NOVEL WEB Chapter 168
Chapter: 168
I returned to the mansion for vacation, but honestly, nothing extraordinary happened.
I came back, and the mansion was just as ordinary as ever.
Rosalyn was assigning tasks to the maids as usual, and Ashley was up in the middle of it all, using magic to assist with the chores…
It was just the same daily routine.
“Hmmm…”
During this mundane time, I found myself in a bit of a dilemma.
To be honest, I knew it was ridiculous.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t bothering me.
“Phew…”
The situation was really no different from when I left for the Academy.
Although a few months had passed, the people around me hadn’t changed dramatically—they felt just like before.
But somehow, could I say that something was… a bit different?
No, rather than being different, it felt like the thoughts I’d had before had grown, matured maybe?
“…Sigh.”
Back then and even now, the subject of my worries was still one person.
Honestly, I knew it was absurd, but I couldn’t help but think about it every single time.
Really…
“…Honestly, isn’t it just too hard to see someone 7 years older as a mother?”
It was unfair.
No matter how much I tried to view Rosalyn as a mother or one of my parents, it just wasn’t easy.
Of course, Rosalyn wasn’t a bad person; in fact, she was my stepmother, but I could feel just how much she truly cared for me.
However, the fact that it still didn’t work out was…
“I’m the problem.”
Well, I guess it really was mostly my fault.
If I could just recognize Rosalyn for who she really was, it wouldn’t be a problem.
But the fact that I couldn’t was really the issue.
“If I didn’t have memories of my past life…”
It was just a hypothetical, but if that were the case… what would have been different?
Had I not had any memory or feelings of being a man.
If I had no memories or experiences as an adult, would it have been easier?
“…But I don’t think that’s the case.”
It was a complicated family history.
My biological mother passed away shortly after I was born, and my stepmother ran away…
And my father, William, was…
“Hm. I guess the present is just the best.”
Aside from not being able to view Rosalyn as a mother, we got along really well, surprisingly well, in fact.
Despite not being biological mother and child… it was clear that we got along wonderfully.
“…It’s nice, though.”
Personally, spending time with someone as beautiful as Rosalyn was something I absolutely welcomed.
I’ve always liked pretty things, after all.
That had been a definite preference even in my past life.
I have always shown a lot of interest in pretty or beautiful things, even wandering in front of jewelry stores…
“I never bought anything back then, though?”
Maybe I just couldn’t attain those things in my past life.
So in this life, I was feeling much more of an interest and desire for these things compared to my last life.
I just thought about that.
“Phew…”
How did I end up thinking this hard about how difficult it was to treat Rosalyn like a mom?
How ridiculous.
*
“Rize.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
I came out after having useless thoughts alone in my room.
I didn’t come out for any particular reason; it just felt a bit foolish to spend time sitting around thinking like that.
So I just stepped out for a change of scenery, with no specific purpose.
“What were you doing?”
“I just finished cleaning the hallway, and I’m preparing to clean your room now.”
“Oh… really?”
Well, that’s convenient.
I was actually thinking about what I should be doing, feeling bored.
“Well then, shall we go into the room first?”
“Yes.”
I walked into my room with Rize.
Honestly, coming out and immediately going back in felt a bit silly.
After all, right now Rosalyn was working anyway.
Besides, Ashley had already dragged me around enough last night… I had no choice.
“What were you doing?”
“I was just lying around doing nothing?”
“Ah…”
It didn’t seem like much, but honestly, it was unavoidable.
I could put off looking through the business documents for later, but aside from that, I didn’t really have any hobbies.
And it wouldn’t be appropriate to share with Rize about the thoughts I had just a moment ago.
So I just gave that answer.
“What are you planning to do for cleaning? Just dust a bit, and it should be fine, right?”
“We’ve already finished cleaning your room before we arrived… so there shouldn’t be much left to clean. Just organizing trash and dusting, I think.”
“Aha…”
So it was no big deal.
There really wasn’t an urgent reason to start cleaning right away.
Usually, Rize would clean my room last.
She would clean with the other maids, then clean the hallway in front of my room, and after all that, she would clean my room.
Then she usually just followed me around as my maid.
So there was genuinely nothing left to do after that.
“Rize, Rize.”
“Yes, Young Lady. Do you need anything?”
