“Does it look good on me?”
I’m evaluating my own appearance in the mirror.
I had already worn this dress a few days ago, but I was checking it again.
The skirt was just an ordinary long skirt, so it shouldn’t look strange. The sweater on top was warm and seemed adequately plain.
Is this enough?
It’s not like I’m overshadowed by the Princess, but still… “Why am I comparing myself to the Princess all of a sudden?”
This thought was utterly unnecessary.
Why did I suddenly compare myself to the Princess?
Even I don’t understand why I said that. Have I finally lost my mind?
“Sigh.”
I stopped admiring my outfit and stepped outside as promised to Kyle.
Since it was still winter, the weather was quite chilly.
Of course, wearing four layers, I wasn’t freezing to death.
“Sophia.”
“Young Master.”
Unlike me, Kyle had dressed appropriately for the weather.
It was only natural since he didn’t get cold like I did, so he didn’t need to wear multiple layers.
“Let’s head down right away.”
“Yes.”
We passed through the castle gates and headed down to the village.
As we descended, nothing special happened. We just had a normal conversation.
“At least until this year, my father said he would remain the Duke. He mentioned that there are a lot of tasks to hand over immediately upon my coming of age.”
“Is that so? Then you can relax until this year.”
“Yes. That’s why I’m planning to get things done while I can.”
Tasks to do… I wondered if there was anything Kyle needed to take care of.
I pondered for a moment, but nothing specific came to mind.
In the past, there was the social debut and coming-of-age ceremony, but those were all behind me now.
While I walked, thinking about what could be, I genuinely couldn’t come up with anything.
“Do you have any tasks that you particularly need to do, Young Master? I can’t think of anything for myself…”
“Quite a bit. So much that it’s a concern.”
“Is that so?”
He has quite a lot going on that I’m unaware of.
“Sophia, don’t you have a lot to do as well?”
“I….”
Do I have a lot to do? Not that I know of.
Besides quitting my job in a few months, I hadn’t given it much thought.
“I don’t know.”
“Really? Well, take your time thinking about it.”
“Yes.”
*
“Young Master, if it’s not too much trouble, may I ask you a question?”
“A question?”
I had always been curious about this.
Every time I come here, I wondered why we always eat at this restaurant.
“Why do you always come to this restaurant when we come down? Since the first visit, we always return to this place.”
“Oh.”
It was strange that we kept coming to this same restaurant.
It’s not like there’s only one restaurant in Eristirol.
“Somehow, I’ve ended up here every time.”
“I see.”
“Well, it’s not that there’s a special reason. It’s just that this was the place we came to together when I first came down.”
“….”
“That’s really the only reason we’ve been coming here. Oh, should we try a different place next time?”
“If you want, anywhere is fine with me.”
It was a bit charming, but there was no problem with it.
I had no complaints about coming here.
Just the thought that it was the first place we visited together made me feel a bit happy.
“It sounds nice to try a different restaurant for dinner tonight.”
“Yes.”
So, we had lunch together with the food Kyle ordered.
Since I had been here several times already, it didn’t feel new or particularly delicious.
It was just a comfortable time for the two of us without the Princess.
Now that I mention it, I hadn’t had such a relaxing time in days.
Ever since the Princess came, I hadn’t had a moment to rest like this, and Kyle was always with her.
“Do you have any foods you can’t eat, Sophia?”
“There’s nothing I can’t eat… I have foods I dislike, but nothing I can’t eat.”
I don’t have anything I can’t eat.
In my previous life, I had tasted things like pig intestines, liver, or even fish that had a horrible stench.
So, there’s nothing I can’t eat in this world.
“And what about foods you dislike?”
“Um… sweet foods…?”
“That’s surprising. You seem like you’d enjoy sweet foods.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
I wonder if Kyle thinks the sweet-toothed image suits me?
Well, most girls do like sweets, so I guess it could be a reasonable assumption.
In fact, the girls around me also seem to enjoy sweet foods, so it makes sense.
“Hmm….”
“Do you have any foods you dislike, Young Master?”
I’m not overseeing Kyle’s diet, but it just flowed into the conversation.
Since Kyle asked, I thought I’d ask back.
