NOVEL WEB Chapter 170
Chapter: 170
“…….”
The place was Rosalyn’s Room.
Inside the room, there was just one person—Rosalyn, the owner of the room.
Rosalyn was simply sitting quietly, sipping her tea.
That’s all she was doing.
“Sigh….”
She was the only one in the room, wearing a troubled expression as she—
“Sigh….”
Let out a deep breath.
If Camelia had seen her like this, it was obvious she would have asked what was wrong.
Of course, Rosalyn wouldn’t behave like this in front of her daughter.
But right now, Rosalyn was alone in the room.
This allowed her to sigh without worrying at all about her daughter’s feelings.
–Knock, knock.
In the midst of this, a soft knock could be heard.
However, the person inside didn’t seem flustered at all.
The reason was simple; she had known someone would come to the room from the beginning and was just thinking, “Oh, they finally arrived.”
“Come in.”
With Rosalyn’s reply, the door slowly opened.
The person who entered wasn’t her daughter, as usual…
“Why did you call me in the middle of the day….”
“You’re just going to sleep anyway.”
“Yawn…. well, that’s true….”
It was Ashley.
And Ashley looked extremely tired.
It was true that she should have been sleeping at this time, but since the lady of the house requested her time directly, there was no choice in the matter.
“Yawn….”
“Ashley.”
“Got it… So what’s this sudden call for? You never call me unless it’s work….”
“First, sit down. Don’t try to just lie down on the floor naturally.”
“…Tch.”
Ashley, who was subtly trying to lie down, finally sat in her chair and moved closer to her desk.
Relaxing on the plush sofa, Ashley began to doze off a bit, but—
“Ashley.”
“Huh?”
“Sigh….”
“So, what is it that made you call me? Camelia’s back, so she could just play with you….”
Ashley spent most of her day sleeping.
It would be more accurate to say she slept rather than took a nap, since she practically wasted her entire day sleeping. For someone like her, this time was just too exhausting.
But still, the reason Ashley came to the room was obviously because Rosalyn called her.
No matter how exhausted and annoyed Ashley was during her activities, there was a limit to her demeanor.
“…Seriously, what was the reason for calling me?”
Stretching her back and fixing her nearly lying down posture, Ashley asked again.
Her expression now looked a bit less drowsy than before.
“Lady doesn’t call me without a reason, right?… Except in times of worry, you haven’t called me at all…?”
“…That’s right.”
“…Just hurry up and spill it. I only got two hours of sleep….”
“…It’s already 3 PM….”
“……..”
“Sigh.”
With a sigh, Rosalyn, who had been resting her forehead in her hand, began to speak again, her expression unlike the bright one she had shown in front of Camelia, now shadowed.
“…Camelia.”
“Yes.”
“Camelia has grown a lot compared to before, hasn’t she…?”
Since Rosalyn was speaking while her head was bowed, Ashley couldn’t see her expression.
Despite still keeping her head down, Rosalyn found it easier to express herself than before.
“Five years have passed since she was eight, right? She has grown much more since then…?”
“That’s true. But is there a problem with that? She just seems to be growing up beautifully.”
“…That’s true.”
It was a conversation about Camelia’s growth.
There was a slight age gap, but both Rosalyn and Ashley had known Camelia since she was eight.
Both were already adults, unlike Camelia.
This was also part of why Rosalyn called Ashley here.
“Indeed… She’s grown up beautifully.”
“What… she’s only thirteen, there’s still more growing to do.”
“…….”
“But is there a problem with that?”
“Problem… it’s not a problem.”
It wasn’t a problem.
At least not in the eyes of others; it shouldn’t be a big deal in reality, but still, Rosalyn recognized the situation as a problem.
“…So what is it? I want to sleep….”
Ashley had been abruptly called to the room and had even sacrificed her nap to come here, leaving her with no means to ask questions.
After entering the room, Rosalyn hadn’t given any clear answers.
