NOVEL NEXT Two years have passed again.
Although two years have gone by, not much has changed.
The only thing that had changed was that Kyle had turned 18 years old in Korean age.
His birthday hasn’t passed yet, so technically he is still 17.
For someone like me, who used to count both ages, it felt a bit odd to calculate age using just the international age.
Of course, it wasn’t hard, but I just wasn’t used to it.
The counting age I thought was 15 is actually 16, so after two years, it’s 18—no, to be correct, 17.
In this world, there was no counting age, so saying I was 17 was more accurate.
And there were things that hadn’t changed even after two years.
Two years is a short time, so things might not change, but the things that should have changed didn’t.
“Louise…”
“R…Really, I wasn’t going to do it this time?!”
“That’s the only thing you’ve been saying for the past two years.”
“Th…That’s true! But still!! I’m not splurging my salary anymore!!”
Yeah, at least she wasn’t squandering her entire salary anymore.
But for the teacher teaching magic to the Duke’s son of Eristirol to be a gambling addict…
“Sigh…”
“D…Don’t hit me?! You didn’t hit me during my adventurer days!”
Back in my adventurer days, I had no reason to hit Louise, but now I did.
I’m Kyle’s direct servant, and she is, in a way, a gambling addict wasting Kyle’s money.
To be precise, she is addicted to the realm of games, not gambling.
“Alright… it’s fine…”
At least it was a relief that she wasn’t squandering her entire salary.
To be honest, I was worried that she might be getting into debt by continuously gambling.
She was a bit crazy—no, very crazy—so of course, I worried about her.
She was crazy enough to warrant that much concern.
“By the way. Kyle has grown so tall lately!”
“I know.”
Naturally, I knew this fact better than Louise.
Every morning, I was the one who went to wake Kyle up, and I was the one who helped him change clothes.
Besides that, I was the one who spent the most time with him.
Sometimes, when Elin was rolling over Kyle and he was too tired to move, I would help him wash up.
It was obvious that I knew best that Kyle had grown taller.
I couldn’t believe how much he had grown in just two years.
He was almost 180 cm tall.
After two years, I found myself looking up at Kyle.
Well, I’m in a woman’s body, and Kyle is in a man’s body, so I knew this day would come.
I knew it, but…
I didn’t expect to be surpassed after just two years!
Isn’t it a bit unfair to grow that much in just two years?!
I remember struggling to reach just over 170 cm in my previous life…
He grew nearly 30 cm in two years…
“Does this mean he’ll reach 190 cm at this rate?”
“Isn’t it likely…?”
At 17, being close to 180 cm means he’ll likely grow taller even when he goes to the military, so by the time he stops growing, he might indeed be 190 cm.
That’s too tall…
If he reaches 190 cm, that means there will be a two-head difference between us.
I’m in the low 160s, so that would be a real difference.
“I hope he doesn’t grow as tall as that 2-meter guy I saw before…”
I really didn’t want Kyle to grow that much.
Yeah, just to 190 cm would be fine.
Asking for anything taller would be a bit tough in various ways.
*
-Knock knock
“Young Master, it’s time for morning exercise.”
“Okay. I’ll be out.”
Recently, Kyle and I started doing morning exercises together.
I didn’t really understand why he wanted to work out with me when he could do it with Elin.
Are we close…?
I guess I got the feeling that I became closer with Elin during our swordsmanship lessons over the past two years, but it seems I couldn’t compete with that.
“Well, it’s natural.”
Of course, as I spent more time with Kyle than Elin.
Not only participating in lessons but also being around him all the time made sense.
“Let’s go right away.”
“Yes.”
Kyle came out.
We had to leave since it was time for our workout.
Kyle and I headed to the training ground.
I always felt that the training ground was way too stuffy.
True, it’s cold outside, but did it really need to be a windowless indoors?
If just the door was locked, it would be like a complete airtight room.
Stone walls and a smooth floor.
And sand sprinkled around to prevent falling.
“One… two… three…”
I was counting for Kyle while he was exercising.
It wasn’t necessary, but since I had nothing else to do, I was doing this.
I wondered if it was correct to be exercising together, but since Kyle suggested this, I had to follow.
After all, I’m his direct servant.
“Ugh… Hah…”
Looking at Kyle working hard, I thought.
His body really is amazing.
Honestly, I’m not exaggerating—his body is incredible.
With a body like that, wouldn’t brothels even pay him to come?
That’s how impressive Kyle’s physique was.
Tall stature, muscular body, fair skin, and good looks.
As for Catherine… I pretty much think that ship has sailed.