“If I had to choose… it would be vegetables.”
“Vegetables….”
What a childish answer.
Disliking vegetables…
“Ha….”
He looked taller than me by a head and yet disliked vegetables…. I thought he had matured since he was undergoing his coming-of-age ceremony, but apparently he’s still quite the kid.
“Meat is definitely more to my taste than vegetables.”
“Really… huh….”
I know I shouldn’t react this way as an employee, but to be honest, it was too funny to hold back.
“You can laugh if you want. I actually like to see you smile, Sophia.”
I can laugh?
I got permission.
Well then…
“Pfft… Young Master, hating vegetables is just a bit too childish…”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s adorable because it sounds childlike. Honestly, it made me laugh a lot.”
“Haha…”
“I’ll request the castle chef to hold the vegetables next time. Our young master dislikes vegetables, you see.”
“I would appreciate that.”
Talking with Kyle felt exceptionally comfortable.
These days, I had been feeling really uneasy, but chatting like this made me feel so at ease.
I used to always feel this comfortable; so why has it felt uncomfortable lately?
“Alright, let’s get moving now. We’ll be a nuisance if we stay sitting.”
“Yes.”
Not that Kyle would escort me, but I used his hand to get up from my seat.
Then we left the restaurant, walked down the street, and entered a clothing store.
It wasn’t that pervy dress shop from before, just a really ordinary store.
A shop selling clothes suitable for teenage girls.
“I couldn’t think of places to go with Sophia right now, so we ended up in this kind of place. Is it okay?”
“… Yes.”
If Kyle wanted to come here, there was no choice.
And since it wasn’t a shop with weird outfits like last time, there was no problem at all.
If it had been a shop with strange dresses like last time… that would have been a no-go.
“Even though your outfit is pretty today, I’d still like to buy you something else. You’re beautiful, so you’d look even prettier if you dressed up more.”
“Me? Beautiful? That’s….”
Not really, is it?
Compared to the noble ladies I’ve met so far, anyone would choose someone else over me.
Even if I had both male and female traits mixed in my mind from my past life, my outward appearance wouldn’t change.
“No, really, you’re beautiful.”
“….”
Kyle was looking at me seriously, which felt different from usual.
He seemed really sincere.
I had never seen this expression on him at the coming-of-age ceremony or during our debut.
“You shouldn’t tease the adults.”
What’s with the seriousness about my looks?
“You can’t say that when you’ve been around Princess and Lady Catherine, not to mention the White Young Lady.”
“They’re not around right now anyway.”
“Still, some things just shouldn’t be said.”
“Ha… fine. Let’s just choose some clothes. The ones you’ll wear, Sophia.”
“Yes.”
Anyway, thus began our outfit selection with Kyle.
He knew I disliked revealing clothing, so he didn’t suggest anything too exposing.
Thank goodness.
If he had forced me to wear something, I had no way to refuse since he’s nobility and my employer, and I’m just a commoner.
“I think something like this would look good on you. What do you think?”
“I’ll try it on.”
Kyle recommended a few pieces of women’s clothing while looking at me. Unlike before, he suggested reasonably pretty and ordinary dresses, so I decided to try one on.
Had he suggested normal clothes before, I surely would have worn them.
Actually, I had worn that strange dress back then.
With that, I started changing clothes in the fitting room.
The clothes I wore before were a long skirt and a knit sweater, so I was warm, but I felt quite chilly without them.
It made me want to change quicker.
It was a style of dress that slightly revealed the cleavage.
“Um….”
Was it because it was larger?
I didn’t expect it to look this way at all.
Such outfits would usually look better if less was revealed.
Instead, it weirdly emphasizes my chest and makes me look larger.
Though my actual weight isn’t that high, wearing this makes it feel counterproductive.
“What do you think…? I feel like it makes me look a bit bigger….”
I stepped out of the fitting room, wearing only the dress, and turned around to show Kyle.
The dress was a flowy one, not clinging tightly, so it was comfortable.
If only I could do something about the bust area, it would be nice.
“…it suits you.”
“…?”
Really?
I’m not particularly fond of it myself.
But Kyle said it suited me.
Has my fashion sense aged that badly?
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