Chapter 41

“Sofia~”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Do you have a moment?”

“Could you spare us some time.”

“…Pardon?”

After finishing cleaning Kyle’s room, I ran into Catherine and Lily.

They suddenly told me to follow them and took me somewhere.

The place they brought me to was outside the main building of the castle.

“…?”

I wondered why we came here.

We hadn’t completely left the castle grounds, but we were outside of the castle building.

“Sofia, I have a question for you.”

“A question…?”

What kind of question required coming outside like this?

Since we had suddenly come outside, I wasn’t wearing the coat Kyle had given me and felt a bit cold.

The two young ladies who brought me here also seemed cold, but I decided to hear what they had to say first.

“Yes.”

“How are things going with Young Lord Kyle these days?”

“With the young master? We’re getting along the same as usual…”

“Is that so?”

“Yes…”

Suddenly they were asking about my relationship with Kyle.

Seeing them suddenly ask about Kyle, I wondered if perhaps they were interested in him?

That could be why they brought me outside like this.

Because there were many ears inside the castle.

“Hmm… Then, how long do you plan to continue as Young Lord Kyle’s tutor?”

“I haven’t been working as a tutor recently.”

Kyle had already made his society debut, and he was busy with heir succession lessons.

He had already learned everything he needed to learn over the past few years.

According to Louise, he had already mastered magic.

Elin also said he had learned swordsmanship as much as he needed to.

So this year, Kyle was mainly focusing on his heir succession lessons.

“The young master has recently been working with the head of the family on matters related to his succession.”

Since his other lessons had disappeared, I’ve been able to spend more time with Kyle.

I found that I preferred being with Kyle rather than being apart.

Perhaps it was because we had known each other for so long?

“I see…”

“Hmm… Would it be possible for us to take a little tour of Eristirol with you now?”

“That’s not possible.”

“Why not? Did Kyle perhaps tell you not to go?”

“No, that’s not it.”

That wasn’t the case.

Kyle had never told me not to do something.

Rather, he always asked.

“The young master will be returning soon.”

“……”

Yes, it was almost evening.

It was time for Kyle to return to the castle after finishing his lessons with the head of the family.

“The young master always returns at this time. So I cannot go now.”

If they had asked a little earlier, it might have been possible, but now it couldn’t be helped.

Because it was time for Kyle to return.

I needed to be there to take his clothes if they were soiled and pass them to another servant, or to help carry anything he might bring back.

“I see…”

“Yes, and I need to ask the young master first, so for now, it’s not possible. I apologize.”

I bowed to Catherine in apology.

Catherine looked at me with a slightly disappointed expression.

But it couldn’t be helped.

After all, Kyle was my master.

*

“Thank you, Miss Sofia.”

“It’s nothing.”

Kyle and the head of the family returned as the sun was setting again today.

Today, Kyle’s shirt was stained with blood, as if he had hunted some animal.

I was slightly worried that he might be injured somewhere.

“Young master, are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine.”

“Is that so…?”

Since he said he was fine, he probably was.

I was concerned that he might be hiding an injury.

“Let’s take off your clothes first.”

“…Pardon?”

“You don’t feel the cold anyway. It would be better to take it off than to keep wearing such dirty clothes.”

The pants weren’t an issue, but there was no problem taking off the top.

“Please take it off.”

“……”

Kyle handed me his removed shirt.

The shirt was still dripping blood a little, but it was better for me to hold it than for Kyle to keep wearing it.

By the way, this doesn’t have that smell that sometimes came from Kyle.

“Young master, let’s go straight to the bath. I’ve had attendants prepared.”

“Yes.”

I walked with Kyle into the castle, carrying his soiled shirt.

Fortunately, there were no wounds on his body.

I had been worried he might be hiding something, but thankfully there was nothing.

“Young master, would you like to go sightseeing around the domain with our guests tomorrow?”

“What?”

“The two young ladies asked me to go sightseeing around the domain…”

“Did you agree to go, Miss Sofia?”

“…?”

“When the two young ladies from those families asked, what did you tell them?”

“…?”

Why is he asking that?

Of course I would naturally have to get his permission.

“Of course I declined today because it was time for you to return.”

“…I see.”

“Yes.”

I don’t understand what he’s so worried about.

How long have I been a servant? There’s no way I wouldn’t perform such a basic duty properly.

