She demonstrated the exact angle.
"When Her Majesty extends her hand, you will take it with your right hand only, supporting it from beneath, never gripping from above. When walking, your steps must be measured—not too fast, not too slow. When sitting, you will wait for Her Majesty to sit first, then take your seat with your back straight, hands folded in your lap."
The instructions continued.
And continued.
And continued.By the time Countess Ronin finally left—three hours later—Larus felt like his brain had been stuffed with a thousand tiny rules about how to stand, sit, walk, gesture, smile, and breathe properly.
He collapsed onto his bed with a groan.
"How does anyone survive this?" he muttered to himself.
One of his personal servants—a young woman named Mira who'd come with him from Marus—poked her head in.
"Your Highness? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Larus said, staring at the ceiling. "Just... questioning all my life choices."
