NOVEL NEXT “Uh… so this person is a magic instructor?”
“Yep!”
Crazy girl.
But I didn’t say that out loud.
I couldn’t utter such vulgar words in front of the nobles.
How could she speak informally to Catherine, whom she just met?
At this point, it’s just astonishing.
“Hello. You’ve heard of the Oldenburg Count family, right?”
“Yeah, they’re a super rich family!”
“…..”
A sigh was about to escape my lips.
It’s true that the Oldenburg family has a lot of money.
Their territory definitely differs from Eristirol in that regard.
Unlike Eristirol, which symbolizes the north, Oldenburg is slightly to the north, with a cool climate and a pleasant territory to live in.
They don’t heavily tax their people, yet they have tremendous capital from their businesses.
“Umm… well, that’s not incorrect. Our family indeed has a lot of money.”
“The last time I went to Oldenburg, I was seriously shocked! The buildings in the territory looked as expensive as those in the capital.”
“Hehe… you seem to know a thing or two. Would you like to visit our territory sometime?”
“Is that really okay?”
“Of course.”
While we enjoyed our meal, the two ladies were happily chatting away.
Kyle sat silently between them, just eating.
Is he really that bad at conversing with girls?
If I were a guy, I’d be struggling not to laugh and would keep talking with two pretty girls.
He chatted with Catherine normally, so why is he silent with Louise?
If he could talk well in this situation, he’d surely gain more popularity.
No.
With Kyle’s looks, he’d get plenty of attention just by sitting quietly.
The cold prince from the north.
Girls typically swoon over this kind of character.
Back when I was at the academy, there were girls who said they wanted to be maids in some family just to get close to the young master.
“Ah, Sebastian? Can you bring that thing I’ve prepared?”
“Yes.”
As Catherine said this, Sebastian left the hall.
I had no idea what kind of item was so important that it needed to be mentioned during dinner.
I hadn’t heard anything about it.
“What did you prepare?”
Kyle asked what I was curious about first.
I guess I wasn’t the only one wondering.
“Just a little something… it’s not a bribe, just a gift. A gift for the Young Master.”
“Oh….”
Louise was showing curiosity, listening to the conversation.
I was looking forward to what kind of gift it would be.
Could it be something youthful and sweet like a romantic gift?
I thought briefly about what kind of gifts a woman might give a man.
In my past life, all I could think of was maybe a tie.
Men generally get happy with whatever a woman gives them.
If someone gave me a gift, I’d be thrilled to accept it, as long as it’s not something really bizarre.
“Miss.”
“Thank you, Sebastian.”
Sebastian presented a small box to Catherine.
I had no clue what was inside.
After all, it was a sealed box; if I knew what was inside, I’d really be a psychic.
“Now, Young Master. Please open it.”
Catherine smiled as she handed the box to Kyle.
Kyle received it with a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t understand what was happening.
“….”
Kyle silently opened the box.
Inside was a necklace.
“This necklace is made from gems from our territory. It has no special meaning; I just wanted to give it as a token of affection.”
“Thank you. I will keep it safely.”
Kyle closed the box again and placed it on the table.
Why isn’t he wearing it?
“Young Master, is it alright if I put it on for you?”
“No, that’s okay.”
Even though he received a gift, I thought it would be better to wear it.
Maybe he felt uncomfortable putting it on alone, so I asked, but he refused immediately.
Why isn’t he wearing it, it’s just a necklace?
“Hmm… I understand.”
Catherine said and resumed eating.
It seemed she was a bit disappointed that Kyle didn’t wear the necklace.
*
Afterward, the breakfast tea time with Catherine and sword training with Elin continued.
And then there were magic lessons with Louise.
I felt like the time had decreased where Kyle and I did things together.
It felt like the sad heart of a mother who sees her son spending less time with her.
Was my mom feeling like this when I entered the boarding academy?
Probably not.
If she did, she wouldn’t have sent me off so abruptly.
“Miss Sophia.”
“Yes?”
Since Kyle was in a different class, I was walking alone down the corridor when Sebastian suddenly called me.
Always dressed in the same suit with neatly arranged hair.
It had been a while since Catherine had been at the castle, so I was somewhat used to it.
“The lady would like to have a quick chat.”
“Oh, okay.”
Catherine was calling me again to talk today.
