Ark Undead

The etiquette teacher placed a ruler against the corner of Tom's mouth to help him stabilize his shaky smile. After seeing Tom slightly lower his cheekbone muscles, the teacher put down the ruler with a hint of disdain and slightly relaxed her eyebrows.

"Very good, keep that smile."

Only after the etiquette teacher turned away from Tom did Tom finally relax the stiff muscles in his face and reach out to rub his cheek.

The etiquette teacher continued forward and came to a girl.

Her deep purple hair hung neatly down her back, and she folded her hands in front of her lower abdomen, straightening her slender waist.

The two erect ears twitched slightly, and even the hair on the ears seemed to stand up a little.

"Hmm..." The etiquette teacher stood in front of the girl, carefully examining the smile on her face, and nodded in satisfaction after a while.

“Very good, Melanie, your smile is impeccable. Even the most distinguished adults wouldn’t find it uncomfortable. You’ll be thrilled to see an A in your etiquette course on your report card in a few days. You will become an outstanding Victorian woman.”

The girl named Melantha seemed to blush slightly, then nodded gently.

Even with such subtle movements, there was no sign of the slightest change in the standard smile on her face.

The etiquette teacher's anxiety was clearly relieved by the girl's beautiful smile. He admired Melantha's smile for a while longer before finally slapping the ruler in his hand.

"get out of class dismissed!"

...

The melodious sound of a cello rang out from the loudspeaker, and the boys and girls finally wiped the smiles off their faces, slowly exhaling through their stiff mouths.

"call--"

Melanie let out a breath, trying to maintain that perfect smile. It wasn't an easy thing for anyone.

Melanie simply couldn't understand how those adults could maintain such elegant and proper smiles in any situation, sometimes for hours on end.

But this did not prevent her from studying, and she received an A in the course.

If Melanie didn't get such results, she would be unhappy and then eat several small cakes.

This would cause her to gain weight, which Melanie didn't want, as it meant her fencing instructor would assign her two more sets of basic moves.

"Melantha, do you want to go see a play at the nearby theater after school? I heard a new theater company came today, the performance should be really good!"

A classmate extended an invitation to me.

Melanie paused for a moment, and after a slight hesitation, shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Lisa, I have something to do."

"Oh? That's such a pity!" said Lisa, a classmate, with regret, but then she put on an elegant and polite smile. "Let's hang out again next time, Melantha! You must take care of yourself!"

"Okay, thank you for your concern, Lisa."

Lisa and the other classmates walked away. Melanie bent down to pack her small backpack, put all the documents into the cabinet, and then gently closed the cabinet door and locked it with her small key.

The small bell hanging from the key struck the iron cabinet door, producing a pleasant sound and releasing a delightful fragrance.

Inside the small bell is a small iron ball, which, in turn, contains a tiny incense ball made by Melansha herself using spices.

Melanie put away her keys, donned black gauze gloves to protect her fair and flawless hands, then slung her small shoulder bag over her shoulder and walked toward the school gate.

Although school courses have ended, courses outside of school are just beginning.

To prepare her for becoming a perfect member of high society, Melantha's parents arranged a series of extracurricular classes for her, including art, literature, poetry, and other art-related subjects. Melantha understood that her parents were laying the foundation for her future, and the teachers they hired were very caring towards her, not burdening her with excessive pressure, and only giving her one repetitive lesson per week. For Melantha, this was not a burden.

However, today's class is a bit special; it's a fencing class.

Fencing is a traditional sport originating in Victoria, and this elegant competitive sport has indeed gained popularity among the public in Victoria.

Back at her mansion, Melantha changed into the clothes she had prepared beforehand, had an hour-long fencing training session with the newly arrived instructor, and then thoroughly washed herself in the bathroom before changing into her everyday clothes and going to the hall.

"In terms of fencing skills, Miss is learning very quickly. Many of her movements have reached an astonishing level after just a few practices, and her stamina has also improved accordingly. Before, she would be out of breath just by picking up a sword, but now she can swing a rapier for several minutes at a time."

Her fencing instructor was giving her mother a presentation on today's lesson.

"Miss Melantha also performed very well today. I believe that she will be able to fully learn the first part of the lesson soon."

"Thank you so much for your guidance, Mr. Vic."

The mother bowed to fencing coach Vic with a sincere smile on her face.

“It is my duty, madam. It is my honor to have Miss Melantha as a student.”

The fencing coach removed his hat and bowed slightly to Melantha's mother.

"Today's classes are over, so I'll be leaving now."

Why not stay for dinner?

"Thank you for your invitation, Madam. But I have another dinner to attend tonight, so I'm afraid I cannot accept your kind invitation."

"That's a real shame, Mr. Vic."

After her mother saw the teacher off, she looked back and saw Melantha walking towards her from a corner of the garden.

