The Grand Duke's Return
After the Grand Duke returned to Eristirol Castle, not much had changed.
At meal times, Kyle and Adela had been added to the Grand Duke's presence, and there was now successor training... or something like that.
I wonder if the Grand Duke returned to participate in Kyle's coming-of-age ceremony and succession at the same time.
Since Kyle would become an adult next year, no matter how much the Grand Duke played around outside, he had to come back.
There was no one in the family other than the Grand Duke to take responsibility for the coming-of-age.
"Lord, is the successor training going well?"
Actually, I didn't know what kind of training it was.
Since it was between the two of them.
I only knew that they went out together and came back with something.
"Ha... successor training, huh..."
"Yes."
Kyle had a somewhat troubled expression.
What exactly did they do in the successor training...?
"Sophia, you said you were an adventurer, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
Even though I was the lowest of the low now, I couldn't refute it.
At least, I used to be an adventurer once.
It was even a gold rank!
Now, my arm-wrestling with Kyle had lost, but...
Anyway, that was the case.
"The coming-of-age in Eristirol is surviving a month in the snowy wilderness."
"Is that so...?"
I had never heard of it before.
Surviving a month in the snowy wilderness...
It was definitely something only done in the north.
Not just beasts came out in the snowy wilderness.
There were monsters of a certain level, and the environment was harsh.
Surviving a month in such a place...
"For that, I'm receiving training from Father... It's really tough."
"..."
It was true.
It was incredibly tough.
It wasn't that being an adventurer was hard, but catching beasts or monsters outside was already incredibly tough.
On top of that, surviving a month alone would definitely require setting up a tent or something.
If no preparations were given, I'd have to gather materials from around to make it.
It was really tough.
Kyle had lived comfortably in the castle for 18 years.
Could he survive a month outside?
He couldn't wash properly, couldn't eat properly.
"Hah..."
What if Kyle got hurt or something?
If he was alone outside, wasn't it dangerous...?
Should I tell the Grand Duke to prepare for any contingencies...?
"Anyway, I'm doing some sparring with Father, catching weak monsters, and learning survival skills too."
"I see...?"
It was worrying.
Although there was still a year left, I couldn't help but worry.
I was worried if the noble young master could handle it well.
Looking at his body, I should be more worried about the beasts and monsters that lived in the snowy wilderness.
*
The successor training for Kyle continued after that.
"Hmm..."
Thanks to that, the time I spent with Kyle was gradually decreasing.
That's why I felt like my duties were decreasing.
"..."
Louise was training with Adela, and Elin was originally a member of the knights.
They had more things to do than me.
Different from me.
"Boring..."
I was sitting alone in my room.
Usually, I was always following behind Kyle or training with him.
From when I was 12 to 15, it was always like that.
And then I started training with Elin, and with Louise, the time gradually decreased.
Every time Kyle had training, he seemed uncomfortable having me there.
That's probably why he kept looking at me.
Otherwise, there was no reason to keep looking at me during training.
"Sigh..."
Anyway, the time I spent with Kyle was gradually decreasing.
Was it time for me to find other things to do?
In fact, the duties as a tutor had come to an end.
I had debuted in society, and etiquette and such, Kyle had already learned well enough.
Next year, he would become an adult.
Few families use a tutor until adulthood.
Thanks to the fact that the Grand Duke of Eristirol had been away for several years, it had lasted this long.
If it had been another family, I would have been dismissed by now.
It was fortunate in many ways.
"Hmm..."
After Kyle's coming-of-age, it would be good to work at Catherine's estate as she mentioned.
Having lived only in Eristirol for several years, I missed the ordinary four seasons.
I also had to go see my parents after a long time.
The position of personal attendant was honestly one that many people could do better than me.
Although I graduated from the academy, there was a difference from the real ones.
They were completely different from people who learned to be a steward or maid from birth.
They really thought about every action for their employer.
I wasn't at that level.
"I don't know, I don't know!"
In any case, it would be decided after Kyle's coming-of-age.
No matter how much I thought now, I didn't know what would happen.
No one knew: me, my parents, Kyle, the Grand Duke.
That was the future.
"Speaking of which, Kyle comes back soon."
