Chapter 76

“Huhu.”

As Louise said, playing a little prank on the two of them was really effective.

Seeing their reactions was so funny.

Both the Imperial Princess who blushed and was flustered when I spoke, and Kyle who stopped me with a slightly angry voice.

It was so enjoyable.

Their reactions were completely different from the two who had been teasing me for days.

Ah, is that why they teased me?

I understand.

The more different someone’s reaction is from usual, the more fun it is to prank them.

“That was fun…”

Louise’s method was more fun than I had expected.

Kyle was especially funny.

I just recited the lines Louise told me to say, but he reacted really strongly.

He even used informal speech with me.

Kyle who always used formal speech with me.

Ah, of course, I was a bit surprised.

I couldn’t help but be surprised when he shouted “Stop!” loudly.

Before that, Kyle was just quietly watching from behind.

“Hmm…”

But how did I manage to get revenge on the two who had only been teasing me?

I really had been on the receiving end from those two for days.

It was unfair.

“But what should I do now?”

To be honest, I don’t know what to do now.

Originally, I was planning to notify Kyle that I was quitting my job, and then quit in a short while.

But somehow, it became too awkward to quit.

Everything became ambiguous after Kyle confessed to me.

Quitting was still on my mind.

But it was obvious what would happen if I quit at a time like this.

It was clear that Kyle would torment me with that strange magic again.

That strange magic he used before.

The one where he pressed my lower abdomen and my body became strange, or he’d use some other magic.

It really was a strange feeling.

Something that made my body feel strange enough for my waist to float up suddenly.

“If I run away…”

What would happen?

What if I suddenly leave Eristirol by carriage?

I erased such thoughts as soon as they appeared in my mind.

It would definitely fail.

If I ran away, Kyle would probably come after me right away?

I feel like this might be too severe a slander, but… it really seemed like that would happen.

There was a reason.

“Just because I was lying in bed, he said I was trying to seduce him.”

It was really unfair!

I was just lying in bed.

Suddenly Kyle completely bound me with his firm arms so I couldn’t escape, and then did that strange thing.

“If I suddenly run away…”

Wouldn’t he do something even stranger than that strange thing…? Even I thought this was the correct answer.

The recent Kyle would definitely do that.

“Sigh…”

My thoughts about him liking me have changed somewhat.

I’m grateful.

Besides my parents, he’s almost the first person to say he likes me.

But… accepting his confession was another matter.

I didn’t love Kyle romantically.

“Love…”

It was difficult for me.

The only love I’d experienced was loving my parents.

I couldn’t help it since I’d never dated or liked anyone.

I tried to reject him… but Kyle refused.

He said he knew I wouldn’t accept him anyway, and said something about making me see him as a man.

That one statement made things even harder.

Could I ever see Kyle as a man?

I don’t know.

To begin with, what does it mean to see someone as a man?

“Man…”

Kyle is a man.

Both Kyle’s gender identity and physical characteristics clearly indicate that Kyle is a man.

A woman couldn’t possibly have such a firm and hot body like Kyle’s.

“Man…”

What does it mean to see someone as a man?

Does he want me to view him from a romantic perspective?

It’s true that we’re of opposite sexes.

I’m a woman now, and Kyle is a man.

In that sense, Kyle was right.

“My body itself is female.”

I can’t call this body a man, can I?

These unnecessarily large breasts, these hips that create curves whenever I wear pants, this long hair that reaches down to my waist.

Anyone who sees me would call me a woman.

Although I had many strange thoughts due to misunderstandings since my boarding school days, they wouldn’t call me a man.

“Large breasts…”

Is this good?

When I touched my breasts with my own hands, they were soft.

Besides that, nothing particular came to mind.

“Is this really that good…?”

Louise said something about seducing with my body.

When referring to a woman’s body, it indicates various body parts such as breasts, buttocks, thighs, collarbones, wrists, nape, etc.

Among them, she probably meant breasts or something like that?

