NOVEL WEB Chapter 167
Chapter: 167
The restaurant that Rosalyn and I arrived at was just an ordinary place.
Sure, compared to the many high-end restaurants in the center, it was a bit underwhelming, but by Southern standards, it was definitely upscale.
We just ended up at one of those places.
“The atmosphere in the store is really nice.”
“Hehe, right? This is a place that Camelia found while attending the Academy.”
“It seems that way. When I was here, I remember there being just an average store in this location…”
Well, I did spend almost six months in another region, so it was only natural that I wouldn’t have seen it before.
“Has Mother been here before?”
Inside the shop, it was clear there were people with some money.
The exterior and the shop’s interior were both certainly pretty yet simple.
Normally, restaurants that cater primarily to nobles can be too flashy and messy at times.
But this place was… quite pleasant.
If I were to run a restaurant, I’d probably do it this way.
Rosalyn led me here, so it probably wasn’t her first visit.
Rosalyn usually preferred to go to places she had been to once.
That was just my guess.
“Hmm… this isn’t your first time, right? You’ve been here a few times before. It’s just so nice that you came here.”
“Aha…”
“Other places had good food too, but this one is much better. So, Ashley and I came here a lot.”
“…Ashley, you say?”
That was an unexpected name.
No, the surprise is more about how I didn’t expect to hear Ashley’s name from Rosalyn in this context.
“Yeah.”
Rosalyn answered as if it was the most natural thing.
Well, I suppose that makes sense.
After all, Rosalyn was a noble too, and it was dangerous for a noble girl to wander alone.
Like a bodyguard vibe.
Or maybe as a conversational partner of a similar age.
I could see how they could hang out together.
“You seem to have gotten pretty close to her, huh?”
“Hehe, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Without Camelia around, it’s been a bit lonely, so I’ve been hanging out with Ashley a lot, having tea, eating cookies… sometimes even dinner.”
Okay.
Confirmed.
I decided then and there that I would tease Ashley again tonight.
“I guess it’s easy to talk since the teacher and your mother are the same age.”
“Hehe, right. I worry about her sleeping too much, but it’s been quite comfortable to hang out with her.”
“That so…”
Why?
Why do I feel uneasy?
Even though it shouldn’t be a big deal, I still didn’t feel great about it.
If anything… it felt kind of bad.
“I’m just glad to hear that you’ve been doing well while I’m not around.”
…But that doesn’t mean I had to voice everything I felt right now.
I just said that with a calm expression and a smile.
It wasn’t entirely unreasonable to say.
“Shall we go ahead and order?”
“…Yeah, let’s do that. I’m thinking about getting steak. What about you, Mother?”
…Rosalyn’s remarks about Ashley suddenly filled my mind with thoughts, but the more important thing was the time with Rosalyn.
Teasing Ashley could wait a little.
For now, it made sense to focus on Rosalyn, who was across from me, smiling while looking at the menu.
…But seriously, why did my mood take a dive?
After we placed our orders and the food came out, we just enjoyed our meal, finding it quite delicious.
The restaurant itself was decent, and the quality was good enough to be sold in the center.
And of course, it was a place that Rosalyn had come to several times with Ashley, so it had to be good.
“Camelia still eats a lot of meat just like before.”
“Does she?”
“You’ve pretty much liked meat since you were little, right?”
“Um… that’s true. I don’t dislike other foods, but I do think I really like meat.”
While cutting my steak, Rosalyn brought that up.
Is it because we often ate meats like steak in the mansion? Is that why I’m seen that way with my food preferences?
Sure, I genuinely liked it.
“And I like salty stuff and sweet stuff… I guess if it’s tasty, I pretty much like it all?”
“Seems like it. Usually, you don’t discriminate against delicious food, do you?”
“Hehe, yeah, I don’t really have picky eating habits.”
“Doesn’t your mother normally eat most food well? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her be picky…”
I wasn’t typically picky either, but I hadn’t seen Rosalyn refuse any food while dining together.
In fact, she even seemed to enjoy things like salad.
