Chapter 37

“Daddy~”

“Oh, it’s Adela.”

“It’s been such a long time.~”

Adela was in the head of the family’s embrace, smiling brightly.

Although Adela usually smiled a lot, she didn’t smile as brightly as she was doing now.

Well, she must be happy after meeting her father after several years.

“Young Master, is it alright if you don’t go?”

“Yes.”

Kyle didn’t go toward the head of the family and Adela who were embracing each other.

I don’t know why this kid who isn’t even an adult yet is pretending to be so mature.

“So, did you have a good time playing around for several years?”

“Uh……”

“Haha…. Do you know how many years I’ve been away?”

“Umm… has it been 4 years…?”

“Dad.”

“….Of course I know. It’s been 7 years, hasn’t it?”

“Phew. That’s a relief…. If you had forgotten that too, I would have really gotten angry.”

“Hahaha….”

While listening to the father-daughter conversation, I realized one thing.

Adela seems to have a stronger voice in the Eristirol family than I thought.

As evidence, the head of the family is reacting to each and every word Adela says right now..

“….”

“Sigh….”

Well, being the youngest daughter, she would naturally receive the most love from the family.

The youngest usually has the strongest power in the family.

Of course, I wouldn’t know, being both the eldest daughter and the youngest.

“Kyle, you come here too. By the way, who is that woman next to you? Your girlfriend?”

“Huh?”

The head of the family suddenly looks at me and misunderstands that I’m Kyle’s girlfriend.

No, no matter what, there’s a 6-year age difference, so misunderstanding me as his girlfriend shows a complete lack of observation skills.

When I first met Kyle, I was the same age Kyle is now.

How big is the age gap.

A 6-year difference means that in terms of my past life, I would have been graduating elementary school when he was just starting it.

Wait, looking at it this way, there really is a big difference…?

“Father, this is Sofia, who serves as both my personal servant and tutor.”

“Oh ho….”

“It’s an honor to meet you for the first time, Master. I am Sofia, who assists the Young Master.”

I greeted the head of the family once more.

This greeting is essentially the first proper one.

The greeting I just made while in Kyle’s embrace when everyone else did wasn’t a proper greeting.

When I finished my greeting and raised my head again, the head of the family looked at me with a somewhat satisfied expression.

It was a gaze that gave me a strange feeling.

“Hmm…. She must be a trustworthy person if you’re employing her, Kyle. Well, let’s go inside for now.”

“Yes.”

“Yes~”

And then we went inside the castle.

Once inside, the servants appeared more tense than usual.

Well… that’s natural.

“Kyle, since we’ve met after a long time, we should have a conversation.”

“Dad? We just met after so long and you’re already going to play with brother?”

“It’s a conversation between men. You go have tea with Kyle’s servant over there.”

“Hmph……”

So somehow I ended up having tea time with Adela.

Making tea wasn’t a difficult task at all, so I made the tea and poured it into Adela’s cup.

This much was a basic quality of a servant.

“Lady, how is it?”

“Not bad. Next time, steep it a bit longer.”

“Yes.”

Although we were having tea time, there wasn’t anything special about it.

To begin with, we weren’t close enough to have a special conversation.

I was Kyle’s personal servant and tutor, not this young lady’s.

I didn’t feel at all like she was “my little sister Mk.2” just because she was Kyle’s sister.

She was taller than me, and we weren’t close.

If we had been close like with Kyle, Adela might have felt like a sister too.

“Hmm…. Sofia, do you have any idea what Dad and brother might be talking about?”

“Hmm…. I really don’t know when you ask me like that. This is my first time meeting the head of the family…”

“Ah, I see….”

I’m sorry to Adela, but I truly couldn’t predict it.

This is really the first time I’ve met the head of the family.

“Kyle.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Well… you’ve grown up well.”

“It’s thanks to Sofia.”

I thought I might have responded too coldly to my father’s compliment, but it wasn’t completely wrong.

I have grown up like this thanks to Sofia.

Though my height takes after my father.

“I think you know why I’ve returned to the castle after playing in the snow.”

“It’s because of my coming-of-age ceremony, right?”

I’m turning 18 this year.

And next year, I’ll naturally turn 19 and become an adult.

He must have come for the Eristirol coming-of-age ceremony.

“Yes. You understand well.”

It was as expected.

For a father who enjoys wandering outside, this would be a reason to return.

“But what’s the coming-of-age ceremony? You’ve never told me about it.”

