Chapter 35

A week later, we returned to Eristirol Castle.

After Catherine’s invitation, we enjoyed sightseeing in Borussia for a few days until there was nothing left to see, and Kyle also needed to return.

This time we came back a bit more slowly than before, but the discomfort of the carriage was unavoidable.

Anyway, we returned to Eristirol after a few weeks.

Having lived here for several years, it felt like home.

“Ahhhhh……”

I also let Kyle rest especially today.

It’s fortunate that he wasn’t given work from the day we returned.

Now that we’re back at the castle, I don’t have to help with bathing or completely menial tasks, so it doesn’t matter.

I had gotten used to helping Kyle bathe for several weeks.

“Hmm….”

Should I just do it?

It’s not a difficult task anyway, and rather than increasing the workload of other maids, I could do it without any problems.

Well, I decided not to bring it up because it was obvious Kyle would say he disliked it.

Every time I tried to wash him, he disliked it, so he would probably hate it even more now that we’re back here.

It’s a bit hurtful, but it can’t be helped.

Teenage kids are very firm on such matters.

“Hmm….”

By the way, Eristirol Castle, which I hadn’t seen for a few weeks, was not much different.

The season was spring, but for me it was still a cold place without much difference, and the castle itself hadn’t changed much.

“Nyaaaaaaaa!!”

I stretched very strongly while lying on the bed.

Normally I would be wearing a formal suit, and doing this would mess up my clothes, but now I’m wearing comfortable clothes for resting.

The kind of clothes where armpits, cleavage, and belly all show.

“Nyaaaaa….”

It felt really good.

Is this how Kyle feels when getting a massage usually?

Of course, as I gradually weakened, the massages I give probably don’t have much effect anymore…

Well, he’s never said he disliked it while receiving it, so it must be fine.

Probably?

“Sofia~ I’m coming in~”

“Mm.”

The Eristirol Castle’s exclusive magic slave suddenly entered my room.

Since she casually entered my room even normally, I took it as nothing unusual.

If it were someone who didn’t usually do this, it would be different, but Louise always did this.

“Present!”

“?”

“Sofia, don’t tell me… you didn’t buy anything from the capital?!”

“Nope.”

What would I buy?

There’s no need to buy anything for you anyway.

“Eeeek! How could you do that?! You know I can’t leave Eristirol right now!”

Of course I know well.

I’m the one who made you that way for your own good.

“Next time I go, I’ll buy you something then.”

If I say this, Louise would usually calm down.

She’s not someone with a sharp-edged personality to begin with.

If only her gambling addiction could improve a bit…

That’s difficult.

At least I managed to stop her gambling for now, which is fortunate, but I never know when or how it might resurface.

“Oh, right. So how did the debutante ball go?”

“It went well, of course.”

Who do you think trained Kyle all this time?

Of course it had to go well.

“This time, the Young Master talked with women and had conversations with other nobles to some extent, so it went well.”

“That’s good.”

Yes, indeed.

I was really worried until just before the debutante ball, but it went so well that my worries were unfounded.

I was even worried about him being seduced by women, but forget seduction—Kyle was sitting and eating with three women by himself…

I was starting to think that maybe the young ladies on the other side needed to be educated.

No matter how handsome he is, having a harem meal right after the first meeting is a bit…

“Oh, right. I have to teach Adela now too.”

“Lady Adela?”

“Yeah….”

Adela is suddenly taking magic lessons too?

I don’t know what happened during the nearly three weeks we were away, but it seems you’ve finally started your role as Eristirol’s exclusive magic slave.

“Since you have nothing to do anyway, isn’t it fine? You have to do it because of the contract anyway.”

“That’s true… but I want to play!!”

“Sigh….”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Louise, but Louise is still Louise.

“Um… I’m just asking, but you didn’t do anything strange on your way to the capital, did you?”

“Strange?”

“Yeah. Like, you didn’t rub your body against Kyle, or say weird things to Kyle, right?”

“Me?”

There’s no way I would have done that.

I have no reason to do that in the first place?

I didn’t understand why she suddenly asked me this.

Does Louise perhaps like Kyle?

Yes, well, Kyle is handsome, tall, and a good student who follows lessons well.

But… even so, isn’t it a bit wrong to date someone with a 5-year age difference…?

“You’re thinking something strange right now.”

“Ah.”

Sometimes Louise could be quite perceptive.

She’s usually always foolishly gambling, but occasionally she’s quite sharp like this.

