“Yawn….”
“….”
“Kyle, comfortable?”
“No.”
“Eh….” Today, as usual, I just let Kyle lay his head on my thigh.
Well, it’s probably more comfortable for him like this than just sitting.
But he says it’s uncomfortable… which surprised me.
I thought my thigh would be soft enough for him to use as a pillow.
It’s squishy…. Isn’t it comfortable to just rest your head?
“Why is it uncomfortable? Isn’t it okay?”
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“Where?”
I thought it wasn’t too bad as a makeshift pillow.
If I were Kyle, I’d love to rest my head on something as soft as this.
“Because I can’t see what’s above.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t see because of your chest.”
“Uh, ah….”
Well, that does make sense.
I couldn’t see Kyle’s face, but I wasn’t really concerned.
After all, it was just the two of us in the carriage.
Not being able to see isn’t really a problem… besides, there wasn’t much to see anyway.
But for Kyle, having his view blocked must be a little annoying.
“…. Just stay like that.”
“….”
“I like it this way, so just stay.”
But I didn’t care.
Sure, having his view blocked might be annoying, but we were inside the carriage anyway.
If he couldn’t see out, it wasn’t really a big deal.
Just because his view was blocked because of my chest doesn’t mean he couldn’t see what he needed to see.
“You’re not trying to peek at the girls outside, are you?”
“Of course not….”
“Then it’s fine. Just stay like this.”
I said while patting Kyle’s head.
After all, the view outside wasn’t that beautiful.
All we could see were fields, mountains, trees, and village girls.
Besides the village girls, there was really no reason for Kyle to be looking at anything else but me.
“Honestly, this is better than just sitting still. Just stay like that.”
“….”
It was somewhat amusing seeing a guy over 180 cm like this.
It felt nice that Kyle, who was noticeably taller than me, was lying here like this.
I felt a bit guilty treating him like a child, but it couldn’t be helped.
After all, it was genuinely funny seeing such a big guy like this in front of me.
*
“Eat this too.”
“Sophia, don’t just keep giving, hurry up and eat.”
“I’m just happy watching you enjoy your food. Eat more.”
As usual, I was having dinner with Kyle.
It was impossible to keep traveling in the carriage, and we had to stop in a nearby village for the night.
The food wasn’t the fancy stuff we usually had; it was just plain food.
Really ordinary stuff, including meat stew.
There wasn’t even any steak like we usually had.
Well, this wasn’t that kind of place.
“Men grow taller even after becoming adults. It’s better to eat more.”
“I got it. This is enough. Don’t order more, just eat quickly.”
“Okay.”
Honestly, if Kyle got any bigger, it might be dangerous, but still, a tall guy was a good thing.
Being tall tends to be advantageous in many ways.
You can reach high things, have a longer reach in fights, and generally look better in clothes.
Of course, that could also mean Kyle might get more popular with others… but since he likes me, I thought there wouldn’t be any reason for him to look elsewhere.
“Sophia.”
“Yes?”
“We’re getting close to the north soon, so I think you should take out some clothes.”
“Ah… You’re right.”
The temperature could suddenly drop.
As Kyle said, it was definitely better to prepare my clothes.
Of course, Kyle didn’t need to take out any clothes at all.
“Well, we can do that before we leave tomorrow.”
“That makes sense.”
“But… I think we’ll probably arrive faster than last time. Right?”
“Yes.”
By the way, once we get to the castle, I’d probably have less time to spend with Kyle like we’ve been doing lately.
After all, Kyle was a Duke.
I would need to consider his schedule during meals, and there would probably be more work time than relaxation time.
It couldn’t be helped, but it was still disappointing.
I’ve really been enjoying spending time with Kyle lately.
“That’s a shame.”
“Yeah.”
Kyle seemed to share the same sentiment.
It was even more so for him, since he would be the one working.
“I’ve been resting really comfortably lately, and now that we’re back, we won’t be able to do this.”
“I suppose so. There will be a lot of work piled up, and this is the time when things get busy.”
“That’s really disappointing.”
“But at least I can spend the evening with Sophia, so that’s a relief.”
As Kyle said, we could rest in the evening.
