NOVEL NEXT For more than 30 minutes, Kyle and Catherine engaged in conversation inside.
Sebastian and I quietly waited for them to emerge.
Honestly, it was boring, but waiting was part of my job as a servant.
After all, I had been waiting outside for Catherine to arrive today.
Waiting inside was definitely better than waiting outside in every way.
Well, except for one part.
While I waited for Catherine alongside other servants, now I was stuck next to Sebastian, who I wasn’t close with and didn’t particularly like.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t relax at all.
“Sebastian?”
As I was waiting, Catherine was the first to step out of the reception room.
Following her, Kyle came out with a somewhat strange expression on his face.
His expression was definitely different from when he entered.
He had looked a bit puzzled earlier, but now something seemed off.
What on earth did they talk about in there to make Kyle look like that?
“Where will I be staying?”
“I will guide you.”
I decided to show Catherine to her room.
Although I was a bit disappointed about not finishing my conversation with Kyle, I could always catch up later.
We passed through the reception room, down the hallway, up the stairs, and again through the hallway.
“You can stay here. The maids are always around in the hallway, so if you have any discomfort or need anything, just let them know.”
“Yes, Sophia.”
Catherine knows my name too.
I wondered why both Sebastian and Catherine knew my name when I’m just a private tutor.
“Sebastian, have you sorted her things?”
“Yes. I instructed the other servants to move the lady’s belongings to her room.”
“Hmm… I see. Sebastian, you can also take some time to rest.”
“Yes.”
Catherine said that and entered her room.
It’s not as big and extravagant as Kyle’s room, but it should be fine for her to stay.
The maids would take care of meals, and neither Kyle nor I had anything special to do for her.
As soon as I walked into Catherine’s room, I headed straight to where Kyle would be.
Kyle was probably changing out of the coat that must have been uncomfortable for him.
After spending several years with him, I understood his personality.
Kyle… hated dressing up.
Even though he had comfortable clothes, he felt uneasy wearing pants that didn’t stretch and disliked accessories that got in the way of his movements.
When he did receive accessories as gifts, he preferred necklaces or rings.
He thought adornments that went on clothes were bothersome and just stored them away.
“Young Master, I’m coming in.”
“Wait a moment…!”
As I opened Kyle’s door and stepped in, Kyle was just putting on a top.
Is he embarrassed?
After all, I wasn’t a proper woman.
It wasn’t like I had never seen Kyle’s bare body before—I had seen it a few times over the past three years, so there was no reason to be surprised by it.
“Quickly change. A Duke’s son of the Eristirol House shouldn’t be running around half-dressed.”
“…”
Kyle resumed moving at my words, perhaps faster since I was right in front of him.
“Young Master, what did you discuss with the Young Lady of Oldenburg inside?”
“Um… it wasn’t anything special.”
“I see.”
They talked for about 30 minutes, so it couldn’t have been something serious.
Even if they discussed something serious, Kyle probably wouldn’t mention it; our relationship wasn’t that far apart.
Kyle’s face looked a bit flushed, but I figured it wasn’t a big deal.
“I’ve shown the Young Lady of Oldenburg to her room. Do you have any special tasks for her?”
“Well… for now, let’s just leave her to settle in until she says something.”
“Understood.”
“You haven’t exercised yet today. Miss Sophia?”
“Yes.”
“Since my talk with the Young Lady of Oldenburg is done, let’s head outside to exercise.”
“Yes.”
It turned out Kyle didn’t change out of discomfort alone.
As usual, Kyle and I began our exercise routine in an area where the knights weren’t training.
I wasn’t sure if it was because this was a fantasy world or if Kyle was just naturally gifted physically, but it was utterly insane.
I figured he could probably run about 3 kilometers in under 10 minutes easily.
If he used mana, he would no doubt finish even faster.
“Whoop…”
I spent some time watching Kyle exercise beside me.
Honestly, I wondered if I still needed to be there observing, but as a direct servant, I had to stick close.
After watching Kyle work out for years, it was starting to get dull…
“Young Master, are you considering learning either swordsmanship or magic?”
“Are we talking about this again?”
“Yes.”
I asked Kyle again while he was lifting weights.
He’s no longer twelve; he’s fifteen now.
Kyle is at an age where he should learn one of the two.
