It’s been a while since I returned to my room.
This is the first time I’ve left this place for so long after working in Eristirol.
Well, it makes sense since I didn’t really have any reason to leave the castle.
It’s not like I needed to brave the cold outside.
“Ugh…!!”
I stretched while lying alone on my bed.
If I were in the Imperial Palace or the inn, Kyle would have surely been there to give my back a nice rub while I lounged like this.
Ah, of course, there are times when he wasn’t around, but right now he was off meeting the Duke, so he wasn’t beside me.
“Wait, now that I’m back at the castle, are we going to have separate rooms again?”
Thinking about it, we haven’t actually talked about it.
We must’ve both forgotten about it.
I should ask Kyle about it soon.
“Hmm~”
It’s funny how the scenery unique to Eristirol, which once irked me to no end, now felt nice to see after so long.
Though I know this feeling will probably fade in three days or so.
Well, it was nice to be back.
Even if the environment in the Imperial Palace was generally better, after nearly ten years here, this place just felt more comfortable.
There’s no need to maintain formalities in front of the Princess all the time.
“I wonder when he’ll be back….”
It’s already been ten minutes.
It’s been ten minutes since Kyle left to chat with the Duke.
Of course, we were inseparable until then, but I still wished he would return soon.
It’s not like I’m thinking anything weird; I was just bored being alone.
Although Kyle says a lot of strange things, he’s still someone I can talk to very comfortably.
Being in a romantic relationship is probably possible because of that comfort.
If it weren’t for that, we probably wouldn’t have even begun.
*
“Sophia?”
“Oh, you’re back?”
It was only after thirty minutes that Kyle walked in.
As soon as he opened the door, I dashed over to greet him.
“Did you finish your talk with the Duke well?”
“Yeah, we just caught up a bit and asked each other how we’ve been.”
“I see.”
So it seems they didn’t have any serious talk.
If they had, I’d have let Kyle rest a bit since he’d probably be tired.
But I guess that’s not necessary.
“Oh, by the way, Kyle?”
As we slowly walked deeper into my room, I brought up something I’d been thinking about.
“Are we going to go back to having separate rooms at the castle?”
“….”
“Kyle?”
Why is he not responding?
Is he thinking about it?
Wouldn’t it just be simpler to say we should share the same room?
We’ve already shared a room several times, so it wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
In fact, having someone sleep next to me was surprisingly comforting.
I might as well be using Kyle as a comfy pillow, but it was, oddly enough, comfy.
“Kyle?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“What do you want to do? Huh? Should we share a room?”
“…Do you want to?”
“I mean, I’m okay with it, and I’m okay if we don’t.”
Well, if Kyle insists on having separate rooms, I guess we’ll do that.
If he wants that, I can’t really object.
“Still, your bed is really nice. It’s super spacious and so soft.”
“…”
“What do you want to do?”
“Alright, we’ll share.”
Nice.
Now I get to sleep in Kyle’s fluffy bed!
I still remember how great it was when I slept there last time.
It had to be a way better bed than what I used in the Imperial Palace.
The scent and everything else about it were just better.
*
“What a crazy girl.”
“Huh?”
As I finally went to greet Louise after a long time, the first thing that hit me was a curse.
I hadn’t even done anything weird yet!
“Why are you being a jerk right after meeting me?”
“You said you were just dating as a test! What kind of crazy girl goes to a ball with someone they’re just testing out?!”
“Oh.”
Now that I think about it, I hopped right out without telling Louise.
So I couldn’t even inform her or Elin about it.
“Totally forgot.”
“Are you seriously insane?”
“Come on, we haven’t seen each other in a while. Why are you mad?”
I’ve been feeling great lately.
Why is she like this?
Oh, maybe it’s that time of the month for her?
If that’s the case, I can understand.
That really sucks.
“Sigh… So, did you really kiss him at the ball?”
“Oh, really?”
How did she know that?
No matter how well news about Kyle spreads, how could there be that big of a difference from the place where the ball was held to here?
Plus, there’s not a ton of newspapers published in Eristirol.
How did Louise find this out?
“If you send a request to the Mage Tower, they’ll send everything.”
“Oh.”
Right.
I totally forgot about the Mage Tower.
If that’s the case, then it makes sense.
The mages there are usually helpful with any requests.
Sending newspapers regularly is nothing for them.
“Well, it was just the vibe, you know.”
I’d had a couple of drinks, felt good thanks to someone, and the overall atmosphere was just fantastic.
It was like one of those moments where you just had to kiss, you know? Anyway, that’s what happened.
“It was just like that.”
“You crazy girl! When was the last time you acted like that? Justifying a kiss because of good vibes? You’re really insane?!”
“Why are you suddenly getting mad?”
I can kiss a bit, can’t I?
Isn’t it more embarrassing to have never kissed by your mid-twenties?
Not that it matters.
I think Louise is acting like this because she’s never dated anyone.
Kyle and I have shared kisses a couple of times just when the vibe called for it.
