NOVEL WEB Chapter 163
Chapter: 163
“What are you going to do during the break? Doing business again or something?”
“Uh… I don’t really want to do business.”
“Then what are you going to do? You’re always complaining about being bored.”
“That’s true, but it feels like a hassle to start a business right now.”
Ella and I were heading to almost the same destination.
The Leonhardt Mansion and the Nieshista Domain were quite close, so there really wasn’t a reason not to go like this.
In fact, Ella even agreed with my suggestion.
“Plus, isn’t it easier to start a business after graduating? Trying to do it at the Academy seems really… tough.”
“Definitely… It would be.”
“Well, it’s not like it’s extremely difficult if I were to do it. I could definitely manage it if I wanted to. But I’m just too lazy to do it.”
It’s not that I genuinely couldn’t do it.
I was just too lazy to do so.
Actually, I still had a business that wasn’t fully sold, and there were things I was managing.
But there was no way I was going to expand or increase my focus on business right now.
“So what are you going to do during the break?”
“I’m just going to hang out.”
“…….”
“I’m really just going to hang out.”
“Haah…”
Ella started to show a really frustrated expression.
It felt even more awkward for her to be seriously doing something.
Although it wasn’t like there weren’t times for that.
“So, are you going to help Baron Nieshista manage the domain?”
“That’s most likely. There’s a lot to do with the farm, and my father shouldn’t have to do it all alone.”
“Hoo, a dutiful daughter?”
“Why are you suddenly praising me…?”
“I was just saying it. Did you not like it?”
“No, it’s not that… It’s just you haven’t really given me compliments like that before.”
I always felt like Ella was a bit shy about the compliments I gave her.
For some reason, she seemed to be even more so than expected.
Honestly, I wasn’t giving any strange compliments, just the usual cute stuff and things of that nature.
In a way, it was a bit frustrating.
“Well, compared to most noble ladies, you’re definitely nicer, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Definitely! Just look at me… We’re not really that close, right? We’re treating each other very formally.”
“Ah…”
Well, this might be kind of strange on our side.
Anyway, I felt that Ella had a better family relationship than most noble ladies.
As for me with William…
With Rosalyn, our relationship was definitely okay, but most of our talks were about business or money.
Of course, that was much more convenient for me.
“Anyway, it’s good to be like Ella, so don’t take it too badly.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m taking it badly…”
“Hoo… then I’m glad.”
We passed the time with such trivial conversations.
To be honest, we weren’t really the type to have deeply immersive conversations.
More like we were comfortable sharing really casual and everyday stories.
“Then it’d be fine to visit the Nieshista Domain when you’re bored.”
“Just drop me a line before you go.”
“That sounds like a hassle.”
“You.”
“Puh… just kidding! I’ll let you know before I go.”
Neither Ella nor I knew when that would be, but it wasn’t a huge issue.
After all, Baron Nieshista had a much better impression of me than expected from our first meeting.
If anything, if I went to visit the domain, he’d probably welcome me saying, “Can you help with a little work?”
*
Ella went to the Nieshista Domain, and I arrived at the mansion.
It had been a long time… Really, it had been a few months since I last came home.
“Hmm.”
“Young Lady, will you be going in right away?”
“Yeah, I should. The southern heat is so intense that I can’t even enjoy the view outside.”
I intended to take a little look around the long-desired home, but it really couldn’t be helped.
I had been so close to the center for a while that I had completely forgotten.
How hot southern summer could get.
“Let’s hurry inside, greet Mother, unpack… and rest a bit.”
“Yes, I’ll carry your things.”
We got off the carriage and went through the mansion’s front door.
I had even decorated here extensively with roses for Rosalyn’s welcome before.
Though it was pretty hot and I was already feeling tired, exploring the long-absent home definitely felt a bit refreshing.
“Puh…”
After crossing the front door, I arrived right in front of the mansion’s entrance.
When I stood there to open the door, it seemed to open as if it was waiting for me.
“Camelia.”
“Oh, Mother! It’s been such a long time. How have you been?”
The door opened, and naturally, the person welcoming me was Rosalyn.
As if there was no shock when I saw her figure appear after the door opened.
