The Tutor's Letter
I finished preparing the letter I would send to Kyle right after his schedule ended.
Unlike the formal style used in the Eristirol Duchy, I didn't need to worry about the writing style.
In fact, Kyle would probably prefer my usual casual tone.
"Um...."
I knew it wouldn't take long to reach the Magic Tower.
If I wrote it today, the reply might come within this week.
*Scratch scratch*
I wrote the letter on paper with a pen.
It wasn't complicated content.
It only contained the request for Kyle to learn magic from me.
Actually, there was a bit of small talk mixed in... but it wasn't a problem.
"Is this enough?"
I read the finished letter once.
All the necessary content was included, and it clearly stated that I had sent it.
Since today was late, I needed to send it tomorrow.
Thanks to Catherine, I hadn't gotten a proper rest today.
So, it seemed good to go to bed a bit earlier than usual today.
******
"Prince Kyle."
"Countess of Oldenburg. What is the matter?"
It was late at night. Most servants were asleep, and only the guards and those patrolling the estate were moving about.
Catherine and Kyle crossed paths in the corridor.
"Um... Well, the seating here isn't very comfortable. How about talking in a suitable room?"
"...I understand."
Following Catherine's suggestion, Kyle entered the dimly lit reception room where all the lights were off.
It wasn't brightly lit inside, but the candles lit by mana were sufficient to dimly illuminate the dark room.
"So, what were you going to say?"
It was a somewhat stiff and cold tone, different from the one I used with Sophia.
If Sophia had heard it, she might have been a little surprised.
With Sophia, I always used a tone that was somewhat kind and ordinary, but since Sophia wasn't here, it was different.
"Haha... Don't look at me like that. I think I mentioned it last time when we were alone, right?"
"...."
"Hmm... Yes. As per Prince Kyle's wishes, I'll get straight to the point."
Catherine continued with a smile.
Kyle looked at such a Catherine with somewhat sharp eyes.
"Sophia, that is, the tutor. I have something to say about her."
"....."
"She seems like a pretty decent person, honestly."
Kyle agreed with that statement.
It wasn't complete agreement, though.
To Kyle, Sophia was more than just a decent person.
She had taken care of him after he was traumatized at age 12, taught him, and always supported him. It was only natural to feel that way.
"In that sense, Prince Kyle, I have a proposal for you."
The moment Kyle heard Catherine's words, he anticipated what was coming.
Kyle, who had observed Catherine for several days and gotten a sense of her personality, realized that Catherine wasn't just trying to praise Sophia.
"...."
"Tutor, could we use her for a few years at our place?"
Kyle heard the expected words and felt anger, even though it was the expected response.
But Kyle's anger was, in his view, completely natural.
Although the age difference wasn't that huge, hearing that Sophia, who had acted like a mother, was suddenly being taken away made it inevitable.
However, he didn't fully express that anger.
Although he knew he was inside the duchy and was the eldest son of the Grand Duke, the opponent wasn't to be underestimated.
Catherine, the daughter of the Oldenburg Count, was not someone Kyle could easily dismiss as a prince.
If he got angry for no reason in this empty place, it would be better to just keep his mouth shut.
"....That is not something I decide."
"Then who decides? Aren't you the employer, Prince? Or perhaps the Grand Duke himself...?"
Catherine's question.
It was an extremely noble question.
It was natural for the employer and employee to be divided, and the employer was usually a noble.
But Kyle's response wasn't out of that reason.
"The choice is up to Sophia. It's not something I or my father decides."
"...."
Catherine's eyes widened slightly.
Surprised by the unexpected answer, Catherine's eyes sparkled with interest.
"Is that so... Haha... Prince Kyle... You seem more interesting than I thought?"
"Is that so?"
Kyle hid his expression as much as possible.
He didn't want to show the emotions on his face now.
It was an emotion he didn't want Sophia to see, even though Sophia wasn't here.
Even though Sophia was gone, he had been thinking about Sophia, the tutor, and women in general.
"..It's cold outside. Shall we end the conversation here?"
"Really? It seems like we've had a conversation that's not bad for once. More interesting than the one on the first day."
With that, Catherine left the reception room where they had been talking.
Unlike Catherine, Kyle sat in the chair and gazed at the candle illuminating the room.
It didn't brighten the surroundings greatly, but it dimly lit the area.
"Sophia...."
He thought about Sophia again.
For him, it was impossible to imagine a life without Sophia.
Although it was a very short time compared to the other servants and maids for three years, the saying "quality over quantity" wasn't just empty talk, and he had thought a lot about Sophia.
At first, he had just thought of her as a teacher.
A human who taught him and corrected his trauma to some extent.
But that thought had completely disappeared now.
Now, Sophia was a tutor who always taught him something, a servant who always helped him, and a woman with whom he spent every day.
Although the north was cold, the inside wasn't cold.
But Kyle, sitting alone in the room, felt a chill.
*****
When I woke up in the morning, the servants and maids were enthusiastically chatting.
I couldn't understand why people who usually did work were talking so much.
Was there something that happened while I was sleeping?
"Was there something?"
I asked the maid I had occasionally chatted with a few words.
She wasn't particularly high-ranking, but since I was a servant and tutor, I had no choice but to talk with some maids.
"Ah, Miss Sophia!"
The maid turned around, saw me, smiled, and greeted me.
I smiled at her and gave a slight bow.
"There is a rumor that last night, very late, you were talking with the young master and a guest in the reception room!"
"Eh..?"
The young master referred to here was definitely Kyle, and the guest... there was no one but Catherine.
Since Catherine was the only guest staying in the territory now, it was natural.
They were talking alone in the reception room late at night?
"Really?"
I couldn't help but be surprised.
I hadn't expected Kyle to suddenly talk alone with Catherine.
I didn't particularly care who started the conversation.
Kyle talking with Catherine at a time unrelated to his usual conversation time.
Was this called a leap in progress?
They had already been having occasional one-on-one conversations once a day.
Talking alone in a private place at night was perfectly possible.
"Yes! Some servants patrolling the corridor last night told me! Catherine suddenly came out of the reception room, and about ten minutes later, the young master came out."
"Oh..."
The foolish little guy had already reached that level.
Talking alone with a woman in a private place at night.
Amazing.
I wonder if the very little sex education or love advice I occasionally gave had any effect.
If it was thanks to that that Kyle talked alone with Catherine, I was happy.
It meant that what I taught Kyle actually had some effect.
Of course, since I had never experienced romance myself, I had only taught what I had heard occasionally or read in books.
I had never imagined myself doing romance.
It was all because of memories I thought up in my childhood.
Unfortunately, my previous life was as a man, so I couldn't think properly.
Thinking about dating a man gave me the creeps.
Clearly, I was a woman, but my mind felt like a man's.
That's why I couldn't properly date.
Dating a woman also felt like a rejection.
But compared to dating a man, it was incomparably worse.
Of course, I had never felt the pounding heart or love for either men or women.
*Knock knock*
I stood in front of Kyle's room and knocked on the door.
No sound came from inside.
"Young master, are you there? May I come in?"
I spoke first.
I had to, in case he hadn't heard the knock.
If Kyle was sleeping, I had to ask whether to come in and let him sleep more or to wake him.
I opened the closed door to Kyle's room.
Upon entering, the familiar scent of Kyle's room filled the air, and I saw Kyle sleeping.
He probably hadn't gone to sleep early because he had talked alone with Catherine yesterday.