Kyle and I entered the building where the Knights stayed.
Unlike when I arrived, there were many knights passing through the corridor and stairs, not just Elin.
“The Young Master has arrived! Everyone salute the Young Master!”
A knight shouted loudly upon spotting Kyle.
It seemed that Kyle rarely came to a place with so many men, so it was a natural reaction for the knights.
Surprised by the knights’ simultaneous salute, Kyle glanced back and forth between me and the knights.
Though Kyle had grown taller and stronger lately, in this aspect, he still felt like a kid.
“Young Master, if you don’t give us orders, we will just stand here.”
“Oh, everyone can rest now…”
As soon as Kyle spoke, they finally lowered their hands.
Kyle still hadn’t gotten used to meeting male knights properly.
We walked down the corridor, receiving the knights’ gazes, towards the Commander’s Office of the Knights.
Since I had already informed Elin, the commander would likely be ready for us.
“Oh, no Commander.”
“Ah.”
-BAM!
As we entered, the commander was lifting dumbbells.
As soon as Elin spoke, he put them down and saluted Kyle.
“It’s fine.”
Then the commander and Elin relaxed their salutes.
“You mentioned you were looking for a swordsmanship instructor for the Young Master, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And it has to be a female instructor… Is it because of that old incident?”
“Yes.”
Elin seemed to not understand what they were referring to.
But the commander appeared to be well aware of it.
“Sophia, what kind of person are you hoping to welcome as an instructor?”
“Someone who can teach the Young Master swordsmanship and has a normal personality—a woman. That’s all that’s needed.”
“Hmm…”
The commander fell into thought.
It seemed Elin hadn’t informed them for long.
“We are definitely the knights of Eristirol, but… there aren’t many women in the order.”
“Yes, I am aware of that.”
In adventuring, women typically played the roles of mages or healers.
In reality, there weren’t many who actually fought.
I was special in that sense.
“Therefore, the only one who fits the criteria in our knight order is Elin here.”
“Hehe…”
Elin chuckled, placing her hands on her hips.
Seeing that made me want to lightly smack her head.
Thinking back to when I entered the building, it was even more tempting.
“The way she carries herself might not be to your liking, but her skills aren’t bad. Honestly, she’s smarter than the silly knights around.”
“Hmm…”
“The most important thing is that she is a woman.”
“Yes.”
“There isn’t a proper woman in our knight order other than her.”
If the commander said so, then it must be true.
To be honest, I wasn’t entirely convinced, but it looked like Elin would become Kyle’s swordsmanship instructor.
“Young Master, what do you think? If she doesn’t work out, we can invite another female sword instructor from the capital or elsewhere.”
“You said she’s the deputy commander?”
“Yes.”
Kyle observed Elin closely.
Elin’s looks were quite pretty.
It was the kind of beauty that would make one exclaim, “A knight looks like that?”
With her sky-blue long hair, it seemed a waste for her to be a knight.
Was Kyle gazing at her because of her looks?
Was it too hasty to think his attitude towards women was changing, starting from Catherine?
“Not bad. Elin, do you have any specific duties in the order?”
“No, I don’t have anything in particular to do. I just handle some paperwork now and then.”
“I see. Then for now, I’ll temporarily appoint you as the sword instructor.”
Well, if Elin’s skills weren’t as good as claimed, they could just switch.
I figured that was also how Kyle thought.
However, it was a bit ridiculous that Elin spoke so formally.
She didn’t use such formal language even with the commander but did with Kyle.
“If you don’t meet the Young Master’s standards, you could be removed from the sword instructor position. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes!”
“And… we’ll talk more after a bit.”
“Understood!”
I had a chat with Elin.
Since Kyle wasn’t used to such discussions, it fell to me to help him out.
Considering that Kyle would soon be handling family affairs, it would be good for him to become accustomed to such matters, but he still had a lot to learn.
Practical skills could be taught quickly.
Unlike swords or magic.
“Young Master, shall we head back for now?”
“Let’s do that.”
