NOVEL NEXT To cut to the chase, my parents have passed away.
Not in the sense of dying, but they simply went back to their hometown.
Personally, I wish they’d stayed a little longer, but they preferred the warm south over this cold place that only seems to want to snow.
And with winter approaching, it was definitely better for them to leave sooner rather than later.
“Kyle, did you not give anything to your parents before they left?”
“Um… just some herbal medicine that’s good for their health. Dad insisted on it.”
“Aha.”
I was a bit worried they might have received something really precious or expensive without me knowing. If they accepted it nonchalantly, it wouldn’t be a problem, but Kyle might have gone overboard.
Some healthy food isn’t a big deal, especially since it’s something Dad really needs, which means Mom will be happy too.
“It seems the wedding is really over now. Most of the guests are leaving.”
“Well, it’s almost winter. They should enjoy before it gets cold and head back.”
“Yeah, winter is actually the prettiest time, so it’s a bit of a shame.”
“Next time, we should think about inviting everyone during winter.”
Winter in Eristirol was magnificent in many ways. Yes, it was super cold, but the snowy landscape was truly something to behold.
Seeing the unique white sky with minimal clouds and the snow-covered mountains… it was definitely awe-inspiring.
“By the way, how’s Miss Adela doing?”
“Well, Adela is a capable younger sister. She managed the debutante ball on her own, and she’s also good at teaching the family servants.”
“That’s true.”
That wasn’t incorrect. Eristirol Castle had a bunch of incredibly capable servants. I knew that well since I had received a lot of help from them.
Especially when I first met Kyle, I occasionally asked them questions since I was new to working as a private tutor.
“Hehe.”
“Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“Um… just thinking about my first time here.”
I answered Kyle’s question while reminiscing. Back then, I had no idea it would be this cold, so I arrived wearing a thin shirt and struggled quite a bit. If my blazer had been any thinner… I might not have made it!
“I really didn’t expect it to be like this back then.”
As I spoke, I fully turned toward Kyle, who was lying next to me, looking at me.
“Look how far we’ve come now.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Of course!”
It was a good story. So good my heart was pounding with excitement.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the happiest part of my life.
“After spending time in boarding school and living as an adventurer, I suddenly rushed back to answer a call for a private tutor.”
Honestly, I hadn’t bought a suit before; I went ahead and got one tailored at an expensive shop in the capital, all for the sake of my tutoring job.
I ended up spending all the gold I saved over three months!
Definitely a pricey buy.
Though it was still about half the cost of this pajamas I was wearing.
“Was it a really spontaneous decision?”
“Thank goodness.”
“Right? I definitely think it was a good choice.”
The money was… slightly less than in other territories, but it wasn’t bad. I wasn’t the kind to buy expensive things on a whim.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
“….”
“And I found my work rewarding too.”
“Yeah…?”
“Never mind. Just go to sleep.”
If I said any more, I’d just end up embarrassing myself. Normally, I was already shy about saying silly things, and saying more here was definitely going to be awkward.
Plus, I was trying to go to sleep, so how could I if my heart was racing?
“Good night.”
“…Yeah.”
How could I express the satisfaction I felt watching Kyle grow in front of me, especially when I’m usually too shy to properly show my feelings?
Those cheesy lines were definitely not for now. Maybe it would be better to save them for after a few drinks next time.
*
“By the way, it seems the castle won’t have a quiet moment for quite a while.”
“Yeah….”
I was working in the library again today. Most of the time, this was something my husband would handle alone, but it could be done this way too.
“So that’s why we’re here working again.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
As Kyle said, the bustling conversations had ended, and things were transitioning to the next phase. After Kyle’s coming-of-age ceremony and wedding, Adela’s coming-of-age ceremony was next.
Of course, there was still some time until Adela’s ceremony, so it wasn’t like we were swamped with work.
Just some orders for items we needed earlier.
Besides that, it was just another peaceful day as usual.
