“….”
“….”
I exchanged glances with Kyle.
For now, I thought it would be better to communicate through our eyes rather than jumping in with words.
After all… we were the two who’d be struggling the most today!
“Um… these are my parents… Mom, Dad, and over there is the Duke…”
I introduced our parents instead of Kyle.
It felt a bit awkward calling the Duke “Father” for the first time in front of the Duke, but I insisted on it.
Using terms like Duke or noble might feel even more awkward here.
Better to stick with something a little less formal that feels friendly and comfortable.
“And the lovely lady sitting next to me is Lady Adela.”
Upon hearing my words, Adela slightly bowed her head and greeted my parents.
Thank goodness!
I knew Adela wasn’t the type to act like that, but if she suddenly behaved differently here… it would be really tough.
“Father, as I mentioned before, this is…”
Kyle introduced our parents to the Duke and Adela once again.
Kyle talked about our parents and our parents bowed to the Duke and Adela, wrapping up the greetings satisfactorily.
It was a short exchange, but I already felt exhausted.
I was definitely drained from Kyle’s energy today.
Anyway… the meeting officially started.
Usually, you’d hold the meeting before discussing the wedding, but well… it had turned out this way already.
Kyle was so eager to get married, and neither side really opposed it.
Even so, holding a meeting just a month before the wedding felt a bit odd.
“Hello. I am Sophia’s parent. Um… would it be alright if I asked what to call you?”
“Feel free to call me however you like.”
“Then… I’ll call you in-laws…”
Fortunately, my mom, who was a bit better at conversation, stepped up to chat with the Duke.
Thankfully, nothing seemed to be off.
The Duke didn’t treat my commoner parents weirdly; in fact, he was treating them even better than I expected.
“So how should I refer to Lady Adela?”
“You can just call me Adela. Sophia, don’t call me ‘Lady’ all the time; just call me Adela comfortably.”
“Oh, y-yeah!”
My voice might have been a bit too loud, but I couldn’t help it given my nerves.
Plus, I’d already blurted that out.
“Okay, let’s talk while we eat.”
“If you say so, in-laws.”
Well… things were finally getting real.
Until a moment ago, we had only done introductions; it hadn’t been a proper meeting.
Even when I tried to exchange glances with Kyle sitting directly across from me, it felt like we weren’t connecting.
After all, we were merely exchanging eyes, and there was nothing more to grasp other than being cautious of each other.
*
“The wedding will proceed as planned next month. If you have any concerns regarding the wedding, feel free to let me or the servant know; we’ll help you.”
“Our family has never experienced a wedding like the ones nobles have, so following your lead would probably be the best.”
The conversation was going better than I had expected.
More specifically, it progressed quite smoothly.
The Duke spoke to us in a more relaxed manner, and Mom paid attention to what the Duke said.
If we were having this level of conversation and nothing was progressing, that would have been even weirder.
Of course, Dad still seemed a bit tense, glancing around while cutting his steak.
“But, big brother, have you picked out all the clothes? What about the wedding dress?”
“I’ve already selected everything. Just wait until the ceremony.”
“Huh? It’ll look the same when I see it then versus now, won’t it?”
Kyle was chatting with Adela sitting next to him.
She was his little sister, after all.
In a dull setting like this, talking seriously was probably worse than having a light chat with his sister.
“….”
So, to sum it all up… I was really just sitting quietly, eating by myself.
Dad didn’t seem in a position to talk with me; Kyle chatted with Adela, and Mom and the Duke were discussing wedding-related matters.
I ended up in a really boring situation.
At first, I was super nervous, but that was only in the beginning.
As the meal began, my responsibilities dwindled, and the more our parents conversed, the more relaxed I became.
Eventually, I was left with nothing to do but simply enjoy the food.
“….”
“?”
So… I decided to play a little prank.
Not an extreme one, just a tiny bit of fun.
After all, everyone at the table was oblivious to what was happening under the table, obscured by the tablecloth.
Plus, it wasn’t an overly extravagant occasion.
We were all seated at a reasonably sized table, so…
That meant nobody would notice as I carefully took off my shoes and nudged Kyle’s legs.
“….”
“….”
The moment I lightly nudged, Kyle shifted his gaze toward me.
“Hehe…”
I found it amusing that he reacted so much to that gentle touch.
It was a totally different feeling than when I used to touch Kyle’s… in my dreams.
Back then, he wouldn’t change his expression at all, but now, with just a tiny poke of my toes on his shins, he was reacting!
Of course, when it came to touching him in dreamland, he might have reacted there too, but that was a whole different discussion.
“Big brother? Why are you looking at Sophia all of a sudden?”
“Oh, um… I just… wanted to see you.”
“Ew….”
Kyle casually turned his gaze back to Adela and continued their conversation.
And… I found his demeanor even more amusing.
It’s one thing to have no reaction at all; another to respond and act like nothing happened.
