NOVEL NEXT “No matter how much the Young Master is interested in women, you can’t just walk around without a shirt. Do you understand?”
“Yeah… I’ve already heard that four times…”
“That’s why I’m saying it, it’s important. You shouldn’t be acting like this before your debut.”
“Yes… yes….”
I nagged at Kyle.
Of course, it wasn’t just me; Adela joined in too.
“Brother… are you a nudist?”
“What are you talking about, Adela…”
“Even if it’s hot, can you just take off your clothes? Huh?”
“Ha…”
Adela was nagging Kyle just like me.
Honestly, Adela’s nagging was probably harder to listen to than mine.
At least mine was just nagging, but Adela’s felt like it was an instinctive reaction.
“Sure, that knight is pretty, so maybe you wanted to seduce her by showing off some skin. I fully understand as a little sister.”
“Adela, that’s really a misunderstanding…”
It seemed that there was a certain playful intent behind it too.
I might not know about Kyle, but I could tell as a girl.
Adela was definitely just teasing.
“Young Master, if you need a woman…”
So, I decided to join in the teasing too.
“Why not just use me instead?”
“….”
“Just kidding.”
“……”
“……”
Suddenly, the atmosphere turned cold.
Adela also fell silent.
Why?
Weren’t we all just teasing Kyle…?
“Sophia, that kind of talk is a bit much, you know.”
“…Is that so…?”
It seemed my joke didn’t entertain them as much as I thought it would.
I thought it’d at least be funny.
“Sophia, let’s not joke around, okay?”
“Yes…”
*
“Sophia…..”
“What is it, Louise?”
There really was no need to ask why she called me.
I already knew.
“I… lost everything….”
“What?”
It was finally completed.
A seven-year-old magic slave dedicated to Eristirol.
“I lost all the money I got last time!!”
“How did you lose it?”
“…..”
Louise hesitated to answer.
Yeah, she probably caved in and spent it all on gambling.
So, that’s why she immediately came to me.
“I… I really tried to hold back this time….”
But she clearly couldn’t hold back.
So, hurry up and say it.
“I couldn’t hold back and spent it!”
“Is that so?”
Thank goodness.
Big expenses returned as profits instead of losses…
Honestly, I was worried Louise might blow it, but luckily the plan succeeded.
Thanks to that, we could use the territory’s funds for better purposes.
Those running the gambling house, along with us, all benefited from this structure.
It was truly a win-win situation.
“What should I do now?!”
“Huh? You’re going to get food and a place to stay at the castle anyway, so it’s fine, right? There’s no other place to spend money.”
“Ah…!”
I didn’t intend to mess with Louise at all.
I actually hoped she’d do well.
Gambling was risky as it was.
I thought she might finally learn her lesson after losing big, hence this plan.
“So, can’t you just live like you usually do? Right?”
“Seems like that might be the case…!”
She might be bright when it comes to magic, but she sure has her dumb moments.
Well… if she thought properly, she wouldn’t be gambling, right?
At least she seemed to have a good grasp of magic skills—thankfully.
If Louise didn’t have any talent for magic… things could have turned out quite dangerous.
“Yeah, just stay at the castle like usual.”
“That’s true! I guess I worried too much!”
Today, Louise’s unusual eyes looked even duller.
“Then I’m off to have lessons with Kyle!”
“Okay.”
Lessons, huh… I doubt Louise would do anything weird like some people do.
It’s clear she had no interest in men anyway.
*
“Kyle~”
“Yes.”
“What’s with that expression?”
For magic lessons, it was just Kyle and Louise in the room.
Louise regarded Kyle’s face with curiosity.
He looked flushed today, as if he couldn’t focus properly.
“Did something happen?”
“…Nothing happened.”
“Huh?”
Even Louise could tell Kyle’s condition wasn’t great.
She thought he looked worse than when she told Sofia that she lost all her money.
That’s how bad it was.
“Um… did something happen because of Sofia?”
