Was it because I had already crossed the line once?
Since that day, my relationship with Kyle had slightly changed, so subtly that neither of us even realized it.
It wasn’t like anything was different, but at the same time, nothing was completely the same.
“Kyle, do you want to go over there this time?”
“Where?”
“Over there, at that dessert shop.”
Today was different; instead of taking the carriage like usual, we were resting in a city.
I had said we were returning to Eristirol through the mage tower, so taking a little break along the way wasn’t a problem.
It wasn’t my idea to rest; Kyle had suggested it first, citing the mundane need for a break from the carriage.
I thought it was such a ‘Kyle’ reason, yet I was also relieved.
If Kyle hadn’t suggested it, my back might have started crying out for help.
Of course, that wasn’t really going to happen.
“I’m going to have a few macarons. What about you?”
“I’ll just have a drink.”
“Don’t be like that. Order a piece of cake. Let’s share it. Sound good?”
“If Sophia wants to.”
I casually placed my order and sat down.
If it had been the usual day, I would be passing the time, getting jostled in the carriage by now.
I couldn’t be grateful enough to Kyle for letting me take a day off like this.
“Looks like we have about two weeks left, huh?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow, that’s still quite a while…”
It couldn’t be helped because of the distance, but riding in a carriage was getting tiresome.
Having spent years cooped up in a castle made it feel even more so.
I was used to walking around rather than riding a carriage.
It wasn’t that I never rode in one, but riding to the lower levels of the castle was completely different.
That was a journey that took less than five minutes, and now… we were spending nearly the whole day in the carriage.
“But it can’t be helped. At least this way we’re taking a faster route.”
Fortunately, since the route had slightly changed, we could arrive a bit quicker than last time.
Of course, even so, the total travel time would still be close to a month. But anyway, as I chatted with Kyle, the waiter brought us our desserts.
I wasn’t really a huge fan of sweets, but it just seemed like a good idea.
Normal couples come to these… how should I say it, sweet spots often.
So, here I was.
“Mm… not bad.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you should take a bite.”
It genuinely didn’t taste bad.
Since I’m not one to enjoy sweets, Kyle, with a more typical palate, would probably find it tasty.
I handed a macaron to Kyle.
It felt like one of those typical couple moments.
I had already shared food with Kyle during meals many times.
After all, Kyle had a pretty big appetite, and passing food to him was always subtly entertaining.
“Ah~”
“…”
Kyle awkwardly popped the entire macaron into his mouth.
He was supposed to eat it a little bit at a time, but he devoured it whole.
I had planned to give him just one macaron, but I didn’t expect him to just annihilate it.
“Was it okay?”
“It’s delicious. Perfectly sweet.”
“Thank goodness.”
I couldn’t really give an objective review on the sweetness.
I was a bit worried that Kyle might not like the macaron, but luckily, that wasn’t the case.
His expression and way of eating were both quite good.
He had even said it tasted good, so I didn’t need to think further.
Kyle wasn’t the type to lie to me.
“Kyle, eat this too.”
I offered him the next dessert.
This time it was a strawberry cake topped with whipped cream.
I hadn’t tried it myself yet, but the macaron was decent, so it was hard to believe the cake would be any less.
“How is it, tasty? Right?”
“It’s good. But don’t just keep giving it to me; Sophia should eat too.”
“I’ll take care of myself. Now just open your mouth again.”
I scooped a little cake with a fork and handed it to Kyle.
After all, I couldn’t eat everything right here.
I had ordered it all to share with Kyle in the first place.
It would be a bit stingy to come out together and not share, right?
*
“Kyle, aren’t you uncomfortable sitting so stiffly like that?”
As we were moving in the carriage, I slightly turned my gaze to Kyle who was, let’s say, static.
He was absolutely rigid.
If Kyle’s skin tone had been any colder, his expression completely blank, and his eyes void of emotion, I might have thought he was a doll sitting like that.
“If I sit so rigidly and straight like that, I get back pain.”
Usually, staying still in a tense position would do that, but Kyle didn’t seem to be like that.
He hadn’t relaxed his posture since the start of the carriage ride.
Except for the times I teased him, or when opening and closing a little door connecting to the coachman.
That made it all the more fascinating.
“Wait a minute, you don’t have anything attached to your back, do you?”
