NOVEL WEB Chapter 157
Chapter: 157
What should I say?
I’ve been feeling something very different from usual for the past few days.
It’s a situation that feels quite different in many ways compared to what I’ve felt before…?
“Hmm….”
Anyway, it’s almost finals period, and there have been many evaluations and assignments at the Academy lately.
Because of that, the people who come to the Club Room changed every day, but… I should say there’s one person who has been particularly absent.
Moreover, even when that person does come to the Club Room, they continue to show a side that is different from usual.
“Hmm…….”
The Club Room.
As always, I was lying on the bed, not doing much.
Unlike usual, I found myself secretly staring intently at one particular spot.
There’s a difference between sending glances unconsciously and deliberately observing someone like this.
When I look without meaning to, my gaze tends to get caught, but now I was intentionally sneaking peeks.
“…….”
In the Club Room, where I could hear the sound of a pen scratching and pages flipping, I was watching one person.
A cute girl with red hair.
If she just kept her mouth shut, I thought she might indeed be considered cutely ordinary.
Compared to her sister, she seemed less innocent in appearance, but after all, she was just a young girl in her early to mid-teens.
Still, unlike Ivana, who had bright red eyes, she didn’t have particularly striking features aside from being cute physically.
“Grace?”
“Y-yeah? Why, sis…?”
“Are you feeling unwell…? You’ve been restless since earlier….”
“It’s not that…? ”
Grace, who was sitting next to her sister, looked quite different in appearance.
Unlike tall and busty Karen, Grace was shorter and smaller in various ways.
Of course, considering age, it’s just that Karen was unusually tall, but still, Grace definitely gave off a strong impression of being the younger sister.
I simply continued to observe her.
“Ha.”
How did I end up like this…?
The truth is, it’s probably nothing special, but for some reason, I was worried about her behavior being different from usual.
*
“Miss Grace.”
“W-what is it…? All of a sudden.”
“I’m just bored. Do you want to go to the snack bar together? Anyway, the next class isn’t a big deal.”
“…Forget it.”
“Oh, really?”
The first time I felt something suspicious was probably then.
Grace, who usually fussed and followed any suggestion to go to the snack bar, just suddenly refused that day.
Of course, our relationship wasn’t as familiar as Ella’s with Karen, but we were somewhat close.
Still, she usually accepted my suggestions after some nagging.
But for some reason, she had rejected my invitation.
“Miss Grace~”
“I said no.”
Even the next class.
“Miss Grace?”
“No, I told you. It’s almost lunchtime anyway…!”
“Ah….”
And again in the following class.
For some reason, Grace had declined my suggestion.
Honestly, I didn’t get it.
It wasn’t just that she refused to go to the snack bar…
“Miss Grace, aren’t you going to lunch?”
“…I feel sick.”
“Oh… Then do you want to go to the infirmary together? The lunchtime just started, so they might be there.”
“No.”
“Um….”
She even rejected the offer to go eat lunch together.
And for the next few days, Grace didn’t have much of a conversation with me.
I spent almost a week without doing anything significant with Grace.
Of course, there were Ella, Ivana, and Karen, but I hadn’t talked at all with Grace.
Moreover, Grace was having regular conversations with the others….
“Hmm….”
Thus, after returning to the Dormitory Room, I continued to worry.
No matter how I thought about it, there shouldn’t have been any reason for our relationship to turn bad.
“Huh…. I don’t get it.”
Unlike my previous room, this desk was of average size and nice, but I just lay alone on the bed, thinking.
There wasn’t anything to jot down or reflect upon in documents.
So, comfortably, I just continued to lie there, lost in thought.
“Could it be because of that last time?”
If there was the tiniest possibility of a cause, one thought crossed my mind.
Honestly, even that seemed like it might not be enough to be a reason.
“Hmm….”
That day when I playfully unbuttoned my shirt after Grace said something rather trivial, it felt like that might have started everything.
Of course, the next day passed without any incident… but I just couldn’t think of anything else.
“Hm.”
While it was sudden behavior, I wouldn’t say it was enough to completely ruin our relationship… NO.
I honestly thought that amongst same-gender interactions, it wasn’t a big deal.
I mean, Rosalyn and I had shared baths since we were little, showing our bodies to each other.
Well, I was pretty embarrassed back then, but that wasn’t the case anymore.
Still, after having lived as a girl for over 10 years, I knew.
