Chapter 77

“Was that a sufficient answer?”

“…”

Kiss…

I was kissed.

Literally, I was suddenly kissed by Kyle.

Thump…. Thump…

Because it was so sudden, my heart wouldn’t calm down.

A kiss.

It was my first kiss in life.

Regardless of men or women, it was my first kiss ever.

Rather than saying I did it, it would be more accurate to say it was done to me… but it was a kiss.

“Miss Sofia?”

“Um… Y-yes, it’s sufficient…”

It was more than sufficient, it was excessive.

“I’ll go back now.”

“Yes, good night.”

After hearing that, I ran back to my room as if escaping.

No, I was clearly actually escaping.

Thump-thump.

I was so surprised.

I just went out of curiosity to ask, but I didn’t expect to be suddenly kissed.

“Kiss… he’s really crazy…”

I never thought I’d say such things about Kyle.

But I was truly surprised.

I was incredibly surprised.

As proof, my heart was still beating wildly.

Just…

I was really just curious about why he liked me.

Suddenly, Kyle’s lips on my lips…

“Urgh!!”

I can still feel that sensation on my lips.

It was extremely warm and that what should I call it…

What should I call it…

It was a strange feeling.

People often say a kiss is like touching your thumb and index finger together.

But it was completely different from that.

It was an extremely… strange feeling.

I thought it would just be lips touching lips, but it wasn’t like that at all.

The feeling of the other person’s slightly firm yet soft lips touching mine was a really strange feeling.

That’s the only way I can express it.

“First kiss…”

My first kiss was taken.

I had no idea that I would have my first kiss suddenly today.

That’s why it was more confusing.

Thump-thump…

That’s why my heart was beating even more frantically.

What should I do?

I don’t know how to face Kyle tomorrow.

I felt like I absolutely wouldn’t be able to properly look at Kyle’s face.

It’s already been 10 minutes since I came in.

Yet what happened in Kyle’s room just a while ago felt like it was only a few seconds ago.

Kyle telling me one by one the reasons why he likes me while looking at me, Kyle smiling in a way that makes the viewer feel good, tall Kyle approaching me, and then Kyle approaching me and kissing…

“Aaargh!!!”

Why do I keep thinking about this?!

This is driving me crazy.

I keep thinking about it.

I want to stop thinking about it, but that makes me think about it more.

I struggled alone while sitting on the bed, but I kept thinking about it.

“This should be enough by now… please stop it already…”

This is really driving me crazy.

I don’t know how many times I’ve had this thought.

“Haaaah…”

And so morning came.

I didn’t sleep properly.

Fuck.

I couldn’t even sleep properly all night because of that thought.

The moment I fell asleep, Kyle would suddenly appear in my dream and I’d wake up immediately.

“… Fuck.”

From the morning, I was not in a good state at all.

“First, I need to wash…”

Nevertheless, I had to go wash.

I hadn’t quit my job yet.

As always, I gathered my formal attire that I wear for work and moved to the bathroom.

As always, no one was using the bathroom in the early morning when I wash.

Though I was tired from not sleeping much, I still had to work.

While washing, I thought about Kyle’s schedule for today.

I also thought about the Imperial Princess.

“When will she leave…?”

I had thought before about possibly connecting Kyle and the Imperial Princess.

But I came to the conclusion that it was practically impossible.

Looking at Kyle’s behavior… it was practically impossible to make him have feelings for the Imperial Princess.

Rather, he would just continue to tease and torment me.

So I was curious about when she would leave.

Initially, I thought she would stay for just over a week, but that time has already passed.

It was normal to wonder when she would actually leave.

“Hah…”

After finishing washing, completely drying my body and hair, I got dressed.

Today, wearing this outfit felt particularly uncomfortable.

I had been wearing this outfit for 8 years, but today it felt uncomfortable to wear it.

“Should I go…?”

Yes, let’s go.

It’s a place I’ve already entered once at night.

No problem.

I can do this. If it’s me.

“Miss Sofia.”

“Hyat?!”

Thud bang!!

And suddenly Kyle’s door opened.

I didn’t think Kyle would open the door.

I had always opened the door and woken Kyle up.

Surprised, I… fell to the floor.

“……”

“Let me help you up. I’m sorry.”

“I’m fine…”

“No, give me your hand.”

I refused Kyle, who was worriedly trying to help me up, but Kyle demanded my hand again.

I was going to get up without Kyle’s help, but he suddenly spoke somewhat forcefully, so I reflexively gave him my hand.

Thus, I stood properly again.

But I still couldn’t calm my startled heart.

Thump…

“Young master, why are you up so early today?”

Kyle was always asleep at this time.

So why did he suddenly open the door before me at this time?

Thanks to that, I was startled as I was about to open the door.

