“I wonder if my parents are doing well?”
“Um… Of course, right? They’re at the castle, after all.”
“Well, thank goodness for that.”
I had a rough idea when I asked. After all, I had just talked to my parents before stepping out with Kyle.
I wasn’t a fool; I knew that much.
It was genuinely just a casual remark.
“You know, we should go on dates like this more often!”
“Calling it a date feels a bit lacking in this situation, though.”
“Aw….”
Kyle always thought of dates as something too complicated.
Why couldn’t he understand that just spending time together like this counts as a date?
This is what happens when people don’t date enough.
Though I hadn’t dated much either.
“Come on! We’re not working or anything. We’re just enjoying a beautiful view. How is this not a date?”
“Um… It’s not like we prepared anything for it. The feeling of a date is definitely… lacking.”
“Sometimes I think you really are young.”
“….”
Kyle responded with a slightly blank look, but it was true.
There was something about him that seemed to scream kid.
That thing… something he wanted to show off, to brag about.
Of course, I had that feeling a little too, but Kyle, being a tad younger, had it even more.
“Not that it’s bad… I just think you seem a bit young.”
I reflexively said it as Kyle looked at me with different eyes.
I really wasn’t trying to tease or undermine him.
“And you’re younger than me, right?!”
“….”
“Why so quiet…?”
“For someone so young, you’re getting flipped around quite a bit.”
“That’s a different matter….”
He must really dislike being called young.
I’d be happy if someone called me young, but…
Ah, of course, Kyle just turned eighteen.
So I can see why being called young might feel like being called a kid.
“Anyway! Being young is a good thing! Got it?”
“…Something about that feels a bit off, but got it.”
As long as he understood.
I wasn’t just saying it for some bad reason; I meant it.
“By the way, being in such a beautiful place makes me think….”
“Think about what?”
“It reminds me of that accident I had before!”
“…Do you really have to bring that up?”
“No, but the scenery was incredibly beautiful back then, right? So, I thought I’d mention it.”
“….”
“What? You don’t like that?”
Of course, I had an accident back then and got a bit hurt, but the view was truly stunning.
It was probably among the top four sceneries I’ve seen in my life.
Even though things got tough afterward, I couldn’t hate the view.
“Yes.”
“Then I won’t bring it up.”
Well, if he didn’t want to hear it, I had no reason to continue.
Kyle and I were just walking in the snowy field today.
Technically, it’s more accurate to say we were on a walking path, but apart from that, it was all snow.
It wasn’t wrong, though.
If I called it a snowy field, Kyle would definitely agree.
“But honestly, the view is really as good as back then….”
“Sophia.”
“Ugh, I got it!”
Honestly… he had no sensitivity at all.
From the way he usually talked to me, I thought he’d be quite sensitive.
Was it just that he sounded a bit sweet that made me think so?
Well, that could be it.
What someone says and their actual personality can differ.
“It’s getting a bit colder than summer.”
“Well, it is autumn.”
“That’s true.”
“Not too cold for you, right?”
“I’m wearing a coat, so I’m not cold at all.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Anyway, we were just walking like that.
I had been a bit busy introducing Eristirol to my parents and had no time, but today was different.
It felt like I was finally taking a proper break after so long.
Plus, with so many dreams lately, I felt even more mentally exhausted.
Every time I entered a dream, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t like I was actually sleeping.
“It feels nice.”
And it felt even better.
It truly felt healing.
Compared to when I was really busy before, this was easy, but I still felt good just relaxing like this.
Was it because Kyle was next to me?
“Kyle, you’re not just gonna throw on any random clothes tomorrow, right?”
“Of course not! I’ll dress well.”
“As long as you know.”
I had already wrapped up my conversation with the Duke.
Thankfully, they didn’t seem to mind my parents talking to me.
There was a hint of joy, but no outright opposition or any other remarks.
“…Kyle.”
“Yes?”
“Umm… I don’t know if I should be saying this, but….”
It had been something I was contemplating for several days.
The wedding with Kyle was important, but his family had become equally important to me.
Should I say something about it, or wait for the Duke to talk to Kyle? I had been really anxious about that.
In the end, I decided I would say something. But boy, did I hesitate a lot.
