Chapter 92

“Sofia.”

“What.”

So we used separate rooms and the next day came.

I felt a bit colder than usual while sleeping, but it was fine.

I just had to pull the blanket up to below my face.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling a bit empty, but anyway, it was fine.

“Are you going to keep doing this?”

“What.”

“Are you going to keep sulking like that?”

“Yes.”

I will.

I’ll ke~ep sulking like this.

Until Kyle apologizes.

Until then, I’ll keep using a separate room, and sit far away from him like now.

“Ha…”

The Imperial Princess sighed beside me.

But it can’t be helped.

Kyle is the one who did wrong.

“You were wrong first.”

“Then you should have said something first.”

“I told you not to do it outside, but you kept insisting.”

“Huh…”

“You should have properly refused if you disliked it.”

“If I refuse, you’ll just counter with some strange words again.”

This is really unfair.

What did I do wrong?

“Logically, why would you keep trying to do it when people are all around us?”

“I do it because I want to do it with Sofia.”

“That’s what I mean! Can’t you wait until we get back to our lodging or bedroom! Do I really look that easy?”

This wasn’t something to get angry about, but my emotions seemed to be intensifying.

Probably, Kyle didn’t think that way, but as I spoke, I was getting more emotional.

“Hey. You, is this why you’re meeting me?”

“Pardon?”

“Are you dating me just to lick and suck on me?”

It was something I said with a real suspicion.

No, not suspicion, it just came out emotionally.

Even though I knew I shouldn’t say such things, it came out.

“…”

“…”

There was a momentary lull.

Kyle and I were looking at each other without saying anything.

“…”

“…”

“Would you two please just eat your food first.”

“Yes.”

After the Imperial Princess spoke, I took my eyes off Kyle and turned to the steak in front of me.

Rather than looking at Kyle’s handsome face, I thought it would be better to look at the appetizing steak.

At least it doesn’t upset me.

Ah, it could if it doesn’t taste good?

“Sigh… why are both of you acting like this…”

I felt sorry for the Imperial Princess.

For causing such a dispute at a normal breakfast table.

At the same time, I was disappointed in Kyle.

I thought he would just apologize and end it after a day had passed.

“Ah, Your Highness. You’ve come.”

“Yes, so why did you call today?”

“I called to discuss a few things with the person who will be wearing the dress.”

“With Sofia?”

With me?

Suddenly what is there to discuss…

I didn’t think there would be anything for me to discuss with the owner.

Almost all discussions about the dress were to be with the Imperial Princess and Kyle.

I thought I just had to wear it.

“Yes. Would you come inside for a moment?”

“Ah, yes.”

I followed the owner’s guidance and went inside.

It looked like a workshop.

Is this where they cut and make clothes?

“What do you want to discuss?”

“Well… it’s not something extremely serious… first, would you take a look at this?”

The owner showed me a dress hanging on a hanger.

A refined black dress.

Would this be the dress I’ll wear?

“Uh…”

“Hmm…”

But there was one problem.

A slightly big problem.

“It’s… quite revealing, isn’t it?”

“Indeed…”

Yes, it was very revealing.

It wasn’t to the level of being naked, but it had side slits and showed cleavage…?

Why was it so revealing?

Just like what the Imperial Princess had asked about…

“…”

“That’s why I called you.”

“Certainly…”

It’s worth calling about.

Yes, she couldn’t help but call.

Although I’ve left the overall design and such to others, I’m the one who will be wearing it.

The owner must have thought so too and called me.

“Can you wear it?”

Could I wear it… I suppose I could.

Yes, wearing it is possible.

If I went to the ball wearing this, I might be socially fine, but I would definitely experience a mental death.

“…?”

But this dress, it seemed like a style I’ve seen once before.

Like that dress hanging in my room at the castle.

The dress Kyle bought me, but I only wore once and never again.

“… Could it be.”

Did he request that dress!?

Kyle, this crazy guy…

No matter how excited he is about going to the ball with me, this is too much.

“Ha…”

I’m screwed.

Yes, I have to say I’m screwed.

From my perspective, Kyle already wants me to wear this kind of dress.

If I say “I absolutely don’t want this kind of dress!” it’s obvious he would bring another revealing dress.

It’s not like there’s a lot of time left until the ball, but Kyle would definitely do that.

He’s a guy with amazing initiative in strange ways.

“Ha…”

“Are you okay…?”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”

For now.