“By the way, Miss Adela is officially an adult now.”
“Time seems to pass faster as it goes by.”
“Right?”
I felt like time flowed slowly when I was younger. It wasn’t like every day was a repeat of the same mundane things, but there was definitely a sense of slowness to it.
But now it felt like time was speeding up, almost too fast to keep up with.
“Hey Kyle, when I was preparing for your coming-of-age ceremony, I thought about this.”
I was surprised and a little sad thinking about how much Kyle had grown already. After all, I planned to quit my job within a few years, so naturally, I felt that way.
Of course, I was now in a position where I could stay by Kyle’s side forever.
“Isn’t it just that you’ve been busy?”
“Oh, that’s a good point.”
We laughed quietly at that. There weren’t many people in the library, but we didn’t need to laugh out loud.
After all, Kyle wasn’t the type to laugh loudly, and I generally kept my poise too.
Oh, but things got less formal at night.
“Well, Adela’s coming-of-age ceremony isn’t that special, right? It’s not like you’re going to a snowy mountain or anything.”
“Probably not? Since Adela is thinking of taking the Duke’s title, she would have to do something, but I doubt she thinks like that.”
For a moment, I worried if Adela might do something like Kyle had done in the past. She wasn’t a completely ordinary girl, but I still couldn’t help but worry a bit.
She learned magic and had a better physique than regular girls, which made worrying inevitable.
I used to be anxious when Kyle had his ceremony too.
Of course, despite my worries, he ended up coming back just fine.
“Well… I guess it’ll just be a party, nothing more.”
“Yeah, they’ve ordered a lot of jewelry and stuff.”
“We should prepare some gifts too.”
“Um… Well, for Adela, maybe a building or something?”
“….”
Being with Kyle made me realize how noble-like such thoughts felt.
I didn’t have a younger sibling, but if I were to give a gift when my sibling came of age… it’d probably just be a bouquet or a necklace, something simple.
But a building? That just made me feel awkwardly amused.
Honestly, gifting a building is just a bit too much…
“Well, you know her tastes better than I do. You decide.”
“Haha, got it.”
“But if you’re giving her a building, what kind are you thinking?”
I was genuinely curious, so I asked. If nobles give buildings as gifts, what exactly do they give?
Are they thinking of building a resort in some vacation spot?
“Well… we actually have quite a few buildings under our family name. One of those would be a fine gift, don’t you think?”
“….”
I knew that the Eristirol family was a noble house, but I hadn’t realized it was to that extent. I wasn’t exactly well-versed in Eristirol’s finances.
Sure, I had worked alongside Kyle, but aside from that, I had no idea how much money or how many buildings were owned.
Though I did know they were wealthy.
“We have one in the capital, and I think there are a few in the south too.”
“How did I not know this until now?”
“Well, you’ve only been in Eristirol.”
“That’s true.”
In the territory, there was a castle, so there wasn’t really a need for other buildings.
It wasn’t like the castle was some tiny one-room apartment; it was quite substantial.
Sure, it wasn’t as big as the Imperial Palace, but it was still quite a large castle, so there was no need for extra buildings.
“Speaking of that, Kyle, winter is coming, so let’s go buy some clothes tomorrow.”
“All of a sudden?”
“Well, I have plenty of clothes, but you don’t have enough, do you?”
Kyle actually had a lot of clothes for guys, but there were still a few misses here and there.
“Those old clothes don’t fit anymore, right?”
He grew a lot, so the clothes he wore three years ago wouldn’t fit unless they’d been oversized from the start.
People say guys continue growing even into their twenties.
I might not grow any taller, but Kyle… well, who knows, he could still grow more.
“That’s true….”
“So, let’s go shopping tomorrow.”
“Ugh….”
“What? Got a problem?”
“No, I just find it unusual how passionate you get when it’s time to buy clothes for me.”
“Um….”
Maybe that was true. It might be amusing in a way to change Kyle’s outfits and watch the process?