Although the Duke didn’t comment on this afterwards, I think he should start within this year based on what I’ve heard; the Duke mentioned hunting should be done before he becomes the head of the house, so he should prepare to build up some skills.
“….”
“Can’t Miss Sophia teach you?”
“Yes.”
Even though I’m a private tutor, I can’t directly teach swordsmanship to a Duke’s son.
The sword I used was totally not noble-like, and it would be rather hard to even call it swordsmanship.
It was just a basic sword for slaying monsters and blocking attacks.
If Kyle were to learn from me, he would probably get criticized for it.
“How could something like that be noble?”
As for magic, I can’t help with that either.
I have zero talent in magic, so even teaching it is impossible.
Looking back, I seriously wonder why I was hired as a tutor in the first place.
I can’t do proper swordsmanship and can’t cast spells; why in the world did they pick me?
Though I was chosen at Kyle’s request when he was younger… thinking about it now seems pointless.
“Then, I suppose I’ll give it a try, as you suggested, Miss Sophia.”
Kyle finally decided to learn.
After years of talking about this, he finally did!
He finally made a decision!
I was honestly so thrilled that I nearly jumped for joy but held it in as best I could.
After all, I’m his direct servant, and it wouldn’t do for me to act so frivolously.
“I’ll contact the Mage Tower about this. As for the sword… I’ll find one myself.”
I should properly visit the Knights’ Order of Eristirol.
I hadn’t really had a reason to go there before, but now things have changed.
“Whoop…”
And Kyle continued his workout.
At this rate, he shouldn’t have any problems learning swordsmanship with his current physique.
I might worry a bit about his flexibility… but we can work on those weaknesses together.
I mapped out Kyle’s workout routine for years.
Since he hadn’t planned to learn swordsmanship, I focused his training on stamina and strength.
But now it’s different!
Now that he said he wants to learn swordsmanship, he should adapt his body accordingly.
“Hmm…”
By the way, it’s been quite a while since I contacted the Mage Tower.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to reach out to that friend I used to adventure with a while back.
She was already a graduate of the Magic Academy but chose to adventure instead of working at the Mage Tower—what a madwoman.
Honestly, I have no idea why she voluntarily made things difficult for herself, but with her skills from her time as an adventurer, she wouldn’t be a bad instructor.
I figure if I mention her name when I call the Mage Tower, they’ll be able to get in touch with her.
“Young Master, I think we should wrap it up for today. The weather is cold.”
“Yes.”
“Young Master, please come here for a moment.”
Kyle was sweating a lot in this chilly weather.
Even if Kyle had an insane physique, there was always a risk of catching a cold.
With towels readily available nearby, there was no need to leave sweat on his body until he went inside.
“I’ll wipe the sweat off for you.”
I wiped the sweat off Kyle’s body.
While massaging him, I couldn’t help but notice he had a perfect physique.
It was astonishing that this was the body of a fifteen-year-old.
“…..”
While cleaning him, I admired Kyle’s latissimus dorsi, deltoids, and erectores spinae.
If I had a body like that, I would probably be out having a wild time with girls…
How can he have such a body and not be interested in women at all?
And it’s even more surprising considering he has previously been approached by a guy, yet he shows no interest in women.
But now that Catherine is here, maybe something will change?
Though we had no interaction, Catherine was undeniably very pretty.
I think I’m reasonably attractive too, but it’s embarrassing to compare myself to her at fifteen.
Now that I’m over twenty, comparing myself to a fifteen-year-old is just pathetic.
A fair-haired beauty and a handsome Duke’s son with white hair.
Not a bad combination.
I’ve always disliked when unattractive or average protagonists were paired with beautiful heroines in the web novels I used to read.
Attractive people should date people who match their caliber.
Just like Kyle and Catherine now.
“Younger Master.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think of the Young Lady of Oldenburg?”
“Um…”
Kyle seemed to fall into deep thought.
Since they only talked for about 30 minutes, he probably couldn’t form an accurate opinion yet.
I wasn’t expecting an exact assessment from just that brief encounter.
I was just a little curious about what Kyle thought of Catherine.
“She seems like a nice person. At least, she wasn’t a bad one.”
“I see.”
At least he didn’t harbor any bad feelings about Catherine.
That’s a relief.
How can I help these two connect and open Kyle’s closed heart?
He’s still just fifteen.
He’s quite young, but for a noble, he’s not incredibly young.
He needs to start preparing from now on, slowly but surely.