I extended my leg a bit longer to nudge higher up Kyle’s calf.
“….”
Then, when Adela glanced away for a moment, Kyle looked back at me slyly.
This was incredibly fun.
Since I often found myself on the receiving end of Kyle’s antics, it made it all the more enjoyable.
Kyle shot me a slight glare, but I merely responded by slicing my steak, looking as nonchalant as possible.
I acted like I was just there to eat.
Thanks to that, it became awkward for Kyle to make any moves toward me.
“Hehe…”
*
Thus, the meeting came to an end.
In reality, I think only the Duke and Mom had a proper meeting.
From midway through, I was just messing with Kyle, Dad was mumbling along with Mom, and Kyle and Adela enjoyed a sibling catch-up.
It seems the real meeting was only genuinely conducted by the two of them.
Probably better than just letting others chime in unnecessarily.
Not that it changed much, though.
“Yawn!”
I flopped onto my bed, and the mattress let out a satisfying creak.
Given how smoothly everything concluded, it was indeed a good day.
My parents were satisfied with the meeting, and the Duke… well, at least didn’t seem displeased.
“Kyle, it’s really all over now!”
I said brightly to Kyle, smiling widely.
Considering all the worries these days, I felt genuinely relieved.
Now, it seemed like all the concerns had vanished.
Now I could just focus on the wedding ceremony itself.
I bet Kyle felt the same.
“….”
“Kyle?”
Kyle, who had followed me into my room, stood silently at the door.
He didn’t respond.
“What are you doing there?”
I asked Kyle, confused by why he was just standing by the door.
There was no good reason for him to linger there like that, and I couldn’t figure out what he was up to.
Could it be he wanted to be some sort of guard dog or something?
*Click*
“?”
“Sophia.”
“Yes?”
Kyle suddenly locked the door and called my name.
“What’s up?”
After locking the door, Kyle approached me, who was sprawled out on the bed, and I simply stared at him.
Considering we’d been sleeping in the same bed for months, it didn’t feel like I had any reason to refuse.
“Why the sudden change today?”
“What—”
I realized what he might be referring to.
During dinner, I had been messing with him a bit.
Since some time had passed, I had temporarily forgotten!
About ten minutes of playful poking and then I had stopped.
“Ah~ that? Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“Sigh…”
“Why are you sighing? Are you feeling unwell?”
Kyle huffed a sigh out of nowhere.
I wondered if it was a headache or something, but it didn’t seem likely.
After all, he hadn’t shown any signs of that throughout the day.
“I can’t take it anymore.”
“Huh? What can’t you take?!”
As I questioned him, I found myself stuck in a position as he moved closer, not allowing me to budge.
It wasn’t strange; he simply turned me slightly and then wrapped his arms around me from behind.
It wasn’t dangerous or anything, but I was taken off guard since it was so sudden.
Having skinship with Kyle wasn’t uncommon, but I never expected it to be quite like this.
“Kyle…? What’s going on suddenly? Feeling a bit touchy today?”
“….”
“Kyle?”
“During the meal, what was with your foot resting on my thigh all the time…?”
“Uh? That was just a joke! You left me alone to chat with Adela.”
I responded to Kyle as such.
He was so engrossed in talking to Adela that he wasn’t giving me any attention.
So, I felt bored, and just played around a bit.
“I… understand that, but why that kind of joke?”
“Hmm… because when I initially nudged you, your reaction was amusing?”
“….”
“W-What? Did I mess up…?”
Since Kyle was behind me, I couldn’t see his expression.
Not being able to see his face made me feel a bit worried.
I wondered if I had done something wrong.
Oh, maybe it was because it was too inappropriate…?
“…Yikes?!”
Just as I was pondering, suddenly, Kyle slipped his hand between my thighs.
It was completely out of the blue.
“K-Kyle?! Why are you going for the thighs?!”
“I’m just doing what you did.”
“Huh?!”
As he said that, Kyle started to slip his hand deeper into my inner thighs.
It didn’t reach anywhere truly scandalous, but it was close.
Close enough to brush against my groin area.
Caught off guard by Kyle’s sudden touch, I found myself overwhelmed with embarrassment and unable to resist.
“Huh…? Kyle? Isn’t it a bit early for that kind of touching…? Wait, what…?”
Kyle was teasingly rubbing my inner thigh.
We weren’t going anywhere explicit, but…
This was…
“Huh…. Huh…. Huh….”
He was just playfully tickling.
Back and forth along the inside and outside of my thighs, toying with me a little.
Yet, my body was reacting oddly to these teasing touches.
“Sophia said to postpone things and then kept teasing me—what are you trying to do?”
“Uh, I didn’t… go this far…!”
I exclaimed to Kyle, trying to reason with him.
If things continued like this, I felt like I might just fade away, just like in Kyle’s dream before…!
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