“Why is this happening…?”
I was pondering, yet no matter how I thought about it… it felt like I might be overly shy.
While I felt some embarrassment during skinship with Rize, it was because Rize was somewhat timid anyway.
Considering Grace’s usual self….
“Hm.”
It felt like even more puzzling reactions were occurring.
“Rize.”
“Yes, Young Lady. Is there something you’d like me to do?”
“Not really, just come here for a moment.”
I called Rize, who was outside, to come over to my bed.
Always dressed in a neat maid uniform.
The style of the maid uniform hadn’t changed much over the past ten years.
Aside from the size changing, she was still dressed in her typical pristine maid outfit.
“Hmm….”
“What is it, Young Lady?”
“Rize.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
Grace’s reaction was different when I was teasing Rize.
While Rize merely blushed lightly and reddened her ears, that instance Grace had exhibited a level of shyness that seemed surpassing that.
Not quite the same as usual… it was odd.
Like Karen, her reaction was.
“What do you think?”
I lightly loosened the buttons on my shirt.
After all, I hadn’t changed clothes since leaving the Academy, and Rize had nagged me about that.
Naturally, my biggest curiosity was how Rize would react to my behavior in front of Grace.
“Um…. You’re pretty?”
“Not that, don’t you have another thought?”
“Um…. You’re always so pretty, so… I wouldn’t know.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my body has grown compared to before, right?”
“…..Yes.”
Since Rize had seen me from much earlier, it made sense.
I wasn’t expecting to find an answer to this riddle from Rize.
“Ha….”
“Is there something troubling you?”
“Nothing major. Just something related to a friend.”
“Ah….”
Maybe it had never happened because I had lived as Camelia all this time?
I felt more challenged by this than any average business-related task.
Since I spent more time in lessons with the tutors William assigned than I did playing with kids my own age.
After that, I dove into business and such….
“Well, it’s not that I dislike it. In fact, this feels more normal than the headache of dealing with business stuff every time.”
I understood it.
I knew my life as a girl named Camelia had not been entirely ordinary.
Although I was an aristocrat, I realized quite clearly that I was somewhat different from the other noble kids.
The real mother who gave birth to me died shortly after… my first stepmother ran away… and during all that…
“Tsk.”
Suddenly, my mood soured.
Until earlier, when I was troubled by Grace, I hadn’t felt this way.
I definitely shouldn’t think about the past.
“Ha….”
A sigh escaped from me unconsciously.
Seeing me like that, Rize looked on in concern.
…Originally, I would have let Rize comfortably clean the Dormitory Room, but my mood, which had not been at all refreshing, suddenly darkened.
“Rize.”
I called out to Rize, who had been quietly standing.
“…Yes, Young Lady.”
“Come on the bed. Let’s cheer up.”
“…Understood.”
It had become a routine now.
To be precise, it was Rize who had grown accustomed to it.
While I hadn’t felt any burden about doing something with Rize from the start, Rize had not been the same.
“Ha….”
But, Rize hadn’t always been particularly fond of rolling around with me on the bed.
There was some embarrassment there.
“Rize.”
I called out softly once.
Observing the maid who had grown so accustomed to lying next to me on the bed.
“…Yes, Young Lady. What is it?”
“It’s nothing. I just called you.”
“…Is that so?”
What should I say… I thought, but because of thoughts from earlier.
Because of a few somewhat unpleasant memories rising to the surface.
It might not be anything significant, and it was long past due to be forgotten.
As always, I began to nestle into Rize’s arms, who lay slightly blushing on the bed.
“Hmph….”
“…….”
Honestly, I felt a bit sorry for Rize in various ways.
It wasn’t like typical skinship; I was treating her like a doll while lying on the bed.
I knew they were two different treatments, between working as a maid and being treated like this.
“Young Lady, are you alright?”
“…Yeah. I’m fine.”
Even so, I personally liked the idea of hugging Rize like a big pillow, treating her like a doll.
Since she was more beautiful than the other maids, I honestly liked hugging and touching her, who had always been shy.
I knew using our same-gender relationship, the distinction of lady and maid, as a shield wasn’t entirely normal.
But… when I felt so out of sorts and just plain miserable, nothing worked as well in lifting my spirits as this.
I hadn’t done such things with anyone else.
“…Thank you.”
I said it in a tiny voice, a message of apology to Rize.
I wasn’t sure what she was truly thinking, but…