ALL NOVEL Three years have passed since I became Kyle’s private tutor and direct servant.
In those three years, Kyle has improved quite a bit.
His once stunted physique has filled out, and he’s become a bit brighter in demeanor.
“Young Master, a guest is coming to see you today.”
“A guest?”
“Yes, Lady Catherine from the Oldenburg Family is scheduled to visit.”
Up until now, there had been no guests coming to see Kyle.
But after three years of being his tutor, the first guest visiting Kyle is a girl.
The Oldenburg family may not be located in the North, but they do govern territories that are geographically positioned to the north.
The fact that a lady from such a family is coming to see Kyle has become great gossip for the servants and maids at Eristirol Castle.
They’re probably chattering away happily in the servants’ quarters even now.
“Let’s go prepare.”
“Yes.”
Since Catherine is still some time away, he needs to bathe and change from his usual clothes.
It wouldn’t be good to greet the noble lady in his regular attire.
With the help of the servants, Kyle went off for a wash, and I decided to prepare his clothes.
I always feel grateful that this world doesn’t perfectly resemble a medieval fantasy.
If it did, I would have to see Kyle in stockings every day.
Fortunately, the fashion is more akin to modern Western styles.
Thus, most nobles wear splendid frock coats.
If every noble were to don white stockings, I would probably be in a world of pain, having damaged my eyesight and cracked my head, reincarnated in a completely different universe.
“Now that I think about it, Kyle’s clothing size has increased a lot.”
It feels like just yesterday he was smaller than me, but now his clothes are big enough that I could wear them.
He’s still only 15, so he’ll grow even more.
“Sigh…”
The saddest thing about being born a girl is being short.
At 21 years old, my growth spurt is long over.
While it’s said men grow tall in the army, I’ve never heard about girls growing tall in college.
Maybe… I’ll never exceed 165 centimeters.
Suddenly feeling down.
If only I didn’t have memories of my past life, perhaps I could be content with my current height.
After all, being in the 160s is technically average.
Thanks to memories of my previous life, there are many times I feel dissatisfied with my current height and body.
Even during my days as an adventurer, I often thought how much stronger I could have been if I were taller…
For now, I needed to bring the clothes to Kyle before he finished washing up.
I’m not entirely sure if a direct servant is supposed to handle this kind of thing, but since I’m told to, it’s my duty.
“Ha… Ah.”
*
“Young Master, I’ve brought the clothes you’ll wear.”
“…Thank you.”
Looking at Kyle now, his physique has improved significantly.
Since he started exercising with me last year, he has continued to get better.
I roughly finished preparing for Catherine’s visit.
After all, all Kyle needs to do is to dress nicely and have a pleasant conversation with Catherine when they meet.
The rest will be handled by the other servants—myself included.
Leaving Kyle to wait inside the castle, I joined a few servants to await Catherine’s arrival.
As always, it was cold in the North.
“Ha… When will she arrive…”
Since she’s coming by carriage, it’s hard to know exactly when she’ll get here.
No communication devices like walkie-talkies exist even with magic and mana, so we just have to wait.
We could only stand here and look for her.
If we were just going to wait like this, I wish they’d at least build a small structure nearby so we could wait inside.
But with nothing like that, I stood with about six servants behind me, waiting.
About 20 minutes passed.
I could see an elegant black carriage approaching.
Gems were embedded in the carriage, sparkling even from a distance.
I worried a gem might fall off and get caught in the axle, but since she isn’t our Young Master’s guest, I didn’t pay it much mind.
The carriage halted at the entrance of the castle.
Inside sat a girl who exuded a strong aura of a typical noble lady.
Though she was said to be the same age as Kyle, she appeared a bit younger.
Perhaps it was due to her cute looks?
“Lady Oldenburg, greetings. Welcome to the Eristirol Duke’s Household. Please, allow me to escort you inside.”
“Yes.”
Catherine didn’t resist when I urged her to follow me inside.
It seemed she disliked the northern cold as well.
The other servants, besides myself, carried Catherine’s luggage with her servants, and I led Catherine inside the castle.
Upon entering, Catherine’s expression relaxed compared to when she was outside.
She looked far better than she did when she first got out of the carriage.
“Your Young Master is currently in the reception room. If you require anything, please ring the bell inside, and we will assist you.”
I had tidied the reception room for Catherine’s purpose of conversing with Kyle.
It was a room that wasn’t used often, usually just a place for some of the servants to rest.
But today, it was finally being used for its original purpose after a long while.
By the way, why on earth did Catherine come to meet Kyle?
As far as I knew, Kyle had never left Eristirol.
So naturally, there would have been no chance for them to meet.
Even before I became his tutor, they had never met.
Yet suddenly, she decided to come seek him out?
“Hmm…”
Ah, maybe she heard rumors about Kyle’s looks.
Kyle’s appearance is famous even within the territory.
And the rumors spread all the way to Oldenburg.
At her age, it’s only natural for a girl to have some idealism about a handsome and charming young noble.
It’s commonplace for a girl with such fantasies to come directly to the territory after hearing about the white-haired young noble with pale blue eyes.
There are indeed couples that have formed after such encounters.
It’s a bit unusual for a girl yet to debut to start visiting boys already.
How proactive of her.
I’m completely curious about what they’re discussing inside, what they’re doing.
Am I the only one wanting to burst through the door and eavesdrop?
There are no other Eristirol servants around, just one servant from Oldenburg staying by my side.
“Good day.”
I spoke cautiously.
He was probably a high-ranking servant among the Oldenburg servants.
That’s why he’s standing next to me while others are busy helping with the luggage.
“Ah, greetings. Could you be the private tutor of Young Master Eristirol?”
“Yes, that would be me.”
How did he figure out I was Kyle’s tutor right away?
I don’t exactly look like a tutor.
“I’ve heard much about you. I am Sebastian, the direct servant of Lady Catherine.”
Sebastian, huh? A name that just screams butler.
By the way, he says he’s heard a lot?
Is my being Kyle’s tutor a topic of gossip?
Even in a world obsessed with nobles, it’s rather strange that they’d have an interest in the tutor of a 15-year-old.
This world feels pretty creepy.
“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Sophia.”
I grew a bit uncomfortable looking at Sebastian, the tall, handsome man with black hair.
He had an appealing appearance.
Yet, for some reason, he rubbed me the wrong way.
I’ve never felt this way toward Kyle; why is this happening?
“…..”
For now, I decided to brush it off.
Regardless of whether I feel uncomfortable about Sebastian, he is, after all, a guest of the Duke’s household.
How I treat them could reflect on Eristirol’s reputation.
Given that I’m not just any ordinary servant but the direct servant to Kyle, the Duke’s eldest son.
What if I were to mess up and they blabbed to the media?
The tabloids would twist the narrative to tarnish the Eristirol Family’s image.
In that case, I’d undoubtedly be fired from my current position.
But honestly, how long can Kyle keep talking inside?
*
“Ha… The North is so cold.”
Kyle Eristirol was a bit taken aback by Catherine’s sudden visit.
He had never had a peer visit from the territory before, so his surprise was understandable.
“Lady Oldenburg, may I ask what brings you to our territory?”
Kyle spoke fluently, a far cry from years past.
If Sophia heard him now, she would surely beam with pride at how ordinary and articulate he had become.
“Young Master, I’m not here just to visit or to see you.”
“If not, then what brings you here?”
Catherine twirled a lock of her beautiful golden hair as she continued speaking.
“Young Master, have you heard of the rumors about you?”
“Uh…?”