Chapter 45

“….”

Fuck.

I wanted to die.

I never once thought that I would wear such a provocative style of clothing.

“You look pretty.”

“…. Thank you for the compliment….”

I replied to Kyle’s compliment through gritted teeth.

But I was really extremely embarrassed….

How could clothes sold in the north expose the cleavage?

No, it’s not just showing the cleavage, it’s practically exposing the entire chest.

My thighs and hips are also visible….

“….”

“Well, let’s buy this outfit.”

“Young master?!”

Why buy this kind of outfit?

Seriously, why?!

There were so many other pretty clothes besides this one….

“K-Kyle…? Couldn’t you buy me other pretty clothes instead of this one?”

“But this outfit is the prettiest….”

“This outfit is the strangest one!?”

This is too provocative.

It’s really provocative.

It’s so provocative that I’m embarrassed to be wearing it.

In my past life, I might not mind seeing a woman wearing something like this, but me wearing it was definitely a no…!

“Anyway…. I’ll go change.”

“Yes. Please change well.”

So I changed back into my regular clothes.

Wearing a skirt had been slightly uncomfortable, but now it felt extremely comfortable in comparison.

Yeah, at least it doesn’t have any slits.

At least it’s a skirt that looks like a skirt, right?

Not a provocative dress that prostitutes would wear, but a completely normal skirt.

I felt like I should thank Louise and Elin for buying me normal clothes.

I was grateful to them for showing me the advantages of the cultural item called a skirt.

“….”

“Well, we’ve bought enough clothes. Let’s go eat now.”

“Yes….”

I felt a bit drained.

It couldn’t be helped since this was the first time I’d worn such clothes since growing hair on my head.

It would have been better to just wear underwear.

Anyway, after leaving the store, Kyle took me to a restaurant.

Unlike the places we usually ate at when we came down, this was definitely a high-class establishment.

It wasn’t noisy, and there was pleasantly audible music welcoming us.

“Oh….”

Yes, this is where you should go on a date.

Rather than making me wear provocative clothes like before, we should enjoy pleasant conversation in a restaurant with a good atmosphere.

“This is a nice restaurant.”

“You think so? I was worried you might not like it, but I’m glad.”

“I can eat anything as long as Kyle is buying it for me.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Kyle would never feed me strange food in the first place.

Why would he feed me weird food out of some negative feelings?

If anything, I might have fed such food to Louise.

Ah, I shouldn’t have such thoughts about Louise who bought me nice clothes.

That way, she’ll recommend clothes to me next time when I ask.

-Sawing sound….

Kyle cut his steak forcefully.

It probably wasn’t that much force for Kyle, but it was more than enough for the steak.

As a result, the cross-section of the cut steak looked a bit ugly.

He’s clearly grown up, but I don’t understand why he still makes mistakes in areas like this.

“Kyle, let’s switch steaks. I’ve cut mine nicely, so it’s better if you eat this one.”

It was better to eat something pretty than something ugly.

Kyle must be the only young lord who cuts a steak like this.

Usually nobles like to show off elegant things.

“Thank you.”

We enjoyed our meal while having a normal conversation.

Perhaps because the chef was different, it felt different from the meals we ate at the mansion.

The atmosphere was different too.

Is it true that atmosphere is most important in everything?

The meal seemed better because of the atmosphere.

“Sofia, try this too.”

“?”

Kyle cut a piece of steak and handed it to me.

I never thought that little kid would offer me food first.

I was always the one who gave food to Kyle at these occasions.

“Thank you.”

I put the piece of steak that Kyle passed with his fork into my mouth.

Since it was the same type of steak as mine, it didn’t feel especially delicious.

Still, it wasn’t bad, perhaps because it was the first food Kyle had given me.

After that, I continued to enjoy the meal with Kyle.

There was a reason why women in my past life liked dating at Western restaurants.

The atmosphere is really nice.

The style of food was also somewhat static, which matched the atmosphere.

I mean, eating something like spicy fish stew in a static atmosphere… wouldn’t match, right?

“Sofia, do you dislike walking?”

“No. It’s fine.”

I like things like taking walks.

Though I couldn’t enjoy it much because Eristirol’s weather was too cold, I generally liked it.

Lately, I’ve been walking around the castle in my spare time wearing the coat Kyle gave me.

“If Kyle says we should go, I’m fine with anywhere, so you don’t need to ask.”

“…. Yes.”

I didn’t know where we would walk, but I was looking forward to it.

I was also curious about what nice place we would go to.

“Then let’s get up from our seats. We’ve already finished eating.”

“Yes.”

As Kyle said, we had already finished our meal.

We were just spending time drinking beverages after both finishing our steaks and soup.

