A Simple Meal and a Bath
“Lord Kyle, how is the taste?”
“It’s rather plain.”
As Kyle said, it was indeed at a plain level. Since it was a plain restaurant in a plain village, I hadn’t expected it to be extremely fancy. Rather, I was worried it might not be good.
“Then that’s good. I was worried it might not suit your taste.”
“Haha. It’s fine. This level is no problem at all.”
People have different levels of importance for taste. Some people would leave the restaurant if the food was bad. Fortunately, Kyle didn’t seem to be one of them.
“Lord Kyle, please have this too.”
“Thank you.”
I sliced a steak and handed it to Kyle. After all, Kyle, who was in his growth spurt, ate more than me, and my stomach wasn’t that big anyway, so there was some left over. And I thought it would be good if Kyle ate well.
“Hoo hoo…”
Seeing him eat was definitely good. Kids are best at eating, sleeping, and running around. Of course, Kyle was no longer at an age to run around, but the child had grown too much. A few days ago, when I checked, he had reached 180. He really grew a lot. My sore throat from before felt even worse.
By the way, Lady Aldenburg will be coming this time too, right?
“Yes.”
Kyle and Catherine are of the same age, so Catherine will come to this debutante ball as well. Debutante balls are not held exactly once a year, but among the debutante balls held once a year, the one in April is the one where everyone’s attention is most focused. That’s why Kyle decided to go this April.
“If you happen to meet Lady Aldenburg, please greet her.”
It’s a correct thing to be careful with women, but managing existing relationships is also important. It feels a bit uncomfortable to say managing relationships, but in noble terms, it’s not wrong. For nobles, friends are also an important interest relationship. As someone who is not a noble, I couldn’t perfectly understand it, but thanks to memories of my previous life, I could understand it to some extent.
“It’s already been two years.”
“Yeah.”
The time Catherine spent in Eristirol had also passed two years. At that time, both of us were 15 years old, but now it’s 17. They were both approaching adulthood. I was very looking forward to how Catherine would grow after turning 17 two years from now. Catherine at that time was really a noble-like child. As long as nothing special happened to Catherine after that, she would have grown even prettier than before. She had appropriate length blonde hair at that time, and would it still be similar now?
“Lord Kyle, if you happen to meet other dukes’ daughters, please, please be careful.”
Other families, as long as they don’t make really dangerous mistakes, could cover with family influence to some extent. But if it’s a duke’s family, that’s impossible. To do that at a similar level, how much money would it cost?
“I know.”
“Then that’s good.”
I answered with a smile.
By now, Kyle had eaten all the steak pieces I gave him. After both of us had finished eating, we were lightly drinking drinks and chatting.
“Lord Kyle, shall we get up now?”
“Yes.”
Kyle and I got up from our seats. And we walked out and walked down the street. It was indeed a somewhat bustling street unlike the castle. A street I always saw during my adventurer days, but after living in the castle, I couldn’t see it much. This kind of street wasn’t bad either. The atmosphere of a somewhat bustling street like now, or a quiet street, both are good.
“Lord Kyle has also become an adult now.”
“Eh?”
“At the time we first met, you were really small… but you’ve grown a lot.”
It’s not just about height. It’s true that your height has grown enormously, but it’s not just about height. Many parts besides your body have improved. At first, you were an extremely passive little guy. But that Kyle from back then is gone and you’ve grown into a sturdy little guy. Your chest muscles have grown, and your personality has improved a lot. Back then, when a few men passed by, you would shrink your shoulders, but that Kyle is gone. Rather, Kyle’s broad shoulders mean you wouldn’t fit into narrow spaces because of Kyle.
“You’ve really grown well. You’ve become so different from that time that it’s incomparable.”
“Haha…”
“Thanks for growing well during these 5 years.”
“It’s all thanks to Sophia.”
“…”
If I say it like that, there’s nothing more to say. I couldn’t think of what to say. Kyle also had nothing more to say and walked to the inn without a word.
We arrived at the inn. The interior was plain, with no big difference from the outside weather.
“Lord Kyle, shall I bathe right away? Or would you like to rest for a while? Personally, I think bathing right away would be better.”
“…Do I have to bathe with you?”
“Yes.”
