“Kyle~”
“…. Sophia, just wait a moment.”
“Uh…?”
As always, she opened the door to Kyle’s library and entered.
Once inside, Kyle was sitting at his desk handling documents.
Didn’t he say he would leave the spring festival preparations to the duke?
For now, she sat down and waited as Kyle had said.
After all, it was just paperwork.
Since she had taught him before, that task was something he was familiar with now.
“… Kyle, do you want me to help?”
Even after waiting for five minutes, there was no sign that Kyle would stop working.
So, she stood up and moved to his side.
If she helped, Kyle’s work would finish faster, and she wouldn’t have to sit through this boring wait.
“Huh? Help you?”
“Ha… can you really?”
“Of course I can.”
This kind of paperwork was nothing.
It was something he had been doing for several years.
Though she hadn’t done much of it lately because of Kyle, it still felt like second nature.
Doing this kind of work wasn’t a problem at all.
In fact, it was better to finish quickly and do something with Kyle afterward.
She pulled a chair next to Kyle and got to work.
Even though it had been a while since she did paperwork, it felt so familiar it was almost in her genes.
Plus, there was something peaceful about being with Kyle like this.
Maybe it was because they hadn’t really had a quiet moment alone together for a while.
Or maybe it was just because they were working.
Speaking of which, she noticed Kyle particularly well because she was right next to him.
“…”
He really was good-looking.
She doubted anyone could call Kyle ugly.
Well, if someone did, she’d give them an earful until they took it back.
“Ah.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kyle had one flaw.
She wasn’t sure if it was because she was sitting so close, but every time she moved to look at some other paperwork, her shoulder bumped into Kyle’s.
“But Kyle, why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
These weren’t just any documents.
They were all related to the upcoming spring festival.
There were papers asking for approvals, papers asking if they could rent spaces, papers asking to lend money—the list was extensive.
Why was Kyle suddenly doing all this?
She thought he was in the library reading books when she came out of the bath.
“… My father asked me for help.”
“Ah.”
“He probably has too much to handle alone.”
“Well….”
That was true.
When they were preparing for it, she and Kyle had spent two weeks handling things together.
And after the festival started, there’d be a ton more work to do even afterwards.
Thanks to that, they couldn’t enjoy the festival much at all.
If the duke was tackling all that alone, he must be struggling hard.
Of course, he likely wasn’t doing it alone.
Other servants in the mansion were probably doing similar tasks by now.
That was how it went when she and Kyle had tackled it too.
But in the end, the final signatures had to go to Kyle or the duke.
The documents managed by the other servants would inevitably gather in one place, making things even more complicated.
“So, we have to do this during the festival too?”
“No, my father told me to rest during the festival. He said once I told him I would take a break.”
“Ah.”
Thank goodness.
She was a bit nervous thinking she would have to work like this during the festival.
She was worried she’d have to watch the festivities from the window again like in past years.
She had already heard from Kyle that they could actually play this time, so naturally, she felt a bit anxious seeing him work like this.
“That’s a relief. This time we can enjoy the festival together.”
“Exactly.”
In conclusion, it was a good thing.
Yes, honestly, it wasn’t good at all that she had never enjoyed a festival so far.
It was quite sad that she had to watch it all like a husband whose wife was being NTR’ed.
“Kyle, how about we match outfits when we walk around this time?”
“Couple outfits? Are you sure you’ll be okay with that? You don’t usually like that kind of stuff.”
“Come on, it’s a festival! We should do something fun like that on festival day!”
Since it was a special day, wouldn’t it be nice to wear something couple-themed?
After all, there were no dress codes for the festival.
She thought they could coordinate and look nice together.
Certainly, they wouldn’t have to wear identical outfits, but they could wear similar colors.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too.”
She was super excited.
It wasn’t just the fact that it was her first festival, but she could enjoy it with Kyle.
“Oh, Kyle. Could you pass me that document over there?”
“Sure.”
First, it was time to finish the paperwork before thinking about anything else.
Alright.
*
“Louise~! Just move a bit to the left!”
“Here?”
“No, not there! The other side! Okay!”
– Thud~!
It was the tail end of winter.