“I’m just sitting.”
“Aren’t you uncomfortable?”
“Of course I am. It’s definitely uncomfortable to stay stiff like this.”
“Ugh….”
I thought he always sat like that because it didn’t bother him.
If it did, he wouldn’t just sit there.
He could always shift to a comfy position.
Sometimes, I could lie back on the long seat or rest my head on his shoulder.
There wasn’t really any need to sit painfully still.
“Then why are you sitting like that?”
“Um… I’ve just gotten used to it.”
“Huh?”
“Well, being a noble means you always have to present yourself well in front of others… I just think that way, so I naturally end up sitting like this.”
“Really….”
That struck me as a bit ridiculous.
Was it because I wasn’t noble?
No matter how much I had been the person responsible for Kyle’s etiquette training, I had never said to sit stiffly like this in such cases.
In fact, I had leaned towards a more relaxed approach in my teaching.
I would tell him it was okay to take it easy in private, or not to be so uptight since we’d only meet once and then part ways.
I had never said he should always maintain a stiff posture.
So, seeing Kyle acting like this now felt a bit absurd.
The teacher was right in front of him, yet here he was acting against everything I had taught him… it stung my pride a bit.
“Kyle.”
“Yes?”
“You….”
I called out to Kyle, distancing myself a little.
What I was about to do was to correct the behavior of a mischievous student who was acting contrary to what I had taught him.
There were absolutely no ulterior motives or intentions of romantic gestures… it was purely a form of education.
“Lie down here.”
“…Huh?”
“When I was young, did I ever say to sit so stiffly like that? Did I?”
“No, you didn’t…?”
“Right, then why are you sitting like that? Are you saying everything I taught you was useless?”
Honestly, I felt a little wronged!
I had worked so hard teaching Kyle when he was young.
I had put quite a bit of effort into figuring out how to make timid little Kyle comfortable so he would follow the lessons without fear.
And here he was disregarding everything and sitting stiffly for no good reason.
I had clearly said not to do that!
Staying tense in unnecessary situations could cause mental fatigue, and I always reiterated that, but it seemed like he had forgotten all about it.
“Sophia, no matter what, laying on your thighs…”
“Are you going to talk back to me now?”
Was he now trying to ignore my words?
What a frustrating student and boyfriend he was.
If I were the adventurer I used to be, I would’ve surely swung a punch at the top of Kyle’s head.
Ah, but considering how Kyle was now, he might be stronger than me.
He could probably take me.
“Faster!”
I playfully slapped my thigh.
There was absolutely no one else in the carriage besides me; not my mom or dad.
There was simply no reason for him to sit in such a rigid posture.
“…Is it because I’m uncomfortable?”
“…No, fine. I’ll lie down. Just stop saying weird stuff.”
“Okay.”
Kyle gave in and rested his head on my thigh.
Of course, he was wearing clothes, so it didn’t feel ticklish.
Rather… it felt oddly light.
Normally, a human head is supposed to feel heavy.
I briefly wondered if it would be heavy but realized it wasn’t heavy at all.
“Hehe… this is kinda cute.”
I looked down at Kyle, who had his head resting on my thigh and was slightly curled up.
Usually, I was the one looking up at him, but now he was below my line of sight.
Just like the old days when he was a kid.
Of course, he had become much cooler compared to back then.
“Working hard is great, but just for now, don’t be so stiff when you’re with me. I mean, I’m your girlfriend, right? If you’re so tense in front of me… even I would feel hurt.”
“…Okay.”
I gently stroked Kyle’s head.
Really… he was still a kid.
Not in a physical sense, but in many ways.
He was always trying so hard to do well, wanting to look cool all the time, and even though he didn’t express it well, he had this underlying desire for someone to notice him.
That kind of thing felt very juvenile.
Considering he had just turned into an adult, it wasn’t wrong either.
“Sophia… do I really have to stay like this? I’m a grown man too, you know.”
“Yeah. You do.”
Even if Kyle had grown up and become a towering, handsome man.
Even if he made my heart flutter now, at the end of the day, he was still Kyle.
“And I find it fun to have you like this.”
That was a bit of a silly reason, but not a bad one.
Doing this to my younger boyfriend, giving him a knee pillow and petting his head.
It was just a normal action with a normal reason behind it.
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