NOVEL NEXT Borusia, evaluated as the capital of the Dextrin Empire and the largest city on the continent.
This place, also a center for arts and design, is where artists and young people gather to create trends.
Some nobles even build vacation homes in Borusia and live here permanently.
I mean, do they really need to go that far? Nobles can be sensitive to trends, though.
Anyway, that’s the capital we just arrived at.
“Young Master, it’s time to wake up.”
Yesterday, as soon as we arrived, we rented a room at a hotel and crashed immediately.
Kyle babbled some nonsense about separate rooms, but I just ignored it.
I think I’ve been lenient enough on the whole separate room idea during the journey.
“Phew….”
“The sun is already up. Just because we’re in the capital doesn’t mean you can sleep in…”
“I’m awake, so that’s enough.”
“Yes.”
Anyway, the real first day in the capital has begun.
The debutante ball is in three days, so we can just enjoy sightseeing today and tomorrow.
“Yawn… Miss Sophia.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Kyle, yawning, called for me.
He was wearing a shirt today.
It’s actually warmer here, so why was he undressed last time?
“Let’s not rush around today. Let’s have breakfast first and then take our time exploring.”
“Understood.”
It doesn’t matter.
Since we don’t need a reservation for anything, we can just leisurely walk around and enjoy ourselves.
It should be the kind of tourism where we’re just looking around anyway.
We probably won’t be doing anything experiential or engaging.
“Then let’s go have breakfast.”
One thing I enjoyed about coming to the capital with Kyle is…
“It’s delicious!”
I can actually eat food with Kyle, which is different from usual.
Normally, I had to just watch him eat.
But not today!
Thanks to having to wander around with him, I get to eat meals with him.
That means I can eat three meals a day!
“You’re right, Young Master.”
As expected, the food in the capital was on another level.
The meals from Eristirol Castle weren’t bad, but compared to the capital, they didn’t even stand a chance.
It was just a simple sausage, fried eggs, and salad, but it was more than enough to please my palate.
Plus, I was excited to try out other food as well.
“Here, Young Master…”
I speared a sausage with my fork and offered it to Kyle.
“Have another. I’m fine with this amount.”
Not eating too much was actually beneficial here.
I could casually offer him more food.
Kyle thanked me and ate the sausage I handed him while finishing his breakfast.
I watched him from across the table and thought, he’s really enjoying his meal.
“Young Master, what do you think of this? One of the capital’s landmarks, the Borusia Cathedral.”
“Hmmm…”
We were touring with Kyle.
The northern region doesn’t practice the same religions as other areas due to historical reasons.
There’s presumably been a low influx of people from the north for quite a long time.
Religions did exist in the north, though.
While there weren’t any huge cathedrals, there were smaller buildings for prayers.
In that sense, this cathedral would probably impress Kyle.
It’s incredibly large.
A cathedral big enough to rival Eristirol Castle.
That doesn’t mean Eristirol Castle is small, though. It’s rather large among castles.
“It’s huge.”
“Indeed.”
But it’s definitely large.
The dome roof gives it a somewhat unique feel as well.
Typically, such buildings tend to have pointy roofs.
“Hmmm… I think it would be nice to build a chapel of this size in our territory.”
Hmmm…
I don’t think that’s a bad idea either.
Our territory is sizable and has enough funds, so rather than several small chapels, building one large building might work out better.
“However, Young Master, you can’t just build it without consideration. Just because the territory residents practice the same religion as you doesn’t mean they would all favor a large chapel like this.”
“That’s true.”
Of course, I believe that a big building would be nice.
Bigger is usually better than smaller, right?
“The interior isn’t bad either. It’s quite splendid.”
“Is that so?”
For someone who has lived his whole life in Eristirol, Kyle might feel that way.
But, I’d say it’s moderately splendid.
Once you head south, you get plenty of lords ripping off taxes to build incredibly extravagant castles.
The Borusia Cathedral strikes a balance between appropriate splendor and deep aesthetics, with a design that truly serves the religion.
“Hmmm… I think it would be great to visit other regions in the south next time. There’s so much to see over there.”
