With that said, I took Amelia to the record I liked the most and put the headset on.
“I can’t hear anything, Hyunjin.”
“It will play soon,” I responded to Amelia and placed the record into the audio system.
Amelia twitched slightly and murmured, “Oh… it’s a strange contraption, this.” She repeated the same thing under her breath.
Closing her eyes, Amelia lightly moved her shoulders and neck.
It was good that she was enjoying classical music, but when I went to the record store with Ryunosuke, he didn’t really enjoy it.
As I felt sorry for the appreciative Amelia, then sighed and took off her headset for a moment.
“My lady.”
“Huh?”
“Natsuki’s taste isn’t this kind of classical music.”
“Then what kind of music is it, Hyunjin? You went with him, so you can recommend something.”
“Yes.”
With Amelia, we moved from the classical section to an area filled with pop music.
“Let me explain what genre this is.”
“Natsuki’s favorite pop genre.”
“I see… Can I listen to one song first?”
“Yes.”
After putting the headset back on Amelia’s ears, I played a Swedish pop record that sounded reasonably good.
There were many types of pop, but for someone accustomed to classical music, jazz-based genres or Swedish pop would be more suitable.
Amelia moved her body again, reacting to the soft melody in her ears. Watching her from the side, she looked unbearably cute.
She might be even prettier if not for that bun hairstyle.
‘Ah, I might need to change her hairstyle a little,’ I thought as I looked at Amelia’s hair.
Bun hairstyles were a hit-or-miss—some people liked them, while others didn’t.
Personally, I preferred straight perms with flowing waves or long, loose curls.
Well, anyway, was the music good enough?
I wondered as I reached out to take off Amelia’s headset, but she removed it first and said,
“This is the first time I’ve heard this genre, but… for some reason, I like it. Come on, Hyunjin. Let’s listen together.”
“Together… You mean?”
“Yes.”
I paused the music at Amelia’s request, unplugged my headset, and replaced it with the supplied earphones.
“Please put them in yourself.”
“Yes?”
“…Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me.”
Amelia brushed the side of her hair lightly, revealing her ear.
The hands holding the earphones trembled slightly.
Slowly, without startling her, I took the earphones and gently placed them in her ears. Then, I put the other one in mine.
The soothing tones of Swedish pop filled my head.
I liked the melody, so I hummed along softly.
Then, something caught my attention—Amelia.
She was staring blankly at me, a bewitched expression on her face.
“My lady?”
“Eh? Yes? W-What?!”
“How are you feeling?”
“M-My mood? Feeling? Yes… Uh, yes. It’s… surprisingly not bad.”
I was relieved. I had worried about Amelia, who had such refined tastes, not enjoying it.
At this point, I was about to introduce another store, but Amelia seemed to want to hear more Swedish pop.
The fresh and soft sound seemed quite pleasant to her.
‘If I had known this would happen, I would’ve brought her here sooner.’
Since she wasn’t saying much, I assumed it was my mistake not to think of this earlier.
I was about to glance at Amelia with a satisfied smile when she suddenly looked at me sharply.
“What is it, Hyunjin? That strange smile.”
“You look happy. It makes me feel better, too.”
“Hmph, of course. There’s no way an outing after so long wouldn’t be enjoyable, right?”
Come to think of it, what did Amelia usually do?
I had seen her enjoying tea time in a quiet room or going through paperwork, but I had rarely seen her go outside.
At most, she spent time in the mansion’s garden. It had already been five months since I started working for Amelia, yet I had hardly seen her go out. Naturally, I was curious.
“My lady.”
“Tell me, Hyunjin.”
“…Have you been out lately?”
“Hmm. I don’t really know. I’ve never left the mansion except for school.”
Is that so?
I didn’t know if the story had changed because of me or if things had always been this way, but if it had followed the original course, she should have been going out with Ryunosuke.
But Amelia hadn’t gone out at all!
D*mn.
‘This situation is worse than I expected…’
Thinking so, I gently took Amelia’s hand and said,
“My lady, I think you’re going to learn something new today.”
“Huh? Hyunjin, wait—!”
Unplugging the earphones from Amelia’s ears and putting them back in their case, I took her hand and led her out of the record store.
It seemed like I needed to her something.