Chapter 23

“Brother, do you have time right now?”

“I need to attend my swordsmanship lesson.”

“Really? Well, that can’t be helped. Shall we meet later this evening?”

“Sure.”

Adela walked in the opposite direction from us after saying that.

Unlike her, we headed to the training ground for the swordsmanship lesson.

“Young Master!”

“Lady Elin, please go easy since the debutante ball is coming soon. Please.”

“Haha… When have I ever done anything unusual…? I don’t quite remember…”

“I trust you’ll do well. Then, Young Master, I’ll take my leave.”

“Yes.”

I left the two of them at the training ground and walked out.

I gave Elin a gentle warning, concerned that she might train Kyle too rigorously again.

Muscle soreness before the debutante ball could heal, but other types of injuries would be problematic.

“Louise is… probably wandering around outside, as usual…”

Elin is teaching Kyle.

What should I do to pass the time?

It was an awkward time to eat.

After Kyle’s lesson and after he had dinner, I would have no duties, and that’s when I usually ate.

“Hmm… what should I do…”

I should probably develop a proper hobby.

I’m not sure what kind of hobby, but it seemed like a good idea to have one.

Maybe I could try making clothes?

No, that would obviously be too difficult.

I wanted something more… easy and fun.

“A hobby… a hobby…”

At this point, I didn’t want a hobby that involved vigorous physical activity.

Though I was only in my early twenties… I preferred something I could do while relaxing comfortably.

In my past life, gaming would have been perfect for that.

But in this world, there was nothing like that.

A hobby I could do while sitting quietly…

“Books…?”

Reading books… not a bad hobby.

There were plenty of books in the castle library.

I started walking toward the library to get a book.

The distance from the training ground to the library was considerable, so I had to walk for several minutes.

The castle being so large was inconvenient in many ways.

It was nice that it was magnificent and the rooms were spacious, but it was just too big!

“Sigh…”

As a result, sometimes my legs would hurt from walking, like now.

I was starting to seriously consider whether I should exercise.

To think my legs would hurt just from walking to the library…

This would have been unimaginable during my adventurer days.

“Sofia?”

“Young Lady?”

As I was walking down the corridor, almost reaching the library, I ran into Adela.

Why was Adela here?

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with my brother?”

“The Young Master is currently attending another lesson.”

“I see.”

Adela exclaimed with wide eyes.

Despite her cold appearance, she was quite expressive.

She definitely had a different feel compared to Kyle.

Kyle… unlike his appearance, he wasn’t very expressive.

It would have been nice if he expressed himself a bit more.

“So you have nothing to do right now?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I had planned to go to the library and read a book, but given the situation, it couldn’t be helped.

The books… I could come back for them another time.

“Then come with me and look around the castle for a bit. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, and some things have changed. Can you help me?”

“Yes, of course.”

And so began my castle tour with Adela.

The castle, which Adela was returning to after six years, was more lively than usual.

Perhaps due to her sociable nature, she engaged in pleasant conversations even with servants she hadn’t seen in six years.

Especially with the maids, she spoke and smiled so brightly that her cold appearance seemed warm.

As we walked around, I wondered… was I really needed here?

I was explaining locations and taking her to places she wanted to go, but it didn’t seem like something only I could do.

“Young Lady, isn’t this something you could ask your personal servant to do…? May I ask why you specifically chose me?”

“Hm? Why I chose you?”

“Yes.”

“Well… that’s obvious, of course.”

That’s obvious, she says.

What could she mean?

“You’re pretty. It’s just fun to walk around with pretty people.”

“…”

I almost made a strange sound like “eck” but managed to hold it back.

I didn’t cover my mouth, but I bit my lip slightly.

It hurt a little, but not enough to be really painful.

“I… see.”

“Yes. Now, let’s continue looking around.”

First Catherine, and now her—I don’t understand why they keep saying I’m pretty.

Both of them are at their prime age with much better looks.

The appearance of teenagers and someone in their early to mid-twenties is definitely different.

The glow of the skin, perhaps?

That was completely different.

I became incredibly envious when looking at teenage girls.

Adela standing right in front of me was a prime example.

I envy teenagers…

“Right, where does my brother have his lessons? I’d like to go there once.”

“Yes…”

Having taken some emotional damage from a teenager’s energy and appearance, I took Adela to the training ground.

Though my looks hadn’t changed in five years, my mindset had.

