ALL NOVEL “Hmm… You look great today.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Finally, it was Kyle’s debutante day.
Dressed in the black coat he had picked out long ago.
After all, a man looks best in black.
Pants, coat, vest, tie, and hat.
He coordinated everything in black, except for his shirt.
It’s not like he was a woman; using flashy colors to express a sophisticated atmosphere wasn’t a good idea.
Women can wear glamorous dresses and still look elegant with their appearance.
In reality, if you’re pretty, you generally look classy.
But men are different.
Being too flashy could easily come off as frivolous.
“You need to do as I taught you last time. Before greeting His Majesty and Her Majesty, you must take off your hat and then bow. You can hand your hat to me.”
“Yes.”
This debutante was exceptionally grand.
The Emperor and Empress, who normally wouldn’t attend, were actually coming.
It must be because it was the first debutante of the year, where key figures of the Empire were also debuting.
That made me even more anxious.
With all eyes on Kyle, the Emperor’s presence made me worry even more.
“Hah… I really wish I could send you off. I’m scared you’ll make a mistake, Young Master.”
“…..”
“Given the occasion, you’ll have to drink. You must have had a few drinks in Eristirol, but you need to manage it well.”
“Yes.”
“As I said before, if noble ladies approach you, don’t get too happy and stay on guard.”
“I feel like I’ve heard that over a hundred times already.”
“…Really?”
Even I think I’ve mentioned it quite a bit.
But it’s important enough to repeat.
“Hah…”
Anyway, we were in the carriage, heading towards the palace for the debutante.
Imperial Palace.
While the name was longer, most people just called it that.
It was the palace where the Emperor and the royalty lived, and where imperial officials went to work.
Honestly, it was my first time at the Imperial Palace.
How often does an ordinary person get to enter such a place?
I may be Kyle’s aide now, but I was just a regular person before.
Sure, I graduated from a reasonably good academy.
Anyway, that’s how it was.
“Whoo…”
“Why are you more worried about me debuting than I am, Sophia?”
“I’m sorry…”
As Kyle said, he didn’t look worried at all.
In fact, I was the only one who kept worrying.
Kyle seemed completely at ease.
Wait, is he too relaxed…?
It’s a debutante!
Other nobles stress out and prepare for years for this!
“Young Master… please be careful.”
“Yes, I understand, so please stop.”
“Yes…”
By now, it was already evening.
A perfect time for a party.
Music was already playing from the direction of the palace.
The carriage carried on, past the main gate and through the garden, arriving right in front of the palace.
Kyle stepped down first, and I followed behind him.
Bringing a servant was optional.
Nobles who were under strict family scrutiny especially needed one.
It was better to have a servant around than to embarrass the family by making a blunder.
Of course, I wasn’t following him for that reason.
The Duke had said nothing, and Adela had asked me to take good care of him.
Plus, I genuinely wanted to see Kyle’s debut.
“Kyle Eristirol of the Eristirol Duke’s Household is entering!!”
Just before we went in, one of the officials checking identities loudly proclaimed that.
It was a little sad to see someone doing such a job, but I figured they must need the money.
As Kyle’s name echoed through the party hall, the buzz of the guests increased and many sets of eyes turned to Kyle.
Some glances came my way, but I didn’t care.
After all, the main character here was Kyle.
He walked slowly into the hall.
The Emperor and Empress seemed to be impatient, waiting for the young nobles to arrive.
The current Emperor liked efficiency in many ways, so it made sense.
“Sophia.”
“Yes.”
I took Kyle’s black hat.
And stopped right there.
Kyle moved forward.
He climbed the appropriately high staircase at the end of the hall.
As I watched Kyle ascend, I thought he would do well.
Our little guy had grown up so well; I had worried too much.
About five minutes…?
Yeah, around five minutes later, I heard footsteps coming down.
Upon hearing those footfalls, I raised my head again and saw Kyle walking toward me with a faint smile.
“You did well.”
If Kyle hadn’t done well, he wouldn’t be smiling like that.
His expression would’ve been anything but good.
“Yes. There wasn’t much conversation, so it was fine.”
“Is that so?”
I had expected him to have plenty to discuss since he was the Duke’s firstborn.
But it was better short than to risk saying something wrong.
“Alright, let’s enjoy the party then.”
I said with a smile.
The most important thing in a debutante was to greet the royalty, so the most crucial task was finished.
Now it was just time to talk with other nobles.
