What the hell.
But I couldn’t say it out loud.
Because Kyle was right next to me.
No matter how good our relationship was, cursing in front of him was crossing a line.
“Hah….”
Anyway, seeing Kyle sigh too made it seem like he wasn’t that much different from me. He must be thinking this situation is ridiculously absurd. And it’s only natural.
The color of the decoration on the carriage approaching us pretty much gave away where it was coming from.
“Why is the Imperial Family here again…?”
Yeah, it was the Imperial Family. Only they would crazily use purple like that. To think a color representing their purple eyes is purple itself—how ridiculous. But I guess it makes sense since purple has always been a rare color in nature.
Still, did they really need to deck out the carriage so extravagantly? They gilded it with gold, adorned it with purple flowers, jewels, fabrics, and whatever else they could find. The carriage from Oldenburg I saw before wasn’t half as decorated.
-Screech…
Anyways, the carriage came to a stop right in front of us.
Naturally, Kyle and I bowed deeply.
Since we were outside, we didn’t kneel.
Honestly, it felt good not to owe any loyalty to the Imperial Family.
-Clack, clack, clack…
As we remained bowing, we could hear the sound of heels. It screamed, “I’m a noble!”
The person getting off was obvious.
The Emperor and his wife would never come.
The Crown Prince was out of the question too.
So, it was decided.
“Hmm…?”
A woman’s voice.
“Eristirol Duke’s Son, or should I call you Duke now?”
“Whichever you prefer.”
“Then I shall call you Duke Kyle. You know me since we met at the debutante, right? It’s fine to raise your heads.”
“Thank you.”
Kyle and I lifted our heads and saw the woman in front of us, who looked just like I expected.
The Dextrin Empire’s princess, one of the two born from the Emperor and his wife.
A princess.
She was pretty.
“It’s been a while. Nice to see you again, Kyle Eristirol.”
“It’s an honor to meet you again, Your Highness.”
Julia Dextrin.
A famous figure for many reasons, the biggest being that she was just pretty.
“By the way, how much taller has Duke Kyle gotten? You seem taller than last time we met.”
“That, I don’t really know myself.”
“Hmmm… By the way, I heard that Duke Kyle has a romantic interest. Is she from a noble family?”
“?”
“It’s not a romantic interest… not yet.”
What’s this? Kyle has a love interest? I hadn’t heard anything about it.
And where’s this noble lady hanging out?
I turned my head and looked around, but there was no one but Kyle.
“You, the black-haired lady.”
“Eh? Me?”
“Right now, who else is here besides me, Duke Kyle, and you?”
“Oh, I’m Sophia, Kyle’s direct servant.”
I said this while bowing my head. Who would have thought I’d be greeting royalty in my life? Never saw that coming.
Working for a high-ranking family opens up such opportunities, I guess.
“Hmm…? A commoner?”
“Correct.”
“Oh.”
The princess made a brief sound as if she realized something.
From her expression, she must have understood the situation, but I couldn’t since I was bowing my head.
Kyle would handle things well.
“—–”
“Let’s talk about that later.”
“Hehe…. This is quite entertaining. Just like Duke Kyle said, let’s talk later? You there, servant? You can lift your head.”
“Thank you.”
I straightened up again but couldn’t hear what they were saying.
To be exact, I didn’t hear what the princess said.
Did she whisper something to Kyle?
I thought it’s inappropriate for a princess to do that to a man who just came of age.
Besides, wasn’t she older than Kyle?
“….”
“Now, please lead the way inside.”
“Yes.”
Kyle led the princess forward into the castle. Since Kyle signaled me not to follow immediately, I decided to stay put in front of the gate for a moment.
I almost helped with unloading things from the carriage, but they told me to keep my hands off the Imperial goods, so I stayed still.
“…What the hell.”
The workers from the Imperial Family also entered the castle.
I stood in front of the gate, gazing at the snowy sky, and let out a curse.
Honestly, I wasn’t feeling great.
Anyone would feel this way in this situation.