Could it be because back then I thought I was very pretty, but now I knew I wasn’t…?

It was entirely possible, especially since nobles were extremely beautiful.

“Brother~”

Adela went straight into the training ground where Kyle and Elin were in the middle of their training.

Without even knocking.

Of course, for Kyle and Adela, this was their home, so they could do that.

But… she shouldn’t have.

“…”

“…Huh?”

After opening the door, my and Adela’s feelings were probably the same.

Neither of us could speak properly as soon as we entered.

“…Brother, what exactly is this situation?”

“…Well…”

“Young Master… what is this…”

Kyle had completely removed his upper clothing.

Elin had also taken off her armor and was wearing only a sweat-soaked shirt.

Could they possibly have that kind of relationship?

“…First… let’s get you dressed.”

Kyle heard my words and put on the shirt he had thrown aside.

While I thought it was a shame to cover those fine muscles, now wasn’t the time to focus on such things.

“Brother.”

Adela looked at Kyle with suspicious eyes.

“What were you two doing? Were you fooling around?”

“Cough! Adela, that’s too…”

“If not, why are you both undressed? A knight removing their armor when duty isn’t over—I’ve never heard of such a thing?”

As Adela said, knights in the order essentially wore their armor at all times except when sleeping.

They wore it during duty, breakfast, dinner, training, and almost everything else.

This was partly to adapt to the armor and partly for exercise due to the weight of the armor.

In any case, knights wore armor so much that it might as well be considered part of their body.

Yet Elin wasn’t wearing her armor right now.

She was wearing just a proper shirt under the armor.

It wasn’t a loose garment but something rather tight, which emphasized her cleavage.

“…”

Why was she wearing such clothes?

“T-This is… a misunderstanding!”

“You be quiet.”

Adela spoke to Elin in a cold voice.

The bright and warm Adela from just moments ago had completely vanished.

“Brother, explain quickly. What were you two doing that you both removed your clothes and were sweating like that?”

“I just took it off because it was hot.”

“What?”

“It got hot while sparring. The ventilation in here isn’t very good.”

Kyle’s explanation made sense.

Besides the door, there weren’t many places for air to come in.

“And… I sometimes take off my shirt when it gets too hot, even normally. Elin and I don’t have that kind of relationship, so don’t look at us like that.”

“Hmph…”

Wait, he said he takes it off normally?

His clothes?

“…”

“Eek!?”

When I glared at Elin, she began to panic.

I couldn’t see my own expression, but it surely wasn’t pleasant.

“Lady Elin, have you been conducting lessons like this, with him undressed, on a regular basis?”

“N-No, that’s…”

“Sigh… If it’s hot in here, couldn’t you have done it outside? Was the reason you always had lessons here to see the Young Master’s body?”

“That’s really not it…”

“Lady Elin, then why did you conduct the lesson with your clothes off just now? Isn’t armor something a knight should wear at all times?”

“The Young Master…! The Young Master took his off first! And he told me it was okay to take off my armor if it was uncomfortable! Really!”

“The Young Master?”

Kyle took his off first?

He never used to take off his clothes even when it was hot, but suddenly…?

Could it be that he wanted to show off his body to Elin?

Or did he just want to show it to her?

“Sigh… Young Master, let’s have a talk later.”

“…”

“Yes, brother. We need to talk.”

No matter how physical the lesson was, it wasn’t appropriate for a young man and woman in their prime to be in such a state.

Right now, both seemed to have no thoughts about it, but…

What if they fell while moving around and one’s hand touched the other’s private areas…

“Gulp…”

Anyway, that shouldn’t happen.

Afterward, I quickly wiped off Kyle’s sweat after the lesson ended.

Normally, I would have done it thoroughly, but today I didn’t feel like it.

“Young Master, I’ll save the lecture for during the meal. Let’s get you properly washed up.”

The once-shy little boy who couldn’t properly talk to either men or women had somehow transformed into a man who removed his shirt in front of women.

No, regardless, was it really necessary to remove his shirt during swordsmanship training?

I hadn’t directly observed the lessons, but that seemed a bit inappropriate.

From the beginning, Kyle mostly wore comfortable clothes, which absorbed sweat relatively well compared to other garments.

Eristirol wasn’t as warm as the southern regions or central areas.

Even indoors, the training ground didn’t have any special heating measures, so it was definitely less warm than other places.

“…”

Anyway, I didn’t like it.