“Sigh… So what’s it like now? Do you like Kyle?”
“Um… I don’t know!”
“Geez!”
“Eep?!”
Louise suddenly screamed, which really startled me.
“Come on, you scared me!”
“No, you kissed him, danced at the ball, kissed him again. How far do you want to go before you admit you like him?!”
“Uh… How would I know?”
I’m not some relationship expert, how should I know?
If I did know, I wouldn’t even be in this situation.
“Sigh… You really messed up. Go and apologize to Kyle right now.”
“Suddenly?”
“Yeah! Go and apologize right away!”
Why should I?
What did I do wrong?
I already got Kyle’s permission about this whole ‘test dating’ deal.
Kyle looks like he’s having a great time with me, always laughing, so it’s all good, right?
Why is she asking me to apologize?
“What kind of crazy girl kisses someone she doesn’t even like and dances with him at a ball?!”
“Um… Was it me?”
“Aaaaaah!!!!!!!”
She suddenly screamed again.
Is she finally going insane or what?
I’m not sure, but it seems she hasn’t had a drink today.
“Ugh… You are driving me crazy.”
“Louise, are you okay? Does something hurt?”
“Yeah, it hurts. Because of you.”
“?”
What’s wrong with her all of a sudden?
Today, Louise is definitely not in a good state.
That much is a solid fact.
“Let’s just stop being angry for now and sit down and have some tea.”
We hadn’t met in over a month, so I was curious as to why she was acting like this.
I wanted to relax a bit.
Not sure why, but after a bit of chaos, we sat at the tea table.
Why were we standing around like that?
“Sigh… So, how’s it going with Kyle?”
“Just okay? It feels pretty normal.”
We went about our days, doing ordinary couple things.
That’s why we became temporary lovers in the first place.
Why even ask about the obvious?
“Right… No, actually, it’s better to just ask Kyle later.”
“By the way, I went to the Capital this time…”
I shared the happenings I had while traveling to and from the Capital and the things I experienced there with Louise.
It wasn’t anything special, but after a month of meeting, it was just more fun talking about these experiences than chit-chatting about random things.
I wished Elin was there too.
Her personality seems to draw better responses than Louise’s.
“And now that I think about it, we shared a room then too. It was so spacious that it didn’t even feel cramped at all. We did have separate rooms when Kyle acted weird though….”
“Wait, you shared a room?!”
“Yeah? Of course, we did! Why?”
“…Never mind. Keep talking.”
Why did she suddenly stop?
Did I misunderstand something?
There’s nothing to misunderstand, right?
I continued to share.
I described our dates, the time Kyle got in trouble for picking a weird dress, and how we ended up making rules together.
Speaking about all this made me feel like I spent the last month quite fruitfully.
No, I feel like I spent it extremely fruitfully!
Aside from the ball, we really had a great time.
It was more exciting than that time we went for Kyle’s debut performance.
What could it be? It felt like we were just doing the same things as always.
Maybe it’s because Kyle had grown older since then?
“Huh.”
Well, whatever it is, it was enough that I had a good time with Kyle.
I bet Kyle thinks the same way too.
He always laughs around me, after all.
*
“Kyle!!! Are you really a coward?!”
“What suddenly got into you? I haven’t seen you in a while, and now this…”
Louise barged into my room unexpectedly.
It wasn’t too late, but I was still a bit surprised to see her suddenly show up like this.
“Why aren’t you making a move on that girl?!”
“Oh.”
Here we go again.
This was the kind of talk I’d heard so often when we were kids.
At this point, I found it utterly unbothered.
“Why aren’t you taking advantage of her when she’s practically throwing herself at you?! Are you seriously a coward?”
“Haha.”
That was indeed a time where it was quite hard for me to hold back.
Because of Sophia, I had to bite down hard enough to draw blood from my tongue.
“Even if that’s the case, we’re not officially dating, and we haven’t even made any promises, so isn’t it too much to do things like that?”
“Nah, come on! Honestly, just close your eyes and go for it once, and you’ll have her!”
“If I was going to go after Sophia, I would have done so years ago.”
“That may be true! But you were all taking showers together! You’re exposing everything—how can you not do anything? It’s insanity!”
Sigh.
I get it.
Of course, it’s frustrating for the Princess to watch, and it’s frustrating for Louise too.
But I’m really trying my best over here.
I’ve been biting down hard and holding back as much as I can, trying not to take action, all thanks to someone who keeps trying to tempt me.
“Well, just a little more, and I think she’ll really fall for me.”
“No, just go for it once and stop overthinking it!”
Why do people love to push others to jump into relationships so much?
“I’ve said it before, right? I want to wait until my relationship with Sophia is more solid before doing anything like that.”
I really want to show Sophia the best version of myself and the side of me that she wouldn’t hate.
Even though it’s getting tougher as time passes.
But still… I feel like Sophia’s feelings are starting to change little by little.
Maybe if there’s another romantic event like she mentioned…
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