Chapter 67

“Young master, it’s morning.”

As always, I entered the room to wake Kyle in the morning.

Kyle had completely taken off his top, perhaps because he was hot during the night.

“Were you hot?”

“No. I just had a lot on my mind.”

“Thoughts…?”

“Yes, thinking about things made me angry, so my body got hot.”

“Is that so?”

I don’t know what made Kyle angry, but it’s vexing.

Since I’ve never seen Kyle get angry, I don’t know what he’s angry about.

Even when the Imperial Princess arrived, he didn’t get particularly angry.

He didn’t even get angry when Louise did strange things.

“If you have any concerns, please tell me. I may be quitting soon, but I’m still your servant for now.”

“Alright.”

Anyway, the morning started as usual.

I buttoned Kyle’s clothes and tied his necktie.

Though he would surely loosen it again, it was still something I had to do.

“Your Highness the Imperial Princess, good morning.”

“Young Lord, good… morning to you too.”

“Yes.”

Kyle greeted the Imperial Princess with a different tension than the day before yesterday.

Is his energy low because it’s morning?

That could be it.

When not fully awake in the morning, one can be a bit irritable.

“Are you on your way to breakfast? May I join you?”

“Of course. I was actually in need of Your Highness’s help.”

“…?”

I followed Kyle and the Imperial Princess through the corridor to the dining hall for breakfast.

Breakfast was, as always, a light meal.

Rather than having an elaborate menu in the morning that might upset the stomach, breakfasts at Eristirol Castle tended to be light.

Well, compared to that, Kyle ate quite a lot.

He would naturally need to eat a lot to maintain that body.

“…”

By the way, I recalled the conversation we had yesterday.

His dislike of vegetables was true.

I could see Kyle subtly pushing the vegetables on his plate to the side during the meal.

The conversation between them was too quiet for me to hear anyway.

So I was laughing inwardly.

Since I was laughing inside, no one would hear it.

A 19-year-old secretly pushing vegetables aside because he dislikes them.

“Kup..”

Even though I had already heard about it, seeing it in person was completely different.

I had laughed when I heard it yesterday.

Naturally, it was even funnier to see it in person.

“Hah… it’s a bit dangerous.”

“Haha…”

“Would you like to try the method I mentioned before?”

“That’s…”

I wonder what they’re going to do today.

It seems the castle tour is already over.

What is the Imperial Princess planning to do today?

Is she planning to tour outside?

Like Kyle and I did yesterday?

Well, probably.

There’s still quite some time before the Imperial Princess leaves.

“…”

She’s already given the gifts to congratulate Kyle on completing his coming-of-age ceremony, so all that’s left is to spend a few more days at the castle.

Or perhaps building a friendship with Kyle.

“It’s too early. Since there still seems to be a possibility, let’s try other methods for now.”

“I understand. But you need to be careful. Things might reach a point of no return.”

“Yes.”

What are they talking about?

Could there be some problem in the domain, and that’s why they’re like this?

If it’s about the domain, it makes sense to consult with the Imperial Princess like that.

She’s older than Kyle, so she probably has more experience in such matters.

“Miss Sofia?”

“Yes, young master.”

He suddenly called me while they were talking.

Does he have some task for me?

“Among the gifts Her Highness the Imperial Princess gave us, there are several jewels, right?”

“Yes.”

There were surprisingly many jewels among the gifts from the Imperial Princess.

I thought she would give money.

There were many jewels and expensive-looking crafts.

Besides those, there were also grains, magic stones, and many other things, but as Kyle said, there were jewels too.

What is he planning to use them for?

“Please select a few that look pretty to you and send them to me.”

“Pardon…?”

Did I hear correctly?

He’s entrusting me with jewels?

“Is it alright for me to do such a task…?”

“Yes, it’s a task I’m entrusting to you, Miss Sofia.”

“Um… Alright. I’ll prepare it by today.”

“Yes, don’t think about what I would like, choose what looks good to you.”

“Understood.”

I don’t know why this conversation suddenly came up during a meal, but since he’s entrusting it to me, it seemed like a somewhat important task.

If it wasn’t, Kyle would have just chosen anything himself.

Suddenly asking me to select jewels, what could be the reason?

Is he planning to gift a ring to the Imperial Princess?

“Young Lord… that’s usually done by oneself…”

I watched their meal from behind, thinking about what kinds of jewels there were.

Among the jewels, there were some mixed with a bit of magic stone quality, which might be good.

Or perhaps ordinary jewels like rubies would be fine.

To begin with, “jewels that look pretty” is a strange way to put it.

Jewels are inherently pretty.

“Huh…? He asked you to do that?”

“Yes. What could it be? Is he planning to give a gift to the Imperial Princess?”

“…I don’t know either.”

“Right?”

During a short break, I brought up the topic while spending time with Louise, and Louise also said she didn’t know.

