After Kyle’s schedule was finished, I immediately prepared a letter to send to that year.
Unlike the writing style used in the Eristirol Duke’s Household, I didn’t need to care about my tone at all.
In fact, she would probably prefer me writing in my usual way.
“Hmm…”
I didn’t think it would take too long to reach the Mage Tower. If I wrote it today, I would likely get a reply within this week.
-Scritch scritch
I began writing the letter on the paper with my pen. The content wasn’t complicated. It simply asked Kyle to teach me magic.
There were a few casual remarks mixed in, but it wasn’t a big deal.
“Is this enough?”
I read the finished letter once. It contained all the necessary information, and it clearly mentioned that I was the one sending it.
Since it was getting late today, I had to send it tomorrow.
Thanks to Catherine, I couldn’t rest properly today. Therefore, I thought it would be better to sleep a little earlier than usual.
“Kyle, Duke’s Son.”
“Oldenburg Young Lady. What brings you here?”
Late at night, most of the servants were asleep, and only the guards and those patrolling the mansion were wandering around. Catherine and Kyle ran into each other in the hallway.
“Um… It’s not a suitable place here, how about we talk in a proper room?”
“…I understand for now.”
Following Catherine’s suggestion, Kyle entered a dark parlor where all the lights were turned off.
The interior wasn’t very bright, but the candle, lit by mana, was enough to illuminate the dim interior reasonably.
“So, what do you want to talk about?”
Unlike the tone he used with Sophia, his tone was a bit stiff and cold. If Sophia had heard this, she would have been surprised.
He usually spoke to Sophia in a kind and ordinary manner, but now that she wasn’t here, it was different.
“Haha… don’t stare at me like that. I think I mentioned this when we were alone before, didn’t I?”
“….”
“Hmm… Right. Let’s get straight to the point, as you wish, Duke’s Son.”
Catherine continued speaking with a smile, while Kyle looked down at her with somewhat cold eyes.
“Sophia, I mean, the Private Tutor, I have something to say about her.”
“…..”
“Honestly, she doesn’t seem like a bad person at all.”
Kyle agreed with that. More precisely, it wasn’t complete approval. To Kyle, Sophia was more than just a person who wasn’t bad.
After going through that at the age of 12, she had taken care of him, taught him, and always supported him, so it was only natural to feel that way.
“In that sense, Duke’s Son, I have a proposal for you.”
Upon hearing Catherine’s words, Kyle immediately predicted what would come next. After observing Catherine for a few days, he realized she had no intention of merely praising Sophia.
“….”
“Could we use the Private Tutor for a few more years?”
Hearing the anticipated words, Kyle felt anger, even though he had expected it. However, it was a perfectly reasonable anger for him.
Although they weren’t too far apart in age, it was only logical to feel anger at the sudden talk of taking Sophia, who had acted like a mother to him.
But he did not express that anger fully. Even though he was in his domain and knew he was the Eldest Son of the Duke, his opponent was not someone to be trifled with.
Catherine, the Oldenburg Count’s daughter, was not someone who could allow Kyle to act recklessly as a Duke’s Son.
In a place where no one else was around, it would be better to keep his mouth shut rather than lose his temper and make a scene.
“….That’s not something I decide.”
“Then who does? Isn’t the employer the Duke’s Son? Or is it the Duke himself…?”
Catherine’s question was a very aristocratic one. It was only natural to separate employers from employees, and most employers were nobles.
But Kyle’s response wasn’t based on such reasons.
“The choice is up to Sophia. It’s not something I decide, nor my father.”
“….”
Catherine’s eyes widened a bit. Surprised by the unexpected answer, her interest was piqued.
“Interesting… Haha… Duke’s Son, you’re more amusing than I thought?”
“Is that so?”
Kyle tried to hide his expression as much as possible. He didn’t want to show his feelings on his face at that moment.
It was an emotion and face he completely didn’t want Sophia to see.
Even though Sophia was gone, thoughts about Sophia as a Private Tutor and a woman occupied his mind.
“It’s quite cold. Shall we go inside?”
“Shall we? I think I had a decent conversation for the first time in a while. It was as interesting as our first chat, if not more.”
With those words, Catherine left the parlor where they had been talking. Unlike Catherine, Kyle remained seated, gazing at the candle that lit the room.
It wasn’t bright enough to illuminate his surroundings greatly, but the candle emitted a gentle light.
“Sophia…”
He thought of Sophia again. He could no longer imagine a life without her.
Though it had been a relatively short time compared to the other servants or maids, “quality over quantity” wasn’t just a phrase, as he thought of Sophia often.
At first, he only thought of her as a teacher. Someone who would teach him and correct some of the trauma he had.
But those thoughts had changed completely now. Sophia had become not just a Private Tutor who taught him things, but someone who always assisted him and shared his daily life.
It was already cold in the North, but the inside was not chilly. However, Kyle sitting alone in the room felt a chill.
*
When he woke up in the morning, the servants and maids were chatting away.
I couldn’t understand why the usually hard-working people were so chatty. Had anything happened while I slept?
“Did something happen?”
I asked a maid with whom I occasionally exchanged a few words. She wasn’t a high-ranking maid, but since I was working both as a servant and a Private Tutor, I inevitably interacted with a few maids.
“Oh, Miss Sophia!”
As she turned to find me, she smiled and greeted me. I returned her smile and nodded slightly.
“Last night, there was a rumor that the Young Master and a guest spoke together in the parlor late at night!”
“Really?”
The Young Master she referred to had to be Kyle, and the guest must be… other than Catherine, there was no one else staying in the territory.
Did they really have a conversation alone in the parlor late at night?
“Is that true?”
I couldn’t help but be surprised. I hadn’t expected Kyle to suddenly talk privately with Catherine at such a late hour.
I didn’t care who started the conversation first. The mere fact that Kyle spoke with Catherine at an unusual hour was shocking.
Could this be called a significant improvement?
After all, they would usually talk once a day. It wasn’t impossible for them to have a secret conversation in a private place at night.
“Yes! A few servants patrolling the hall said that Catherine suddenly came out of the parlor, and about ten minutes later, the Young Master followed her.”
“Oh…”
The clueless young boy had reached such a level already, talking with a girl in a secretive place at night.
Amazing.
I wondered if the very few lessons I had given on sexual education or dating had worked.
If this led Kyle to speak with Catherine alone, I’d be pleased. It meant that what I had taught him was actually effective.
Of course, I had never experienced dating, so I had only taught him based on things I had heard or read in books.
Dating was the last thing I could imagine doing. It was all due to memories from my childhood.
It was oddly uncomfortable as I had been a man in my previous life; I couldn’t think straight.
The thought of dating a man sent chills down my spine.
Even though I was technically a woman, I felt like only my mind remained as a man.
Because of that, I felt a strong aversion to dating.
However, my discomfort in dating a boy was incomparable to the idea of dating a girl.
Of course, I had never felt a fluttering heart or love for anyone.
-Knock knock
I knocked on Kyle’s door.
There was no sound from inside.
“Young Master, are you there? May I come in?”
I announced first. He might not have heard the knock, so I needed to say something.
If Kyle was still asleep, I had to ask whether to let him sleep more or wake him up.
I opened the closed door to Kyle’s room.
As I entered, I was greeted by the familiar scent of Kyle’s room, and I could see a sleeping Kyle.
He probably hadn’t gone to bed early after talking with Catherine last night.
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