NOVEL NEXT It has come to the point where Kyle is now 17 years old and ready to debut in the social circle.
Five years, huh…
I thought five years would take forever, but it didn’t feel like that at all.
If anything, it felt fast.
Was it because life in Eristirol was enjoyable, or was it because spending time with Kyle was fun?
Well, it must be both.
“Elin, I think we need to cut back on sword training for a while.”
“Ah… I see…”
Elin looks a bit disappointed.
I’ve realized over the years that Elin expresses her emotions very well.
Her expressions, voice, eyes, even her breathing.
She shows her feelings in every way possible.
Right now, it’s clear she’s disappointed.
Her lips are pouting, and her voice is slightly lower than usual.
“Debuting is a huge deal for the young master. It can’t be helped. You understand, right?”
“Of course… It doesn’t mean the classes are being canceled, right?”
Of course not.
We’re just planning to reduce the focus on sword training or magic lessons, not eliminate them entirely.
We’ve already had a few classes before, but for young nobles, debutante balls are the most important.
They needed to review and learn the latest dances, etiquette, and speech.
Knowing the trending dances and interests of young nobles is always important.
Kyle has been stuck in the castle every year, so he wouldn’t know much about the other nobles.
So, he gathered information by exchanging letters with Catherine.
It might be a little strange for a tutor to be writing letters with a Count’s daughter, but Catherine gladly replied.
“By the way… It’s hard to believe our young master is finally debuting. It feels like just a few months ago when I taught you how to hold a sword.”
“Right?”
Kids really grow up fast.
It feels like just yesterday Kyle was a little kid.
Back then, he was smaller than me…
And now he’s at least a head taller!
Elin is tall for a girl, so she doesn’t differ much from Kyle, but I’m different.
Lately, every time I look up at Kyle, my neck starts to hurt.
I’m jealous.
I wish I were tall like Elin.
If I were tall, I would have been better off…
Honestly, these chubby parts of my body are useless.
There’s truly nothing more useless in daily life than breasts and buttocks.
I always had to find the right underwear size, and running around made my shoulders sore.
“Ugh… Sophia, why are you suddenly looking at my chest?!”
“I’m envious…”
I wished I had a size like that.
Not too big or too small, a nice average shape.
“…Sophia, you shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s just that people who have it don’t understand.”
“…?”
“By the way, Sophia, why do you only wear suits? Shouldn’t girls wear maid dresses?”
The reason I wear a servant’s suit?
Simple.
“I just wore a suit on my first day and since no one said anything, I kept wearing it.”
Really, there was no particular reason.
I wore the suit on the first day and when no one commented, I just continued wearing it.
If the Head Butler had said something about my outfit on the first day, I would have changed it then.
I have a slight aversion to skirts… but you gotta earn money, you know.
“Ahh… Well, next time we go down to the village, you should wear one!”
“Should I?”
There’s no reason to refuse her request.
I should wear it at least once.
“By the way… Who do you think our young master will marry? I’ve heard so many rumors in the territory, but I have no idea.”
“Well… I guess we’ll have to wait until he debuts to know. He hasn’t even gone out much.”
Up until Kyle turned 17, the only girls he met were the maids in the mansion, Elin, and Catherine.
Honestly, it feels like such a limited social circle, but it’s not like I could leave my position vacant.
The Duke of Eristirol hasn’t returned yet, and his sister is still away from the castle.
There was news recently that she’ll be back soon, but that was only just recently.
“Still, our young master is extremely handsome, so he’ll definitely meet a lovely lady.”
“Yeah.”
Of course, he will.
I’ll do my best to help Kyle find a good romantic partner.
It doesn’t matter if she’s from a Duke’s family, an Earl’s family, or even a Baron’s family.
Commoners… well, if she’s a good woman, that’s fine too.
There are plenty of stories in anime and light novels about commoner protagonists dating princes or noble characters.
I’m not sure if the world I live in operates like that, though.
Anyway, I hope Kyle’s social circle widens.
Friends, girls, whatever—anything would be great.