“Breasts…”

Now that I’ve become a woman, I don’t have the same interest as in my past life.

In my past life, I had many thoughts about women’s breasts.

Now I have none at all.

It’s just a part of my body.

“Let’s go.”

I suddenly became curious.

What exactly is good about me?

My body?

My personality?

My appearance?

Kyle says he likes me, but I don’t know exactly why he likes me.

“…”

I was just curious.

Why does he like me, who suddenly doesn’t have many good points and is only lacking compared to other ladies?

It was really nothing more, nothing less than that.

“Let’s go.”

Anything would be better than just sitting still like this.

I moved from my room to Kyle’s room.

It was evening turning into night, still a bit early for Kyle to go to bed.

“…”

In front of Kyle’s room door.

Today, I was afraid to knock on this door.

Even though I’ve been knocking on it for years.

Thump-thump…

Knock, knock.

“Young master, I’m coming in.”

I said that and went inside.

Inside, Kyle was sitting in a chair with his hair not fully dried, as if he had just washed.

Could it be because his hair was wet?

His already snow-white hair looked even more elegant.

“Miss Sofia?”

“…”

Even though I came here with determination, I was embarrassed to speak.

How embarrassing would it be to ask someone why they like you?

Especially to the person who likes you.

“Young master.”

“Yes.”

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes…”

I calmed my breath for a moment and prepared to speak.

Kyle might laugh at what I’m about to say.

But I was still curious.

“Why do you like me?”

I don’t understand why you’ve come to like me and keep courting me.

There must be plenty of people from better families, with better personalities, and better faces than me.

Is there a need to like a commoner who can’t do her job properly and doesn’t accept confessions?

“Why I like you, Miss Sofia?”

“Yes, that’s right. I want to know why you love me.”

“Hmm… There are many reasons. For loving you and coming to love you.”

I see.

Honestly, I was somewhat relieved by his words just now.

If he had answered that it was just my body when I asked… I definitely would have disliked it.

No matter what, that would be too much.

Confessing like that but the only reason for liking me is my body.

“First of all… you’re pretty. You’re my type.”

“…”

“Your jet-black hair, the complete opposite of mine, and your red eyes are beautiful.”

“Is that all…?”

Two things?

Just that?

Unlike saying there were many reasons, there were fewer than I expected.

Kyle had been passionately courting me recently, so I expected something more special.

But just two…

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s much more left.”

“…”

“First, I like your personality. When there are difficulties or accidents, you try to take the blame to minimize worry, or you worry about others’ well-being more than your own.”

Kyle opened his mouth and began to say an enormous amount of things.

“And your eyes when you smile are lovely. Eyes that are slightly seductive yet give a cute feeling, and the fact that despite always trying to show a thorough appearance, you have areas where you’re lacking, and the way you hide those parts and try to improve them is lovely.”

“Is that the end…?”

“The way you act a bit foolishly, not knowing you’re pretty, is cute. And the fact that you didn’t know at all that I’ve liked you since I was young is foolish but cute.”

“Foolish…?”

Me, foolish…?

Despite being among the top graduates of the boarding school…?

As I listened to Kyle’s answer, there seemed to be a lot, unlike what I initially thought.

I understood why Kyle said there were various reasons.

There really were many.

“And…”

Kyle got up from his chair and started approaching me.

Since I was looking at Kyle’s face, my gaze naturally went up as Kyle stood.

“This, the way you look at me, is lovely.”

“Young master…?”

Kyle approaching me more and more.

I thought he was simply standing up to speak, but Kyle walked right up to where I was standing.

“And…”

And Kyle bent down slightly.

Despite bending over, the height difference between me and Kyle was large, so Kyle’s face only came closer to mine.

What is he trying to do…?

Chu…

At that moment, Kyle’s lips slightly touched my lips.

“Huh…?”

Lips…?

L… Lips?

“I like how you turn red instantly like this.”

Thump…