Of course, Kyle’s status might pose a slight challenge.
If the word gets out that the duke’s son is visiting his territory, they would probably be nervous.
I know I would be.
“By the way, weddings are often held in this cathedral.”
I mentioned it just because I had nothing else to say.
Since outdoor weddings became the norm in Eristirol, I figured Kyle wouldn’t know about it.
“In the beautiful cathedral hall, the bride wears a white wedding dress, and the groom dons a stylish tuxedo.”
It’s definitely different from Eristirol.
In fact, I should just say it’s uniquely different to Eristirol.
When my close maids got married and invited me to their weddings five years ago, I was slightly shocked by the different culture.
It wasn’t freezing because the weddings were held around summer, but having outdoor parties after living in the north for 18 years and almost two decades in my previous life was quite a shock.
It seemed like northerners don’t feel the cold.
Out of sheer curiosity, I asked one of the nearby maids if they do this for weddings regularly.
And the answer was yes!
That meant they actually have outdoor weddings in winter too!
Thinking about attending a winter wedding in a wedding dress makes me wonder if they wouldn’t freeze to death.
But I felt reassured to hear northerners have adapted to the cold since they were kids.
I wasn’t worried about myself since I’m not getting married anyway; I was just concerned about others.
“In many ways, Eristirol surprised me with how different it is from other regions.”
“… I see.”
“Yes, indeed.”
And then we resumed our sightseeing.
We checked places like the gigantic Burtenburg Gate and the Borusia Grand Museum, focusing on easily accessible sights.
After all, I needed to prepare for the debutante ball starting tomorrow.
I needed to try on my outfit again and manage my condition.
Kyle, who dislikes uncomfortable clothes, would probably understand this much.
The debutante ball is significant even for him.
“Young Master, how was today’s sightseeing?”
“… It was fun. As Sophia said, it’s definitely different. There were aspects worth taking note of for our territory.”
“I appreciate that. Once the debutante ball is over, we can explore even better places.”
There’s still much to see.
Borusia is an enormous city, after all.
For example, there are shops large enough to be dubbed department stores and a zoo, among countless others.
I’m sure Kyle will enjoy himself as well.
By the way, Kyle has been blushing since earlier today.
It started precisely when we were at the cathedral.
When I asked if he felt unwell, he said he was fine.
“… Young Master, are you really okay?”
So I asked again.
With the debutante ball only two days away, it would be risky if he caught a cold.
“No. I’m fine. I’m just thinking about something.”
What could he be thinking that has him so red?
Hmm….
“Are you having lewd thoughts or something?”
“What?!”
“If you’re thinking and your face is turning red, there’s only one possibility.”
Now that I think about it, Kyle is old enough now.
He must have properly awakened to the subject of romance by now.
So that’s why he was so undressed with Elin before.
The heated excuse might not have been a lie after all.
“I understand. It’s normal for your age to have lewd thoughts.”
“No, it’s not that…”
“However, that doesn’t mean you should go doing bad things without control. As I warned you last time, there are three things a man should be cautious about.”
“I’ve heard that several times already, so it’s fine. Let’s drop that topic for now.”
“Sure.”
I suppose it’s normal for young lads to think about those things. Why is he so embarrassed?
At my age, I had loads of weird thoughts regardless of my life experiences.
In both this life and my previous one, I certainly thought about it a lot.
Of course, I never thought about anyone in particular.
Rather than focusing on someone, it was more like focusing on the act.
I also had lingering discomfort because of my past life, with no suitable partner around.
“It’s common for people your age to think that way. You don’t need to feel so strange about it. I was the same at that age; it’s truly a normal part of life.”
I reassured Kyle.
Young boys often believe that thinking about naughty things is wrong.
Even when others tell them otherwise, they still believe it.
Naughty thoughts aren’t bad.
In fact, they’re a wonderful thing.
“Haah… let’s stop talking about this…”
“Yes.”
Of course, our little guy still seems not to grasp it fully.
I wonder if he’ll be able to do it properly when he gets a wife someday.