Since I came to Eristirol because of Kyle, I think the chance for Kyle to have a wife is already over.
It would probably be more promising to consider Elin, who gives him swordsmanship lessons daily.
Her actions are cute, and she has a pretty face, so she might be a good match.
Given that she’s a knight, she has a certain nobility to her.
Of course… she wouldn’t be a match for Kyle, the Duke’s son and heir to Eristirol.
Realizing this made me think it would be quite challenging to find someone who matched Kyle’s status.
Kyle’s status is too high.
At least a countess like Catherine, or a princess from the royal family…?
I suppose someone of that caliber would be necessary.
There are other duke families outside of Eristirol, but I don’t know much about them.
They all have distinct characteristics.
For instance, the White Duke currently has a female head.
And the wife is also female.
In other words, they are lesbians!
I learned this while studying various families in boarding school.
Honestly, it shocked me.
It was like getting hit in the head with a hammer.
I knew there was homosexuality in this medieval era.
In fact, it often became an issue in monasteries and made the news every year.
However… hearing that a duke’s family is lesbian truly shocked me.
Anyway, there were many other duke families, yet even if they had high status… they wouldn’t fit for marriage.
“Phew..! Miss Sophia?”
Kyle lowered the dumbbells and spoke to me.
Has the workout already ended?
Even though I’ve been daydreaming for a while, it’s only been 30 minutes since we started exercising.
“Yes, Young Master. What can I do for you?”
“Want to work out together?”
“Excuse me?”
Work out together?
What does that mean?
Does he want to lift dumbbells together?
Or is it something else?
What other exercises can we do together?
“I just thought it would be nice to stretch and move around together. Is that alright?”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
I could easily manage stretching.
If my younger brother wants to, I could do anything.
Maybe it’s because I’m an only child, but I often thought about wanting a younger sibling.
I used to imagine that while attending boarding school.
So maybe that’s why I was particularly nice to Kyle.
He’s a boy younger than me following me around; if he’s not like a younger brother, what is he?
“Which one should I do?”
“First, sit on the floor and put your hands like this.”
Kyle sat on the floor, bending his legs in an S-shape so that our feet would touch.
I guess the movement would be to pull our hands and stretch our bodies in this position.
I held my hands out as Kyle instructed.
Then Kyle grabbed my hands.
Hmm… they’re warm.
Kyle’s hands felt warmer than mine; or rather, they felt hot.
Normal body temperature is about 36.5 degrees, but this feels like around 37 degrees…?
“Ugh…”
Kyle then pulled my arms towards him.
He did it without a word, which surprised me a bit.
“Ahh… Hah… Huh…”
It had been a while since I exercised, so sounds just escaped my mouth.
No matter how skilled I was as an adventurer, not exercising for years could lead to this.
Wait, that’s pulling a bit too much.
“Ugh… Hah…”
“How long has it been… twenty seconds?”
Kyle slowly released my hand back to its original position.
“Now, it’s your turn, Young Master.”
“Y…Yes…”
I said this as I pulled Kyle’s warm hands towards me.
“Ahh…!”
I pulled.
“Ahh…!”
I pulled…
“…”
“…”
I definitely pulled as hard as I could, yet Kyle’s upper body didn’t budge toward me.
Even if it did move, it was only slightly.
“Uhh…”
Am I really this weak?
No, a few years ago, I could easily lift Kyle; yet now, I can’t even pull his upper body!
That doesn’t make sense.
“Let’s move on to the next action…”
“…Yes, Young Master…”
Reluctantly, I had to agree with Kyle’s words.
There was no other choice.
If I couldn’t pull while stretching, what could I do?
“Next, I’ll kneel and lean forward, and you should stretch your back comfortably over me.”
“Okay.”
I was still capable of doing that.
My muscle strength might have weakened, but my body should be fine… right?
I’m still in my early 20s!
I’m 23!
There’s no way my body is done for.
It just got slightly weaker from not exercising.
“Hoo…”
I lay on Kyle’s back and stretched my back.
Then, I slowly breathed and stretched my waistline.
Wow, this feels great.
Even though Kyle was right underneath me, I’m light enough that it should be fine.
“Now it’s my turn.”
Next was Kyle’s turn.
After Kyle knelt and leaned forward, I laid down so he could stretch his back.
It was a posture similar to Dogeza.
“Ugh…”
As Kyle climbed on top, sounds automatically escaped my mouth.
Thinking about it, the height difference between Kyle and me is now almost 20 cm.
From slightly above 160 cm to just under 180 cm.
It was only natural that their weight would also differ that much…
“Hah… Hah… Ugh…”