ALL NOVEL “…Crazy woman.”
“…Just don’t tell anyone else.”
“Seriously, a crazy woman…”
“Please don’t mention it in front of others…”
Having entered Louise’s Room, I couldn’t help but curse at Louise in shock.
I usually would hold it back, but this time I absolutely had to let it out…
“So, is this that guy? By the way, he draws really well?”
“……”
Well, of course… as soon as I entered Louise’s Room, I saw the painting she had drawn on the canvas.
It wasn’t just scrawled; it was something she had worked really hard on.
The man… a stranger to me.
Naturally, I thought he was one of the guys Louise had met, and I assumed he was the guy she mentioned meeting at the Mage Tower.
“Wow… I really had no idea our Louise-sensei could draw so well!”
“…Duke’s lady…”
“Do you draw while teaching kids these days? Like this on a canvas.”
“Please… keep it a secret…”
Placing a hand on Louise’s shoulder, I looked at the picture she had drawn.
Surprisingly… it was quite good.
“With black hair… and his face is pretty cute in your taste… I can’t really tell his height from the drawing. Well… you drew him cutely?”
“Hahaha…”
“So, is this that guy?”
“…Haha.”
He was exactly her type.
But honestly, I didn’t care much about the guy’s looks.
After all, I had Kyle, who was much cooler than this little guy.
Besides, right now… I was more excited about teasing Louise, wasn’t I?
“Answer me, teacher.”
“Y-Yes! So what if I do!”
“Hehe…”
Already, this was entertaining.
Here I was worried about Kyle, and Louise was busily painting a portrait of some guy.
Honestly… it was hilarious!
I wanted to show it to Elin and Kyle personally.
If possible, bringing Adela along would make it even better.
“Hehe…”
But… I decided to let it go.
That would have been too harsh, and Louise was a friend who helped me while I was worrying about Kyle.
“Hey.”
“M-What…?”
“Do you really like this guy that much?”
“…It’s not that… I just think it’s cute how he’s working hard on magic…”
“Magic, my foot! It’s obvious you like him just because he fits your type!”
“….”
I wasn’t lying; her expression gave it all away.
It was completely different from the expression I had when I turned red because of Kyle; anyone could see she was painting a picture of a guy she had a crush on!
“Hurry, answer.”
“…I, I might like him… or maybe not…”
“…Tch.”
Frustrating, but I understood.
In fact, Louise was living a life more devoid of answers than I was.
She was nearing thirty, yet had never even been in a relationship, let alone married.
“Choose between telling Elin or just being honest.”
“….”
“5… 4…”
“Okay! If I answer, will you stop…?”
Well, in the end, the power dynamics were in my favor now.
No matter what Louise did… she would just end up embarrassed.
“…I think I like him.”
“Really?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then invite him to the Castle.”
“…Huh?”
“Show off that you’re an amazing magician, have dinner to gain some favor, and if you’re tipsy, then just go for it!”
“….”
It was really that simple.
Most guys eventually go crazy for pretty, cute, eye-catching girls.
Of course, inner qualities matter, but initially, appearances had the most influence.
“If you play your cards right… he might actually fall for you.”
“No, no matter what, inviting him like that is…”
“Hmm… weren’t you the one who told me to just let Kyle take advantage of me back then?”
“?!”
Louise jolted in surprise.
Yeah, she must have been shocked.
That was a half-joking, half-serious remark I made to Kyle a long time ago, and I was now bringing it back up.
I didn’t even know it until Kyle told me about it, and honestly, I hadn’t thought much of it since it happened ages ago.
“It’s exactly the same. Just go for it, and it’ll be done!”
“N-No… even so, I’m three years older…”
“Only three years?”
“…Yeah…”
Surprisingly… she was older than I thought.
She definitely looked like she was in her early twenties, but it was obvious from her youthful appearance.
In fact, it made me think for a moment that Louise might be heading for a dangerous romance.
“But… wouldn’t there really be no problems then?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, both of you are adults, and there’s not a huge age gap; if you get physical first, you could easily start dating right after?”
“Ugh, how could you say that…!”
“You said that to Kyle before.”
It was actually easier than my case with Kyle.
The age gap was halved, and they hadn’t known each other long.
Louise wasn’t unattractive either; in fact, she was quite pretty.
Her figure… while not as endowed as mine, it wasn’t lacking either.
She hadn’t gained weight, and her hips were… well, decent enough.
It seemed like it was just a matter of doing it.
Really.
“That wasn’t my intention!!!”
“Tch.”
*
Louise’s relationship counseling came to a rough end.
Honestly, just because she was too scared to do anything, nothing would have changed even if I kept talking.
In reality… as Louise said, just doing that felt a bit off.
After being single for nearly thirty years, was it really alright for her first love to go straight to bed?
“Well, honestly, it’s not our business anyway.”
“Sis, is this really how it should be…?”
“I don’t know. I just found out his name, so I’m gonna do it.”