Is his trust in me that lacking…?

“You don’t need to worry. I wouldn’t suddenly make plans with others while leaving you behind. So, will you go tomorrow?”

“…Yes, let’s go.”

**

And that’s how I came down to tour the domain with Kyle, Catherine, and Lily.

Perhaps because it was summer, the cold wasn’t murderous.

Just the kind where you might die if you stayed outside with nothing on for about 30 minutes?

“….”

“….”

“Young master, please pay more attention to your clothing. There are young ladies present, don’t you think you’re dressed too casually?”

“It’s fine, Miss Sofia.”

“What are you saying… Aren’t those pants the ones you usually wear when exercising…?”

“It’s fine.”

“Haah…”

He always wears nice clothes when going out with me, but this time he dressed too casually.

The pants are ones he wears when exercising, and the top is something he wears during lessons with Louise.

It wasn’t stylish.

Though honestly, he still looked somewhat stylish due to his appearance.

“Why is Kyle here? We only asked Sofia.”

“I asked the young master. The young master hasn’t toured the domain this month either.”

“…Alright. Kyle, you’ve improved since before?”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

What an illustrious group.

Two children from ducal families and one from a count’s family.

If this group walked around the capital, they’d make the front page of the newspapers.

Of course, the perceptive people of Eristirol didn’t give us any special attention.

Rather, they treated us normally so our group could enjoy ourselves comfortably.

Though to my eyes, they seemed slightly uncomfortable.

“Since we’ve already eaten, let’s do some sightseeing as you both suggested.”

“Yes.”

“It’s quite unique to get a tour of Eristirol guided by Eristirol’s young lord and his beautiful servant.”

Lily, attaching the adjective “beautiful” to me.

Seeing a pretty teenager in her late teens saying such a thing to me, it seems she wants to score points with Kyle.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to say it to me.

“Hmm… What is that over there?”

“It looks like some kind of construction site.”

Lily and Catherine were curiously looking at the construction site of the grand temple.

Kyle must have been impressed by the cathedral he saw in the capital before, because he started building a grand temple for the people of his domain.

Since they don’t follow the commonly believed religion of the empire here, it’s called a temple rather than a cathedral.

Additionally, he said it would be open for free for people of other religions to use, and that domain residents could use it for weddings, memorial services, and other events as needed.

“It’s the grand temple that will soon be built in Eristirol.”

“Grand temple?”

“Yes, it will be used as a place of worship like the Borussia Cathedral. People in the north also believe in religion, but not on the same scale as the capital, so we decided to build this now.”

“Hmm… Well, the grandeur of a cathedral is certainly impressive.”

“Doesn’t the White domain have such a cathedral too? When I visited before, I saw one, and the one in White was actually prettier.”

“Grandeur and beauty are different things. If grandeur is Kyle, then beauty would be Sofia.”

The noble young lord and ladies continued their conversation in front of the construction site.

The scale of the grand temple construction was so large that it provided them with plenty to talk about.

The residents were actually very happy about having a large place of worship.

It’s different doing it at home or in a tiny chapel versus gathering with dozens or hundreds of people.

“Hmm… Kyle, is there a place with a nice view around here?”

“A place with a nice view… It’s a bit far from here. I wouldn’t really recommend it, so let me suggest somewhere else.”

Kyle said that and started walking again.

I know for sure there’s a place with a nice view, so I don’t understand why we’re not going there.

Even though he’s gone there with me several times.

“…”

Perhaps he doesn’t think the view is good enough to show them?

I don’t know.

Well, Kyle will figure out how to win them over on his own.

If he’s not interested, then he won’t try.

Neither of them seemed like bad people, so I was in favor of it.

A white-haired couple would look good together too.

Usually in comics or novels, the white-haired protagonist pairs with a black-haired heroine, but since none of the young ladies have black hair, wouldn’t a white-haired pair suit better?

Karin has brown hair, not black, so that’s a different story.

Black hair and brown hair are completely different.

“Wow… Is this the knight order that Eristirol boasts about?”

“Yes, it is.”

The place we arrived at wasn’t in the domain but rather where the castle’s knights trained.

I thought it might be a mistake to bring young ladies to such a place, but both of them seemed to be enjoying the sight more than expected.

Now that I think about it, knights are among the things women in this world love to death.

That must be why romance novels about knights and nobles sell as bestsellers every month.