The father and son of Eristirol always returned before sunset.
The sun outside the window was gradually setting.
I put on the coat again to greet Kyle.
I couldn't completely endure the cold, but it was still part of the suit.
I had to wear it.
"Haa... Father, could you please be a little gentler?"
"If you show such a weak side, it won't be good."
"Haa..."
When about 5 minutes had passed since waiting at the castle gate for Kyle, Kyle and the Grand Duke came in while talking to each other.
They were wearing really ordinary clothes.
They must have been outside for several hours, yet they were dressed like that, which was surprisingly fine.
Kyle had his usual sword at his waist and an axe on his back.
The Grand Duke, unlike Kyle, was carrying two axes.
"..."
It was inevitable that the word 'Viking' would come to mind.
Long beard, long hair, muscular, shirt open, carrying axes?
If such a person appeared at a festival in my previous life, someone would have complained noisily.
Viking.
"Lord, hand over the clothes and gear."
The clothes and gear were stained with things like animal blood.
There was a lot of dirt and snow.
But that wasn't something to worry about.
It was me who should be carrying these things that Kyle kept carrying.
"Yes."
Although my strength had weakened compared to before, carrying these loads was no problem at all.
They weren't carrying hunting spoils either.
"Kyle, didn't I tell you last time?"
"Father, I absolutely won't do that method."
"Haa... anyway, you won't be able to hold it in."
"...Ha..."
I didn't quite understand what he meant, but it was probably related to the successor training.
Was the Grand Duke saying some strange method?
For example, something like drink urine if there's no water?
Ah, thinking about it, this is the north.
Just eat snow.
"Kyle. Time is not long. You have to do it when you're close..."
"Yes, yes."
Kyle answered the Grand Duke's words vaguely.
It was a feeling I hadn't seen before.
Well... since I'm not really family, it was inevitable.
I was just a bit like family, but the Grand Duke was real family.
"Sophia."
"Yes."
Kyle called me.
The Grand Duke had already walked off in another direction.
Was he going to wash first?
"By any chance, do you have a lot of free time these days?"
"Yes."
These days, the free time was what I had.
There hadn't been as much free time as now since my teens.
"Then, could you lend me some time tomorrow?"
"Time... you mean?"
"Yes."
This was the first time Kyle was making such a promise to me.
There was no problem at all.
"It's fine."
I was the one with free time.
There was no reason to refuse spending time with Kyle.
"Then, will you go out with me tomorrow morning?"
"Yes."
Was he trying to go sightseeing in the village?
Village sightseeing...
Since I went once with Catherine, I hadn't gone much.
It was cold outside, so I didn't really want to go...
"..."
I should wear warm clothes tomorrow.
It wouldn't be good to go out with Kyle and shiver from the cold.
"...So this is what came to you?"
"Yeah."
Thinking about it, I didn't have many clothes like that.
There were even fewer pretty ones.
That's why I came to Louise's room.
"Lend me clothes."
"...Ya."
"Huh?"
"Even if I have clothes, and you borrowing clothes from me is honestly no big deal."
"Yeah."
"But I forgot the most important thing."
The most important thing?
I didn't know what the most important thing was right now.
I couldn't predict what Louise meant by the most important thing.
"Your size doesn't match mine."
"Eh? My height and weight are similar, right?"
"Insane woman..."
"?"
No, height is 160, no big difference, weight no big difference, what's the problem?
I didn't understand what size Louise was talking about.
What was it really?
"Insane woman! My boobs and yours are the same?!"
"Ah."
So that's what it was.
There was definitely a difference in breast size between Louise and me.
That's what she was talking about.
But if so, why say 'size' instead of 'breast size'?
Why ambiguously say 'clothes size'?
"Haa... your big boobs and my average size are the same?"
"That's... no, it's not. Sorry."
Louise's size was average.
Of course, by previous life standards, it was large, but in this life, it was average.
But my size was...
In both previous and current lives, it was ultimately large.
"Haa..."
It really didn't sit well with me that clothes couldn't be worn freely.
It was uncomfortable just because it was big, and there were no advantages.
The only advantage was...
Eh... putting the cup above the chest and drinking water comfortably with a straw?
Something like that.