This was a promise made almost three weeks ago.
It was a long-standing plan to hang out with Kyle.
That’s why I dressed up, even wearing something a bit more feminine.
“But seriously, did they have to ruin it like this?”
It was ridiculous.
Thanks to that, I felt warmer even in this cold weather.
Maybe the princess was a hot pack in disguise?
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so easy to make me feel hot like this.
“Sigh…”
I sighed, pushing my hair back, while stewing in my anger.
*
“By the way, I didn’t think Duke Kyle would have a taste for someone like that.”
“….”
Kyle guided Julia to the reception room.
There was no other choice but the reception room to host Julia since she arrived without prior notice.
Naturally, it made sense since the Emperor would send even small gifts to a baron no less than to a duke like Eristirol.
“So, why did you come to Eristirol, Your Highness?”
“Hmmm…. First, my father sent me to congratulate on your coming-of-age ceremony and the conclusion of your succession. And the second…?”
“….”
The first reason was obvious.
There would be no reason for the Emperor not to send something to one of the dukes, even if it was just a small gift for a mere baron.
“My father instructed me to gather information about Duke Kyle’s relationships.”
“What?”
Kyle was taken aback by Julia’s words.
It was surprising indeed, as Kyle had seldom been caught off guard unless it was an unexpected incident caused by Sophia.
“My relationships?”
“Yes.”
“….Why?”
It was a slightly rude question, but Julia brushed it off as if it were nothing.
She probably thought her father’s suggestion was ridiculous.
“As expected, old folks just don’t understand young ones.”
“Don’t worry. He’s just concerned that you might end up an old bachelor with no women around you.”
Julia couldn’t help but tell Kyle about this since it was more prudent than saying nothing. Their relationship between Eristirol and the Imperial Family would only go downhill if she didn’t.
Though Kyle had finished his coming-of-age, he was still young.
“His Majesty has no intention of endangering you, Duke. On the contrary, he’s showing a friendly attitude. This visit was solely out of worry.”
“….I see.”
Kyle understood this about the Imperial Family.
The princess and the emperor did, too.
For them, the peace of the Empire and relationships with nobles were important.
However, Kyle still felt uncomfortable inside.
‘It would’ve been better if they’d come tomorrow.’
His thoughts were not much different from someone still cooling off in front of the castle gate.
Today was an important day for Kyle too.
It had been a long time since he got to go out on a date with Sophia.
He had spent all this time preparing for his coming-of-age ceremony, always stuck with his fluffy father and rolling around in the snow.
Plus, he hadn’t been able to meet Sophia for quite a while after the ceremony, and even when he returned, he hadn’t had any chance to relieve his stress.
Then finally, he had the opportunity to go out with Sophia again after such a long time.
‘Sophia looked beautiful today…’
Kyle was a man after all.
When a man goes out on a date with a girl and she looks completely different in a pretty dress, it makes his heart flutter.
That’s exactly how Kyle felt today.
‘The skirt… it suited her well.’
He didn’t intend to say this in front of the princess, but he couldn’t help it.
Sophia had already become his number one in his heart.
“Anyway, don’t worry. I’ll probably return in a week. I’ll explain things to my father nicely.”
Julia smiled coyly at Kyle.
She wasn’t intentionally trying to seduce him.
She simply found the situation amusing and smiled due to her refined social skills.
“One of those women likes a servant.”
“Eh?”
Kyle replied in a fool-like voice.
Seeing him, Julia burst into laughter.
If the room wasn’t well soundproofed, a passing servant outside might have thought it odd.
“That servant beside you, you like him, right? So you were anxiously looking at him. And by the way, you’ve got a nice chest, too.”
“……”
“Don’t worry. I really don’t mean any harm.”
“Yes…”
Kyle answered Julia.
He understood that what had ruined his date with Sophia was already in the past.
Moreover, he didn’t care much as long as Julia didn’t disturb him any further.
And more than that, the image of Sophia from earlier occupied Kyle’s mind, leading him not to prolong the conversation.
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