Last time, during the festival… well, the situation was such that we had worked all day, but usually, it wasn’t like that.
Of course, it wouldn’t mean there was no work at all, but it was just a moderate amount.
“Um… Kyle? Can I help out like before?”
“Yes?”
“No, I mean, I have plenty of time left, and I want to be with you… can I help with work at least?”
Wouldn’t that be nice?
I wasn’t inexperienced at this, having helped Kyle for years.
Honestly, I would probably do better than most newcomers.
I had even done a lot of work around the festival recently.
And the most important thing… I wanted to be with Kyle.
But being next to Kyle while he worked and doing nothing just felt wrong.
That would just be a nuisance.
“Uh… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why? I helped you back then.”
“Back then, it was your job.”
“What about now?”
So then, what was the difference?
Not much had really changed since then.
Was it really an issue if I helped Kyle with work?
“Back then, you were a private tutor. It was fine to work like a servant, but now you’re soon to be a Duchess.”
“…?”
“No matter how much work there is, it wouldn’t be right for a Duchess to do the paperwork.”
“Eh….”
That was a bit absurd.
It’s honestly ridiculous to say a wife can’t help her husband at work.
But I understood at the same time.
After all, they were nobles.
Keeping up appearances was important, and nobles had to maintain a dignified presence in front of others.
“Really…?”
I looked at Kyle seated across from me again, asking.
After all, I wanted to spend time with him even more.
If I couldn’t do that, then I wouldn’t have much to do until dinner.
“If you don’t let me help, I’ll probably be really lonely by myself until dinner. Can’t you at least let me work alongside you?”
I know it was a bit of a stretch, but I still wanted that.
It wasn’t that I would be super lonely or just stay in my room, but I said it that way intentionally.
“Uh?”
“…. You’ve left me speechless with that one….”
“Really?”
I think I succeeded a bit.
After all, Kyle liked me and always tried to accommodate my needs.
I had somewhat expected this outcome.
Plus, Kyle would prefer being with me than working alone, for sure.
“Then is it okay if I help out? If I do, we can finish faster and spend time together too.”
“…. Let’s think about it when we get back.”
“Okay, got it.”
For now, I decided to let it rest.
Honestly, it seemed like I’d already gotten through to Kyle a little… but I thought when we got to the castle, he’d just say to do what I wanted.
He wouldn’t have a good reason to stop me.
He wasn’t saying no now; in fact, he might enjoy it.
Yeah, that seems likely.
*
“Ugh…. It’s cold after so long….”
We had entered the north.
It would still take a few more days to reach the castle, but we weren’t far off now.
“How do the northern people not feel cold?”
“Well, they’ve lived here for a long time.”
“But I’ve lived here for about seven years, isn’t that a long time?”
“It means something different.”
The most enviable thing about living in the north was how well they could withstand the cold.
There were hardly any days where it wasn’t cold while I was in the north, but the northern people claimed they didn’t feel cold at all.
Of course, they would say a bit when winter hit, but they never seemed to care otherwise, which was utterly baffling.
It was a place where temperatures drop below zero… how could they not feel it?
I was always cold during winter in my past life.
“At least it’s a relief we closed the windows before leaving. If we hadn’t…. I guess it would have been even colder.”
“Exactly… If we had left them open while ventilating, I don’t want to imagine what would happen….”
I really didn’t want to think about that.
It was a good thing we had closed the windows.
If we hadn’t… we would surely have been shivering from the cold.
Of course, we hadn’t even reached Eristirol yet, so it would probably get colder.
“Kyle, hold my hand.”
“Sure.”
We held hands as if it were second nature to us.
It was something we always did in Eristirol, so there was no reluctance.
Besides, holding hands was something we’d done for a long time now.
“Warm.”
“Glad to hear that.”
“Um….”
Even though we were holding hands, I couldn’t seem to think of anything more to say.
Have I been too quiet in the carriage lately?
Now, I really was running out of things to talk about.
“I’m bored.”
“There’s not much you can do in the carriage.”
“That’s true… but it’s really boring.”
Was I perhaps just a bit of a workaholic?
Sitting still and doing nothing in the carriage was beyond boring.
Really.
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