Before leaving, Kyle and I casually waved goodbye to the two.
They saluted, and since Kyle forgot again, they kept their arms raised until we exited the room.
*
“Miss Sophia.”
“Yes.”
“Have you contacted the Mage Tower?”
“Not yet. I’ll make sure to contact them today.”
“Okay.”
It felt strange to even contact that crazy lady.
After all, neither of us were the type to reach out often.
If it weren’t for this situation, we likely wouldn’t have contacted each other for a lifetime.
“Oh my, Young Master?”
“Miss Catherine.”
“What brings you here at this time?”
“I had some business with the knights and was just returning.”
Upon entering the castle, I ran into Catherine.
To my surprise, Kyle was conversing quite smoothly with her.
Honestly, I expected him to be all stiff-tongued like he was when he talked to me before, but not at all.
“Hmm… since we’ve met like this in the castle, why don’t we enjoy a cup of tea together?”
“…That sounds good.”
As expected, Catherine was a proper noble lady.
She adeptly continued the conversation and set up a plan.
Thanks to that, I found myself joining the tea time while following Kyle.
“Do you have a particular favorite tea, Young Master Kyle?”
“The Young Master doesn’t have a strong preference when it comes to tea.”
And Sebastian was right there beside us.
I thought I could just sit back and relax nearby, but it turned out to feel like I was on duty.
Some maids brought in the tea.
I had no choice but to stand behind Kyle like Sebastian was standing behind Catherine.
Usually, when Kyle had his tea or relaxed, I could just chill, but with Catherine there, I had to watch my image.
I really wanted to sigh, but I held it in since I was too close.
If I let out a sigh, the atmosphere would just get weird.
Honestly, I was also pretty tired after not being able to rest all morning.
Normally, I would have comfortably rested during Kyle’s workout time, but today, thanks to the sword instructor business, I felt more exhausted than usual.
Surely lunch would be coming soon.
“Young Master Kyle, is this tea made from ingredients from the Eristirol Territory?”
“That’s correct. It’s green tea made from leaves from our territory.”
“Hmm… it smells good. Could you give me some leaves to take back when I leave?”
“Of course. If it’s what Miss Oldenburg desires, tea leaves are no problem.”
I wanted to exclaim in admiration.
No, I was already marveling inside.
How could Kyle chat so casually with a girl!?
I couldn’t help but be surprised.
Though he had talked before, it was nothing like this, making it even more shocking.
It felt reminiscent of a scene from a romance fantasy work.
The elegant dialogue between a pretty noble lady and a duke’s son over tea was exactly the kind of scene one would expect from a romance fantasy.
Not that I usually watched such genres.
“By the way, I heard you’ve been together with your private tutor for several years?”
“Yes. I’ve been with Miss Sophia for quite some time.”
Indeed.
Kyle and I had been together for lessons for several years now, so it had been a long time.
Not having classes with Kyle now felt odd.
Or rather, it felt odd not spending time with him.
“Hmm… I’m a bit envious. Our Sebastian is still a newcomer who hasn’t even been here for a year.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, our family doesn’t tend to keep staff for long. We typically sign year-long contracts and part ways once they finish.”
Just as Catherine said, the Oldenburg family seemed to keep their servants and workers mostly young.
Even Catherine’s personal butler, Sebastian, was quite young.
Although he looked older than me.
“In that regard, it’s a bit surprising that you’ve been together for several years. The Eristirol Duke’s Household is quite stable.”
“…?”
What did she mean by ‘stable’?
I wasn’t aware of that story.
I hadn’t heard many rumors about Eristirol during my life, so that was understandable.
Stable… what could that mean?
Steadfastness?
Determination?
There were many words that could fit, which made it even harder to discern.
“…?”
“Oh my, Young Master Kyle? What’s with your face?”
“It’s nothing.”
Unfortunately, since I was behind Kyle, I couldn’t see his face.
It was a bit disappointing.
Considering how Catherine spoke, it must have meant Kyle’s expression changed, but I couldn’t see it.
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