“Ah. Was that so…?”

“Yes….”

You’ve only come back after several years, so how could you have told me….

He’s certainly a high-ranking person, and he looks cold from his appearance….

Well, he’s a good father, so there’s no problem.

I also understand father’s wanderlust.

It’s common sense for men to enjoy adventure or camping.

“It’s not difficult. In the first month of the year you become an adult, you just need to survive alone in the forest for two weeks.”

“What?”

“I’ll station a few knights around, so you don’t need to worry about dying.”

“….”

Yes, it’s a northern culture.

A coming-of-age ceremony only the northern regions would have.

“It’s a tradition we’ve had since olden times. And to become the leader of the northern group, if you can’t endure even that much, you don’t have the qualifications, right?”

“That’s…”

He’s not wrong.

It’s something that must be done to govern people in this harsh land.

It would be impossible for someone who couldn’t handle even that much to sit in the highest position in the north.

“And… seeing your body, I don’t think I need to worry.”

As my father said, even in my own opinion, my body was at an impressive level.

Just seeing Sofia touch it occasionally should indicate how amazing it is.

It’s still difficult to spar with Lady Elin, but it’s getting better over time.

“Well, let’s end this topic here and move on to the next one.”

“?”

The next topic?

I didn’t expect there to be more to discuss besides the coming-of-age ceremony.

“That woman.”

When he says “that woman,” there’s only one person here.

Sofia.

She’s one of the people my father has newly met upon his return after a long time.

So naturally, he would have some degree of interest.

Plus, it’s been some time since father lost mother…

“…”

Surely that kind of talk won’t come up.

No matter what, this would be too much of a wild guess.

“Yes.”

“That woman… is she yours…?”

“…”

Father slightly raised his pinky finger and spoke like that.

There was only one meaning to this.

It meant a lover or girlfriend.

I was really perplexed about how to answer this.

I hope for that kind of relationship.

Yes, I hope for it.

It’s very difficult because Sofia still sees me as a 12-year-old kid, but…

“Not yet… she isn’t.”

“…Hahaha!!!”

Father suddenly laughed heartily.

Father must find it amusing.

The last time he saw me, I was a very small kid, and now I’m saying something close to liking a woman.

But I was serious.

I truly… Sofia…

“That’s a good mindset! Even if it’s not now, having the ambition to possess is what makes an Eristirol man!!”

Thump! Thump! Thump!!

Father said that and started strongly hitting my back.

Wait, my bones… my bones…

“Haha…. I’m amazed you’ve grown enough to desire a woman already.”

“Y-Yes….”

I almost lost the ability to desire women just now.

“By the way, that… Sofia, was it? How old is that child?”

“She’s turning 24 this year.”

There’s a 6-year difference between us, so she’s turning 24.

I don’t think it’s an age that would be a problem for love.

Right now in the north, kids date each other, and older men date young ladies, so what problem could there be with a 24-year-old and an 18-year-old?

“Hmm…. Age isn’t a problem then!”

“Right?”

See, even father says there’s no real problem.

These are the words of the highest authority in the north right now, so there’s absolutely no problem.

From the current atmosphere, he doesn’t seem to have any bad thoughts about Sofia.

Originally being such a hearty person, he’s the type who would proceed straight to marriage if I brought a woman home.

He must really be asking out of curiosity about Sofia and me.

“I was 3 years older than your mother, so I understand to some extent…”

“?”

So father and mother had that age difference.

From my old memories, I didn’t know because they both called each other by their names comfortably.

“Just by looking, she probably sees you as a little brother…”

“How did you…”

“Your father may seem to live carelessly, but I’ve lived at least 20 years more than you. I’ve also experienced love 20, no, 25 years earlier than you.”

“….”

“With a 6-year difference… it’s obvious she would see you not as a younger brother but more like a son.”

“….”

I couldn’t refute my father’s words.

Sofia really does see me as a child.

Even today, while I was hugging her as we waited for father, there wasn’t any romantic atmosphere at all.

As Sofia said, other women might like it if I did that, but… Sofia liked it in a different sense.

It was in the sense of “it’s good that you’ve grown up well” or “it’s good that you’ve grown up splendidly.”

That was really difficult.

I had no idea how to change that perception.

“The solution to your current situation is simple.”

“What is it…?”

Father is experienced.

He’s someone who has even married a person older than himself.

He must surely have a good tip.

“First, just pounce on her.”

“….”

It seems better to generally ignore father’s advice.