It would have been good if she could use even a fraction of that perception for gambling.

“Elin, aren’t you going to get a boyfriend?”

“Me?”

“Yeah!”

“Hmm…. I suppose I should eventually…?”

“That’s right! If you don’t find one soon, you’ll end up like us!”

“Like us? What does that mean, Louise?”

Somehow, Louise, Elin, and I ended up having dinner together.

Since Kyle and Adela were eating separately, we made room for them, and that’s how this gathering came to be.

“Sofia, you’re single, and I’m single too.”

“That’s true.”

It wasn’t wrong at all.

In reality, neither of us had even had a crush, let alone a relationship.

Ah, Louise probably had someone, but she might not have known about it herself.

She has such a free-spirited personality.

“Elin is still two years younger than us, so she’s not too late yet. She should grab a young and capable man now and…”

Thud

“Eek….”

“Don’t say weird things.”

Why is she distinguishing between old and young at 21?

It’s an age that’s not much different from ours.

And to say “grab a young and capable man.”

There’s no romance in that. Romance.

Marriage or dating should be a beautiful love story like in novels.

From the way she talks, it sounds like she’s manufacturing a source of money.

“Elin, don’t listen to her, just live normally. You’re still young, why are you trying to live in such a hurry?”

We’re not complete nobles, so there’s no need to worry about such things yet.

Everyone has a good job, though one is a slave.

Anyway, with a good job, a pretty face, and a good personality, why worry about marriage or dating?

I’m… a different case, but.

Anyway, there was no need for that.

Especially Elin, who holds the position of Deputy Commander of the Eristirol Knighthood, had even less need for it.

Isn’t it fine to earn money moderately and develop a good relationship with a good person in her mid to late 20s?

Louise… well, judging by her appearance, she’s on the pretty side, so she’ll manage.

More than men, she needs to deal with her gambling addiction.

“Hmm…. Sofia, have you never dated or anything like that?”

“Me? Of course not.”

How could I with men? I’m scared.

In fact, I’m so scared that I hadn’t even penetrated myself with my fingers until I was 23.

I was so uninterested in sexual matters that I did it once, got a bit scared, and never did it again.

That feeling I felt back then was somehow scary.

In mangas or animes where women masturbate, they say it feels really good once you do it…

But I was so different that it was rather scary.

Compared to when I was a man, it was a whole different dimension… what should I call it…

Tingling sensation…?

Yes, the feeling was like lightning striking in my head, so intense that I never did it again.

“I… will absolutely never date a man.”

“Pffft….”

“Louise, why are you laughing?”

“Keh…. No…. It’s…. Just had a funny thought suddenly!”

“…?”

She really is crazy.

Suddenly laughing like that while we’re talking makes her look truly insane.

No matter how well I try to speak of Louise, when I see her laughing like this in normal situations, most people would think she’s crazy.

Thanks to that, I’m the one seen as crazy for introducing her as a normal mage.

“Um…. So, Sofia, you don’t have any thoughts about the Young Master?”

“The Young Master?”

Why Kyle?

My thoughts about Kyle are really nothing special.

“The Young Master…. is like a brother…?”

I truly don’t have any other thoughts besides seeing him as a younger brother.

“I’ve seen him since he was 12, so I really only think of him as a brother.”

“Kuh…… Kuhuh…. Kuhuhuhuh….”

Ignoring Louise who kept laughing beside me, I continued talking with Elin.

Elin didn’t pay much attention to Louise, who was laughing strangely beside us either.

“Ah, do you perhaps have an interest in the Young Master, Elin…?”

“No…! I-I don’t at all…! S-So you can rest assured…!”

“..?”

Why should I be reassured?

If anything, I’m someone looking for a person who could become Kyle’s wife…?

Well, these days I wasn’t too worried after seeing Kyle surrounded by women in front, left, and right.

“U-Um… yes….”

Elin’s expression seemed strange, so I just nodded in understanding.

Both Elin and Louise kept looking at me with strange eyes.

Like they were looking at a crazy woman.

What did I do…

It was unfair in many ways.

I had never done anything strange.

Wouldn’t I be one of the most normal-living people?

“Kuh…. Elin, let’s talk alone in a bit. Keh…. It’s an interesting story, so don’t be afraid.”

“Yes.”

Suddenly Louise was making an appointment with Elin.

When I tried to suggest that I join and listen too, Louise told me to get lost because it would be dangerous for me to hear, so after finishing the meal, I eventually had no choice but to return to my room and sleep.