NOVEL WEB Chapter 171
Chapter: 171
“Mother, is it okay if I come in?”
I casually opened the door and asked that.
Lately, I’d been entering Rosalyn’s Room quite often, so I knew well enough that she wasn’t doing much at this hour.
Honestly, I came to Rosalyn’s Room already knowing everything.
Since there really wasn’t much for me to do, coming here was the only way to have some fun.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Phew… well then, I’ll intrude for a bit.”
With that, I slipped into Rosalyn’s Room.
No matter when I enter, Rosalyn’s Room is always nice.
The traces of my efforts in decorating it before she arrived as our stepmother still lingered.
And the unique scent was just too pleasant to dislike.
“What were you doing?”
“Hmm… I was just glancing at some documents and thinking about having some snacks. I’ve already organized the tasks for the servants this month, so I don’t have much else to do.”
“Ah…”
“So, what was Camelia doing today? I saw her with Rize this morning.”
“Oh, I was just organizing some documents in my room. I have to throw away the ones I don’t need…”
After entering, we exchanged some trivial conversation.
Just your everyday kind of talk… really just on that level.
We weren’t running a business like before, and since Rosalyn had already taken care of some work, it was really just a matter of explaining how our day went.
“But hey Camelia, don’t you meet up with friends during the break?”
“Um… I don’t think so?”
“Really? Didn’t you say you got pretty close with some people at the Academy?”
“That’s different, but since they all live far away, I think it’d be a hassle to meet up during the break.”
“Ah…”
Well, it was indeed possible to meet up if I really wanted to.
Of course, it would be quite a hassle in various ways, but it wasn’t impossible at all.
“It’s too far to go to the North, and honestly, the Roseaki Family is also far. Plus, the weather is summer, right?”
“That’s true.”
Rosalyn knew I really disliked the heat.
After all, I caught a cold last summer just from eating ice flakes alone.
“I could meet Ella, but I heard she has some family obligations this time.”
“That certainly makes it a bit awkward to meet up right now.”
“Yeah, so I’m just lazing around the mansion like this.”
“Hehe, yeah, that makes sense.”
To be honest, I kind of wanted to gather everyone and go somewhere together.
But that was pretty hard to manage.
Even if I sent letters, it would take quite a while for them to arrive, so there was really nothing I could do.
“But how about sending postcards to your friends occasionally? Who knows, maybe Academy friends will come down.”
“Hmm… that might be possible. Especially since Ella lives fairly close. It wouldn’t hurt to ask once.”
“Hehe, I’m just glad to see you getting along with your friends.”
That was definitely true.
Even I could tell I was getting along quite well with my friends.
From Grace and Ivana, who I met after entering the Academy, to friends I’d known before, I felt we were all growing closer.
I thought we might stay good friends even after graduating from the Academy.
“You seem much closer to Rize than before, too?”
“Hehe… really?”
“We were always close, but I feel like we’ve gotten even closer lately.”
Hmm… is that true?
Honestly, my relationship with Rize had been pretty good for a long time, so I didn’t notice anything drastically different.
But since attending the Academy, there were tons of days I spent using her as a pillow, so maybe unconsciously I’ve become closer with her?
Of course, even without that, Rize and I were still very close.
“Speaking of which, you’ve gotten close to Teacher Ashley while I’ve been at the Academy, right?”
While Rosalyn talked about me, making friends and getting closer to Rize, I had something to say too.
Not that it was anything profound.
“Honestly, I didn’t think you and the teacher would get so close.”
“Really?”
“Well, they’re similar in age, but you two hardly talked before, right?”
“Ah…”
I personally hoped Rosalyn wouldn’t feel lonely in the family at all.
She never really spoke to anyone except for me.
I used to wish for Rosalyn to feel more comfortable in the family, in the mansion, but…
After she got close to Ashley, part of me felt a bit uneasy about it.
I don’t even know why I felt that way.
“It’s just that without Camelia around, I find it so boring. I can’t help it.”
“Really?”
“Hehe, it’s been so boring without Camelia around, hasn’t it?”
“Is it…?”
“Originally, Camelia brought some liveliness to the mansion, but since she took Rize along, it’s just been so dull.”