I didn’t understand why she wanted to chat with me.
I thought maybe she was trying to extract information about the castle, but I didn’t sense anything of the sort.
“Sophia, would you be able to go outside the castle with me tomorrow?”
“Outside the castle… you mean?”
Why suddenly want to go outside the castle?
She could just send the servants to do that.
“Yeah, I just feel bored staying in the castle all the time. I want to see what Eristirol’s territory is like.”
“I will ask the Young Master first and let you know.”
Kyle probably wouldn’t mind as it wasn’t a big deal.
It was just a matter of briefly surveying the territory, so there was no reason to refuse.
“And could I possibly borrow some clothes to wear tomorrow? My servants didn’t prepare anything like that.”
“Got it.”
Clothes, huh…
I shouldn’t lend her my clothes.
The sizes would completely mismatch.
Especially the chest and hip sizes would surely be too big for Catherine.
She’s still in the growth phase.
There was no way an adult like me and a child like her would have matching sizes.
I should ask the other maids to arrange something.
If there’s nothing available, I’ll have to ask them to fetch some from the lower territory.
The conversation with Catherine ended like that.
It was more like a request than an actual conversation.
“Young Master, is it alright for me to accompany the Oldenburg Young Lady on a tour of the territory tomorrow?”
“A tour of the territory?”
“Yes.”
When I said that, Kyle fell into thought for a moment.
It was a reasonable concern since I was directly assigned to Kyle, and he had to think about me leaving my post.
I had been handling most of the paperwork that Kyle should be doing and looked after everything else, aside from bathing.
Even now, I was sitting in Kyle’s library processing his paperwork.
Though I felt this wasn’t the right situation, it was too late as I had been doing this for years.
Before he became an adult, I had to teach Kyle how to properly handle the paperwork.
“Well, since we’ll have the usual classes tomorrow, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Is that so.”
“Yeah, let’s consider tomorrow a kind of holiday. Miss Sophia, you haven’t had a proper break until now, right?”
“Oh.”
Now that I think about it, that’s true.
“Take some time to relax. I’ll inform the other teachers for you.”
Kyle answered with a smile, making me feel grateful.
Thanks to that, it seems I can relax tomorrow without thinking about being a servant.
No, actually, partnering with Catherine might end up being more uncomfortable.
While I’d known Kyle for years, I had only known Catherine for a few months.
And most importantly, we weren’t close at all!
I had only treated her as a servant, and she had treated me no differently.
We clearly had no reason to be familiar with one another.
In fact, hanging out with Kyle in the territory would definitely be more fun.
I thought it would be truly enjoyable to explore the territory with Kyle.
I should plan to go down together sometime.
“Young Master, how’s the class with Louise going?”
I intentionally didn’t observe Louise’s class so as not to put any pressure on Kyle.
But I couldn’t help but ask how his class was going out of curiosity.
“It’s fun. It’s still the beginning, but it’s different from the sword.”
“Is that so.”
I was relieved that Kyle seemed to be interested in magic.
I felt like I had forced him into it, but seeing that he was enjoying it made me happy.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Uh… Miss Sophia?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you suddenly…”
“Oh.”
Without realizing it, I had been petting Kyle’s head.
“I’m sorry.”
Was it because I thought of him too much as a little brother, or had I gotten too close to him?
Even though I knew I shouldn’t behave like this, I had patted him absentmindedly.
“I’ll be more careful to avoid such things in the future.”
I lowered my head and said that to Kyle.
Fortunately, Kyle said it was okay and overlooked my mistake.
*
“Sophia! What’s that over there?”
“Just some regular skewers.”
“Ohh… I must try it! Sebastian?”
Catherine was dressed in the warmest yet simplest clothes.
Of course, her appearance wouldn’t let her blend in as ordinary; people noticed she wasn’t just any commoner.
Catherine seemed completely unaware of this, asking for skewers as if nothing was amiss.
“Yes, Miss.”
If she’s going to act like this outside, why did she ask to borrow clothes that she could wear outside?
Anyone could see she was a noble.
“Sophia, what’s that over there?”
For now, my task was to help Catherine explore the territory.
It appeared this “holiday” would not come to pass after all.
Honestly, if Kyle had come down to join us, seeing Kyle and Catherine together would have truly felt like a break.