“Dad~”
“Oh, Adela.”
“It’s been such a long time.~”
Adela was beaming with joy, nestled in her father’s arms.
She usually smiles a lot, but never this brightly.
Well, she hasn’t seen her dad in years, so of course, she’d be ecstatic.
“Is Young Master not coming over?”
“Yeah.”
Kyle didn’t approach the Duke and Adela, who were hugging each other.
I don’t get why this not-yet-adult acts so mature.
“So, have you been having fun the past few years?”
“Uh….”
“Haha…. You do know how long Dad has been away, right?”
“U-uh… was it 4 years…?”
“Dad.”
“…. Of course I know. It’s been 7 years, hasn’t it?”
“Phew. Thank goodness… If you forgot something like that, I would have been really mad!”
“Hahaha….”
Listening to their conversation made me realize something.
Adela seems to have a surprisingly strong voice in the Eristirol family.
It’s evident because the Duke reacts to every little thing she says.
“….”
“Ugh….”
Well, being the youngest daughter, it makes sense she’d be showered with love by the family.
Typically, the youngest holds the most power in a family.
Of course, as the eldest and the youngest at the same time, I wouldn’t know much about that.
“Kyle, come here too. By the way, who’s that girl next to you? Your girlfriend?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, the Duke mistook me for Kyle’s girlfriend.
No way, I mean, there’s a six-year age gap! That’s a pretty wild assumption.
When I first met Kyle, I was the same age he is now.
That’s quite a difference.
At six years apart, it’s like when I graduated elementary school, he just entered it.
Whoa, when you think about it like that, the difference is real…?
“Father, this is my Direct Servant and Private Tutor, Miss Sophia.”
“Oh ho….”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Duke. I am Sophia, assisting the Young Master.”
I bowed to the Duke again.
This was essentially my first proper greeting.
The last time, I was just clinging to Kyle.
When I raised my head after greeting, the Duke was looking at me with a satisfied expression.
It felt a little strange.
“Hmm…. You must be a trustworthy person if Kyle chose you. Now, let’s head inside.”
“Sure.”
“Yes~”
We then went inside the castle.
Upon entering, I noticed the servants looked more tense than usual.
Well, that was only natural.
“Kyle, since we haven’t seen each other in a while, we need to have a talk.”
“Dad? We just met after so long, and you want me to hang out with my older brother already?”
“It’s a man’s conversation. You can have tea with Kyle’s servant over there.”
“Ugh….”
And just like that, I found myself having tea time with Adela.
Making tea wasn’t hard at all, so I poured some into Adela’s cup.
This was basic courtesy for a servant.
“Miss, how is it?”
“Not bad. Next time, brew it a bit stronger.”
“Yes.”
Even though we were having tea time, nothing special came up.
To begin with, we didn’t have anything significant to discuss.
I wasn’t close to this lady before me, who serves as Kyle’s Direct Servant and Private Tutor.
Being Kyle’s younger sister didn’t make me think of her as Mk.2 version of my sibling at all.
She was already taller than me and we weren’t close.
If we were on the same level as Kyle, maybe I would have thought of her like a sister.
“Hmm…. Sophia, do you happen to know what Dad and Brother are chatting about?”
“Um…. I wouldn’t know. It’s my first time meeting the Duke today….”
“Oh, I see….”
I’m sorry, Adela, but I genuinely have no clue.
This was truly my first encounter with the Duke.
*
“Kyle.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You’ve really grown up well.”
“All thanks to Miss Sophia.”
I felt like my response was a bit too cold, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.
It was indeed because of Sophia that I grew this much.
Though I took after my father in stature.
“I think you know the real reason I’m back at the castle after playing around in the snow.”
“Because of my Coming of Age Ceremony, right?”
I’ll be turning 18 this year.
Next year, I’ll naturally become 19 and a proper adult.
He’s clearly returned for the Eristirol Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
“Exactly. You know it well.”
As expected.
The only reason Father would come back from his wanderings would be something like this.
“But what is this Coming-of-Age Ceremony? You never told me about it.”
“Oh. Did I not…?”
“Yes….”
He hadn’t told me after being away for so many years…
He looks like a really high-ranking person, but he’s a good father, so I guess it’s fine.