After slightly torturing Louise… not really torturing, more like annoying her; I managed to find out the name of the guy she liked, a magician.
And… I planned to make good use of this from now on.
Not for me, but for Louise’s benefit.
“This is all for my friend, you know?”
“Still, doing it without permission is…”
“Isn’t he only going to do something like sending a letter? It’s better if we make the first invitation.”
I didn’t care if I didn’t know his address.
I could just leave that to the Mage Tower, and if I gave them his name and the fact that he was a magician… they would figure out the contacting part on their own.
“Hehe…”
“You’re a complete villain…”
“Hey, back before you and I were dating, I was the one giving you advice to take me down… this is at least better, right?”
It wasn’t weird either.
Just inviting him to the Castle… was an ordinary letter.
The only added detail was that I wished for him to come?
“By the way, Kyle, do you have any plans for tomorrow?”
“Um… for now?”
“My father said he’d be spending time near the house we arranged last time… and I’ve taken care of Louise’s love life… am I out of things to do?”
The only thing left was Kyle becoming the Duke.
Of course, that wasn’t a huge deal either.
It was just a matter of signing a few papers and writing in the Duke’s office.
By rights, Kyle’s becoming the Duke should have happened even earlier.
The Coming-of-Age Ceremony was supposed to coincide with the Duke succession ceremony… but then I suddenly married him and had a child, postponing it.
“Finally becoming the Duke.”
“Well… it’s not that it should’ve happened now, but it was meant to happen much earlier.”
“True enough.”
We shared a laugh together.
We both knew we could have become Dukes much earlier than this.
That’s why it felt funny that it was happening only now.
In reality, it wasn’t common for someone so young to be made the Duke.
“Will you be okay with this?”
“With what? Being the Duke?”
“Yes.”
Kyle spoke a little more seriously than usual.
The atmosphere wasn’t necessarily serious, but there was a definite seriousness in his question.
He was likely questioning whether it was really okay for him to sit in that position.
I understood.
Kyle had matured quickly and was responsible in many ways, but he was still only in his early twenties.
“Are you worried?”
“Yes.”
“That’s valid. It’s not common for someone just over twenty to become a Duke. It’s quite early.”
“….”
“But… I believe you can do well.”
It was definitely a tough position, and there would be a lot of pressure.
For me, it was a place I couldn’t even imagine.
After all, I was just Kyle’s wife right now.
“You’ve always been diligent and kind since you were little, and you’ve handled everything you were taught really well. Besides… you’re my husband, right?”
And because of that, I was even more certain.
My husband, my student, Kyle, would surely do well.
“And… you won’t be alone in this. There are retainers, servants, and people living in the territory.”
In truth… it was a very ordinary story.
Just a plain old story.
It’s not that you’re carrying all the burdens alone.
But… that doesn’t mean it has no effect at all.
“Also, you have cute daughters like Elissa and Astrid, right?”
“That’s true…”
“So don’t worry too much. Just take your time to learn. You were always someone who learned well, right?”
Of course, now that he was much older, he towered over me by a long shot, and he had long surpassed twenty.
The image of a small boy from long ago only surfaced in his personality a bit, while most of him was a dashing young man.
“And now, you’re not just anyone; you’re my husband.”
“….”
“You will do well, got it?”
“Thank you.”
It was a short response, but it carried sincere feelings.
Well, since I had spoken genuinely, it was a natural reaction.
“Now stop worrying about trivial things… and give me a kiss.”
“…Yes.”
Continuing to fret wasn’t good.
Sure, it was a human trait that couldn’t be helped, but still… it was better to embrace expectations rather than worries.
“Chomp…”
Instead of worrying too much, I found it better to release tension with a little kiss from my lovely wife while preparing for the future.
The eldest son, who had once been so passive, had grown into a dependable man.
The time Kyle and I have left is surely more than we know, and we will continue to have happy times together.
With our bunny-like daughters accompanying us.
The third one… well, there are no plans for that yet?
“Phah… this just gets better, this kissing practice…”
“I say it’s because you’re not doing it well.”
“Shut up. You’re doing it great.”
“So, do you want to do it again?”
“…If you want to?!”
Once again, I was kissed, but it wasn’t bad.
Yeah, this was better than fretting alone, and being kissed by Kyle felt great.
“Yeah… huh… huff…”
It’s been eleven years since I first met Kyle, and by next year, I would have spent more than half of his life with him.
When I was 18… I definitely never imagined we would last this long.
I was merely thinking of earning some money, and once the eldest son grew up well, I would just return to my hometown.
“Phah… I love you. Truly.”
When I first became the private tutor to the Northern Duke’s eldest son… I had no idea it would turn out like this.
Somehow, I’ve now become his wife.
Still… isn’t this more than a pretty good ending?
Yeah… definitely an ending that’s too wonderful.
“If you cheat on me… I’ll truly hate you.”
“…I won’t. Now let’s practice kissing.”