NOVEL WEB Chapter 185
Chapter: 185
The first year at the Academy flew by faster than I had imagined.
Honestly, it’s probably because I did nothing but sleep through classes and then hung out with pretty girls afterward.
But in the end, it really did feel like time was passing faster than I thought.
“Hmm…”
In just a little over a month, I would be turning 14, and the new academic year would begin.
Honestly, I didn’t feel much excitement about it, though.
“Sis, what should we do during the break? Dad said it’s okay for us to just relax this winter.”
“Oh? Then, um…”
“Since it’s winter, shouldn’t we consider going on a trip?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“We don’t have to go north; we could head somewhere warmer instead…?”
“Uh-huh.”
Unlike me, most of my friends seemed genuinely excited about the upcoming break.
They had been anticipating winter vacation for weeks now.
I guess they’re still kids, after all.
So, it made sense for them to be looking forward to it.
“Camelia, what are you going to do?”
“Me?”
“Who else but you, Camelia?”
“Hmm… I haven’t really thought about it. But… there is one thing I might do.”
“What is it? Wait, why are you even thinking about this?”
“Ella.”
“…But that’s not like you, right? You usually just play during breaks and holidays. You only relax when you’re not working?”
“…….”
I understood Ella’s words.
Yeah, I got it.
After all, I’d done nothing but that, just like last vacation, right?
But hearing that fact from someone else hit differently…
“Sigh… Anyway, I think I’ll probably head up north this winter break.”
“North?”
“Yeah. I have some business to take care of with Ivana.”
“…What?”
“It’s just about business. It’s a bit awkward to handle everything through letters, so I think I need to go see her.”
I hadn’t mentioned this before.
The whole northern business topic was just something between Ivana and me, and there was no need to share it with everyone else.
I’d mentioned it as a casual thing to Rize and Rosalyn, so I understood their reactions now.
“So… you’ll be spending the vacation with Lady Ivana?”
“Probably. I doubt the business there will be done in just a day or two, so I’ll probably end up spending quite a bit of time there.”
“Ah…”
To be honest, I’ve wanted to go to the north for a while now.
When Rosalyn said it was super cold back then, I felt a bit hesitant about it, but still, I’ve always wanted to go since childhood.
That was why I’d even brought up the northern business back then.
It’s natural that everyone wants to see a place where snow falls heavily, covering everything.
“Got it….”
“What about you, Ella? Are you going to do anything for the family like last vacation?”
“I don’t really know. I just feel like I want to rest this winter break…”
“Ah, I see.”
Hmm.
Hmm…
Ella had a vibe similar to those times when I was only chatting with Karen and bringing up other girls.
No, it felt even more than that.
Ella was generally quite bright, and because most of her words and actions reflected that, the melancholy was more apparent.
“Ella.”
“What?”
Ella responded a bit sulkily.
It was clear she didn’t feel like her usual self.
But strangely, that made it seem rather cute.
It’s not common for cheerful, bright Ella to respond like sulking.
“Should I buy you a present when I come back from the north?”
I said that on purpose.
Well, I could propose going to the north together, or we could talk about other things too.
I knew Ella would likely want to talk about those things anyway.
“…You figure it out.”
Ella still replied with a hint of sulkiness.
She wasn’t puffing her lips out, but it was evident she was upset.
Definitely not the usual Ella?
“Anyway, it looks like I’m heading up north this winter.”
“…Okay.”
“Really, what are you going to do during the break, Ella?”
“I don’t know. Dad hasn’t said anything concrete about what we’ll do either.”
“But that’s what you want to know, right?”
“I said I don’t know.”
The truth is, the way to cheer up Ella was very simple.
If I just invited her to go north with me, everything would be fine.
But I deliberately held back those words.
After all, I was going there for business.
Bringing a friend along while going on a business trip didn’t seem appropriate, so I had no choice.
Actually, other friends in the club room had those same eyes, but… it couldn’t be helped, right?