Though, of course, it wouldn’t be a tasteless salad, but still, many people generally preferred meat over salad.
Personally, I thought Rosalyn was less picky than I was.
“Hehe, did it seem that way?”
“Yeah. Isn’t it?”
“I do have quite a few foods I dislike. Hmm… I don’t particularly like salad, right? And there are other things, too?”
“…Salad? Didn’t you eat that often?”
…?
What’s going on?
I clearly remembered that Rosalyn often ate salad.
She always seemed to enjoy it so much that I happened to try it too.
Of course, it wasn’t that great, but I distinctly recalled her eating salad quite regularly.
It really felt that way.
“Hehe… when I eat with you, I think you’ll just follow my bad habits if I’m picky.”
“…Ah.”
“I wouldn’t say I can’t eat something at all. I just deliberately ate it a few times in front of you, and you copied me, right? So I ended up eating it more often.”
“Aha…”
Oh… I didn’t expect that.
Hmm.
I was caught off guard.
No, I honestly never thought that Rosalyn would consciously think about that while eating salad.
It would be weird to assume that she thought about such plans while eating, right…?
I really just… thought she ate salad normally and well.
The fact that there was such a plan was surprising.
“Hehe, did you just find out?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then is it okay if I don’t eat salad anymore from now on?”
“I’m at that age where I shouldn’t start being picky, right…?”
“Hehe, sure, you’ve already eaten the side salad first during our meal today. So there’s really no need to force yourself to eat it.”
So my stepmother is still my mother, huh?
It’s been a while since I felt that quite clearly.
Rosalyn is, after all, in her early twenties.
Honestly, I didn’t feel the overwhelming feeling of a typical mother figure.
Of course, Rosalyn never treated me like a friend, but…
“Hehe, what are you doing tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that’s true…”
… I really didn’t feel like she gave off that strong motherly vibe.
Yeah, for sure.
To be honest, if I stretched the truth a bit, I wouldn’t think Rosalyn looked older even if she were with academy third-years, right?
Of course, she’d look more mature, but ultimately, Rosalyn was definitely younger compared to most parents of my peers.
Truthfully… she could even pass for an older sister.
“Haha….”
…But how am I supposed to just see Rosalyn as a mother?
Honestly, I couldn’t help how I felt.
Really, really.
*
“Teacher~”
“What is it again…?”
After enjoying a pleasant meal with Rosalyn and returning home, I entered Ashley’s Room.
What I saw upon entering was surprising: Ashley sitting on a chair instead of her bed.
And she wasn’t even sitting properly; she seemed to be lounging quite a bit, almost lying down, which was strange.
“What? You need something? It’s pretty late right now…”
“Oh, it’s not like I came here to ask you for something.”
Since it was the night hours.
I almost never came to find Ashley at such times…
Well, that was certainly true.
Given that Ashley usually just slept through, our schedules hardly matched.
“So why are you here? Did the lady maybe ask you for something?”
“Not that. I just wanted to ask you something.”
“…?”
Ashley didn’t seem to quite understand what I meant.
Since I hadn’t explained the context at all, that’s probably why she was confused.
“Teacher, have you become friends with Mother while I was gone?”
“Uh… I suppose so?”
Hmm…
Well, that could be possible.
They were around the same age.
I could understand that.
“Hm… how did you become close, then? They barely talked after the lady came here.”
As far as I could recall, Ashley and Rosalyn had never communicated at all.
To be honest, since Ashley had been sleeping all the time, there was barely any interaction, but at least that was the case.
“Hm… I guess your mother has been lonely since you went to the Academy…? She even came to me first…”
“…Really?”
“She even sometimes suggested we have tea together and asked me to do some tasks…”
“Hmm…”
“We also went out together a few times. Yep.”
“…I see.”
Hmm…
“Honey, stay still for a moment.”
“Why are you coming closer all of a sudden… Wait, are you going to tickle me again…!”
It seemed Ashley was far more perceptive than I had thought.
“Don’t run away, come here!”
“Eek!?”
Of course, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t tickle Ashley, though.
That night, Ashley was tickled until she fell off the chair.