Yes, it’s not like I have to wear it right now, right?

There was no need to get too angry or stressed.

“For now… I’ll discuss it with my companions…”

Although my relationship with Kyle had deteriorated a bit, I had to talk to him.

I absolutely didn’t have the confidence to go to the ball wearing such clothes.

It was certain that nobles would laugh at me.

Just like during boarding school.

They would obviously laugh while making strange comments about showing my unnecessarily large breasts like a prostitute.

Absolutely not.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“Ha…”

So I spoke to Kyle again after leaving the owner’s shop.

The atmosphere wasn’t very good due to the morning’s argument, but we had agreed to go to the ball.

We couldn’t stay like this forever.

“The dress, you asked for it to be like that, right?”

“Yes.”

Yes, I thought so.

It couldn’t have been the Imperial Princess.

I’m not extremely close with the Imperial Princess, and she doesn’t know my clothing preferences, so how could she have decided on her own?

Plus, it was entrusted to Kyle.

It was obvious.

“Did you really want to see me wearing such a dress?”

Or did he deliberately include such exposure just to tease me?

It’s not like dresses necessarily need to be revealing.

There’s no such manner or requirement.

“Yes.”

“Really…?”

“Sofia has a good figure. And you never wore the dress I bought you before. So this time.”

“…”

“Did you dislike it?”

When thinking about whether I liked it or disliked it, my thought was one thing.

It was ambiguous.

Yes, “ambiguous” was the right answer.

Personally, I didn’t want to wear it because it was too revealing.

But looking at Kyle’s eyes and expressions, he really wanted me to wear it.

So it was difficult to say anything.

“Ha… honestly, I think it’s too much.”

It was hard to say harsh words as lovers.

No, to begin with, I’ve never said harsh words to Kyle.

The target of my harsh words has always been one crazy magician in the castle.

“I’m not some pervert who enjoys exposure, nor a teenage girl who longs for adult sophistication and does strange things, how can I wear such clothes!?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is.”

“But you wore it before.”

“Before! I wore it once and stopped right after.”

I wore it in the clothing store and immediately took it off to change into the next outfit.

I changed because I was too embarrassed.

“Ha… so… you mainly want to see me wearing that dress, right?”

“Yes.”

In that case… let’s change the approach.

Since I probably can’t break Kyle’s stubbornness anyway.

A way that satisfies Kyle and reassures me.

“Then I’ll wear that dress once next time. When you want, but excluding times with many people like the ball, just once.”

Even I thought it was a clever approach.

A way to satisfy both of us.

It was such a good method that I thought, maybe I’m actually a genius.

“But! For the ball, let’s wear a really normal dress.”

“What standard of ‘normal’ are we talking about?”

“Hmm…”

What level would be a normal dress?

I haven’t worn many dresses, so I couldn’t know exactly.

I haven’t had many opportunities to see dresses either.

“Yes, shoulders, only shoulders can be exposed, no side slits, front slits, back slits, none of those, and no visible cleavage!”

“Alright.”

“Phew…”

Fortunately, the problem was solved.

Instead of wearing such a lewd dress at the ball, it changed to me wearing it once.

Isn’t it a perfect deal?

I think it’s a deal that both Kyle and I can be satisfied with.

Probably.

“And… I said this yesterday, and I’m saying it again today…”

I don’t want to have a bad relationship with Kyle.

After getting along well for years, I really didn’t want our relationship to deteriorate because of a strange argument.

It’s not even a serious incident, just physical contact, Louise would laugh if she heard about it.

“Let’s set some rules about being temporary lovers.”

“Rules?”

“Yes, we never properly defined anything. We just somehow ended up doing it, and we’ve been doing it without any thought until now.”

“That’s true. Sofia never brought up changing anything even if something made you uncomfortable.”

“Uh…”

That’s just because I was being considerate of you.

Why are you so inconsiderate lately?

I glared at Kyle for a moment, but soon withdrew my gaze.

“Anyway! Let’s do it that way. Okay?”

“Alright. But remember one thing.”

“What?”

Kyle’s face suddenly changed to a very serious one.

What is he going to say now?

He’s not going to suddenly ask for a kiss, is he?

“If you’re going to set rules, set them properly. We’ll follow the rules you set now all the way to the end.”

“Y-yes…”

He spoke in such a serious and low voice that I reflexively answered.

Well… if we set them properly, that’s fine, right?

It should be enough to prevent Kyle from doing strange skinship or pushing me down.