Kyle, who was a noble who always bathed with the help of attendants without bathing alone, how could he bathe alone? Even if bathing, it wouldn’t be done properly. On a day like today when you’ve sweated, you need to bathe properly. It’s not as good an environment as when bathing in the castle, but it’s not a problem. Compared to not bathing, it was rather better.
“Here, hurry up and take off your clothes. I’ll change too for a moment.”
“Eh?!”
“You can’t change while wearing a suit, can you?”
I had no choice but to help Kyle bathe. I said so and started taking off the blazer I was wearing.
“…I’ll go in first.”
“Eh? Wait a moment. After all, it won’t take long to take off.”
“…”
Kyle didn’t know if he heard my words or not, but he just went straight into the bathroom.
“Um…”
Well, after all, you have to go inside to bathe, so no problem. I slowly took off my clothes. Inside the shirt was a thin underwear I had pre-worn… no, I had just worn appropriate underwear. It was a season where I would sweat, so clothes that could absorb sweat. I took off all my clothes and opened the door to the bathroom and entered.
“Oh…”
It was cleaner than I thought. For a small bath in an inn room, it was really okay. It was also larger and had a bathtub, so it wasn’t bad for Kyle to bathe.
“Lord Kyle?”
“…Yes…”
“Hurry up and give me your arm. Don’t you need to bathe?”
Kyle suddenly had a bruise, so I spoke to him. The inside wasn’t even filled with steam yet, so why was this happening?
“Then I’ll start.”
I started bathing Kyle’s body as before. Because your body has grown, there are more areas that need bathing.
“Hoo…”
Thanks to this, while bathing, it’s like a massage, but it’s hard! It’s not unnecessary… but because of muscles that are too hard, even for massage, it’s hard. Back then, there was at least a slight pressing feeling, but now it seems like there’s no pressing at all.
“Hoo hoo hoo…!!”
I pressed Kyle’s obliques again with force, but it was more like pushing rather than massaging.
“…It seems better to just bathe.”
“…Yes.”
I couldn’t object. Even in my thoughts, it was better to just vigorously scrub with a shower towel.
“Hoo… Hoo… How is it, Lord Kyle? Is this level okay?”
“Yes… It’s the best.”
“If you say it like that… Hoo… I’m really grateful…!”
I wiped Kyle’s body more vigorously. Rather than sweat smell, now only the scent of soap was there. Well, it was natural.
“Lord Kyle, now spread your legs…”
“I’ll do that.”
“…”
Is it embarrassing to show it even after growing up that age? It’s a bit embarrassing to show it to family, but isn’t it a problem? If we weren’t family, what would we be. Since I lived with Kyle for over 5 years since I was 12, and I almost raised Kyle. It’s not like calling mom because the age difference is too big, so maybe sister? Of course, it’s an employment relationship. But still, the expression “sister” doesn’t fit the most, right? Aunt, mom, noona are expressions that make you look too old.
“Lord Kyle, I have no interest in your lower part. After all, our relationship is almost like family, isn’t it?”
“…..”
Kyle couldn’t speak because he was hit in the vital point. Yeah, if we weren’t family, what would we be.
“Well… Although I’m a servant, I still think of you like family. Since we met from childhood, wouldn’t you think the same?”
It’s a bit burdensome to call him younger brother because the child has grown too much. If he was a little smaller, I would have felt more like a younger sister.
“Hoo hoo… It would be good to call me noona once.”
“…. ”
It would be fun to hear Kyle call me noona. I always called her Sophia, Sophia, so there was a slightly stiff feeling. But to me, she always used the polite speech, so it was a bit less stiff, but Sophia is too stiff. How long have we known each other. Rather, calling her Sophia would be less stiff.
“Or I could call you Kyle… This is a bit not good. Sorry.”
I almost crossed the line. No matter how close, I didn’t want to call Kyle by his name without hesitation.
After that, Kyle, who had finished bathing, was lying in the bathtub for a moment, but when I tried to take off the wet clothes I was wearing to bathe, he suddenly jumped up, so I stopped for now. It was uncomfortable because I was wet from bathing, but I sat still until Kyle left. It was probably about 30 minutes. Kyle seemed to be the type who enjoys the bathtub more than I thought.