“About your father…”
Kyle didn’t show much of a special reaction after hearing me.
More like, I couldn’t even tell what his reaction was.
He looked thoughtful, but I couldn’t read his mind.
“Hmm….”
“Kyle?”
“Yes.”
“If you ever have something on your mind, you can talk to me any time, okay?”
That was all I could do for him.
Really.
I didn’t know anything about Kyle’s family matters, especially about the Duke. The most I knew was that he had a huge mustache.
Eristirol had limited information, and the Duke was the owner of that place.
So, of course, I wouldn’t know much.
I might know about a princess, but I wouldn’t ask her anything so trivial.
“…Yes, I know. I was just… thinking for a moment.”
“If that’s the case, then that’s a relief.”
“But… I’m glad Sophia told me before anything happened. If I hadn’t, I might have just let it slide.”
That was certainly true.
If I hadn’t spoken up, the Duke might have sneaked off without anyone knowing.
Last time when I asked Kyle if he mentioned it, he just gave a hollow laugh, similar to his own.
Seeing him like that really made me think he could have left without saying anything at all….
“I’ll need to tell Adela about this too.”
“Well, just do what you want. It’s not like I have any say in it.”
Kyle would probably handle it well.
It was a family issue, and it would look odd if I suddenly jumped in and started giving orders.
If I was becoming Kyle’s wife, I would join their family, but that was a different matter.
“First, let’s focus on tomorrow’s dinner.”
“Well, nothing’s happened so far. I’m not really worried at all.”
“That’s true, but… it’s an important occasion.”
It was indeed an important occasion, as Kyle had to make a good impression on my parents, and I had to impress the Duke.
Meanwhile, my parents would have to pull themselves together in front of the Duke.
After all, he was a noble.
Even if we became family through marriage, it wouldn’t be appropriate to cross certain lines.
“But is Adela coming too…?”
“Probably? I told her to come, but if she’s interested, she’ll come; if not, she won’t.”
“Ugh… now I feel like I have more people to worry about.”
I thought I’d just have to stay focused on the Duke, but now it felt a bit tougher.
Of course, Adela didn’t seem to have any bad intentions toward me, but still, she was Kyle’s sister.
“It’s fine. If Adela says anything… I can just scold her.”
“That’s a different story. If she’s your sister, it’d be harder for me to deal with her.”
“It’s fine.”
“Well… if you say it’s fine, then it probably is.”
It was a statement coming from someone as powerful as the Duke.
I just had to accept it.
In reality, Adela wouldn’t be the type to bother me anyway.
In summary, there shouldn’t be any problems.
“Kyle, are you feeling okay these days?”
“Yes.”
“Glad to hear that.”
I asked in a completely casual, natural atmosphere.
After all, Kyle had mentioned he felt a bit off before.
Since then, I had tried to take it easy and exit dreams at regular intervals, trying to see if that had any effect.
I hadn’t entered dreams every day as intensely lately, so things seemed to be improving, but it was still good to check.
Thankfully, there were no issues with Kyle’s health.
This meant that reducing the amount of energy I was pulling had been the right choice.
Really.
“With the wedding coming up so soon, it wouldn’t be good if your health slipped, right?”
“As if I would lose to someone like Sophia, even if I’m unwell. So don’t worry too much.”
“Ugh, okay….”
Kyle probably just said that offhandedly.
When he said he would win, it was likely referring to stamina or exercise.
But… for a moment, I mistakenly understood it differently.
Was it because I was just thinking about his energy?
Suddenly, the idea popped into my mind that Kyle could overpower me on the bed…
“….”
“Sophia?”
“Ugh, what?”
“Why are you like this? Is it getting cold?”
“Ah… yeah, it’s getting a bit chilly. Should we go in and rest?”
I made an excuse that wasn’t really an excuse.
It wasn’t wrong that it was getting a bit cold, but at the same time, I didn’t want to voice what I had just been thinking.
“If you’re cold, you should’ve said so sooner.”
“…I’m sorry.”
I felt genuinely sorry in so many ways.
It wasn’t intentional. I had just casually said something, yet I twisted it into something inappropriate for myself.
And for whatever reason, I kept leaving dreams simply out of boredom…
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