“Oh, time’s up! Elin, I have to go pick up the young master.”
“Okay. Let’s have tea together tomorrow as well.”
“Yes.”
After saying goodbye to Elin, who waved at me from the tea table, I stepped outside.
Just in time for Kyle’s magic class to end, so I needed to pick him up.
I had already told Louise about reducing the classes, so there was no need to say anything else.
After his magic class… today we have to practice dancing again.
“Young master, I’ve come to pick you up.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Sophia~ Do you want to grab a late-night snack together tonight?”
“I don’t know, let’s talk about it later.”
I answered Louise who was blabbering nonsense as soon as she saw me and stepped outside with Kyle.
Kyle hadn’t sweated much today since we didn’t have sword practice.
While Kyle’s sweat is pleasant, it wouldn’t be ideal to dance in it, especially with other girls around.
“I’ll lead you right into dancing, young master. You don’t need to stretch anyway.”
While it’s a bit tough to dance in formal pants, ultimately, it’s Kyle who needs to practice, not me.
I just have to dance normally while Kyle leads me.
I don’t know what girl he’ll dance with during his debut, but if Kyle ends up being led by a girl… it could affect his image as a Duke’s Son.
One maid nearby started playing the piano.
A beautiful yet somewhat ordinary melody, the most common type of song for nobles’ dance times.
Not the kind of dance music I used to know in my previous life, but a calm yet upbeat tempo.
Normally, there would be other instruments as well, but since this was just practice, it wasn’t necessary to invite a full band.
Having too many eyes on us could be uncomfortable too.
“Young master, you need to go a bit softer.”
“Yes.”
Kyle gripped my hand and wrist too tightly, so I had to remind him.
A girl’s wrist is delicate, after all.
It’s better to guide him rather than make any weak young ladies suffer during dance practice.
“And when you hold my waist, it shouldn’t be that way, you need to go inward more.”
I took his hand, which was gripping my side instead of my waist, and moved it inward.
Finally, the correct posture was achieved.
Yes, dancing should be like this.
If I had skipped this practice because I had done some lessons before, I would definitely have become the laughing stock when dancing with others.
Truly… I was lucky.
“You shouldn’t dance with such a blank expression, young master.”
Dancing is something done for enjoyment.
Sure, there are dances for sorrow, but most are for fun, pleasure, and joy.
However, having a completely blank face while dancing like this isn’t ideal.
I slightly raised the corners of my mouth as I looked up at Kyle.
Being short really is a sad thing.
“Like this, just a slight smile will make most girls go crazy over you.”
If he smiled just a little, considering how handsome he is, girls would literally swoon for him.
And Kyle isn’t just handsome; he’s extremely good-looking, so it would be even more effective.
“Young master, you’re so handsome that there’s no need for complicated compliments.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Does he not look in the mirror often?
Anytime he glances at a mirror, he’d know how good-looking he is without any doubt.
“Sophia, when you see me, am I really that handsome?”
“Of course. Among the men I’ve seen, you are the most handsome of them all.”
It could be seen as a bit of flattery, but it’s the truth.
Catherine, who probably has an interest in me, would definitely say he’s handsome if she saw Kyle’s current appearance.
“….”
“Now, let’s dance again. Your feet have stopped moving.”
We resumed dancing to the rhythm of “thump-thump, thump-thump.”
We moved our feet and bodies, swaying them up and down as we continued dancing.
Kyle easily carried out the slightly challenging move of lifting a girl.
I suppose it’s because of his strength that he lifted me so lightly.
“Wow… you really learned quickly from when we practiced as kids. What will you do now? Want to keep dancing before heading back?”
We’d already practiced enough today.
But if Kyle wanted more, I was willing to keep going.
As a Direct Servant, it’s my job to oblige if he wants it.
“If the young master wants, we could even dance until dinner time.”
“Then let’s do just a little more before heading back.”
Even though his shirt was already getting sweaty, since Kyle suggested it, we kept practicing for nearly an hour before finally wrapping up.