I totally understand his wanderlust.
It’s just common sense for a man to enjoy adventures or camping.
“It’s not difficult at all. You simply have to endure a fortnight in the forest alone in the first month of the year you turn into an adult.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry; I’ll have a few knights stationed around, so you won’t die or anything.”
“….”
Well, that’s a culture typical of the North.
It’s precisely the kind of Coming-of-Age Ceremony you’d expect from the North.
“It’s a tradition we’ve had since long ago. And if you want to be the leader of the Northerners, you need to endure at least that much.”
“That’s….”
He’s not wrong.
To govern people in this unforgiving land, it’s a necessity.
There’s no way someone who can’t handle that would sit at the top of the Northern hierarchy.
“And… looking at your physique, I have no worries.”
According to Father, my physique indeed seemed remarkable.
Just looking at how Miss Sophia touches me shows that I’ve grown strong.
Dueling with Elin hasn’t been easy, but I’m getting better at it.
“Well, let’s leave this topic behind and move on to the next, shall we?”
“?”
Next topic?
I didn’t expect there would be anything else to discuss besides the Coming-of-Age ceremony.
“That girl.”
The only girl that applies here is one person.
Miss Sophia.
Father would naturally be curious about someone new he met after such a long time.
Besides, it’s been quite a while since he’s lost Mother…
“….”
No way he’s about to talk about that.
I mean, his assumptions are way off here.
“Yes.”
“That girl… is it you, huh…?”
“….”
Father raised his pinky finger, subtly indicating something.
This only meant one thing.
It referred to a girlfriend or a love interest.
I really didn’t know how to respond.
I hoped for that kind of relationship.
Yeah, I wished for it.
The truth is, Miss Sophia still sees me as a 12-year-old kid, so it’s really tough.
“Not yet….”
“Hahaha!!!”
Suddenly, Father burst into loud laughter.
He must find it amusing.
It must sound hilarious to him that his little boy, whom he last saw as a toddler, is now into girls.
But I was serious.
I genuinely liked Miss Sophia…
“That’s the right mindset! Even if it’s not now, you should have aspirations, that’s how a man of Eristirol should be!!”
– Thud! Thud! Thud!!
Father kept patting my back hard as he spoke.
Wait, my bones…!
“Haha…. You’ve already grown up enough to want girls, huh? That’s impressive.”
“Uh… Yes….”
I was just about to say I wasn’t interested in girls just moments ago.
“But by the way, how old is that Sophia girl?”
“She’s 24 this year.”
With us being six years apart, she’s 24.
That’s not an issue for love, in my opinion.
After all, in the North, even kids are dating, and it’s common for older men and younger women to be together, so where’s the problem with 24 and 18?
“Hmm…. The age isn’t a problem!”
“Right?”
See? Even Father thinks it’s not a big deal.
Since he’s the highest authority in the North, there’s definitely no issue.
Given the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like he had any bad thoughts about Miss Sophia either.
In the first place, he’s such an easygoing guy that if I brought a girl home, he’d probably be all for marriage without hesitation.
He’s simply curious about Sophia and me.
“I understand because I was three years older than your mother…”
“?”
I didn’t realize there was such an age difference between my parents.
I always called them both casually by their names in past memories, never knowing.
“I bet you look at her like a little sister….”
“How did you….”
“Though I seem carefree, this father has lived at least 20 more years than you. In matters of love, it’s probably been 20-25 years.”
“….”
“With a six-year difference…. It’s obvious you’d see her as less like a sister and more like a daughter.”
“….”
I couldn’t argue with my father’s remarks.
She indeed sees me as a kid.
Even while waiting for my father, the hugs didn’t feel at all romantic.
Unlike how other girls would have responded positively, Sophia was supportive in a different way.
She was glad I grew up well and turned out nicely, in that sense.
And that was the tough part.
I had no clue how to change that perception.
“The solution to your situation is simple.”
“What is it…?”
Father is an experienced man.
He’s the kind of guy who’s already married someone older than himself.
He must have some good tips.
“Just go for it.”
“….”
Honestly, I think it’s best to ignore most of Father’s advice.
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