We pulled up in front of the house of lords, which turned out to be a rather large building with sprawling steps leading up to a massive mansion. It was the size of a palace, but it had the hominess and architecture of a manor. This gave it a somewhat impressive yet intimidating feel. Of course, many of the girls looked on in awe as we left the autocoaches behind and climbed the steps.

I did my best to keep the girls in order. I had never really fretted over the etiquette before, so such things as remaining quiet and moving in an orderly fashion were things they were unused to. They had a habit of letting out a cry of surprise or even running off if they saw something they liked. The noisy procession was immediately getting looks from some of the other guests which were climbing the stairway in a more orderly and noble manner.

Once again, it wasn't that I was embarrassed or ashamed. I was more worried about accidentally offending or causing an incident. This was a problem I had never considered before today, and it left me feeling a bit confused. I didn't want to offend the girls, but this was a situation I was unused to. As much as I went around and called myself a lord, I had only ever been to a single gathering in Aberis, and that had been interrupted quickly when Tibult appeared and challenged me and my girls. That was the last time I had ever been in such a situation.

"Ladies." First suddenly spoke up toward all of the girls. "When you are in a dungeon, would you act this way?"

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"Hm?" Lydia blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Up these steps is a battleground for your Master. It may not feel like it to you, but this is a political battle, and acting as you are in the same thing as acting like that in a dungeon. You'd only be setting off traps and creating difficulties for my lord."

"Ah!" Miki cried out.

"I don't want Master to suffer." Celeste cried.

"Master, why didn't you say anything?" Shao looked tearfully in my direction.

I didn't know what to say. I hadn't considered wording things in such an easy-to-understand way. It turned out that First had her own experiences as the guard of a king. She must have noticed the struggle I was having and chose to speak up.

I cleared my throat and smiled at the girls. "Since you understand the situation then I trust you to follow my lead and act in a way that wouldn't put any shame on me or Chalm."

"Y-yes!"

"We will!"

The girls all moved into a less natural but more defensive formation, watching those around them warily, their minds more focused on their surroundings like an attack could come from any direction. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but they were quieter and made less of a scene this way. I left it at that and continued up the stairway.

"First… thank you." I touched her shoulder and spoke quietly to her.

"M-my lord… this is nothing! I'm just doing my duty. Don't think anything of it. It's not because I'm always watching my lord… ah! I mean, I would never look at my lord without permission, unless my lord wanted me to look. I'd like to look because my lord is handsome… ah! N-no… that's not it either!" First was red and speaking in a very loud voice as she grew completely flustered.

The scene she created ended up being just as bad as the scenes the other girls were creating.

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