“…Yeah, I’ve been well. You’ve been well too, right, Camelia?”
“Of course.”
Always pretty, her face.
Most of the people I knew and got close to were pretty, but… Rosalyn just felt different.
There was something subtly exquisite about her.
Personally, I thought my looks were decent, but Rosalyn’s appearance gave off a sense of an ideal type.
“Oh, isn’t it hot? Should we head inside first…?”
“Yes, let’s do that. You seem a bit hot too, Mother.”
“This summer is definitely a bit hotter than last year. And since you get so hot easily, I wanted to ensure we went inside fast.”
I nodded along with Rosalyn’s words as we went in together.
It really was quite hot outside, and even Rosalyn, who usually didn’t wear thin clothes, was wearing something lighter today.
“How was the Academy? You seemed to have quite a bit of fun in your letters.”
“It was more fun than I expected. I made more friends than I thought, and I got along much better than you and Rize worried about.”
As we walked slowly through the mansion’s lobby and corridors, chatting, it really felt like just any other visit back home, since not much had changed.
We just strolled slowly side by side, exchanging conversation and glancing at Rosalyn, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.
“Camelia… it seems you made quite a few friends.”
“Ah, right. I definitely met a lot of people at the Academy this time. You remember Karen from the Roseaki Family, right?”
“Ah… why her?”
“I got close to her younger sister. Grace, she’s a friend who’s a bit cuter than Karen.”
Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal.
It was just an ordinary story.
Yet here I was sharing such a story, and Rosalyn knew this wasn’t typical for me.
“It’s truly a relief for you to make friends regardless of their family names. It’s definitely great that you made new friends besides the Nieshista lady…”
“Hoo… right? I think it’s nice too.”
“And no one thought you’d get close to a lady from the Nordal Family…”
“Neither did I see that coming. It’s totally unexpected.”
Getting close to Ivana, just absolutely didn’t seem like an option when I first enrolled at the Academy.
I was quite cautious about making close connections with such high-ranking individuals.
I never thought I’d end up so friendly with her.
While it was true that being closer through club registrations helped, I felt that I could honestly call her a friend now.
All in all, it was quite an incredible experience.
“Speaking of which, Mother, it feels so cool inside the mansion. Did the teacher handle everything?”
“Yeah? Ah… yes, that’s right. Since it’s so hot down here, and you get really hot easily, I had them set everything up properly as summer began.”
“Ooh…”
It genuinely surprised me.
I’d noticed a degree of coolness the moment I stepped into the mansion.
However, it was less cool than last year.
So I hadn’t considered Ashley’s air-conditioning magic all that much.
It wasn’t terribly cool, just pleasantly refreshing.
“Since you ate ice snacks all summer long last year and caught a cold, I deliberately made sure to not make it too cold.”
“Ah…”
“I was really shocked. I never thought you’d suffer so much, Camelia…”
“That time… I definitely messed it up.”
Hmm.
It was an event from quite a while ago, and now I was recounting it in this manner.
But I wasn’t making any excuses since I did indeed go overboard back then.
Anyway, as we chatted about that, we somehow arrived at my room.
It truly felt like I hadn’t been back in ages, but I didn’t feel any awkwardness or anything—it was just… long-awaited.
“Was it hot during the travel back?”
“Not really. There was a breeze from the magic tools, and since I opened the windows, it was cooler than I expected.”
I slowly looked around my room while casually throwing down my bag and continued chatting.
Rize, who had been following us, sorted her things a bit and then stepped outside.
She probably had more to do on her own.
“But it was hot, wasn’t it?”
“Well, that’s true…?”
Was it because I complained a lot about the heat last year?
Rosalyn seemed to keep bringing it up.
Though the weather actually was hot…
“Should we take a bath together for the first time in a while?”
“…What?”
I definitely didn’t expect such a conversation.
Not at all.
Of course, Rosalyn had often suggested such things in the past and we had shared baths many times, but…
“Even though the carriage may have been cool, you still sweated. Plus, you’re changing your clothes anyway, right? What do you think?”
Nevertheless, after hearing Rosalyn’s words, my mind started racing a bit—just a bit—like it was inevitable.
It wasn’t a bad thing on my side; it was just inevitable.
Right.