Rehearsing the Waltz
It was around the time I had been teaching Kyle dance and etiquette lessons for the first year that I felt something while reviewing what I had learned.
Kyle was really smart, after all.
Unlike the common prejudice that someone with a good body is bad at thinking, he truly had a good head on his shoulders.
Of course, since his head was good, he was also learning magic.
If I reviewed what I had learned a few years ago, I would have mostly forgotten it, but Kyle was different.
He still remembered what he had learned a few years ago well enough.
Thanks to that, the time to practice dancing increased because we could finish the lesson quickly.
Since the flower of high society is dancing, I focused on practicing dance.
Thanks to Kyle, who was getting better and better at leading, I could dance more enjoyably.
Probably his partner would enjoy it as much.
If he couldn't lead, the dance would be really boring.
"Master, hold your hand firmly."
But for some reason, he always held it too strongly, which worried me.
If he did that when actually dancing, the partner would obviously suffer.
Since it was just practice and he was holding my wrist, it wasn't a big problem, but if he held it just a little harder, there would obviously be marks.
"Haa... Master, if you do that to other young ladies, it will definitely be a problem."
"Then I shouldn't do it to other girls..."
"Master!"
Kyle suddenly said something nonsense, so I raised my voice.
The eldest son of Eristyrol, the heir, saying such things.
It was wrong.
Saying things like that without having a girlfriend like some noble youths.
Was he trying to get scolded because he wanted to be scolded?
In the past, I had assumed Kyle had no interest in women and interest in men, but now I know that's not the case.
Evidence was when I cleaned his room and found tissues for that purpose.
And clothes of someone around him.
Since he was soon to be an adult and in his teenage years, it was natural to do such things.
I wasn't crazy, so I didn't say anything about it.
It was natural for a boy to notice sex, and I had given sex education during lessons.
"Master is the heir. You must never say things like living alone for life. Younger sister hasn't returned yet, and even if she does, becoming the heir now..."
"...I'm sorry."
Only when I said it like that did he understand.
His body was clearly grown, but he was still just a kid.
"Today's dance lesson will end here."
The atmosphere for the lesson was gone.
Since I was sweating a lot, I should wash up.
"Master, the next lesson is magic class, right? I'll take you there."
Even though I had done it for years, I knew it anyway, but it was just routine.
After sending Kyle to lessons, I would wash up roughly and spend time with Elin.
******
"Master, have you decided on the clothes you will wear to the debutante ball?"
"No. I haven't decided yet. Will you help me choose?"
"Of course."
The debutante ball was right around the corner.
Right at the beginning of April next month, Kyle would make his first appearance in high society at the debutante ball.
It felt like watching a child about to leave home.
I believed Kyle would do well.
He had danced well so far and learned etiquette well.
I would follow along, but there wasn't much I could do when I went there.
I would just follow behind Kyle and give advice a few times.
"Let's go right away."
Louise had some business today, so she skipped the lesson.
It had been a while since we had something like this, but since it was Louise, I went along with it.
After all, it was surprising that she had been diligently attending lessons for years.
Or rather, thinking about it, she still gambles...
"...."
Anyway, more importantly than that, we were going to choose Kyle's clothes.
After all, they would all be formal wear, but since the details were different, it was important to try them on one by one.
I had prepared all the clothes Kyle would wear someday, even though I hadn't worn them.
"Oh."
There were a lot of them.
Kyle hadn't worn any of them yet, but he had prepared a lot of clothes.
And there were many kinds.
There were many of the recently popular styles.
Thanks to that, I didn't need to worry much about style.
"Hmm...."
Was it because there were so many clothes?
Kyle was surprised and wide-eyed.
After all, since Kyle's clothes were always brought by me and the other maids, he probably didn't know there were so many.
It was natural since I hadn't come into this room either and was surprised.
"Master, which clothes would you like to try on first?"
Personally, I recommended black the most.
White would look good too, but black was the most versatile, and it looked great when worn.
Of course... with Kyle's physique, anything would look good.
"Pick one for me. There are too many to choose from."
"Ah, then I'll choose for you. Beautiful clothes that will look great on our handsome master."
I smiled at Kyle and started looking through the clothes and choosing.
Since there were many kinds, it took a bit of time to choose.
Kyle quietly watched me from behind and sat on the chair.
Normally, he would have stood quietly waiting, but he seemed bored.
Well, there are people who like shopping and those who don't.
Of course, I liked shopping.
There was no place to shop here, so I didn't have to shop, but later when I went to Aldenburg, it would be fine.
As Catherine said, that place was better than Eristyrol.
By the way, would Catherine come to this debutante ball too?
In a way, she could be called my friend.
Even though the time was short, we had become very close, so despite the age difference, we could call each other friends.
Elin, Louise, Catherine were my current human relationships.
Kyle was my younger brother.
