Rather, everyone here was an officer of the Order. In other words, people close to Wilhelm-sama.

If I could not deliver a decent lecture and everyone would tire of me, it would be directly linked to Wilhelm-sama’s judgment.

I was not so thick-skinned to the point I did not feel any heavy pressure.

「Well then, Carol. I shall be at the back」

「Y-Yes. Thank you very much, Wilhelm-sama」

「Hmm」

With that, Wilhelm-sama went to the back of the classroom.

Only Natalia and I were left. Although Natalia was my maid, I would have her help me as my assistant.

Like Richard, some of the knights were straining their necks to look at Natalia’s chest. It could not be helped. It was the nature of men.

「Ojou-sama, please proceed」

「Y-Yes……ahem」

Anyway, this was a classroom.

Unfortunately, however, my height allowed only for my head to peek at the top of the lectern.

I caught several of the officers give a wry smile.1

Let us have a stand placed before the lectern next time.

Yesterday, I practiced hard after I finished making the documents.

If you stumble on your first greeting, in that instant, there was a possibility that everyone would not accept you.

So I made a script, had Natalia assume a student, and practiced over and over again.

Because of that, I lacked a little sleep.

「Once again, I am Carol Ambrose. Today, I shall give everyone a lecture on medicine, pharmacy and hygiene. We will first distribute the documents. I shall do the first half in the form of explanation and demonstration of the documents, and the second half will be question and answer. This is my assistant, Natalia」

「I am called Natalia」

「Then, we will now distribute the documents, so please take a piece」

As a result of my practice, it went smoothly.

It would be wonderful if I could talk in this manner till the end, but my heartbeat was still intensely loud.

When would it settle down?

Signaling Natalia, we distributed the documents which took all night to make.

I believed the characters written were more or less readable.

「Then, I will first conduct a test」

「Test? 」

One of the elder ones asked with a frown.

He probably only expected to listen to a lecture. Not to be told to take an exam.

「Please do not misunderstand. I only wish to confirm first as to how much of a healthy lifestyle does everyone lead every day. No disadvantages will happen for your answers」

Fufu~n.

I also anticipated encountering this sort of dissatisfaction.

And I had diligently practiced on how to respond.

I can do this. My confidence grew a little bit.

And so, pointing at the document on hand.

「Well then, everyone, pleeth woo……」

…….

…….

…….

What should I do?

I fumbled too bad…….

[1] I don’t know how to word 苦笑 in English but, basically, the officers went (^^;)

(Source: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/3629/the-meaning-usage-and-cultural-significance-of-the-word-苦く笑しょう)