NOVEL WEB Chapter 24
Chapter: 24
“Ugh…”
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“Not really…”
It’s not uncomfortable. Even though I’m currently soaking in the bath cradled in Rosalyn’s arms.
I couldn’t exactly call it uncomfortable.
…Honestly, it felt soft and nice.
That’s how a woman’s body was. Different from a man’s, the skin felt smooth and gentle… there was a certain warmth in various places, giving off a strange feeling.
“Then I’m glad?”
“Yeah…”
“It might be a bit lacking compared to the bathroom in the Leonhardt Mansion, but… it’s still nice, right?”
“Y-yeah…”
Somehow, I found myself in Rosalyn’s embrace while in the bath.
I had planned to just sit beside her, but when Rosalyn asked if she could hold me… I agreed…
…And it turned out to be far more embarrassing than I had imagined. Even though Rosalyn was hugging me from behind and I couldn’t see her face, I could guess it must be really red by now.
I could feel my own face burning up.
“Oh, right. I’ve prepared steak for dinner tonight. I was originally thinking of pasta or stew, but you must be a bit tired after going out, right?”
“Yeah…”
“But I’m really glad everything turned out well. Don’t you think?”
“Yeah…”
I was answering while nestled in Rosalyn’s arms, but it didn’t feel like a proper reply.
My head felt so fuzzy.
Feeling Rosalyn’s chest behind me and the arm holding me was all too strange. Especially with her whispering into my ear.
Honestly, each and every little thing was stimulating.
Rosalyn probably had no thoughts or intentions behind any of it. It was just me who kept thinking that way.
At first, I intended to get used to sharing the bath with Rosalyn, but the situation was just too confusing and overwhelming.
“Hehe… I’m glad to be like this…”
“Really…?”
“Yeah, didn’t I mention before? I want to get closer to you, Camelia.”
“That’s… I want that too…”
I was somewhat aware of it. It was just Rosalyn’s personality.
She treated me so warmly. Naturally, I wanted to get closer to her too.
A stepmother… or rather, someone wanting to be a family?
It was a rather ambiguous desire, but I didn’t want to see Rosalyn run away like the last stepmother did.
“What about us getting closer, Camelia? Is that too direct…?”
“No, it’s fine. I also… want to get closer to you.”
It was quite embarrassing for many reasons, but it wasn’t a question I couldn’t answer.
The truth was, I wanted to get closer to Rosalyn.
“Really? Hearing that from you makes me really happy, Camelia.”
“Not that much…”
“But still, you’re the only one I’m close to in the Leonhardt Mansion, right? Of course, I’m happy. Aren’t you?”
“…I’m happy too.”
It wasn’t something I disliked.
In response to Rosalyn’s whispering question, that was my answer.
In reality, being in Rosalyn’s arms with no clothes on felt much more pressing than chatting with her.
The feeling of Rosalyn’s feminine form pressing against me was too real, and the brightness of Rosalyn holding me was overwhelming.
Here I was, embraced by Rosalyn, unable to think positively or healthily. Meanwhile, Rosalyn was just thinking of me as… her little child. A small girl.
That brought a sense of guilt.
Of course, guilt aside, strange thoughts still lingered in my mind.
“Hehe… Camelia, you really seem like a kind girl.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t really feel like a mother figure. I mean, I’m your stepmother, right? But just look at how sweetly I talk to you.”
“……..”
That didn’t seem right.
Although Rosalyn told me I was kind, I didn’t feel that way.
Rather, I felt a bit bad or somewhat… strange.
After all, I had been an adult once before. Honestly, I didn’t feel much like a child.
I occasionally liked sweet foods or cute, pretty things. But even so, I often thought I didn’t give off a typical childlike vibe at this age.
“I’m just really glad to have met a girl like you, Camelia.”
“…I think so too.”
Rosalyn was too generous with her words, leading me to respond that way.
She was inherently kind, but she expressed that kind heart easily.
“Um… Mother.”
“Hmm?”
“What do you think about… Mother?”