“How do you know…?”
“Just thought it was probably Sofia.”
People around had a pretty low opinion of Louise.
Which was understandable since she was always causing trouble and neglecting manners while gambling.
Even her closest friend, Sofia, often called her crazy.
“Isn’t she just spouting some weird nonsense again?”
But despite that, Louise was pretty sharp.
She picked up on things well.
“She said weird things even when going on adventures, so I figured she would do it again.”
“…Did she say that before?”
“Yeah. Doesn’t she casually touch guys and say strange stuff?”
“…..”
Kyle could not refute Louise’s words.
It was all too true.
Every time he wiped his chest, abs, or back tired from his lesson with Elin, he couldn’t help but think a little strangely.
Having that big chest close by inevitably made it risky for any man.
“She doesn’t even know how pretty she is. Her chest is huge.”
“….”
Though it might be a bit harsh, it wasn’t a lie.
Among the women around Kyle, she had the biggest one.
Catherine, who he met before, was younger, and Elin had a pretty average size.
And then we had Louise, who was above average.
But even that wasn’t close to Sofia’s.
“Don’t you think so? I’m crazy too, but she’s really nuts, right?!”
“…..”
Kyle couldn’t object.
There were many aspects where Sofia indeed seemed crazy.
With her wide hips and generous chest, she surely looked like she could bear children well.
Just looking at that was insane, plus she was incredibly beautiful.
So naturally, she became a key ingredient for Kyle’s happy time.
Nobody knew this fact.
“Men have no idea how much they go crazy over those breasts and butt and just say weird things… And they’re not even hitting on her, so why not just give her to me?”
“…”
The lesson time suddenly turned into Sofia’s gossip, but Kyle didn’t stop Louise.
He had no choice but to accept the story.
“Still, people are… kind.”
“That’s right. It’s not like they can still consider a friend like me who spends all day gambling as a good person.”
“Well…”
Kyle seriously pondered whether to agree or disagree here.
‘If they knew, why would they keep gambling…?’
Everyone knew that Louise gambled.
Even Elin, Kyle’s swordsmanship instructor, knew it.
The maids and servants also knew, so it was obvious Kyle would as well.
“…It’s not like I want to do it. It’s just… I can’t help it….”
Louise, madly addicted to pleasure.
Though she had no desire to treat her addiction, she at least tried to endure it.
But inevitably, after two months, she’d go back to gambling.
Before gambling, she’d often do other weird acts.
For instance, casting a spell that lightens her body and floating down a river.
Sofia knew at least ten such stories.
“Anyway, Sofia, what did she do this time that’s got her all worked up? Just tell me once. It’ll be our secret.”
After a moment of thought, Kyle told Louise what had happened yesterday.
About how she said something about using her body or whatever.
“….crazy girl.”
Louise seriously cursed Sofia.
Though she hadn’t heard it, it was genuine.
“How can a girl say using her body is any different?! I didn’t sell my body or anything!!!”
“Using your body… it’s not like that…”
“How is asking about using your body not like selling it?!”
“…..”
“Does she not know how guys react when a girl with those… things says that?! She graduated from a prestigious academy, right?! Huh?!”
“…..”
“Is she just trying to seduce you? Wait, could it be true?!!”
“Isn’t that a bit of a leap…?”
It truly was a big leap.
Sofia was a real blockhead who still didn’t realize that she might appear tempting to men.
She graduated high school with high grades, but due to her past life, she completely lacked self-awareness about her allure.
With that background, it was really hard for them to understand Sofia’s intentions.
“No, think about it, Kyle… She’s rolling out of bed every morning to wake you up? Following you around all day? Plus, she’s always wiping the sweat off with those… things. If that isn’t seduction, what is?!”
“….Even so, Miss Sophia wouldn’t think of it that way. She’s more like my home tutor…”
“You were totally turned on by her!! It’s obvious to everyone?!”
“…..”
Kyle couldn’t argue anymore.