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Chapter 51
Kyle lowered his gaze and spoke slowly.
“…You have your maid. And that horse, Snowflake….”
“They’re family. It’s different from you.”
“…I’m not even officially accepted yet. And even if I go, I’ll come back home during vacations. I can visit during the semester too. Why are you making such a big deal?”
“It’s not like now, when I can just run to see you whenever I want….”
After saying that, my face grew hot, and I quickly looked away.
I sounded like I was about to cry.
What’s wrong with me? It’s not like I have separation anxiety.
Still… the thought of being apart from Kyle for a long time made me uneasy.
What if he turns dark somewhere I can’t reach?
What if he gets influenced by bad people?
I calmed the sudden wave of emotions.
As my mind cleared, I felt embarrassed.
‘How long am I going to keep treating Kyle like a child?’
I met him when he was eleven, smaller than me. Maybe that’s why I still treat him like a kid.
But now we were both old enough to spend time with same-age friends and live our own social lives.
‘I should get closer to other young ladies too. Go to social gatherings.’
Most of all, Kyle wouldn’t go astray so easily. I was confident that for the past three years, I had guided him well.
Compared to when we first met, he had changed a lot.
He would be fine at school.
Just as I was about to change the subject, Kyle, who had been rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly lifted his pinky finger.
“Is this enough?”
“What?”
After letting out a quiet sigh, he looked straight at me.
“Promise. I’ll come to Pellen once every two weeks.”
I stared at him, then let out a small laugh.
“Once every two weeks? Kyle, it’s ten hours round trip.”
“That’s by carriage. If I ride fast, it’s three hours one way.”
He said it casually.
Even so, visiting every two weeks during strict school life would be too much.
I was touched that he would say that.
“No, Kyle. Just saying that is enough.”
Instead of hooking my finger with his, I shook my head. But he moved his hand closer.
“Do that weird thing.”
“Weird thing?”
“That strange ritual you do with your fingers. The promise oath.”
Ah.
“Promise, stamp, copy, sign, laminate?”
“Yeah, that.”
He still remembered that silly thing from three years ago.
I almost laughed.
His memory was amazing.
“Idiot. You shouldn’t use that carelessly. If you break it, you’ll be bald forever.”
“Then I won’t break it.”
He said it so confidently.
For a moment, I wanted to hook fingers and make him swear. But I held back.
It’s more disappointing when expectations break.
I learned that from experience. It’s better not to promise at all than to promise and fail.
And I didn’t want to burden him.
A relationship that feels like homework is exhausting.
“It’s really okay. Come when you want. Let’s not make promises.”
I gently lowered his arm.
He looked at me with a frown, then shoved his hands into his pockets.
After taking a deep breath, he turned around.
“…Next month.”
“Hm?”
“Next month, let’s go somewhere.”
When I turned, he lightly kicked a small pebble.
His voice, deeper from puberty, sounded unfamiliar.
It took me a moment to understand.
“…Really? Just the two of us?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, that sounds great! Where should we go?”
“You decide. You’re always listing places you want to go.”
“What’s gotten into you? Anywhere is fine?”
I asked excitedly. He nodded slightly.
We hadn’t properly gone anywhere together since the time our families met two years ago.
We had gone to nearby fields for horse races, but that was it.
This must be his way of comforting me.
“Okay! I’ll choose a place and tell you.”
After shouting brightly, a quiet sadness settled in my heart.
Maybe that day would become our last childhood memory together.
White breath floated in the air.
Light snow, maybe the last of this winter, quietly fell.
The clock tower rang four times.
“Shall we go? My brother must be waiting.”
Because we had been up since dawn, we stayed one night at an inn before returning home.
Since my brother joined us on the way back, I couldn’t talk privately with Kyle again.
The next day, while I was going through my usual morning routine, Milly brought me the letters that had arrived.
Among the normal envelopes, a completely black one stood out.
“You are invited to the Secret Reading Club <Revely>.”
It was a suspicious invitation with no sender.
The black paper and gold handwriting looked like a luxury wedding invitation.
But the content— a secret reading club?
It listed a date, place, and even a strange password.
‘Add nine pumps of syrup to a café latte and stir three times clockwise…?’
My name was spelled perfectly on the envelope, which felt creepy.
Still, I assumed it was a prank and threw it in the trash.
‘I may look young, but I’m not naive enough to fall for this.’
I moved on to the next letter.
It was a tea party invitation from Baron Rastin’s family.
Kien Rastin, the girl who had once insulted young Riez without mercy, was hosting it.
‘Only six guests will attend this small gathering….’
The other two letters were also tea party invitations.
I groaned and picked up my pen to write replies.
I had avoided social gatherings for a long time. Maybe it was time to show my face.
As a noble lady in this world, social activity was unavoidable.
I thought I could avoid it until my debutante ball, but I was wrong.
Children from prestigious families built connections from their teens.
Many young noble ladies, who didn’t attend the academy, held small tea parties as practice before their social debut.
That’s why invitations kept arriving for me too.
Until now, I had always found excuses not to go.
But maybe it was time.
From now on, I would spend time with girls my age too.
Before being thrown into the jungle of the debutante ball, it would be better to have some allies.
With that decision, I wrote a reply accepting Kien Rastin’s invitation.
Even if I didn’t like that she was the host, a small gathering seemed better for building closer relationships.