She had tried to hold back a yawn, but under the circumstances—without a proper response and without even getting to the point—there was nothing Ashley could do except feel a slight urge to scold Rosalyn.
It was truly a frustrating situation.
“I feel like I’m looking at a different Camelia than I used to….”
“…?”
“Something just feels….”
“……?”
That she was looking at a different Camelia?
But Ashley didn’t quite grasp it upon hearing that.
‘…What part isn’t the same?’
Ashley thought of Camelia as notably mature.
With her magical talent and the way she spoke regularly, there was no major change from her perspective.
“Um… maybe it’s just because I haven’t seen her in a while…?”
“…No.”
“Um….”
The contradiction wasn’t part of Ashley’s nature; she generally disliked ambiguous situations.
Because of this, the one who had been resting her forehead in frustration before was now Ashley, who was starting to hold her own forehead.
“Sigh….”
“…….”
It was a frustrating situation for both of them.
Of course, Rosalyn herself recognized that the majority of the frustration lay with her.
She was somewhat aware that her thoughts and the situation seemed odd.
“These days, Camelia’s a bit… shall I say, alluring?”
“…Huh?”
“Something about her… umm….”
Rosalyn couldn’t finish her sentence, even though she had mustered her courage to say it, feeling too embarrassed to complete the thought.
“Alluring…?”
“Just that… doesn’t she feel that way…? Like she’s more than before….”
“…….”
“…….”
Neither Rosalyn nor Ashley could come up with a proper response; they simply sat in silence.
The only sound in the room was the soft sighs exchanged between them—the two feeling one either bemused or embarrassed.
“Um… Lady?”
“……..”
“Isn’t this a bit too… overprotective?”
Ashley simply concluded that it was overprotective.
Camelia had grown taller and matured compared to the past, but apart from that, she had also left the mansion to attend the Academy.
Given that her previous concerns had intensified, that’s how Ashley had settled on her conclusion.
Since her head was already starting to ache in response to the situation, it made sense to decide this way.
“Could that be it…?”
“Yes.”
“But really, Camelia is truly different from before….”
“She was always mature. Overthinking this is….”
“No, really….”
Rosalyn truly believed Camelia was different now.
Unlike when she was younger, there was a distinctly alluring aura about her, and she wanted to express that.
However, it was difficult to say it while Ashley looked so perplexed.
“Maybe just spending a few more days with Camelia won’t be a problem.”
“Do you think so…?”
“It’s only been a week since Camelia returned. I mean, she seems to have grown a bit since before going to the Academy; she’s a few centimeters taller.”
“That’s definitely true.”
“So, I think if we just let it be, we might not notice the difference as much…?”
“…That seems likely.”
And thus, their conversation came to a close.
A mere ten minutes of chatting.
The worries and thoughts ignited by Camelia, who wore thinner clothes than usual.
But that brief conversation of just about ten minutes did nothing to ease Rosalyn’s concerns.
On the contrary….
“…Am I the one who’s weird…?”
Rosalyn’s worries were only deepened from there.
The truth was that Rosalyn’s thoughts weren’t entirely triggered simply by Camelia’s growth.
Because Ashley didn’t know the other reasons that troubled Rosalyn, she couldn’t say anything about it.
After all, Rosalyn herself was still struggling to fully comprehend her feelings.
“Sigh….”
In the end, the only thing Rosalyn could do was let out a sigh and continue thinking about Camelia—that was all.
Her daughter, who had grown in height and figure, felt different in many ways.
With her unique looks even more pronounced, she appeared far more charming than before.
On top of that, thinking about Camelia, who had become more familiar with herself and become more active than she used to be, made Rosalyn—
“Sigh….”
Rosalyn could only let out another deep sigh.
A sigh deeper than before, arising from her worries about Camelia, who was now living at the Academy.
Once again, she found herself sighing due to her daughter Camelia.