I didn’t expect much, but since Louise also doesn’t know, I really don’t know what to think.

“Hah… what is he thinking…”

Exactly.

Doesn’t one usually choose a gift for someone else themselves?

It’s a bit strange to ask me to do it.

“Ah.”

“What?”

“Maybe he just wants to choose something that looks better to a woman’s eye? Since I’m a woman too, Kyle might have thought that what I choose would suit the Imperial Princess’s taste better than what he chooses.”

“…”

That sounded plausible even to me.

Regardless of the fact that I’m mentally a man, to Kyle’s eyes, I’m a woman.

Maybe that’s what he thought?

Among the women around him, I’m the most comfortable one for him.

Additionally, I’m in a position where I can access the family’s jewels.

So it seemed possible that he deliberately entrusted this to me.

Normally, it would be more meaningful if Kyle thought about it himself and gifted it.

I should select a few for Kyle to choose from.

Regardless of my thoughts, if Kyle and the Imperial Princess end up together, it would be a great thing.

It would only be good for the family to gain tremendous power.

Even though this domain is on the frontier compared to other families, what if the Imperial Princess marries into this family?

Wow, that would be totally unfair.

It’s basically cheating, isn’t it?

“Whew…”

Louise sighs in front of me.

In Louise’s mind too, it’s probably frustrating that he’s not choosing it himself.

No matter how much he needs a woman’s help, ultimately, he should be the one to choose.

“It’s okay. I’ll tell Kyle that it’s better for him to choose directly.”

“…”

“I’ll select a few jewels first… and then have him choose from among them, wouldn’t that be easier for Kyle?”

“You really…”

“Really what?”

Smart?

Kind?

“Never mind.”

“You can honestly compliment me, it’s fine.”

What is she so embarrassed about that she’s reluctant to compliment me?

Even I thought it was a good idea.

“Sure, do your best. I’ll see you somewhere else in a few months.”

“Somewhere else?”

I’ll be returning to my hometown, and Louise will still be staying at the castle in a few months, right?

How could we see each other somewhere else?

I didn’t understand.

Has she finally gone crazy from reading strange novels?

“So there was a reason for building a temple…”

Anyway, that’s how I spent time with Louise.

Maybe because Louise wasn’t gambling, she didn’t make her room messy like before.

Thanks to that, there was no need to clean for her.

“Young master.”

“Miss Sofia?”

“I’ve completed what you commanded.”

“Already…?”

“Yes, but I have something to say before that.”

“Something to say?”

“Yes.”

I said that while holding a jewel box against Kyle’s chest.

Kyle’s face was slightly red, as if he felt the room was hot.

He didn’t seem like that earlier, but he’s become red in the meantime.

“It’s a really important thing, so please listen carefully.”

“…”

I looked up at Kyle and opened my mouth.

It was an extremely important thing.

It was something I thought about every time while selecting the jewels.

“If you’re going to give a gift, rather than asking me like this, I think it would be better if you chose it directly.”

“…”

“For now, I’ve selected a few to make it easier for you to choose. If you’re giving it to Her Highness the Imperial Princess, it would be better if you decided directly.”

“So your selection criteria was based on your taste, Miss Sofia?”

“Yes. Since I thought it might be for a woman other than Her Highness the Imperial Princess, I selected based on the criteria of beautiful jewels.”

Since Kyle said before that he had no intention of having that kind of relationship with the Imperial Princess, I considered other possibilities.

Of course, lately I’ve been thinking the possibility of him ending up with the Imperial Princess is the highest.

Seeing him sticking close to the Imperial Princess today too, I couldn’t help but think in that direction.

“The woman you like will probably prefer it that way too. I would never receive a gift, but even I would think so.”

It’s true.

No, anyone would think that way.

“How would someone feel if they knew the gift they’re receiving was selected by another woman? So please make sure to decide yourself.”

“…I understand.”

“Ah, for reference, I liked the ruby.”

I just blurted out something because the atmosphere suddenly became down.

It wasn’t just anything though, the ruby really was my favorite.

“Well, Her Highness the Imperial Princess might have different tastes…”

“Miss Sofia.”

“Yes?”

“If Miss Sofia were to receive a gift, what kind of accessory would you like?”

Accessory?

Since there are many types of accessories, I found myself pondering a bit.

Besides bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, there are also minor ones like nose rings or piercings for other parts.

“Hmm…”

I thought for a moment while looking at Kyle.

I was already looking at him, so there was no need to look away.

“Ah, if it were me, I think a necklace would be nice. Unless it’s an engagement or marriage gift, a ring would feel burdensome.”

A ring has a very… serious feeling, you know?

“If you suddenly gift a ring to a woman, anyone would misunderstand.”

“Even you, Miss Sofia?”

“Hmm… Wouldn’t that be the case? After all, a ring has a different meaning from other accessories.”

“I understand.”