Hmm.
Hmm…
I felt a bit pleased.
Yeah, I was a bit happy, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, Mother. Tomorrow, I’m thinking of going out with Rize to buy some clothes. Would you like to come along?”
“Since Camelia invited me first, how could I refuse?”
“Well, just in case. If you have to do something, postponing the date isn’t too hard, right?”
“Hehe, that’s not the case. It would be great to go out together and shop for clothes for the first time in a while. But what kind of clothes are you planning to buy?”
Actually, it wasn’t like I was short on types of clothes.
I had plenty of shirts, pants, and dresses in various kinds, but I had grown quite a bit since then, right?
So I had to buy some clothes to fit my body better.
Saying I wouldn’t buy anything at all was an easy thing to say.
“The clothes you’re wearing now don’t fit well, do they? On your thighs and… here too…”
I slightly rolled up the cardigan I was wearing to show Rosalyn.
I was only in a shirt, but because it was small, it looked quite tight in various areas.
“…That’s true.”
“Right?”
“Yeah… it definitely seems a bit small…”
“So, I really can’t avoid buying new ones.”
Well, it wasn’t so small that it was uncomfortable, but it was definitely tight in a way that made it less pleasant.
It was just a half size smaller, I guess?
“I think it’s better to, um, button up that cardigan of yours again…”
“Hehe… got it. I shouldn’t catch a cold. I have no intention of wandering around without my cardigan in a cool room like this.”
Rosalyn had already lectured me about this enough, right?
Anyway, my height growing was not a bad thing at all.
In fact, I was quite pleased to have grown taller and developed.
Back then, even though I wore clothes that my peers typically wore, I always felt awkward because my size was larger.
Yeah, this was definitely better.
“Don’t you have any clothes of your own?”
“Me…? I don’t think I have that many.”
“Hmm… how about searching for a few? You always wear just black dresses, right?”
“That’s just my preference.”
“Ah huh.”
In fact, I’d often gone shopping with Rosalyn, but most of the clothes she wore were black dresses.
Of course, they suited her so well that I personally never disliked them…
But I never knew it was a preference.
“So that’s why you wore those black dresses almost every day?”
“I don’t dislike other outfits, but… aren’t they pretty?”
“Of course they’re pretty. They’re clothes worn by you, so they can’t possibly be anything but pretty, right?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“Hmm…”
But they really were pretty, so I had no other thoughts.
Even though she wore similar-looking dresses all the time, they were so beautiful.
I couldn’t even express how they weren’t pretty; they were just too pretty for me to think otherwise.
“But Mother, you’re pretty enough that you look lovely even in just dresses all the time.”
“Really…?”
“Yes, and I’m confident that black is the color that suits you best.”
“Is that so…?”
Leaving everything else aside, I could definitely say that black suited Rosalyn.
Generally, black clothes tend to match well with most people.
But unlike that, Rosalyn truly stood out in black, you know?
“What if we bought all black clothes tomorrow?”
“Should we…? If Camelia says so, then it should be fine.”
I was trying hard to suppress the smile that wanted to break out.
Rosalyn was surprisingly unaware of how beautiful she really was.
To be more accurate, it felt like she didn’t care much about her appearance.
Personally, I hadn’t seen anyone as pretty as Rosalyn, yet she didn’t really think that about herself.
It was quite amusing.
But at the same time, I found it oddly cute how she seemed to enjoy my compliments about her looks.
“So when are we going to buy clothes tomorrow? I assume morning is a bit tight?”
“Hmm… when would be good? I have plenty of time anyway, so it’s not a big deal for me.”
“Then how about we go out for lunch with Rize in the afternoon and then do the shopping?”
“That sounds good.”
Well, the timing wasn’t really the main concern.
What I wanted was simply to spend time with Rosalyn and have fun.
That was really all I wanted, right?
Personally, before returning to the Academy, I genuinely felt the desire to spend as much time with Rosalyn as possible.
Because once I went back to the Academy, I wouldn’t get to see her again.
“…Hehe.”
But saying those thoughts out loud to Rosalyn felt a bit embarrassing, so I kept it to myself.