Well…
If I found a girl I clicked with, I could dance a few times too.
“Wow.”
Kyle exclaimed briefly.
It seemed the food on his plate was indeed good.
After all, this was the capital, no ordinary place.
The quality was different.
I personally wanted to take the chefs from here with me.
“It’s delicious.”
“It truly is.”
We sat at a small table, enjoying the food we had brought, passing some time.
Kyle hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, so I guessed he was a bit hungry.
With his high metabolism, he must have been quite famished.
“Young Master, you should also try this.”
As always, I handed food to Kyle.
Kyle gladly accepted what I offered.
“Sophia, you should try this too.”
Kyle tried to offer me some sausage with his fork.
Since my plate was already full with various dishes, adding another was a bit tough.
There was no choice.
“Ahhh….”
“…?”
“What are you doing? Just put it in my mouth quickly.”
“…..”
Kyle hesitated for a moment but then fed me the sausage.
“Oh…”
Delicious.
It was incomparable to the sausage I had eaten for breakfast not long ago.
It was really tasty.
Big in size and great in flavor.
Just right for having a beer alongside it.
Speaking of which, there was alcohol too.
Most of it was sparkling wine, but there must have been beer as well.
No way there wouldn’t be at such a big party.
But it was a dilemma.
I came as Kyle’s servant, but drinking…
“*Sigh*…”
No matter how I thought about it, it felt like I was overstepping my bounds.
“Young Master, are you planning to drink tonight?”
So I asked.
If Kyle did drink, I could have a glass or two as a courtesy.
Honestly, if he had one or two, I would toast and have one too.
“No.”
“Huh…?”
“Since you were so careful, I won’t drink. You’ve warned me so many times, haven’t you?”
“…..”
Well, there it was.
The advice I had given Kyle was coming back to bite me.
What a critical blunder.
Of course, I knew drinking wasn’t great for health, but… not having beer with this sausage was disappointing.
I had no choice but to slowly chew on the food we had brought.
As I was quietly talking with Kyle,
A special guest approached our table.
“Sophia.”
“…?”
I turned around.
A stunning blonde woman stood there.
If I had been in my previous life, I might have confessed at first sight due to her beauty.
She was just a tiny bit lacking in the chest area, but her looks more than made up for it.
“Do you know me…?”
But I had never seen such a pretty noble lady before.
Who was she to know my name?
“Hah? Have you forgotten me? You promised to visit our territory someday.”
“….Oh.”
Blonde, beautiful, promised to visit her territory next time.
Now I remembered.
Though, I had no idea she would grow up to be this beautiful.
She looked so different from her childhood!
“Katherine.”
“Hoho. You finally remembered. It’s good to see you.”
“It’s been a while. You’ve truly become beautiful.”
“Thanks for the compliment. And Duke’s Son Kyle? It’s really been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
“Likewise, Lady Oldenburg.”
She had a hint of a girl back in the day, but now she was a full-fledged lady.
Not just pretty and cute, but she exuded grace.
She was a type of woman I had never seen around me.
Quite different from the crazy gamblers or training maniacs I usually dealt with.
She truly had become a lady.
“Hoho… Duke’s son Kyle is still so stiff. You should just call me Katherine now.”
“That… I’ll keep for later.”
“I understand. Oh, may I sit at the table?”
“Of course.”
With Kyle’s approval, Katherine sat right next to me.
“Hoho… It’s so nice to finally meet after years of only chatting from a distance, Sophia.”
“Is that so…?”
I was glad too.
It was fascinating that the little girl I had seen earlier had grown up so beautifully.
“Hmm… Have you two just been sitting here?”
“Yes.”
Kyle answered.
Katherine seemed a bit surprised by Kyle’s response.
“Hah… It’s a debutante and you’ve just been sitting here without fun… Of course, your eyes might have found some amusement, but that’s not good.”
I thought the same.
Just watching wasn’t great.
While it’s true to be wary of women, chatting with other nobles was incredibly important; Kyle’s lack of movement worried me.
“It can’t be helped. I guess I’ll have to help out. Right, Sophia?”
“If so, I’m grateful.”
What a nice lady she was.
“Then let’s eat this and get up from our seats. Duke’s son Kyle, is that okay with you?”
“……”
I shot Kyle a look.
That meant he absolutely had to accept Katherine’s call.
“Hah… Yes, let’s go.”
“Thank goodness! Right, Sophia?”
“Of course.”