*
After the break began, I returned to Leonhardt Mansion from the Academy.
It was a bit chilly because it was winter, but honestly, the southern winter felt more like a slightly chilly autumn or early winter in other regions.
“You’re going to the north?”
“Yeah, it seems that way for this winter break.”
“Um…”
The moment I came back to the mansion for the vacation, the first thing I did was talk to Rosalyn.
It was a bit unreasonable to go to the north without telling anyone properly.
I had grown a lot, but I still wasn’t an adult yet, and going to visit Rosalyn without letting her know would definitely have me deep in hot water.
“You’re going because of that business… right?”
“Yeah.”
“…So, when are you going? Two weeks from now?”
“I have a lot to handle during the break, so I guess I’ll need to leave within a few days.”
I hadn’t discussed exact dates with Ivana.
But I felt I had to leave early.
There was indeed a lot to do, and I had no idea how long it would take.
“…I see.”
“Besides, it’s not just business; it’s Ivana’s business, so I have no choice.”
“That’s true.”
“And the Nordal Family has plenty of tasks to deal with in the north this winter too.”
Since winter was a time for hunting monsters, delaying our trip wouldn’t be a good idea.
“Definitely a lot to do in the north in winter. It’s better to leave sooner rather than later.”
“And it’s best to finish up quickly and come back.”
“That does make sense.”
“I’d love to just relax at the mansion, but I can’t be lazy about it.”
I really wanted to relax comfortably in the mansion.
After all, I’ve been putting in a lot of effort at the Academy during this past semester, right?
Not to mention, I still wanted to spend more time with Rosalyn.
I’d learned that from the last vacation… but that was beside the point.
“So what exactly will you be doing there?”
“First, I need to prepare for the business… but for specific tasks, we’ll have to consult with Ivana and her team.”
“Won’t it be super cold up there?”
“Probably.”
“Have you prepared well? If you don’t get everything ready, it’ll be really tough…”
“Come on, I just got back today! I have to start preparing from today.”
“Ah…”
The preparations would likely be done by the time I arrived in the north, but I hadn’t done anything to get ready.
It was clear I had just gotten back.
Now I had to head to my room and prepare slowly with Rize.
Not just for myself, but Rize had to prepare thoroughly since she would be coming along.
“I need to pack clothes, and there are various documents I need to prepare too.”
There were definitely many things to prepare.
It wasn’t just packing for a trip but needed to be quite thorough.
“I mean, Rize would probably handle most of that.”
“Rize is definitely coming with me, right?”
“Of course! It would be pretty tough to go alone.”
“…That’s true.”
It would be odd to travel all the way to the north by myself.
It was quite a long journey, and having someone like Rize to help once I arrived would certainly be beneficial.
Not just for business but in various other aspects as well.
“So, can I join you too?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s going to be tough just you and Rize traveling all the way to the north, right? It probably won’t be easy going, and it’ll be hard to just rely on each other once you’re there.”
“Um… I guess that’s possible, but I don’t think it’d be too tough. After all, we’ll be traveling through the central part?”
Traveling through the central region to get to the north wasn’t too inconvenient aside from the time.
Since it was passing through the Empire’s capital, it’s safe and the pathways were good too.
I understood where Rosalyn was coming from.
After all, it’s perfectly valid for a daughter to be concerned about heading far north…
“Still, heading there alone…”
“Hehe, it’s fine. Our family’s carriage and horses are really good, so I don’t think you need to worry that much.”
“…Is that so?”
“And I don’t know when Dad will be away, so isn’t it better for Mom to stay at the mansion?”
Last summer break, William had been absent the entire time, and he always roamed around freely because of business.
It would definitely be better for Rosalyn to be present.
“Haha…”
Honestly, I’d love to go to the north with Rosalyn and spend some time; that would surely be fun.
But if Rosalyn were to join me in the north, I wouldn’t be able to focus on the business I need to handle with Ivana.
Since I couldn’t voice that thought, I kept having this back-and-forth conversation.