The mother went up to the child and gently stroked the child's head, causing the two furry ears to twitch comfortably.

"Melansha, you did very well. Your teacher is very satisfied and said you are an excellent student. You are also my pride."

"I feel stronger, Mother."

Melanie hugged her mother's arm and leaned against it affectionately.

"Tomorrow is the weekend, and all my classes for this week are over. Can I go out and have some fun tomorrow?"

"Who invited our little darling?" the mother asked curiously.

Melanie blushed, perhaps because her mother's praise made her a little shy.

"My classmate said that a new theater troupe has come to the theater near the school, and their performances are very interesting. I want to go and see them."

“Art is an important part of life, my darling. I’m so glad you had such a fulfilling weekend.” The mother smiled and gently touched Melanie’s slightly flushed cheek. “Go on, your father and I are leaving tomorrow and won’t be back until Sunday. Be careful, my darling.”

“Praise Mom!” Melanie said affectionately, like an innocent girl of her age.

"Alright, time to eat, my sweet child." The mother led Melanie towards the dining room. "Guess what I had the maid do today?"

"Is it fish fillet, Mom?"

"Oh, and there are also French fries, special tartar sauce, and sweet and sour ketchup. You'll love them."

"Sounds delicious!"

...

The next morning, Mother and Father had everything arranged. Before leaving, Mother hugged the lovely Melanie.

"Enjoy your weekend, honey. Be careful and remember to signal when you're home!"

“Yes, Mother.” Melanie smiled modestly. “Have a safe journey, Mom, and Dad!”

"We will, my sweetheart."

After smiling and stroking his obedient daughter's hair, the father put on a tall hat and led his mother into the carriage.

Watching her parents leave, Melanie breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

Back in my room, I changed into clothes that were more comfortable to move in and sprayed myself with a light perfume.

Melanie picked up her small bag, said goodbye to the maid, and left the house.

She first went to the cake shop on the corner and bought two delicate little cakes.

After putting it in a paper bag, they headed towards the downtown area.

After crossing two large blocks, Melanie turned and walked into a secluded alley.

Clearly, this well-behaved daughter is not as obedient as her parents think.

She told her parents a little lie.

Because she really values ​​a promise.

As she walked past the people staring at her, Melantha lowered her head further and further, even her tail behind her shyly curled up at her waist.

However, the people she passed all glanced warily at the deepest part of the alley before looking away, as if they were afraid of something.

When Melantha finally reached the end of the alley, she knocked on the wooden door of the house located at the deepest part of the alley.

Unlike the exquisite and beautiful houses of the upper-class aristocracy in the upper town, this place exudes an atmosphere of dilapidation and poverty.

But Melantha, with utmost respect, reached out and knocked three times on the door.

Squeak...

The wooden door was pulled open by a hand, revealing the space inside.

It was decorated in a minimalist style, so simple that there was nothing there except a campfire burning quietly on the stone floor in the center of the house, with a pile of chopped firewood next to it.

Strangely, a sword was stuck in the center of the fire, its blade twisted twice by a special tool, forming two neat spirals. But because it was ordinary steel, it had already turned reddish from the fire.

The man who opened the door was wearing heavy armor. Amidst the sickening clanging of the metal, he walked back to the campfire, sat down, picked a piece of firewood from the pile, and threw it into the fire to keep it burning.

Melanie walked in gracefully, obediently closed the wooden door, and sat down next to the person in the slightly burnt air, completely unconcerned about the dust on the floor.

"No... Mr. Undead, I've prepared... a delicious cake."

Melantha mustered her courage and took the beautifully packaged little cake out of the paper bag, placing it next to her and the person completely covered in armor.

"Would you...would you like to eat something with me?"

Her voice was soft, but very pleasant to the ear. Melantha wasn't used to communicating with people, but her desire to speak to the undead made her speak anyway.

The man known as the Undead turned his head, seemingly glancing at Melantha through the gap in his helmet, then at the cake Melantha had placed beside him.

He moved slowly, but still nodded.

"You eat first. I'm not hungry."

Then he turned back, staring at the burning campfire, without saying a word, like a humanoid suit of armor neatly arranged by someone.

Melantha was a little disappointed that she couldn't share cake with Mr. Undead, and she pouted slightly. But she quickly corrected herself with her excellent manners, then took out another small cake and ate it herself in small bites.

Melansha was still very hungry as she hadn't had breakfast yet.

But Melantha didn't actually want to eat with the Undead; she just wanted to see if the Undead actually ate.

Melantha had never seen him take off his helmet, and she was very curious about what kind of warrior was hidden under that armor.

After eating the cake in small bites, Melanie took out a bottle of water in an ornate glass bottle from her small bag, drank a little, and then put the water back in her bag.