“I just wanted to see you quickly, so I woke up.”

“… Please say such things only inside the room.”

It’s a corridor.

A corridor where servants walk around.

Saying such things in a place where others’ ears and eyes are present.

It was a disqualification.

I’m not sure what’s being disqualified, but anyway, that’s how it was.

I had never raised Kyle to be such a man.

I had never raised him to be the kind of man who would say strange things openly in front of others, or say things that would embarrass a woman.

I had always raised him to be polite, considerate, that sort of way.

“Is it okay to say as much as I want inside the room?”

“…”

Kyle answering with a smile at my words.

It was like he was playing with me.

A tone that pricked the gaps in my words to make me flustered.

“Then let’s go inside first.”

“W-wait! Young master!?”

Kyle suddenly grabbed my wrist weakly and pulled me into his room.

Before I could even react, I was pulled in.

And so we entered Kyle’s room.

A room with just the two of us.

A room where Kyle always slept, and where I had slept with Kyle once.

“…”

Why did Kyle bring me into this room?

“Miss Sofia.”

“Yes.”

Kyle opening his mouth again after bringing me inside.

Could it be that he’s going to follow what I just said and do it here?

What kind of words will he say this time…

“Are you wearing a different perfume than usual today?”

“How did you…”

How did he know?

It’s just perfume.

It’s a perfume that’s hard to know without paying attention.

It wasn’t that different from the scent I used before.

It was just a bit stronger in fragrance.

“It’s not bad.”

“Is that so?”

The perfume I usually used was very weak, so I just mindlessly used this one today.

There was no particular reason for changing it, but I felt good when Kyle said it was nice.

It’s not like I changed it on purpose, though?

“I just used it because it was the first one I grabbed.”

“Is that so? I thought Miss Sofia did it on purpose to look good to me.”

“That’s not it.”

There’s no way I would do that.

It’s just that this one was better than the perfume I used before.

I just used a perfume that gives less of that headache-inducing feeling typical of perfumes, yet makes you want to smell it more and more as you smell it.

I just thought, isn’t the scent too weak for a perfume? That’s all.

“Really? The scent is nice too. What brand is it?”

“It’s just something I bought before. It’s not a special brand.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Kyle heard my answer and made an expression that seemed somewhat pleased.

Did he just like the scent of the perfume I changed to?

If so, that’s goo…

“Sniff…”

“Eeek?!”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

When I came to my senses, Kyle was there with his nose close to my neck, smelling the scent.

I was lost in thought for a moment, and suddenly he was almost burying his nose in my neck, so I was extremely surprised.

I was also worried that he might do that thing from last night again…

“The scent was so good, that’s why I did it. I’m sorry.”

“…”

So the scent was good…

Then that’s a relief… I guess?

It’s certainly better than it being bad.

“Then would you like to smell it more…?”

I said that while unbuttoning my shirt to show a bit more of my neck.

It’s a part where the perfume’s scent is well perceived, and it’s also an easy part to smell.

There was no other intention.

It was absolutely not because of Kyle coming close.

“…Yes.”

“Then…”

I also lowered my tie completely so Kyle could smell the perfume better.

I undid one more button to make the scent more perceptible.

My cleavage might be slightly visible, but it’s for smelling the scent, so it should be fine.

“Young master, here.”

I pointed to my neck, and Kyle hesitated for a moment before bringing his face close to my neck.

This perfume must be better than the previous one.

Until now, he had never tried to smell my perfume.

“…”

And then I realized in the situation with Kyle’s face close to my neck.

This situation was extremely embarrassing.

Kyle coming extremely close to me to smell the perfume, and me showing not only my neck but also my collarbone to Kyle.

If it had been in the corridor, it would have been dangerous.

If other servants had seen this… rumors would definitely have spread.

It looked like we were about to kiss or something.

“Miss Sofia.”

“Yes.”

“The perfume is good. But next time, if you’re going to use one, please use a weaker one.”

“Why is that?”

You said it was good.

You were also continuously smelling it, saying it was good.

But why are you suddenly telling me to use something else?

I don’t understand.

If it’s a good scent, wouldn’t it be normal to want to smell it more?

Even though it’s an artificial perfume scent, still…

“Because I prefer a different scent to perfume.”

“…?”

A different scent…? What scent is he talking about?

Does some scent emanate from me?

Later, I pondered over those words.

He said he liked a scent other than the perfume’s, but what scent could it be?

“Body scent…?”

Surely that couldn’t be it.

The scent of my body isn’t some flower fragrance, and I’m not some plant monster that occasionally sprays pheromones.

How could body scent be perceived as good?

Of course, the scent I occasionally felt from Kyle was nice.

But that would be from shampoo, soap, and various other beauty products, not Kyle’s own scent.