Rize turned her body towards me while answering.
Looking at her, I sat on the bed.
-Tap, tap.
“Come up.”
“……..”
I lightly tapped beside me and instructed Rize to come up.
If it were up to me, I would want her to sit right on my lap…
But Rize was taller than me, huh?
If it were Ella or Grace, maybe that would be possible, but I really couldn’t have Rize sitting on my lap.
“…What is it? Is there something else you want…?”
“It’s not like that; I’m just bored? Since I came back home from the academy, I haven’t done anything. Just bored, that’s all.”
“Is that so?”
I guess Rize had gotten quite used to these kinds of behaviors of mine by now?
She seemed to be accepting it much more calmly than I expected.
Honestly, I quite liked how Rize had grown accustomed to this.
In the past, she would blush and shy away every time I did something like this.
“Phew…”
“Why are you laughing…? Is there something wrong…?”
Of course, Rize was still Rize, even if she had improved a bit.
Just sitting beside her, I could feel her embarrassment in her expressions, reactions, and eyes.
“Just because you’re cute. By the way, now that I’m back at the mansion, how do you feel? You must have seen some familiar faces after a long time.”
Leaning slightly on Rize’s shoulder, I asked.
I had only Rosalyn and Ashley, but Rize had probably formed some connections with the other maids?
I was just curious about what Rize’s life was like when I wasn’t around.
“Well… not much has changed. There are lots of maids working in the mansion, but that doesn’t mean we’re super close…”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it’s just that they help me out when I have time, so we’ve built some acquaintance.”
“I see…”
I wasn’t very well-informed about how maids got along.
I understood how Rize lived, but that was a separate matter.
Honestly, I hadn’t made any connections with the maids, so it made sense.
But anyway, I thought Rize would be quite friendly with the other maids, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.
Of course, that didn’t really surprise me.
“Hmmm…”
Was it because I had been thinking about Rosalyn all morning?
As I pondered, I suddenly remembered that Rize was older than me by two years.
Well, just two years wasn’t a significant difference, but it still counted as older.
“Hm.”
Usually, noble young ladies had maids who were older than them.
That was why Rize was working as my maid since I was very young…
Because of that, Rize had been working as my maid from when I was just a little child.
“Hmmm…”
“Young Lady…? Is something on your mind? Why do you keep staring…?”
“Do you feel like a little sister to me?”
“…Pardon?”
Rize gave me a look as if wondering what kind of silly question that was.
Well, it was a bit odd, I admit.
But no matter how I looked at it, I didn’t feel any sense of sisterly familiarity with Rize, besides her being older.
It was similar to how I felt towards my stepmother Rosalyn—she was officially my mom, yet I didn’t see her as a mother figure.
Of course, it wasn’t quite as intense as that.
“I mean, you’re older than me, Rize. Just wondering.”
“Well… I guess not.”
“The thought of you seeing me as a sister… it hasn’t crossed my mind.”
“Phew… really?”
“Yes. You’ve always been so clever from when you were younger, making it hard to think of you as a little sister.”
That certainly seemed to be true.
I hadn’t acted at all like a child my age when I was young.
Most of it was due to William always assigning tutors for me; aside from that, I didn’t feel like a typical child.
I even thought that if others saw me, it might have been even more intense.
“And you’ve always been beautiful since you were little… so instead of a sister, I thought of you more like a doll…”
“A doll?”
“…Yes.”
That was a bit unexpected.
I knew I was pretty, but I never expected to hear that from Rize.
Of course, Rize might have been a bit embarrassed by her words, as her face slightly flushed…
“That’s a nice compliment.”
“Is it…? If it wasn’t to your taste…”
“No, no. Calling me a doll usually means I’m pretty and cute, right? Of course, I like it!”
It was an unexpected answer.
But just thinking about it, Rize wouldn’t say anything bad to me anyway.
So I took it positively.
“And Young Lady, you’re quite petite… so every time I assist you with bathing, I really worry that it might hurt you….”
“Huh…?”
“Since you really are weaker than me… every time I treat you, I have to be careful like I would with a doll…”
“Oh…”
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand, but the follow-up comments were a bit unexpected.
I just thought of the term “doll” as a compliment, but it was clear that it meant more than just appearance.
I genuinely didn’t see that coming.