ALL NOVEL “Brother, do you have time right now?”
“I need to attend my swordsmanship class.”
“Oh? Then I guess there’s no helping it. Shall we meet for dinner later?”
“Sure.”
Adela said that and walked towards the opposite side.
We moved to the training grounds for swordsmanship class.
“Younger Master!”
“Elin, please behave moderately since it’s almost debutante time. For goodness’ sake.”
“…Ahaha… When have I ever done anything strange…? I can’t quite remember…”
“I believe you will do well. Well then, Younger Master, I will take my leave.”
“Okay.”
I left the two of them in the training area.
I was a bit worried that Elin might push Kyle too hard again.
A muscle ache before the debutante is fine, but I didn’t want any other kind of injuries.
“Louise… she’ll probably be wandering around outside…”
Elin was having a lesson with Kyle.
What should I do to pass the time?
It was a bit awkward to eat at this time.
After Kyle’s class, he would have dinner, and then I’d have nothing to do, so I could eat then.
“Ugh… what should I do…?”
I thought it might be good to develop a suitable hobby.
I didn’t know what hobby to choose, but anything would be better than nothing.
Should I try making clothes?
No, that would be ridiculously difficult.
I wanted something a bit more… simple and fun.
“A hobby… a hobby…”
I didn’t want to take up a hobby that required a lot of physical activity at this time.
Though I might be in my early twenties… I preferred something that allowed me to relax.
If it were my previous life, gaming would fit perfectly.
But this world had none of that.
I needed a hobby that I could do while sitting still…
“Books…?”
Reading books… wasn’t a bad hobby.
The library in the castle had many books.
I moved my feet towards the library to grab a book.
Since the distance from the training ground to the library was quite far, I had to walk for a few minutes.
The enormity of the castle was inconvenient in many ways.
While being large and magnificent with spacious rooms was nice, it was too big!
“Ugh…”
Consequently, my legs sometimes hurt from walking, like now…
I seriously began to think that I should exercise more.
It’s embarrassing to feel pain just going to the library…
I never would have imagined this during my adventurer days.
“Sophia?”
“Miss?”
As I walked through the hallway, I reached the library and ran into Adela.
What was she doing here?
“Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be with brother?”
“The Young Master is in another class at the moment.”
“Aha.”
Adela exclaimed, her eyes wide in surprise.
Despite her cold demeanor, she was more expressive than I’d expected.
She definitely had a different vibe from Kyle.
Kyle, despite his looks, was less expressive.
If he could be just a bit more expressive, that would have been nice.
“Then you have nothing to do, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I had thought about going to the library to read books, but now that plan was ruined.
Books… I could always come for them later.
“Then come roam the castle with me. It’s changed a bit since I last came, so can you help me?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Thus, my castle exploration began with Adela.
The castle, which Adela returned to after six years, was livelier than usual.
Maybe because she was sociable, she cheerfully chatted with the servants she hadn’t seen in six years.
Especially with the maids, she smiled brightly as if her cold appearance melted away.
Walking around made me wonder… was I really necessary here?
Of course, I was explaining things and guiding her to places she wanted to go, but it didn’t seem like I had to do it.
“Miss, couldn’t this be done by a direct servant…? May I ask why you chose me?”
“Huh? You mean why did I ask you?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm… Well, it’s obvious.”
What was that supposed to mean?
“What do you mean, pretty? It’s just more fun to hang out with pretty girls.”
“…”
I almost made a weird sound in shock but managed to hold it in.
I didn’t cover my mouth but bit my lip slightly.
It hurt a little, but it wasn’t too bad.
“Is that so…?”
“Yep. Now, let’s go explore again.”
I didn’t understand why I was considered pretty, considering how good both Kyle and Adela looked at their prime.
The beauty of teenagers and those in their twenties were definitely different.
What should I say about skin’s luster?
It was completely different.
I envied teenage girls immensely.
Even Adela, standing right in front of me, made me feel envious.
Teenagers are so lucky…
“By the way, where’s your brother’s class? I’d love to check it out.”
“Yes…”
Feeling a bit wounded by the difference in our appearances and activity levels, I led Adela to the training area.
Though five years hadn’t changed our looks, our feelings had.
Maybe I thought I was really pretty back then, but now I knew I wasn’t…
Nobles are just stunning, so it made sense.
“Brother~”
Adela barged straight into the training area where Kyle and Elin were practicing.
Without even knocking.
Of course, for Kyle and Adela, this house was their own, so it was fine for them to do that.
But… it really shouldn’t have been.
“…”
“…Huh?”
After opening the door, both Adela and I were probably feeling the same thing.
We couldn’t properly speak as soon as we entered.
“…Brother, what in the world is going on here?”
“….Well…”
“Younger Master… what is this supposed to be…?”
Kyle was completely shirtless.
Elin was also out of armor, wearing a sweat-soaked shirt.
Were they…?
“…First, could you put some clothes on?”
At my words, Kyle hurriedly put on the shirt he had tossed aside.
I felt a bit disappointed that those wonderful muscles were now hidden, but there wasn’t time to focus on that.
“Brother.”
Adela shot a sharp glare at Kyle.
“What were you two doing? Did something happen?”
“Cough..! Adela, that’s too…!”
“If it’s not that, then why are you both undressed? You’re not off duty yet, are you? I’ve never heard of you taking off your armor!”
As Adela pointed out, knights wear armor most of the time, except when they’re sleeping.
They lived in their armor during duty, breakfast, and dinner, with training being no exception.
They wore their armor to adapt to it, and exercising in it was another benefit.
In any case, knights wore their armor like it was a part of them.
But Elin was currently not in armor.
She had a normal shirt on under her armor.
It was a form-fitting shirt that emphasized her cleavage.
“…”
Why was she wearing something like that?
“U… this is… a misunderstanding!”
“You better stay quiet.”
Adela spoke in an icy tone to Elin.
The cheerful and warm expression on Adela had completely vanished.
“Brother, you better explain. What were you both doing to end up like this?”
“It was hot, so we took them off.”
*Gulp…*
Regardless, this should not have happened.
Afterward, I roughly wiped Kyle’s sweat after his lesson.
Usually, I would have taken my time, but today I didn’t feel like it.
“Younger Master, let’s talk while we eat. Go wash up.”
The boy who used to be utterly awkward around girls had suddenly transformed into a guy who removes his shirt in front of one.
No, even if it was a martial arts class, there was no need to strip like that, was there?
I had never seen a class in person, but that didn’t seem right to me.
Kyle usually wore comfortable clothes, so they absorbed sweat better than others.
Eristirol isn’t as hot as the southern regions or the center.
Even indoors, the training area was obviously cooler than elsewhere since no special arrangements were made.
“…..”
In any case, I wasn’t pleased.