So we got up from our seats and moved from the area with buildings to a more secluded place.

Today’s weather wasn’t too cold.

It hadn’t been long since summer ended.

So just wearing a cape felt somewhat warm.

“Kyle, where are we going?”

We were going somewhere, but I didn’t know where, so I asked Kyle.

There were no buildings, and we were entering a forest.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a mountain with densely packed trees.

We were currently walking on a trail.

“Just walking. If you look to the side while walking like this, the scenery is very nice.”

After hearing Kyle’s words, I looked to the side as he suggested.

As Kyle said, the scenery was very beautiful.

Looking to the side, I could see the domain below the mountain, and above was Eristirol’s characteristic cloudless sky.

As always, it was a truly white sky.

It was an even prettier sky when it snowed, but it wasn’t snowing today.

In fact, I slightly disliked it when it snowed because it got cold.

The scenery was pretty, but the cold was unavoidable.

“It’s pretty.”

It truly was.

That was the thought I had as soon as I saw it.

“I didn’t know Eristirol had a place like this.”

Kyle had occasionally taken me to nice places, but this was the first time for something like this.

It was truly a place with a great atmosphere.

“It would be nice if you came here with your real lover in the future.”

“Right?”

“Yes.”

Well, right now he’s probably too busy preparing for his coming-of-age ceremony.

Perhaps after the coming-of-age ceremony, Kyle will have more opportunities to meet women?

Even though Eristirol is cold, being from a ducal family means he’ll be popular.

From the beginning, Kyle as a character is extremely popular within the empire.

Last time, he just showed his face once at the debutante, and he made it into the empire’s newspapers.

Silver hair + blue eyes + very tall + good body + learned swordsmanship + learned magic + eldest son and heir of a ducal family.

It’s really an amazing profile.

If I were an ordinary woman, wouldn’t I have considered such a man my ideal type?

“You mentioned before that there was someone you liked, young master.”

“Yes.”

“I hope it goes well for you. Always… no, I’m always supporting you.”

This was truly how I felt.

How could I not support my student and younger brother?

I’m not that cold of a person.

I’m a warm person.

Probably.

“I also believe you’ll do well in your upcoming coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Thank you, Miss Sofia.”

Actually, I no longer felt like this was a date.

Perhaps because the other person was Kyle, that feeling didn’t come.

There wasn’t that heart-fluttering feeling.

I’ve never felt that kind of feeling anyway… but still, I could have had such thoughts at least once.

After all, I had become a woman.

“By the way, Louise hasn’t been gambling much lately. Do you know anything about that?”

The conversation naturally shifted to everyday topics.

I was surprised that Louise has really been reducing her gambling lately.

It was especially surprising because she suddenly started reducing something she hadn’t been able to cut back on for years.

Since I’m not a terrible person, I occasionally lent money to Louise, claiming it was pocket money.

But she was actually saving that money normally!

At first, I thought she was gathering funds for gambling, but I was surprised to find out she was just saving money.

“Ah…. It seems Miss Louise has found interest in something new lately.”

“Something new…?”

“Yes, I don’t know what it is, but she said there’s something she finds really interesting to listen to.”

“I see.”

I understand.

I didn’t know there was such a circumstance even though we hang out regularly.

That gambling addict is doing something new.

She’s changing too.

It’s strange.

It seems like I’m not changing at all, but the people around me are gradually changing.

Kyle, who was once a timid little kid, was becoming a fine adult.

The crazy woman who loved gambling was becoming less crazy while reducing her gambling.

Elin… still seemed like just an ordinary female knight.

She had some immature aspects, but she strongly gave off the impression of a female knight.

“…What kind of person do you want to become, young master?”

This wasn’t a question asked expecting an answer like “I want to become a duke.”

I was curious about what kind of adult Kyle wanted to become, how he would live after becoming an adult, if I disappeared or something.

“I… want to be someone who can protect the person I love.”

“I see….”

That was a good answer.

Compared to boring answers like “I want to be a duke,” “I want to be rich,” or “I want to build a harem,” it was a much better answer.

In life, being able to do just that is enough.

“That’s a good answer….”

I was about to respond.

But suddenly, a strong wind blew.

Come to think of it, where we were standing was halfway up the mountain.

Even though it was a walking trail, there was a downward slope below.

And it was a northern mountain.

Although it didn’t snow every day, it was a place where the wind blew daily.

“Miss Sofia!!”

Suddenly, I felt my body momentarily pushed to the side.

However, there was nothing on the opposite side from where Kyle was.

As a result, there was nothing to stop me from being momentarily pushed by the strong wind.

My body staggered and began to fall off the trail.

Just before falling, I thought:

This is going to fucking hurt.