Of course, it was still a coat-worthy type of weather outside.
During such a day, she was outside.
The reason was simple.
“Louise, can you do that for me too?”
“Well, I could manage.”
“Then move that too.”
She was overseeing the preparations for the festival.
She wouldn’t drag this story on.
It was a bit of a sad story.
To sum it up quickly…. She had ended up working because there wasn’t enough manpower.
She really was doing her best at actual labor now.
“Um… Louise, could you connect those two with magic?”
“… Am I some sort of magic slave?”
“Well, yeah. You did blow all your salary from before and became a slave.”
“Tch….”
Of course, there were sadder souls than her, but she didn’t care about that.
After all, he was a true slave.
A fool who squandered several years of salary, now a magic slave of Eristirol!
Her name was Louise~
“But you’re not worrying about money, are you?”
“That’s true…”
“So quit whining and get to work.”
“Tch….”
Thanks to their magic slave, they could cut down a lot of effort necessary for the preparations.
If they had to do everything manually, it would have been dangerous and time-consuming, but with magic, they didn’t have to worry about that.
Just watching Louise wave her hands and organize everything neatly felt impressive.
If only she could use magic too.
She felt really envious in that regard.
“There! You can place that cargo here!”
Ah, Kyle was working in another spot.
Having two supervisors in one place can be awkward for plenty of reasons, and they needed help in other locations too.
Honestly, she wished Kyle could just stay here, but some things couldn’t be helped.
It was easier for everyone if she gave a little.
“Hmm….”
For now, she’d keep doing this during the day and then return to the castle for dinner.
With the festival starting next week, they needed to rush a bit, which meant working at the castle in the evenings too.
It felt like she was back to how it was before.
Of course, the tasks were easier than back then.
“Hey! Is this how it works?”
“Hmm… The level isn’t aligned well at all!”
“Damn it!”
Louise floated in the air.
Seeing her like this, it was obvious she felt like a witch even without riding a broom.
Although technically, she should be called a sorceress.
“Okay~ That should be good!”
I wonder what Kyle is up to.
Is it just as busy there as here?
No, maybe not.
Since Kyle could use magic too.
It might actually be easier for him.
*
“Kyle, did you do well with your work?”
“Definitely better than Sophia.”
“Hey.”
Knowing it was just a joke, she lightly tapped Kyle’s arm in response.
But seriously, how was his arm so solid?
Probably, Kyle did his job as well as he claimed.
If it had been tough, he would have hidden it, but she could see everything.
“Still, if we get this done in a few days, can’t we rest during the festival? Right?”
“Exactly.”
Yes, that was enough.
As long as they could spend the festival together without a hitch, that was sufficient.
The duke would probably have to work hard in their stead, but he had never actually done much work until now.
This time, she thought they should let Kyle rest a bit.
“Yawn… Ah, I don’t want to do paperwork.”
Maybe it was due to working since morning, or perhaps it had been ages since she genuinely worked—either way, she didn’t want to do it anymore.
Had she slacked off too much thinking of being Kyle’s temporary girlfriend?
She wouldn’t have felt this way before.
Well, it made sense after taking a two-month hiatus from work and then suddenly jumping back in.
“Hey, Sophia, are you feeling tired?”
“Huh? No, I’m okay. I can still do what’s left.”
“Then do you want to take a break?”
“No. You have to work too; I can’t just relax.”
She couldn’t just sleep next to Kyle while he was working, especially seeing as she was a bit older than him.
She had some pride.
“Let’s finish this quickly and then get some sleep!”
After all, she would have to sleep with him.
If they finished quickly, brushed their teeth, and jumped into bed, it would be fine.
Sadly, they would still have to work tomorrow, but it would be way less than today.
“Kyle, hand me that pen over there. Let’s hurry and sleep.”
“…. Got it.”
She grabbed the pen Kyle handed over and began working on the paperwork again.
Kyle beside her started to behave in a way that mirrored her actions.
It was a bit tedious, but it was better than having a crummy festival.
It would be sad if her first real festival ended up being the worst compared to the ones before.
After all these years of just watching from the castle, finally getting to enjoy the festivities properly was special.
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