There was something that popped into my mind.
It was a bit tricky to just say I thought that. In fact, I’d had such thoughts about Rosalyn since we first met.
I hoped she wouldn’t leave like my last mom… I wanted her to stay.
“What would you like to do more in Melnick?”
Though I had various thoughts in my heart.
I deliberately kept those to myself.
After all, it would be a burden. Even though Rosalyn had become a mother and was older than me at the moment, she was still just on the brink of adulthood.
I didn’t want to place too much of a burden on her. I had no power or influence to sway her heart.
I just wanted to get closer to Rosalyn right now.
Unlike the previous stepmother, Rosalyn was trying to bond with me, so I just wanted us to get along.
Whatever the future with Rosalyn held, I didn’t know.
“I don’t want to leave until I’ve had more fun with you, Camelia.”
“…Then let’s meet with Karen and have a really good time before returning to the Mansion.”
“Shall we?”
“Yes. There’s not much to enjoy around the Mansion. And when we get back, we’ll have things to do, so…”
“Hehe, then we have to have a lot of fun before returning. Should I tell Rize to look for things to do while we’re in Melnick?”
“Yes, let’s do that. We should have a really great time and come back.”
I thought about how I’d spend my time with Rosalyn as best as I could before returning.
It didn’t matter about everything else. I just wanted to spend good time with Rosalyn and then think about returning to the Leonhardt Mansion.
I reduced the thoughts of Rosalyn running away or disappearing and focused solely on my current time with her.
“By the way, Camelia, I think your hair is really beautiful. Must be because you’re so young, huh?”
“…Your hair is youthful too, you know?”
Suddenly, Rosalyn started touching my hair.
I didn’t dislike the sensation, but it felt a bit awkward.
After all, other than when Rize was styling or washing my hair, I usually didn’t have anyone else touching it.
“Really? But I don’t think my hair is as remarkably beautiful as yours, Camelia. It feels… thin yet soft. Like beautiful silk. Is it because Rize takes good care of you?”
“Maybe…? I don’t really do anything special for it…”
“How interesting…”
Rosalyn kept playing with my hair, continually saying it was pretty and soft.
By the end, it was just compliments about my hair, and I felt so embarrassed.
“…You’re beautiful too, Mother.”
“Really?”
“…Since the first time we met, I thought you were really beautiful.”
Rosalyn kept showering me with compliments.
I felt embarrassed and wanted her to stop saying those things.
Honestly… it made me really embarrassed. Hearing compliments specifically about my appearance from Rosalyn felt different.
When I received such praise from William’s business partners, I didn’t feel as embarrassed.
I just brushed it off, not caring much about that.
“Really?”
“…Yeah?”
Rosalyn’s response to my words felt… a bit strange.
After all, I was struggling with the embarrassment of hearing compliments about myself and unexpectedly, she seemed extremely happy.
I couldn’t help but question why someone so naturally beautiful would react that way to my words.
“Do you think I’m that beautiful, Camelia?”
“Um… Yeah…?”
“I’m glad. To hear it from such a pretty girl like you.”
“You must hear compliments about your beauty all the time…”
“That’s true, but I just like it.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yeah, thank you for saying that.”
“…?”
I didn’t get it.
Why was Rosalyn so happy with just those compliments? Surely, she must have heard them often before…
Being cradled by her seemed less perplexing than this.
“But, Mother…? Until when will you…?”
“Why? Were you uncomfortable?”
“Not at all, but… you keep playing with my hair…”
It wasn’t really distracting my thoughts, but Rosalyn kept touching my hair.
It felt a bit ticklish…
“I must’ve gotten carried away because I love touching hair. Sorry if it was uncomfortable.”
“It wasn’t uncomfortable…”
“Still, it must not have felt completely comfortable, right?”
“…Not at all.”
Honestly, I didn’t mind Rosalyn playing with my hair.
Truthfully, having my hair stroked felt nice… I was just a bit curious why she kept touching it.
Of course, if it made Rosalyn happy… I had no intention of asking her to stop.