"Hmm.. For now, try this one. If you don't know how to put it on, I'll help you."
"....Um.."
Kyle suddenly started thinking.
Was he suddenly having thoughts?
"I don't know. I'd be grateful if you help me."
"Yes."
Whether grateful or not, if Kyle asked for help, it was my job to help.
I took off the shirt Kyle was wearing.
Since he had sweated a little during daily life, it didn't come off easily.
After removing the pants, I told Kyle to put on underwear.
The pants were just pants.
"Umm.. Now put on this shirt."
I put the shirt on Kyle, who was standing in just the pants.
Unlike the completely plain shirts he usually wore, this one had some frills.
The fashion of nobles was complete.
Plain suit pants with a frilled shirt on top.
And I held up the coat last.
My favorite black tailcoat.
After all, men wear black.
I put it on Kyle's back.
"Ohh..."
After all, men wear black.
It looked really good.
There were still many clothes left, but it looked great already.
His appearance and physique were fake.
If I went out like this, wouldn't I be able to seduce all the maids in our castle?
It seemed possible enough.
Kyle was that handsome right now.
"It suits you really well!"
I said it a bit louder in surprise, but I didn't care.
It was a really honest impression, so there was no need to care.
"It suits that much?"
"Yes, it seems the most handsome among the appearances of Master I've seen so far."
"...I see.."
I immediately reached up and took out the clothes that were above my height.
Normally, I wouldn't have taken them out, but since the first outfit looked so good on Kyle, I wanted to try on the other clothes too.
"Master! Let's try on the next outfit right away."
"..Yes?"
"After all, we have to prepare many clothes, so it would be good to try them on a lot."
After all, Kyle would be showing his face a lot in high society after the debutante ball.
At this time, I had to choose several of the clothes in the castle.
Of course, I would have to choose again after trying them all once.
So I kept changing Kyle's clothes.
Every time I changed his pants, there was a movement as if he was trying to hide his embarrassment, but I helped by turning his body.
There was no need to be embarrassed.
After all, Kyle was like a younger brother to me.
After all, all I would see was panties... what was so embarrassing about that.
At this rate, I started to worry about how I would spend the first night.
If I couldn't show my body to the person who would become my wife, what would happen if I got divorced.
"...."
It was too extreme a delusion.
No matter how awkward Kyle was now, that wouldn't happen.
I hadn't raised Kyle like that!
Well, even if I couldn't show my body, it wouldn't be a problem in terms of doing it, right?
Of course, I had never done it with a woman's body, so I didn't know, but anyway, it would be fine.
"Master, which clothes do you like between this one and this one?"
It was more fun to change Kyle's clothes than anything else.
I smiled again and started changing Kyle's clothes.
**
"So.. the reason I couldn't have the lesson today..."
"....."
"You gambled again...?"
"....."
Yeah, I knew she could gamble.
Of course the amount was big, and she would get scolded by me again this time.
It was something I had expected from the beginning.
If she had stopped gambling easily, I wouldn't have lost all my money before coming here.
"Hey."
This time, I decided to properly use these two years.
The most effective way to use Louise while making Louise comfortable.
"Sign this."
"...What is this...?"
"A contract."
It was a really plain contract.
It was just an employment contract with a slight addition.
I had already had Louise sign one before, but this time it was a slightly different contract.
"You keep losing money, right? So let's just make a new contract."
Mages were quite serious about contracts.
Louise, whom I called a crazy woman, was no exception.
"...I.. Is this right..?"
"Yes."
There was no wrong part.
I had checked it several times.
"...A 7-year additional contract... Is this right..?"
"Yes."
Until now, Louise's contract was to renew every year.
But this time, I changed it.
I would give all 7 years' worth of salary and use her as a free magic slave.
7 years' salary was definitely a big amount.
It was enough money to hire a skilled magic instructor on a long-term contract.
However... this money was not for hiring a magic instructor.
It was money to be spent at one of the gambling halls in the Eristyrol Grand Duchy.
There was always one gambling hall Louise went to.
That's why I had my head on it.
Gambling halls were not illegal, but it was definitely a bad image from the territory's perspective.
That's why I secretly made a contract with them.
I would give 7 years' worth of hosts, so give half the money.
Confidentiality was included.
Clearly... Louise would definitely lose all 7 years' salary.
And if she spent all that money?
A magic slave would be born who would have to teach magic anywhere the power of Eristyrol reached, whether in the castle or the territory, for 7 years.
"What? It's just a plain contract? It's just adding a clause to a 7-year long-term contract providing food, clothing, and shelter, and instead, come when called to do some work?"
"Of course it's a plain contract. How could I do something weird as a mere servant?"
I answered Louise with a bright smile.
Louise signed with a smile, not knowing the circumstances.
"Thank you. Louise"
Thanks to that, half the money that was being discarded came back, and I gained a magic slave.